Huckleberry Finn

Yes Huckleberry Finn (one day I'll figure out how to get pictures of book covers on this blog, until then enjoy my attempt at trying to find appropriate non-copyright pictures!)

I figured I better go ahead and write on this book since it is a personal favorite. I have moved a number of times and just recently paired down my 3 copies of Huckleberry Finn to one. I love it that much!

While this has been considered a kids book in the past, it truly is a great work. Humorous and serious all at the same time, you can't beat this book for a literary experience. If you have never dipped your toe in to the writings of Mark Twain feel free to start with this one. Who can resist a book where a character finds moral fortitude with the sentiment "I'll go to hell."

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

I recently fell in love with Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein. These two fantastic books recently grabbed my attention and sounded like too much fun to pass up. These books are delightfuly fun reads that are kid friendly in language, pacing, and content. Adults will get a kick out of them as well. The references to childhood favorites, and ones you may have missed out on. Will pull you back into your local library for a children's book splurge.

Apps I can't live without

It's a scary year. NO NEW BOOKS! (at least not the hard copy kind). And I had to "get rid" of almost 1/2 my collection! So here are some apps that eased the pain. If you are going through a similar down sizing and money saving effort, I hope this works for you too.

• Goodreads-- This app allows you to rate and track the books that you have read. For readers who love collecting this might be a good substitute. You can start a digital collection rather than hold onto a physical one.
• Nook, iBooks, and Kindle- again, changing from a physical collection to a digital one. I was firmly opposed to digital books when they first came out. How could an electronic replace my treasured books? Then I had to move. The next year I also had to move. The year after that I made my third move. A low weight kindle, or now an app on my iphone, were much easier to move and keep up with.
• Overdrive-- I am lucky that my local library uses overdrive. This way I an check out books digitally and never have to worry about late fines
• Audible-- It allows me to listen to my favorite books while driving and exercising.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

 

It had barely been three weeks when I was tempted to break my New Year's Resolution to not buy any physical books (digital copies and digital audio don't take up shelf space so were exempt). I was waiting for my husband to catch up with me in a Sam's Club and found a book that I had just been reading about on a blog. The back cover made the book even more appealing and I could NOT imagine walking away without it. 

I did however resist temptation and looked the book up on my library app (Yay public libraries!). It was The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. This book went right along with my need to pair down my 3 bedroom to a 1 bedroom (well 1.5). I loved Kondo's approach to treating tidying as appreciating your belongings, being grateful for what you have, and viewing your items as what you want to keep.

Word of warning--when she says do it all in one day, If you read the follow up Spark Joy you'll discover that she most likely means do each stage in one day. Or, at least, I'm thinking of it this way to help avoid guilt of dragging out the process.

Book Fairs!!

A test of my resolve to spend a year not purchasing a physical book came at a school book fair. As a teacher, especially a English Language and Reading Arts teacher, how could I not buy books and support our book fair? So I came up with a brilliant plan. Pick out one book for the classroom and let the kids vote on one. A teacher's choice and a student choice. Great idea, right! This way I don't add to my personal collection at home and keep from adding too much to my classroom (more on this latter). I picked out a book by my favorite author and the kids chose Would You Rather. While their pick may not make great reading history, I am excited to see some interesting writing spring from our new classroom library addition!