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Monthly Archives: June 2013
6.11 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #TheMilkOfBirds #AndTheMountainsEchoed #Fallout
A new week, a new batch of books–both books finished and being read. Today is…
Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
{Sharing what books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}
• • •
[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students’ reading.]
Since last Monday, my A Class has read:
25 books
My B Class has read:
24 books
My C Class has read:
18 books
ARC from NetGalley
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
I’m LISTENING to:
An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.
Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.
{I need a longer drive to work to listen to this whole thing. On second thought, I’d rather not. I hope I can renew it!}
BIG NEWS!
SYNC audio books is offering two free audio downloads a week over the summer. Actually, the free downloads have already begun. Try downloading this week’s The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, read by Katherine Kellgren (HarperAudio)
Some other highlights:
June 13 – June 19, 2013
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton (Scholastic Audiobooks)
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June 20 – June 26, 2013
Once by Morris Gleitzman, read by Morris Gleitzman (Bolinda Audio)
Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., read by Dion Graham (christianaudio)
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July 11 – July 17, 2013
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler (HarperAudio)
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July 18 – July 24, 2013
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon
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July 25 – July 31, 2013
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade
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Aug 15 – Aug 21, 2013
Sold by Patricia McCormick, read by Justine Eyre (Tantor Audio) {I listened to this one earlier this year and it was astounding. Tough content, for sure—more suitable for slightly older listeners. But amazing and lyrical.}
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Click the image below to go to the site and see the full line-up. You can also sign up for weekly email alerts.
• • •
{A new book has leaped to the top of the TBR pile—a possible companion to A Long Walk to Water. See the description below.}
This timely, heartrending novel tells the moving story of a friendship between two girls: one an American teen, one a victim of the crisis in Darfur.
Know that there are many words behind the few on this paper…
Fifteen-year-old Nawra lives in Darfur, Sudan, in a camp for refugees displaced by the Janjaweed’s trail of murder and destruction. Nawra cannot read or write, but when a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs her with an American donor, Nawra dictates her thank-you letters. Putting her experiences into words begins to free her from her devastating past—and to brighten the path to her future.
K. C. is an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, who hates reading and writing—or anything that smacks of school. But as Nawra pours grief and joy into her letters, she inspires K. C. to see beyond her own struggles. And as K. C. opens her heart in her responses to Nawra, she becomes both a dedicated friend and a passionate activist for Darfur.
In this poetic tale of unlikely sisterhood, debut author Sylvia Whitman captures the friendship between two girls who teach each other compassion and share a remarkable bond that bridges two continents.
• • •
More Great ARCs…
{Thank you, Ms Kittscher, for sending this to me. Man—I love getting book packages in the mail. I’m looking forward this read.}
Before you see what the students are reading… what are you reading? Please leave a comment and let us know—and show the students that reading isn’t just a “school” thing.
(For every parent who leaves a comment with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…)
[Check back at the end of the day to see the cool spinning pictures of what my students are reading.]
Click the picture below for A Class SpinCam
Click the picture below for B Class SpinCam
Click the picture below for C Class SpinCam
[If anyone else is using SpinCam to show what your students are reading, I’d love to know about it and link to my Friday post. Thanks.]
Thanks,
David Etkin
6.7 Wig in the Window; Boy Nobody; and Reading&Tweeting
Today is
Lights…Camera…Action!
• • •
Today’s BookFlix Friday from the morning announcement:
Before the trailer, I wanted to show off Samantha’s contribution to the blog: an interview about the ARC The Wig in the Window.
Pretty cool, right? Thanks again to Ms Kittscher for the advanced copy.
We also received this Tweet from Ms K:
• • •
Today’s trailer:
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn’t stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend’s family to die — of “natural causes.” Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target.
When his own parents died of not-so-natural causes at the age of eleven, Boy Nobody found himself under the control of The Program, a shadowy government organization that uses brainwashed kids as counter-espionage operatives. But somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the boy he once was, the boy who wants normal things (like a real home, his parents back), a boy who wants out. And he just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program’s next mission.
And a little more Reading&Tweeting:
6.5 {Whatever Wednesday}—Buffalo Reading Invasion
Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’. Though often a cool quote or poster, it might simply be a picture.
Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.
One of the great things about being married to a reader is that she finds things like this and forwards them to me:
Here is the blurb from the site (or you can go there yourself):
The location for the June 3rd Buffalo Reading Invasion has been set:
Bidwell Parkway, running west from Elmwood Avenue. from 7pm – 8pm.
We kicked off last year along the Parkway, and it just seems like such a fitting place to start again this year.* Please pass this along, and then join us on Monday with your book, perhaps a blanket of a chair, and join us for an hour of quiet reading in one of Buffalo’s most beautiful public spaces. Come and find a spot on the section west of Elmwood. There is no official “start”–just come and sit and read and enjoy. (Families and kids are welcome and encouraged! We’d like as many young people out as possible!)
Hope to see you then!
*We are working on the next locations, and definitely plan on exploring great public spaces in other city neighborhoods!
They even have a Facebook page and a Twitter handle—@Buffreadinginvasion
I’m looking forward to joining in on some future READING INVASIONS with my family.
5.28 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #Bang #Curveball #AndTheMountainsEchoed #Fallout
A new week, a new batch of books–both books finished and being read. Today is…
Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
{Sharing what books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}
COMING OCTOBER 8, 2013
{This is book 2 in the VISIONS series, and the sequel to Crash…
… which I read earlier this year. I got the digital ARC from Edelweiss. The premise is the same as before, and still just as crazy. How will the characters figure out where this supernatural vision of the school shooting is taking place? And can they do it in time? Hang on, because it’s quite a ride.
Again, not a 6th grade book. Sorry.}
• • •
Sometimes, the greatest comebacks take place far away from the ball field.
Meet Peter Friedman, high school freshman. Talented photographer. Former baseball star. When a freakish injury ends his pitching career, Peter has some major things to figure out. Is there life after sports? Why has his grandfather suddenly given him thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment? And is it his imagination, or is the super-hot star of the girls’ swim team flirting with him, right in front of the amazing new girl in his photography class? In his new novel, teen author Jordan Sonnenblick performs his usual miraculous feat: exploring deep themes of friendship, romance, family, and tragedy, while still managing to be hilariously funny.
{The 6th grade ELA teachers are reading this to prepare for a book club together. I thought this was a fabulous book, and the characters were real and believable. It was interesting to see Peter struggle with very real tragedies and family situations. How will he deal with his baseball injury that may end his young baseball career? Is the cute girl in the photography class really flirting with him? Is his grampa okay? Both humorous and deep, Curveball was a very interesting read that I’m looking forward to discussing further. And yes—my book is filed with Post-it notes, so I’m ready to go.}
[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students’ reading.]
Since last Monday, my A Class has read:
books
My B Class has read:
books
My C Class has read:
books
ARC from NetGalley
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Categories: Social Issues – Violence, Historical – United States – 20th Century, Historical – Military & Wars
What if the bomb had actually been dropped? What if your family was the only one with a shelter?
In the summer of 1962, the possibility of nuclear war is all anyone talks about. But Scott’s dad is the only one in the neighborhood who actually prepares for the worst. As the neighbors scoff, he builds a bomb shelter to hold his family and stocks it with just enough supplies to keep the four of them alive for two critical weeks. In the middle of the night in late October, when the unthinkable happens, those same neighbors force their way into the shelter before Scott’s dad can shut the door. With not enough room, not enough food, and not enough air, life inside the shelter is filthy, physically draining, and emotionally fraught. But even worse is the question of what will — and won’t — remain when the door is opened again. Internationally best-selling author Todd Strasser has written his most impressive and personal novel to date, ruthlessly yet sensitively exploring the terrifying what-ifs of one of the most explosive moments in human history.
I’m LISTENING to:
An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.
Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.
{I was a big fan of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. When I heard that Hosseini had a new book coming, I reserved it from the library ASAP. I didn’t realize that I had reserved an audio book. Fine with me—It makes for a nice ride to work and back home. I have to be honest, it’s been difficult to get out of the car when I reach my destination. The book is written in third person POV (mostly—though my current section is a first person letter), but the character in focus keeps changing.}
More Great ARCs…
{Thank you, Ms Kittscher, for sending this to me. Man—I love getting book packages in the mail. I’m looking forward this read.}
Before you see what the students are reading… what are you reading? Please leave a comment and let us know—and show the students that reading isn’t just a “school” thing.
(For every parent who leaves a comment with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…)
[Check back at the end of the day to see the cool spinning pictures of what my students are reading.]
Click the picture below for A Class SpinCam
Click the picture below for B Class SpinCam
Click the picture below for C Class SpinCam
[If anyone else is using SpinCam to show what your students are reading, I’d love to know about it and link to my Friday post. Thanks.]
Thanks,
David Etkin
{Eat the Book} 