Monday, April 13, 2015

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (April 13, 2015)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Other Than Reading... 

This was a quiet week at work as we began our final quarter of this school year. The elementary is a little chaotic as the parking lot doesn't fit all the teacher's cars anymore and lessons are frequently being disrupted by the sound of jackhammers. The weather was also awful this week with lots of wind, cold rain, and some big puffy snowflakes on Friday. The weather thwarted my plans to park at the high school and walk to the elementary. The schools are in sight of one another, separated only by athletic fields and playgrounds, and have a nice paved path connecting them. It is just a nice walk in good weather. Maybe next week will have some good weather.

I forgot to fill in one blank on my retirement application so it got sent back to me this week. I mailed it again on Friday. My resignation is on the School Board Agenda for the meeting Monday night. Things are progressing nicely. There are all sorts of potential plans in place to change the schedules for elementary special area teachers and potential changes for the high school schedule too that could impact when I teach sixth graders. I'm hoping that they decide to leave both schedules alone as every possibility I've seen creates many more problems than it solves.

Read Last Week
The Trouble with Magic by Patricia Rice was a nice historical paranormal romance about a young woman who can't touch anyone without learning the worst of them and an inventor who is in deep financial trouble when it looks like the failure of one of his inventions caused a large property loss. Somehow these two overcome their problems and find each other. My review will be posted on May 14.

Making Pretty by Cory Ann Haydu is for older young adults. It tells the story of a young woman who is trying to find something of her own in a changing life. Her much-married plastic surgeon father has targeted her new friend as his next wife. It was intense and I really sympathized with the heroine but some of her decisions make this more appropriate for older teens. My review will be posted on May 14.
The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak by Brian Katcher was an excellent young adult story about two very engaging characters. It's setting at a science fiction convention added interest too. My review will be posted on May 16.

I finally finished reading The Reading Zone by Nancie Atwell. I have been reading this one at work when I had a few minutes since October. It is filled with interesting ideas for helping kids become voracious and critical readers. I don't have the right situation to implement many of the ideas but I'm glad to know that they exist. I won't be doing a review for this one.
Dark Debt by Chloe Neill is the eleventh book in her Chicagoland Vampires series and was an excellent addition to the series. Ethan and Merit are battling enemies on two fronts. Merit is her usual snarky, butt-kicking self. My review will be posted on May 16.

Blood on the Bayou by D. J. Donaldson is the second of the Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn mysteries. These are being reissued by Astor + Blue from whom I received my review copy. I really liked the vividly drawn setting of this story and stayed up way past my bedtime to find out what happened next. My review will be posted on April 29.
The Fog Diver by Joel Ross was an excellent post-apocalyptic science fiction story for middle graders. It was filled with wonderful characters and packed with action. My review will be posted on May 20 for this May 26 release.

Currently
I am just going to start Clockwork Lies: Iron Wind by Dru Pagliassotti. I am in the mood for some fantasy and really liked the first book of this trilogy.

Next Week
The next two adult books on my stack are from my TBR mountain and are 2015 purchases.
The next two young adult books on my stack are review books that will be releasing in May.
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?
I spent a good part of Sunday morning at Edelweiss downloading a bunch of review books that will all be released in September. These are all young adult books. My calendar for reviewing young adult books is already full for September. Good thing I like knowing what is coming in my reading life!

What was your week like? Leave a link and I'll come visit.

4 comments:

  1. Ana & Zak sounds like fun. I'm looking forward to Kissing in America and Prudence. Happy reading!

    Michelle @ Michelle's Minions

    My It's Monday! post

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  2. Nice! I liked Dark Debt! Hope you enjoyed it too! And oooh Prudence! I soooo want to read that one!! Need to finish my review books and then I will definitely be in a pickle because there are SO many TBR books I want to read first! LOL! Happy Reading!

    Here's my Monday Wrapup

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  3. Rather difficult teaching with jackhammers around, have experienced that and its not pretty. Ha, I read The Reading Zone too and enjoyed it, although no longer need it. Will look forward to your review of Rock Hard, will probably read it eventually.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope your weather improves this week so you can walk. :-)
    I enjoyed The Trouble with Magic too.
    So many good reads and now I have to add some to my review list like Blood on The Bayou. The Fog Driver looks good. I have been eyeing the second Gail Carriger series. Ah-- so many lovely books. Happy Reading!

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