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Participants post what they've been reading the past month as well as what they're planning to read in the future.
My husband and I have a Grand Book Club with our eleven-month-old grandson who lives in another state. We sent him some books and bought copies of the same books for us. His parents read the books to him several times, so he was familiar with them. We got together via Face Time, and my husband read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and Joh Archambault to him while he followed along with his own book. His dad sat with him, but my grandson turned the pages. I keep all of our book club books together, so we can quickly have a book club "meeting" whenever our grandson is up for one. A few weeks ago, we were able to have an actual sit-on-my-lap book club time together, which was such fun!
Picture Books:
April is Poetry Month. This month, I read an old favorite, Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill, a wonderful poetry book about different colors. I remember first reading it in 6th grade, and it's still an amazing book! I also read another poetry book, Handsprings by Douglas Florian, a poetry book about spring.
I'm an elementary school reading teacher. I work with small groups of struggling readers. My third graders are reading Marvin Redpost books by Louis Sachar and absolutely loving them. There are eight books in the series, each perfect for third graders. They are chapter books with about 70 pages and enough white space on each page to make it reader-friendly. We are having a Marvin Redpost Day this Thursday with red clothes, red food, a red poem, and Marvin Redpost activities!
With my fifth grade groups, I'm reading Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan and Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman. Esperanza Rising is set in post-Revolutionary Mexico and in California during the time of the Great Depression. It examines the plight of the Mexican farm workers as they struggle to adapt and survive in the United States. Though fiction, it is based on the life of the author's grandmother. Night of the Twisters is fiction as well but is based on a 1980 disaster in which a series of tornadoes devastated a Nebraska town.
Book Club Books:
For the free, online Quilters' Book Club, I read A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick, second in her Cobbled Court Quilts Series. It's set in the fictional village of New Bern, Connecticut, very similar to the rural town in Connecticut where the author actually lives. The author deals very sensitively with the theme of domestic violence. You can read all my posts about this book here.
For my local book club, I've just begun reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. We're planning on seeing the movie together when it comes out later this year. We've always chosen our books month to month, but we've decided to select books for an entire year - each member choosing one book. We'll see what we think!
What's on Your Nightstand? Inquiring minds want to know! By commenting, you'll be entering this month's give-away of Marie Bostwick's newest book APART AT THE SEAMS, coming out the end of this month. Three lucky people will each win a copy, courtesy of Kensington Publishing! If you are reading this via email, you must click on the title of my blog post to be able to comment and read the comments of others. The winner will be announced on May 1.
Looking ahead to the May Book Selection: These Is My Words: the Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine by Nancy Turner, Historical Fiction based on the life of the author's great-grandmother, set in Arizona Territory, 1881-1901
You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post Crazy Chicken and Egg Fabric and Crazy Salad.
Right now I have the latest copy of the National Geographic and three borrowed back issues of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer on my nightstand. The Volunteer is put out by the MN Dept. of Natural Resources. There are always beautiful nature photographs and thought flu articles in each issue. I've also been reading the Anne of Green Gables series via Kindle on my iPod. I just finished Rainbow Valley
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Traditions by Alan Ebert with Janice Rotchstein and also a couple of quilt magazines.
ReplyDeleteI'm over half way done reading the May book selection. It is not a fast read, but, I'm enjoying it, and it is hard to put down.
ReplyDeleteI tried to make "A thread of Truth" last all month because my next book has not arrived. Well, it didn't work so I have 5.500 Quilt Block Designs by Maggie Malone, thinking of a book club block. I am also reading "Tallgrass".
ReplyDeleteI can't get the May selection for the book club, so I ordered one of the others by Marie Bostwick. Still waiting...... Currently reading "Kill My Darling" by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. New author for me and I love her turn of phrase! Her descriptions of her cast of characters leave me in stitches because my vivid imagination + her wonderful words paint brilliant images in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI've now read the first 5 of Marie Bostwick's series and I lived every one of them. I can't wait to read the new one. Tonight I just finished reading Sue Monk Kidd's "The Invention of Wings". It's the story of the friendship between a slave girl and her owner's daughter, and is based loosely on the true story of Sarah and Angelina Grimke, sisters who were pioneers in both the abolitionist and suffrage movements. AND it involves quilting!
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! I didn't 'live' every one, I 'loved' every one. ;)
DeleteDebbie Macomber's Blossom Street Brides while waiting for the release of Apart at the Seams!! Can't wait to read Marie's next book!!
ReplyDeleteOn my nightstand is a series of Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy Sayers. I am also reading "The American Revolution" by Robert J. Allison. I have eclectic tastes!
ReplyDeleteI have been reading the "Jane Candiotti" series by Clyde Phillips. I am part way through the fourth.
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Excellent book. I listened to Killing Jesus by Bill O'Riley; another excellent book.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone, just joined the Quilters' Book Club and am feeling my way around the site. It's too late to read the April book so, while waiting for the May selection to arrive from Amazon, I am reading Margaret Atwood's "Alias Grace", a very interesting exploration of insanity woven around the true story of the notorious Grace Marks. Each chapter begins with a quilt block.
ReplyDeleteIt's never too late! If you haven't read Marie Bostwick's series yet, I highly recommend it.
DeleteI shall track her books down Merry Lu.
ReplyDeleteI am currently reading three fiction novels "Tapestry of Fortunes," "Mark of Athena," and "The Impossible Knife of Memory." I am also reading Daily Wisdom for Women" a page a day inspiration book, and "The Green Smoothie Diet." Can you tell I am a multi-tasker? I also have several magazines on my nightstand including the new one by Dr. Oz.
ReplyDeleteYour "Grand-book club" sounds wonderful - a great idea to bridge the gap between different locations. My nieces and nephews are all in different states than my parents, and while I know my parents enjoy Skyping with them, the conversations can get kinda tedious as they run in and out of the camera's sight. Reading together over the lines is a great way to be together and DO something together that keeps the children engaged and in front of the screen. (I'm making my way to you, belatedly, from the Nightstands!)
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