An Assortment of Links (Mostly Books)

I had to change the image and opening content of this post because I’m a blooming idiot. I can’t wait to tell you all about it tomorrow. Prepare to laugh at my expense. Anyway, the error on my part worked out great because I forgot to add something else to this post. Of course I did, but whatever. Parents are now giving me money to buy books for the school. How great is that?! They trust me to buy books for their children. I’m so honored/overwhelmed/GIDDY WITH POWER! (Kidding about the power thing.)

My friend Martha was the first to give me money, and I was all set to buy the Wendy Mass Willow Falls series when I stumbled across an end cap of retold classics in Michael’s for $1.00 each. Yes! I snapped them up for a few reasons. First, I was able to spread Martha’s money farther, which is nice when you’re shouldering some fiduciary responsibility. Second, Melissa reminded me in the comments of my Clean Romance post that fairytale retellings are hot with kids. Alice in Wonderland, Hans Christian Andersen (the movie Frozen is based on The Snow Queen), Beauty and the Beast…they’re all being retold on TV and film right now, and the kids who love them want to read books with the characters and storyline they can’t quit. Our library has all the books I bought, but these retellings are easier for them to understand. Also, the covers aren’t as “baby” or old fashioned in appearance. The logical, practical side of me balked at first–why buy something we already have?!–but I quickly settled down and tried thinking like a Generation Like kid. <-----So much more I can say on this, and I haven't forgotten the documentary. Well, I did, but in my defense Buster died a couple days prior to my scheduled post.

• Zakary is giving away a book this week (Vintage by Susan Gloss), and if you liked Friday Night Knitting Club or enjoy books that explore female friendships and relationships, you should check it out.

I haven’t only read Harry Potter fan fiction this month though, yeah, I’ve read a lot.

• I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which is not for the faint of heart. This is a novel about a father and son doing everything they can to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic world. There are no hot rednecks. It is macabre, dark, depressing, and seemingly without hope. Naturally, I loved it. I gave it the elusive 5 stars on Goodreads. (Oh yes I did, Kendra!)
• The Rosie Project was another great book, and no one had to resort to eating people. There was, however, a great deal of eating animal organs, sustainable seafood, and humble pie. Don Tillman, gifted genetics professor and possible Aspie, decides to use logic and a survey to find a wife. It goes as well as you would expect. The link I used is to the ebook, which is on sale for $1.99.
• Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell, was okay. Epistolary novels aren’t my favorite, though this one was a little different in that they were emails. It was a little bit rom-com for my taste, what with all the reasonably stable people and happy endings.
• An Available Man by Hilma Wolitzer proves that the last 30 days for me has been all about the man-love. I’ve read about father/son-love, socially-awkward-heterosexual-males-love, and even tore apart everything J.K. Rowling holds dear and read about Harry/Draco-love. It only makes sense that I also read about widower/senior-citizen-love. This book actually wasn’t bad, and it was refreshing to read about characters older than myself.
• Hold on, I forgot I also read about young-dude-on-a-plane-love. I read this one for the girls at school, as previously discussed.

I’ve also read an unfair quantity of research on reading programs. I read so much, in fact, that when I walked into the library on Tuesday and saw that Faith Formation had set up (and left) a TV, I almost put it away for them in a fit of procrastination. Then, unable to ignore the cords, the giant TV on the counter, the cords, the kicked up dust, AND THE CORDS, I had the most minor of freak-outs. This resulted in excessive/obsessive cleaning, cord wrangling, repositioning of computers, perspiration, and a highly detailed to-do list with the words MANAGE CORDS—HOOKS!!! underlined three times. You can see a little bit of what I’m talking about in this picture. Under no circumstances should electrical outlets be at eye level. This should be a rule of law, it can not stand, and I need to William Morris the library. (Because, hello, I’m there more than I am in my own home!)

Share this:

• Pinterest
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Print

Like this:

Like Loading...