Last year I read almost 100 books. This year's number is not going to be quite so high. During January and February, I averaged about a book a week. I know it's waaay past those months, but I have loved rereading my lists from last year, so I am going to play major catch up!
Murder on the Orient Express
I actually led a literature group on this book. I have read this book at least 3 or 4 times, but it was fun to reread and teach this book. I think my students really enjoyed reading it. Maybe there will be some lifelong mystery lovers!
If any teachers google this book and find my site, here are some sample lesson plans. I made these for my ELA teaching class last semester and didn't use all of them with my literature group. But I did have the students create a book trailer, it worked really well with the standards.
Also, there's a new movie version coming out this fall!
Rare Objects
This was a fun read. It's one of those books that just showed up on the family kindle account, and so I read it. It's about a girl who moves back to Boston in the middle of a depression and finds a job at an antique shop. She's from a poorer area but she manages to mingle in the wealthy crowd for bit before figuring out who she really is.
Nothing too amazing, but this would be a good summer read.
Orphan #8
Ohhh, this book is intense! It's about a Jewish orphan in New York City in the 1920's. She was experimented on as a child--nothing too scary but the experiments lead to serious medical complications in later years. She now works as a nurse at a nursing home and encounters the experimenting doctor.
This book is based on real events and was really interesting to read.
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
I have been working on this book for 1 1/2 years now and I finally finished it! I'm not kidding when I say I'm a slow non-fiction reader.
Bech and I bought this book right before we moved from State College, and we are huge fans of it, so much so that my family regularly uses the phrase, "Kon-Marley." The book can be a little out there in describing the method, but you should read this book. I love using the Kon-Mari method--if you are interested in the method, just google it and read reviews and explanations of it. I found that really helpful.
Mischling
Another fiction book about a historical event, Mischling tells the story of twins at Mengele's zoo at Auschwitz. I love to read books about the Holocaust, and I really enjoyed this book. The story is chilling at times, but the writing is beautiful.
The Versions of Us
Ohhh, I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. It tells the story of a man and a women, but there are three versions told simultaneously. In one, they meet and become a couple, in the second they meet and aren't a couple, and in the third, they aren't a couple at all. The story goes through the years, through fights, affairs, divorces, life changes, children, everything. It didn't have some grand idea or theme, but, for some reason, I just really enjoyed the way it was written. It was beautifully realistic.
84 Charing Cross Road
Oh, this book is just delightful! It's a short little read (I think 100 pages) of correspondence between an American script writer and a British bookstore clerk, spanning 20 years after WWII. It's all true, and it really was just wonderful. Definitely a reread. If you need something that will make you laugh and cry, in all of the best ways, I strongly recommend this book!
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Another What Should I Read Next suggestion. This book is about a retired Major who lives in a typical small country village in England. He began a friendship with a widowed Pakistani shop owner, which then turns to a romance. This book deals with some major issues of the day, but I loved how the main character handles the situations with humility and kindness. Plus, I'm a bit of an Anglophile!
Alright, now to catch up on March and April!
