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Category Archives: Poetry

Top 10 of 2020: The extra edition

28 Dec

It’s not as much about saving the best for last as using it as the last opportunity to highlight the coolest books that came out in 2020 that defy categories. If you’ve stuck with me over the last few days, I appreciate your willingness to read through my picks and share yours with me too. With this, is there anything that you’re looking forward to in 2021?

  • Home Body by Kaur
    • I had it in my hands the day after it was published because Kaur puts it all out there with her poetry and artwork that make you laugh, cry, and just plain feel.
  • Dancing at the Pity Party by Feder
    • This graphic memoir brings up all of the pain that any child who lost a parent young must feel with dark humor and heaps of love.
  • Once Upon an Eid edited by Ali and Saeed
    • One of the first books I read in 2020, the anthology sparkles and shines on Muslim writers and the culture and religion in their celebration of Eid.
  • You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters by Murphy
    • It goes without saying that I liked listening to this book about listening. Murphy touches on aspects of our inability to listen that you hope to internalize as a reader to help you improve yourself.
  • Fights: One Boy’s Triumph over Violence by Gill
    • I’ve read his other graphic nonfiction and was surprised that this was his memoir until I got into it and thought that everyone should read it. Gill’s raw demonstration of a boy on the wrong path is a testament to growth and maturity.
  • Girl From the Other Side (Volume 8) by Nagabe
    • I’m ready for volumes nine and ten whenever they get published here in the United States. The haunting darkness of the other side and the saccharine relationship between Teacher and Shiva create a rich atmosphere and intriguing storyline.
  • When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Parker
    • This was my book of the month in October. Parker’s humorous approach to serious mathematical issues encourages everyone to pay attention to why math matters. 
  • Dear Justyce by Stone
    • Stronger than her first, this epistolary novel punches you in the gut as Quan and Justyce write to each other. 
  • Go With the Flow by Williams and Schneemann
    • A graphic novel about periods, sign me up. Their approach using female friendship and activism is the kind of story any middle graders should read. 
  • This Book is Antiracist by Jewell
    • The choice of layout and color scheme enhances the message about antiracism that’s a workbook for working on yourself. 
 
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Posted by on December 28, 2020 in Adult, Blogging, Fiction, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young Adult

 

A readathon in pictures

09 Aug

I’m a shameless promoter for the Dewey’s 24-hour readathon because it’s a welcome break from other life activities in order to spend time doing something I love. 

Here is my readathon in pictures and narrative:

I always end the readathon by thanking my husband for tolerating being ignored for generally all of the event or hearing the echo of an audiobook wherever I’m moving in the house. He built the fire for ambience on a beautiful summer night when I enjoyed my amaretto cocktail at the 8pm end time in celebration. 

I also high-five my two boys who are now middle schoolers who participate– both for about 8 hours of the 24 hours. They packed it in around 12:28am for bed which I wasn’t expecting since they were at a sleepover the night before. 

There was the midnight-ish snack which has become a readathon tradition, having a hand-packed pint or pre-packed pint of ice cream from Stewart’s, which is totally an upstate New York thing. I picked a seasonal hand-packed pint called Mango Dragon Fruit Sherbet and it was stellar. It was a perfect pick for a blast of summer in a cup. 

Which if you can see the book pictured with the ice cream, it lent itself to the hour 7 Instagram challenge of matching your book cover- I think I nailed it. While I didn’t post the picture until later for the hour 13 challenge, when I’m munching and reading a print book, here is my favorite recent gift: a book weight. This has saved my reading life in so many ways. 

Another tradition is my bathtub reading. I’m of the same mind as Sylvia Plath who is quoted as saying

There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.

So a few book options came with me into the tub. I don’t have a fancy set up but I did throw in some bath salts. 

And even though the goal is 24 hours of reading, I also still have a household to keep running, so I spent a few of those hours still doing housework or cooking while listening to an audiobook. And I got my workout in too, which was a square on the BINGO card. I listened to The Feather Thief while hitting the elliptical. This audiobook is also another tradition for me for readathons, reading or listening to a book about animals, this one about a heist of bird feathers that is part of a larger ring of the illegal sales of banned bird species skins and feathers. While I did finish that one, I also rolled into the other audiobook about a girl growing up with her grandfather who was a beekeeper. 

I spent most of the day Saturday outdoors since the early morning thunder and lightning ushered in a cool but still warm weekend day where I also enjoyed some iced coffee. I don’t always drink coffee, but when I do, it’s iced. 

I take breaks throughout with my audiobook on, including eye breaks in general but also when I moderate a few hours of Goodreads discussions on the readathon page. In addition, I co-hosted hour 7’s post on their WordPress site. I love the connection to other readers and find it’s another way to do this and also show my appreciation for the organizers. 

Alas, I was getting close to the end and knew I had a blackout BINGO card which I shared along with my read stack when the clock struck 8pm. Needless to say, I slept well that night: a combination of sleep deprivation and a beautiful summertime fire.

Until October 24th, bookworms!

 
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Posted by on August 9, 2020 in Events, Fiction, Graphic novels, Miscellaneous, Nonfiction, Poetry, Quotes, Young Adult

 

Reading time capsule: Part II

04 Apr

20200404BlogBanner

Yesterday’s post was what I would put into a reading time capsule outside of the actual books themselves. Today I tackle what books I would want in the time capsule. And like picking your favorite dress or favorite child, it’s just impossible, but I’m giving it my best shot… and how big is the capsule??!?

  • Saga graphic novel collection by Vaughan and Staples. I just spent the last nine days re-reading a volume a day and loving every minute of it
  • Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen is the first book I remember laughing out loud at while reading
  • Every Ruta Sepetys book written and I’m going to go sci-fi here and say that when she writes another, just virtually drop it in there because I know I’ll want to read those too
  • Deathwatch by Robb White was the first book I remember recommending to a student as a first year teacher where the kid came back to thank me for my awesome recommendation
  • Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle is a book I read several years ago and still bring up at least once a week in conversation. The number of Post-its sticking out of that book made it look ten times fatter
  • Crank by Ellen Hopkins. It’s verse style was somewhat revolutionary at the time and it’s loosely fictionalized version of her daughter’s experience brought so much out in the open. She became our first author visit at the high school that we hosted and we haven’t looked back in ten years
  • Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram because I was on the William C. Morris award committee that named it the 2019 winner
  • Mudbound by Hillary Jordan had a whole mood and is one of the most impactful book written for adults when I live in a world reading mostly YA
  • Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson came out the year I graduated high school. I read it the following year in a YA lit class while I was studying English education and we met Anderson when she visited a local school district as a college class. Her depiction of high school brought back every sight, smell, and sound and who knew as a more than decades-old high school librarian that I would still be recommending it along with the graphic novel and companion Shout
  • You can’t not add a few classics: mine would be The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides is another book that is full of big mood that skillfully and sinfully explores femalehood. I don’t have sisters, but I get the Lisbon girls and I remember connecting just as deeply to Sofia Coppola’s big screen adaptation (and buying the soundtrack)
  • The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was the first book that I actually photocopied several pages out of to keep in a folder to go back and re-read whenever I wanted

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Do I have honorable mentions? Ones that I’d stuff in the crevices and crannies of the capsule. Here are a few of those that are less memories-driven but more emotionally-connected. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman, The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos, The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, every Jason Reynolds book published, Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, North of Beautiful by Justina Chen, Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Rupi Kaur’s poetry, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, and A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

What are some of yours?

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2020 in Adult, Authors, Blogging, Fiction, Graphic novels, Miscellaneous, Nonfiction, Poetry, Verse, Young Adult

 

A week of booktalks

22 Sep

AWeekofBooktalks

I say it frequently, whether I’m tweeting about our readers’ reading habits in the library or animatedly talking about it with teacher colleagues, if I could do nothing other than booktalking as a high school librarian I would be even happier. It could be one-on-one or a whole class, but I can’t help but get excited about all of the books at our fingertips.

This past week, my co-librarian and I spent the week working with our ENL classes for orientations and booktalks and the majority of our 10th grade students booktalking for independent reading.

My favorite utterance was “can we check out more than one?” Ummmm, YES! We’ll continue over the next few weeks filling in here and there for more booktalks but the majority took place within this past week. While I’m exhausted and the library is in general loving disarray, I’m filled with love for authors, their books, and our students.

2019-09-16 16.00.47Here were some of my favorites to discuss:

  • Attack on Titan by Isayama
  • Proud by Muhammad
  • Long Way Down by Reynolds
  • Milk and Honey by Kaur
  • Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Smith
  • Ms. Marvel by Wilson
  • Black Enough edited by Zoboi
  • The Selection by Cass
  • Chasing King’s Killer by Swanson
  • Between Shades of Gray by Sepetys
 
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Posted by on September 22, 2019 in Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Poetry, Verse, Young Adult

 

Breaking it up

03 Jun

BreakingItUp

One of the discussions that occurs each time a readathon is on the horizon is about diversifying the book stack– not in terms of representation but format.

Do you have an audiobook so you can take a walk? A few short story or essay collections stacked alongside Harry Potter. For the basic reason that even though reading is exercise for the mind, our bodies need some if we sit too long reading and that reading the same thing might get a little boring. So add some stimulus with a graphic novel. Change the brain chemistry by switching from truth to fiction and back again.

So while I have a large committee commitment to read fiction– if I stuck solely to fiction for this entire year, my brain would explode or worse yet, seize up. I need change like the four seasons of upstate New York where I reside. I spend my lunch reading middle grade nonfiction or a sunny summerish day in the backyard with an adult biography.

Here were some recent non-YA fiction that I’ve read recently

  • The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein
  • Liberty Arrives!: How America’s Grandest Statue Found Her Home by Robert Byrd
  • Caught!: Nabbing History’s Most Wanted by Georgia Bragg
  • High: Everything You Wanted to Know About Drugs, Alcohol, and Addiction by David and Nic Sheff
  • Sea Sirens by Amy Chu
  • A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon by Suzanne Slade

If you’re feeling like you’re in a rut, when was the last time you read something just for you? Or outside of your comfort zone? Or reliving the good old days and reading a picture book. Consider diversification to keep it fresh.

 
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Posted by on June 3, 2019 in Adult, Authors, Childrens, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Story, Verse

 

The Adobe Spark adventure

17 Nov

AdobeSparkAdventure

Technology is a double-edged sword in that it is not the fix for everything, but it is useful for many of our activities in school. Namely the presentation. I try to think back to how I was when I was in high school and presenting in my classes, but I can’t remember. I know now, I enjoy presenting to others. I’m specifically indulgent when it comes to my presentation slides as I’ve shared before. But in the past? I haven’t the foggiest.

A 9th grade English teacher wanted to add some technology into some of her units this year especially because she isn’t completely comfortable either. We chatted and settled on a group project where they present their poem to the class and discuss some of the elements of the poem and central idea. I shared Adobe Spark with her and said it would be a great visual addition to use the Spark web page design to lay out the poem and build in a reflective piece asking them why their group chose specific photos and videos to highlight the text by using the breadth of beautiful stock images (or their own if they chose to import). I created an example based on my favorite poet, Pablo Neruda, and she was sold.

Body of a Woman

Then it worked out spectacularly that I would be observed teaching this lesson and the stars aligned. Students took to the site and dove right into work. All four sections of her class were like this and I was astounded by their willingness. The ease was because of their ability to use their GSuite login to create the account (and some were guided to use Canva also using their GSuite login) to add extra pizzazz. The only drawbacks were that as a group project, they could not share and/or edit together. While all had input on it’s creation, it was only under one student’s account. But what it did have was the ability to share to Google Classroom (in addition to a few social media options, embed code, or a link) making it easy for classroom teachers.

Their feedback reflected its ease. Many students liked using something different, but just as many unfortunately said they would have liked to use the ol’ standby Google Slides, which as a librarian is a bit disappointing because of the domination of Google products in education and students’ forthrightness but unwillingness to think about the adventure of something new. Through observation though, I know that they enjoyed the adventure in the moment, but when all was said and done, they would rather use a trusty tool. I get it, people like what is comfortable.

The results were phenomenal as were their reflections about the process as a whole, and the teacher was satisfied. I’d call this successful too. In part because as a librarian I’m always sharpening my skills by taking courses like Polly Farrington’s Cool Tools for School (which is where I learned about Spark a few years back). And I had an impact on a teacher whose professional goal was to incorporate more meaningful technology in the classroom.

A win on all fronts.

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2018 in Poetry

 

Tags:

#PresentationMode

18 May

PresentationMode

Yesterday was a good day. An early morning run, then a walk with the dog. A new dress for a presentation with a group of fabulous ladies: two school library system directors, one reading specialist and professor, and two school librarians (me included). It was a day designed to discuss books and empowering our readers at every level.

With a keynote that shared how our varying perspectives of how we interpret what we read and what we seek out is usually a very conscious decision. We bring an experience to any book we read that is different from the person sitting next to us and we should be conscious of that and respect the reader. And the message of her keynote led perfectly into my presentation that went next about young adult books since I chose to focus on names: who we are as individuals and striking up a conversation simply by getting to know someone by asking their name.

I covered names of my author crushes (James L. Swanson, Caitlin Doughty, Rae Carson to name a few), fabulous names for books (The Hate U Give, Dumplin’, Puddin’), moms (Allegedly, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter), dads (The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, My Brother’s Husband), girls (The Nowhere Girls, What Girls Are Made Of), boys (The Prince and the Dressmaker, Words on Bathroom Walls), and a whole lot of series, niche student readers, and popular titles with my students. Could I have talked the whole day away? Of course, but there were wonderful conversations interspersed in my my presentation about topics and challenges presented in books, getting books in the hands of readers using their subtopics as a way to diversify their options, and why series books are magic. You can find my presentation and the booklist here.

And once I was finished, the day was just warming up because then it moved on to middle grade titles and then elementary titles. But I’m at the high school, why would I need to hear about middle grade and elementary titles? Librarians should always know what’s new, popular, and discuss-able at every level in part because librarianship means finding the right book for the right reader or the reader’s needs. It might be a teenager wanting a book to read with their cousin, it could be a teacher wanting to use a picture book in their middle school classroom, and any host of possibilities in between.

It’s no secret that readers advisory is my favorite part of librarianship so a day like yesterday was just as good as spending the day booktalking. The next opportunity to share about books to professionals will be with the effervescent Stacey Rattner, my partner-in-crime aka The Leaping Librarian, in July and our theme is #getbooked.

 
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Posted by on May 18, 2018 in Authors, Childrens, Events, Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Story, Verse, Young Adult

 

Are you ready for this conversation?

14 May

AreYouReady

 

2017-02-14 15.14.12-2There is no greater purpose for me than when someone, anyone, approaches me to ask for a book recommendation. Be it a student, a faculty member, or my own mother. Multiply this love by one thousand when I’m asked to present to others about books and reading.

This week I’ll be presenting with some of my favorite people: people who love books and spread the love and their appreciation for what books can do. Specifically children. But where do you begin to organize a presentation about them? You most certainly need a thread. A theme. A focus. Because without it I’d literally be a rambling, excitable mess spewing sunshine and rainbows for the printed page and those that write them.

Sometimes the theme is a given, like the hottest books of the year (or yet to come), sometimes like in past presentations they were about books that can inspire activism or that celebrate the vibrancy of people’s life experiences. This one didn’t necessarily have a theme other than to give librarians a chance to hear about books, whether they’ll be adding them to their collection, reading them, recommending them, or sharing them with content teachers. It’s also about celebrating what books can be for us.

After mulling it over, I settled on approaching my talk of young adult books with the theme of names, as in “what’s in a name?” Fabulous titles and authors, the books of my favorite students, books for a specific type of student all inspired by the fact that in a lineup that includes covering elementary, middle school, and high school…. I’m going first! If you’ll be at the presentation on Thursday, you’ll hear more about why I’ve decided to take this approach, but until then, keep reading! And if you won’t be at the presentation, keep reading! And then read my follow up post later this week with some of the titles I shared.

 
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Posted by on May 14, 2018 in Authors, Fiction, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Poetry, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Best of 2017: Six sensational adult titles

26 Dec

As promised, I’ve drilled down my picks for the six sensational adult titles of 2017. What will 2018 bring? I can’t wait to find out.

ReasonYoureAlive1. The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick

I have read his young adult novels but have never read his adult ones… until now. I’ve recommended this title to more than a few people immediately after finishing it since the cyclical story about redemption is the human story. Do not read if you do not like some tragedy with a side of hope. Well, a lot of tragedy. And the grittiness of the main character is at times difficult to swallow, yet the story is significant: a Vietnam veteran rehashing a lifetime of darkness. But the arc of the story is why Quick is known for his writing acumen.

Saga2. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (artist)

You’ll see me in line for volume eight of this graphic novel series that should be hitting stores in a few days, but volume seven came out in April. I was already late to the game since Vaughan and company has been giving readers the science fiction soap opera for years, but I had only just discovered it while sitting on a graphic novel committee for teens and a discussion of Saga came up. I read the first volume, then tore through all available volumes until I was fresh out. Is it filled with sex? Yes. Is it genius? Yes. I wish I could take credit for the ingenuity of the sci-fi characters but the story line at its very core is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But much more contemporary. And with more sex. Did I say that already? I know I’ve convinced you, so see you in line on the 27th and not a minute before because you’ll be catching up if you haven’t already been following it.

FromHeretoEternity3. From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

Yes, still obsessed with Doughty’s one-woman effort to transform the death industry. If you didn’t subscribe to her Youtube channel, you will after watching just one episode. She’s fascinating and funny with a side of serious. And this book (one of very few I bought the first day it came out) was no different. The subtitle tells you what you need to know: she traveled around the world and explains the process of death in other countries. In some cases her vivid descriptions led me to Google and also got me thinking, more than she already has, about my own death preferences. She’s a storyteller with a message.

DifficultWomen4. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

This was my first read of Gay’s and I’ve quickly put myself in line for her past work. The collection of stories were a mix of haunting and dark (my favorite kind), serious, realistic, sad, and powerful. They pack a punch to the gut and peek behind the curtain of the lives women lead.

DearFahrenheit4515. Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian’s Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence

You don’t have to be a librarian, but you do have to have some kind of book sense to appreciate Spence’s humorous approach to writing love letters and breakup notes to books. In fact, you might be inspired to write a few of your own. And I can tell you I fell in love from the moment she professed her undying love for The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides- it easily makes my favorites list. Though Spence also makes it okay to not like a book because sometimes it’s just not the right time, just like the boyfriend or making a career move. It’s a light read and an easy gift for a bookish friend, but you’ll want to buy a second copy for yourself.

SunandherFlowers6. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

I’m riding the bandwagon of Kaur fans and I’m not ashamed of it. She’s one of a handful of poets that share their poetry via Instagram and it has made them more popular. I own milk and honey and went out to buy her second collection the day it came out. I waited a week and by the end of the sitting had both finished and had about twenty Post-its sticking out of the book. This one felt more personal than her first as readers got to know more about her background and feelings. The sketches are just as important in this one as the first that add a flair unique to her work. Often without capitalization, some poems are mere lines, while others fill the page and she can pack a punch with either.

FallinLovewithyourSolitude

 
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Posted by on December 26, 2017 in Adult, Authors, Fiction, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Story, Upcoming Releases

 
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