A friend loaned me this book last year, but in my sleep-deprived state, the metaphors in the first chapter were lost on me as impractical, and I put it off to the side in hopes of something more blunt. Fast-forward some months later, and I was able to read the …
I had purchased this book after hearing the author speak at a conference a few years ago. I’d forgotten about it and needed a quick read I could focus on while watching the kids this summer. While this is the third in a series, I had not read the other …
A while back, a group of my creative writing students reached out to me that they had found a local author at a book store. One thing led to another, and soon we had her scheduled for a visit during one of our meetings. Of course I purchased her book …
Hatchet was one of my favorite books as a young reader. I loved imagining a survival situation and how I might use my resources and brain to survive even with the odds stacked against me. I’m also a fan of the American Revolution, simply because of the incredible odds the …
Each Christmas, I fill my wish list with books to read during the upcoming year. This year, I received a small stash, which I look forward to tackling. Check out my reading list, and then enter the giveaway at the end of this post for a chance to win The …
A few years ago, this was a “1book1community” pick. I had picked up a copy but forgot about it until recently. By the time I picked it up again, I forgot the premise and didn’t bother to read the description. So at first, I thought it was about a boy …
A former student of mine left me this book at winter break a year or two ago. Its absurdist nature is reminiscent of The Stranger and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, two works we read the previous year in our literature class. In the novel, a man named Cincinnatus is …
Author Adriana Mather is a real-life descendant of Cotton Mather. In some ways, this young adult novel is inspired by her real-life interest in her family’s history. In the novel, Samantha Mather, a descendant of Cotton Mather, moves to Salem with her step-mother. Her father is in a coma, and …
I received this book for free (from the publisher) as a review copy for possible use in my teaching. I teach AP Literature and am always on the lookout for modern books of literary merit that balance the ability to analyze elements such as symbolism with reader interest. The plot …
This book was given to me in a box of my own works that came to me from my late uncle. I was curious as to why he had it: either he or my grandmother had purchased it on May 28, 1992 (I know because the receipt is still in …