It's Monday! What are you reading? 4/29/13

Join the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" meme hosted by threeteacherstalk.com!  Share your reading to-do list and pick up some great recommendations from other readers.









Here's my (shamefully overdue) reading report for the week:

Books I've read:

Two stellar YA picks: Ask the Passengers by A.S. King and

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys mesmerized me.  Both, stories of young women seeking to break out of "the chains" that their community, their family, an society as a whole places on them.  What I loved about reading these two back-to-back is how relevant their message was.  One set in 1920s New Orleans and the other in contemporary, rural Pennsylvania--both are remarkable stories of young women striving to come into their own selves.  

Couple of my favorite moments:

“I am equal to a baby and to a hundred year old lady. I am equal to an airline pilot and a car mechanic. I am equal to you. You are equal to me. It's that universal.

Except that it's not.” 

“Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin' we're goin' one place and we end up another. But that's okay. The important thing is to start.” 

And on my quest to re-vision, re-design, and renovate my school library, the following two titles provide me with some excellent thinking material regarding the role of the 21st century school library: 

Books I'm reading:

This is hard for me.  The Yellow Birds is your quintessential war-novel. Following the friendship of two  privates catapulted into the height of the Iraqi conflict, the narration and characterization of this novel leave nothing to the imagination when it comes to the gruesome realities of war, including how de-humanizing it is for those in the middle.  I can only stomach about 20 pages at a time, but I feel like I need to understand more about war and this generation's experience in particular.  

Books to read:

Here's the biggest one for this next week....The Great Gatsby! 

Sure, I've read it countless times as a student and teacher, but it's been at least a decade since I read it for pleasure, and I am pleased as punch about next week's opening!

Here's the recent tv-spot for your viewing and auditory pleasure to help get you in the Gatsby-mood.