Have you ever read the dictionary? I sure haven’t, but Jez Burrows, author of the book Dictionary Stories did just that, and he even read more than one dictionary. This is what attracted me to this book (plus, the super cool cover). When I read what the book was about I thought this would be a book I would enjoy reading and would also be one I could bring into my classroom to share with my students.
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Have you ever loved someone so much you just had to write them a letter? That’s what Lara Jean does in Jenny Han’s novel To All the Boys I Loved Before. The strange thing is that Lara Jean never mails them. Instead, they just sit in her hat box untouched. Almost like a diary, these letters serve to help Lara Jean get over these boys and keep her feelings hidden away. All of this changes, though, when the letters accidentally get sent out by someone—certainly not Lara Jean.
It’s likely no surprise that I love words! I mean, I write about books and reading...so there’s that. When I heard about this book, then, I had to ask for it and read it! What Kory Stamper does in Word by Word is introduce readers to the world of dictionaries so unfamiliar to the average person. The best part is that she made it interesting.
I initially noticed this book because of the cover, which reminded me of Mondrian. I then requested the book because the concept intrigued me. Though I’m not usually into books about the future, there was something in How this one incorporated several themes like the immigrant experience as well as ideas behind motherhood that intrigued me. By the end of the book I was so happy I had read it, and I am so excited to share it with you!
Do you ever seek out a book that will absorb you fully until you finish it? For me, books like Winter by Ali Smith do just that. When she writes her imaginative, revealing, and sometimes sparse fiction, I cannot help but turn the page, staying up much later than I normally would. Her novels are challenging to summarize, so I will do my best to communicate the feeling of this book to you.
Today I’m bringing you another short story collection! I am super excited about this one too because the stories in here are just so good; they are honest and deep and complicated, and I love that. Also, none of these stories have a super resolved ending, which is one of my favorite things because so often life doesn’t give us simple endings. If you’re thinking along the same lines as me, I think you’ll enjoy this book.
I loved this book! Can I say that again? I loved this book! It is rare for me to love a book so much that I finish it in two days because I am often busy with chasing my kids, but this book had me ignoring my restless leg syndrome late into the night because I just could not stop reading!
Wow! It is not often I enjoy historical fiction, but this was just wow! My book club and I selected this book to discuss in early July, so I dutifully scheduled it in and found time to read it. I soon found myself prioritizing it above other books I was reading; there was even one night that I read this book two hours past my bedtime even though I had to drive ten hours the next day. Yes, it’s that engaging of a story.
Have I mentioned my love of short story collections? No? I haven’t? Well, I love short story collections! I also enjoy reading books about diverse people written by diverse authors. That is why I couldn’t resist requesting If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi by Neel Patel.
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