How much do you know about polio? Personally, I had little knowledge about this illness before reading Not a Poster Child by Francine Falk-Allen. When Book Sparks sent me a copy of this memoir to review, I was quite pleased because I enjoy memoirs written by people who have experienced a life quite different from my own, and I hoped this memoir would fit the bill.
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Wow! Before I start my review for this book I must say how incredibly gripping this novel was. A couple months ago I put out a request for book recommendations. One of the suggestions came from someone whose literary taste I trust completely. Dr. Brown (as she will always be to me) was an English professor at Indiana Wesleyan University when I attended there almost seven years ago, and I was lucky to be able to learn so much from her. When she recommended that I read An American Marriage, I knew this would be a book I would love. (Also, this review took me forever to write because I know she will read it, and she’s like the best writing teacher ever! So, Dr. Brown, I apologize in advance for the many grammatical mistakes and word choice problems that likely fill this review.)
I began this book not knowing much about it other than that it was a memoir about a family who undergoes extreme challenges as a result of addiction. As someone who works with teens, I was intrigued by this book because of the insights it might offer me, and I am so happy that Book Sparks sent it to me!
I am so late to the crazy love for this book! I have been hearing people recommend Station Eleven since it came out, but for one reason or another it just never made it to the top of my list. Then I was talking to @chatithebrave one day and she told me I simply had to read it. For this reason, I read it as soon as I could!
Are you an explorer? Do you like adventure? When is the last time you did something that everyone else thought was crazy? For me, I honestly cannot think of a time I ventured too far out of my normal routine, but Kate Harris is a different story. Not only is she brilliant (I mean, she studied at Oxford and MIT), but she is also daring and driven to have experiences like nothing else. This is what made her book Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road so phenomenal to read; not only did I learn so much but was also inspired to try for more in life, even if I don't want to head out on my bike for a year.
I have seen this book floating around Instagram so much recently, so of course I was so happy when another bookstagrammer asked people about maybe doing a buddy read because it gave me the excuse to go pick it up. I’m already a sucker for historical fiction set in World War II, a fairly common thing right now, so this book was a perfect fit for me.
Essays about motherhood? Sign me up! I’m a mom of two young girls, and I always appreciate a humorous and sarcastic essay about the many ridiculous things that happen to mothers. Kimberly Harrington’s book Amateur Hour promised to fit those requirements, so I picked it up and read it for my book club.
When I heard of this book, I knew I had to read it! I am always looking for essays to share with my composition students, so essay collections that promise to be kind of funny are always on my list. Additionally, I connected with the author in that she is a mom who is crazy busy and feels like she has little time (I know so many parents who can relate to this). From what I knew, I decided to pick this collection up, and I am so happy that I did!
Have you ever wanted to talk to a book you were reading? Maybe thank it for everything it taught you? How about letting it know how terrible it was? I honestly had t thought about this too much before I read Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence; after reading this book, I was like, Holy crap...I should have been doing this all along! If you pick up this book, I think you’ll have the same reaction.
In an effort to diversify my classroom library, I ordered some graphic novels I thought my students might enjoy. One of the ones I picked out was American Born Chinese by Gene Luella Yang. This graphic novel tells the story of a young boy who is finding himself and defining who he is and figuring out where he fits in the world.
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