Growing Bookworms Newsletter: August 24: Reading, Reading, Reading
August 24, 2016
Today, I will be sending out a new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter has refocused recently, and now contains content from my blog focused on growing joyful learners, including bookworms, mathematicians, and learners of all types. The newsletter is sent out every two to three weeks.
Newsletter Update: In this relatively brief issue issue I have four book reviews (picture book through early chapter book), two posts with links that I shared recently on Twitter, and two more posts with more in-depth highlights from articles about the joy of learning.
Reading Update: In the past two weeks I read/listened to one early chapter book, two middle grade books, two young adult books, and two adult titles. I read:
- J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Arthur A. Levine Books. Middle Grade. Completed August 12, 2016. I found this interesting, but didn't love it the way I did the original books.
- Holly Black and Cassandra Clare: The Bronze Key (Magisterium, Book 3). Scholastic Press. Middle Grade. Completed August 16, 2016. Review to come.
- Kara LaReau (ill. Matt Myers): The Infamous Ratsos. Candlewick Press. Early Chapter Book. Completed August 23, 2016.
- Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The Long Game (The Fixer, Book 2). Bloomsbury USA. Young Adult. Completed August 20, 2016, on MP3. While not particularly plausible, I enjoy this series, and look forward to future books.
- Charlie Higson: The End (The Enemy, Book 7). Disney Hyperion. Young Adult. Completed August 21, 2016. This was the conclusion to a seven book series. While I don't believe I've reviewed these books, I do recommend the series for fans of YA post-apocalypse stories, especially those of the zombie apocalypse variety. They are not for the faint of heart, however. There's a lot of gore, and many, many characters die. I liked the mix of survival story and Lord of the Flies-type kid-on-kid political machinations. This series was strong enough to hold my interest across seven books (spread out over time), and for me to keep reasonable track of what was going on. I was satisfied with the ending.
- C. J. Box: Off the Grid (Joe Pickett, Book 16). G.P. Putnam's Sons. Adult Mystery. Completed August 15, 2016, on MP3.
- C. J. Box: Badlands (Cassie Dewell). Minotaur Books. Adult Mystery. Completed August 24, 2016, on MP3.
I'm currently listening to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and reading Small Data: The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends (nonfiction) by Martin Lindstrom on my Kindle. I have a number of recently arrived middle grade and YA titles on my short stack, to which I will be turning my attention soon.
The books my husband and I have been reading to our daughter in 2016 can be found here. Now that school is back in session, we're back to a regular routine, and thus reading more books together. I generally read her at least a couple of books at breakfast, and my husband or I will read her several more at bedtime. I've also noticed that she's becoming more likely to pick up a book to read or look at by herself, when she has some quiet time. I'll often find an open book on her bed or on the playroom floor. I do not comment on this - I want her to turn to books because she wants to, not because she thinks that I prefer it (though of course she knows that I do).
Her most recent favorite title is Ninja Bunny: Sister vs. Brother by Jennifer Gray Olson. She likes for me to read most of the text aloud, while she chimes in with the little sister's dialog (helpfully shown in red).
I'm continuing to share all of my longer reads, as well as highlights from my picture book reads with my daughter, via the #BookADay hashtag on Twitter. Thanks for reading the newsletter, and for growing bookworms. Wishing you all plenty of time for summer reading.
© 2016 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.