It's Monday....already.....again.

I am definitely NOT hitting anywhere near my newest goal of two books a week til the end of December.  I don't think I'm going to be able to do it.  Guess I'm just going to read and take it from there. (oh well, at least I'm still reading)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?
This weekly blog meme is hosted by Miz Sheila of Book Journey. It's one of the most fun memes to participate in.  full guidelines at her website, but it's basically a sharing of what we've been reading, linking on Mr Linky at Book Journey and reading other bloggers' posts.
This week, as the past few weeks, was a slow week for me.  I did manage to finish one novel, and I enjoyed it.  Just haven't been able to spend as much time reading as I'd like.  I'm hoping this changes soon, since I've been an avid reader for like...forEVER.
Really.
I do not remember a time when I didn't know how to read.  I remember sitting in first grade and reading the See Jane and Dick books and never feeling like I was struggling for the words.  When we had to take turns reading out loud my only problem was that I would silently read way ahead of the kid that was reading out loud.  It was never a struggle, and always fun for me to read.  I hated reading out loud in front of people, which is ironic when you consider that now I have a job where I do read out loud to groups of children. And I enjoy it.  Except when a grownup I don't expect comes into the room, it knocks me off my stride.  I have issues.
Don't we all, of one kind or another.
;)
So - on to the actual meme:

Finished Reading

Transformation Space by Marianne de Pierres.  I love dePierres' SciFi novels.  Love them. LUV EM!  A lot.  Very interesting, and always make me crave more SciFi.  Without fail. 

Currently Reading:

I'm still reading Another Kind of Dead by Kelly Meding - I would be finished with it, but I keep having these SciFi cravings, and I also keep leaving this book in different places...  I like this series, just can't seem to concentrate on it right now, or even any UF at the moment.  *excerpt courtesy of Fangbooks - click on cover

I'm also reading a new book - by a brand new to me author...

vN by Madeline Ashby.  A Canadian writer, this is SciFi as it's most SciFi futuristic.  the main character is a self-replicating humanoid robot that comes under attack by her OWN GRANDMA.  Wow. I just started reading it Sunday, and so far it's interesting, with an interesting narration style.  

published by Angry Robots.  They have the most kick-ass books, don't they?

Children's books read this past week that were a hit...

Giggle, Giggle, Quack  by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin

In an earlier book, (Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type) Ms Cronin introduced readers to a resourceful Duck, who helped some Cows and Hens get electric blankets in the barn; even though Cows and other animals can't type.  This time around Farmer Brown wants to go on vacation, so he has his brother, Bob, come watch the farm, take care of the animals, and 'keep an eye on Duck'.  He's left instructions in the form of notes for Bob to follow.  Only thing is, Duck has learned how to write with a pencil...and even though Bob is indeed keeping an eye on Duck - by glaring at him once in a while - Duck manages to slip a few things by Bob.  They get pizzas, the pigs get warm baths with soft towels and special bubble bath and they even get a movie night (The Sound of Moosic).  One of my favorite things about picture books, especially those that feature animals, is the sheer genius of the illustrators. They can - with just a few well placed strokes of their pen (pencil, crayon, marker, paintbrush, etc, lol) express a huge array of emotions and expressions on the characters' faces.  In a best illustrated books, the pictures can be a huge part of the story.  Doreen Cronin has quite a few books out that feature Farmer Brown's literately talented farm animals.

The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger 

Reading this book is a fun way to show different people who might look scary to your average suburban child.  I say it like this because most kids who live in a city, or in areas where we aren't all dressed a certain tame way, are already aware that just because you are dressed like a punk rocker, or have a certain look about you doesn't mean that you can't be a nice person.  And there's something for the 'regular' inner city children also - showing how a police man, a principal, a lunch lady, etc can also be nice people with the same family life that others have.  Or even a single person with a pet family life.  I thought it was a fun book, but as far as the scary looking teens....my kids were some of those teens.  heehee.  A plus in this book is the various shades of people pictured.  From pale to dark, there were at least four or five races I could pick out, without mentioning the race - the scary parts were simply occupations (police, school nurse, hugely bearded passionate music teacher, etc) or loud teens.

Chapter books -  On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming
for the fourth/fifth grade class that I'm reading to, we're reading On The Day I Died.  It's really a collection of ghost stories, but all are tied together with each ghost talking to Mike - a teen who just wants to go home, yet is pulled toward this cemetary...

I am having fun reading this one.  I can't help stopping in the middle of reading to either startle the kids, or say "would YOU do this?", or "wouldn't you just GO HOME?", etc.  The kids are at times jumpy, and wide eyed, but mostly they're having fun, because even though it's a ghost story, and it's a bit creepy, it's also easy to laugh in certain parts, which makes this one of the best kinds of ghost stories for kids.  They are actually looking forward to reading time every week with this pick.

What Came From The Stars by Gary D Schmidt.

I picked this to read to the third grade class.  To be honest, while reading aloud the prologue, I thought I was going to lose the kids.  It was pretty intense, with all these words that were way above the kids' heads, being SciFi/Fantasy-ish names and planets, with made up intricate names.  And a whole race of people being slaughtered, in so many words.  I thought....oh boy, this isn't going to keep their interest.  Thankfully, the prologue also included a magical infusion of history into a chain which was thrown up into the sky, to fly out the atmosphere, past galaxies, and planets, etc....to fall into Tommy's lunch box.  Once we started in on the chapter with Tommy, who had just received a dorky lunch box from his grandma, being forced to use it, and afraid to be laughed at for it....the story suddenly started to relate to the kids, who at this new point were laughing at the right places, and actively LISTENING - which is always a plus while reading.  So I have high hopes for this book now.  

Whew!