#weekendreads on the porch! Love this spring weather!

Today‘s purchase! #happyspring

Saturday night in. Glass 1 with a few chapters of this, glass 2 with a couple episodes of Bridgerton and then I‘m going to sleep!

There are parts of this book that are STUNNING. I think it got stronger towards the end and the beginning was a little fragmented. This was such an intense portrait of grief and race and how these things intersect. I can‘t wait to read more of Clemmons‘s work!

Another exciting pandemic Saturday night with an impending snowstorm to really keep me stuck inside. #lovemybooksbutIwanttoleavemyhouse

3.5/5 ⭐️. Great depiction of Maine & how hard it can be to live there. No one in this multigenerational saga has a happy ending, which made me sad, but it is pretty realistic. The family tree might be too complicated & I was taken out of the story a few times to go back & check that I had the characters straight. Overall, a solid debut & I will look for more of Winslow‘s work. #read50states #maine #downeast #flatironbooks #goodreadsgiveaway

The title novella is the best (and last) of the bunch and the first short story is the worst. Admittedly, I‘m not much of a short story person but overall these stories were great and I can‘t wait to read more of Evans‘s work.

As a history teacher, the novella gave me a lot to think about and made me really interested in “public history” programs and what that all means for us and society.

Took a drive to Barrett‘s bookstore today and picked up two new books! Definitely can‘t keep up this spending habit for much longer but going to a bookstore is the closest thing to an adventure these days. #boredinCovid #cantkeepup

A return to the #dailydunkin and the early morning #covidcheckin read. Have to take every opportunity to get a couple pages of this one in because it is so long! (Still so good!)

#teacheroflitsy #apromisedland #rememberwhenapresidentcouldwrite

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow/Book Club Girl for this #ARC, which I LOVED. I read 1 Hashimi novel a while ago so this felt like discovering a new author!

Sparks Like Stars tells Aryana‘s story as she flees Kabul as a girl amidst political violence & her path to adulthood & her ultimate return to Kabul to reconcile w/ her trauma. The book hits many emotional beats w/o ever being maudlin & Aryana is a great character to root for! 4.5/5 ⭐️

Fun, quick one sitting read. Not the deepest book I‘ve ever read but the author does a great job with the setting and just what I‘m looking for when it comes to vacation reading. Book 2 of winter break. #vacationreads #beachreads ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fun, gossipy and insightful. Well researched. Book 1 of winter break. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #vacationreads

Thankful for people who are still able to donate books to classrooms during these hard times! I requested copies of this novel for our school‘s “Angel Tree” program because my students love graphic novels and the family in this story ends up right in New Haven where I teach, so this important global issue will feel local to my students!

#teachersofLitsy #graphicnovels #iteach8th #refugeeswelcome #merrychristmas

Friday has been a wild journey, friends. It started w/ a long stressful day of teaching. My students are primarily low income & it‘s fairly usual to see a lot of behavioral changes b/c of economic anxiety around the holidays. Add a pandemic, & well, it was just a long day.

Came home, poured some wine & was scrolling #bookstagram & discovered that Simon Teen has this program called “Riveted Lit” ↩️

A little #lunchbreak reading.

#teachersofLitsy #lookatallthathandsanitizer

Read both books in this series this weekend but not sure why I stuck with it, except I‘m a sucker for a New England setting. The author tried to shove so many storylines into it as possible and it just felt so unfocused and unrealistic.

This is one of those ya series where a teenager reads it and sees every miscommunication as a sign of true romance and an adult rolls their eyes because the teens are acting very dumb.

Stop #2 of the day was to my favorite used bookstore where I scored on this $6 Chrissy Teigen cookbook, among others! #shoplocal #smallbusinesssaturday

Picked this book up for me while at RJ Julia‘s and placed an order for my Dad‘s Christmas gift. #shoplocal #smallbusinesssaturday

Stop #1 on #smallbusinesssaturday

It‘s me....🤷🏻‍♀️

#notashamed

Another #librofm #educatoralcs and this one was a hit! Once again confirming that I like fiction #audiobooks so much more than nonfiction.

This is a sweet middle grade road trip story about family, race and identity and how others don‘t always live up to our expectations. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great for the historical setting, the crime, the heist movie pacing but just meh on the romance. Also, didn‘t like the epilogue. Overall, a fun way to kick of #thanksgivingbreak.

#teachersofLitsy

Always meant to get to this one this month, but it feels like a good omen that I am actually starting it on the anniversary of the day it takes place. #weekendreads

Resorting books and wondering if I should start this one from 2018 for #nonfictionnovember because it will make me feel better or if I read it, will I just shake my head and be like “oh you have no idea what‘s coming?” 😂 #stupidcovid #2020isdefnotbetterthanwethink

Also, I would love to know how my copy of this book made it‘s way from a public library on the “Left Coast” to a donation bin in “Yankeedom” (to use the terms the author coins) where I picked it up!

I was shopping & my eye caught on Yankee magazine & I felt really nostalgic & sad as the reality that the holidays will be very different this year. I love New England all year but especially this season.

This book really crystallizes a lot of cultural differences that you would not normally think of & it was so interesting to think of how that influences what kind of Yankee I am! #nonfictionNovember #proudnewenglander #falalalBLAH #fuckcovid

I‘m the teacher who reads during recess duty. As long as no one gets hurt, pretend I‘m not here! 😂 #teacherbookclub #iwaspayingattention #iswear #teachersofLitsy

When you are trying to limit your grocery trips once again but you haven‘t eaten all day, it‘s time for a #breakfastfordinner feast.

Liked this book a lot but feel I still didn‘t understand Peter by the end. It felt like they set up his struggles like “well it‘s obvious, look at his parents” & while that‘s fair, I feel there was a lot more to explore.

However, this was so engaging which I‘m so glad about after my last fiction read fell flat.

#dnf even though I hate book quitting. But between the inconsistent POV and how overwritten it was and the cultural criticism, this just doesn‘t seem worth my time, even if it was for book club. Bailed at chapter 7.

Well if I had known a pandemic was coming, I would have upped my goal....

#goodreadschallenge2020

Listened to this on audio, which is definitely bringing my review down. I‘m not sure I like nonfiction audiobooks & I didn‘t think the narrator was good.

The blurb for this book describes it as “thrilling” & while I think this book is tremendously important, it is not thrilling. It details each legal case that led up to the Voting Rights Act but it does so blandly, simply listing each case in chronological order.

#libroalcs #nonfictionNovember

November ☀️

#nonfictionNovember #indiansummer

I had my doubts because of all the controversy, but I‘m giving this one a try for a book club I‘m in and I kind of hate it. It‘s so overwritten and the author is inconsistent with POV. Might be a #dnf but it‘s still early.

What a #quarantinehalloween looks like. Plus 🍷

Anticipated #tbr for Nov. Usually don‘t plan a book schedule but there are a few I need to read by a certain time.

The Trespasser-might finish in Oct, tbh.

American Dirt-have misgivings, but for book club

Things Fall Apart-for “Read a Book with Kara” on youtube

November Road-obviously, it‘s named after the month

Ask Again Yes-borrowed from my sis months ago & she‘s asking for it back. Must finish by Thanksgiving (if we can have it 😭)

Won 14 dollars at poker last night so I took my winnings to the used bookstore. #royalflush

We‘re back in school after a week of online learning so it is back to early morning reading and a #dailydunkin #teachersofLitsy

Continuing to chip away at this one. Took a drive and ended up an hour away from my house with a new view and an apple cider chai. #weekendreads

Soaking up every possible minute at outdoor cafes before winter comes. #weekendreads #dublinmurderseries

It‘s #spookyseason & 🌧 here in CT, so I thought I‘d read some mysteries!

Just finished the tagged book which has a mystery element to it, though I am expecting that my next mystery will be more intense!

🌵is an amazing middle grade novel & I highly recommend it! Aven Green is born w/o arms & this book tells her story as she moves to a rundown Saloon theme park & starts middle school, while figuring out what having a “disability” means to her.

#currentread ☀️☀️☀️

Had a sorta extra long weekend but didn‘t gain any extra reading time. We got word over the weekend that someone at school had tested positive for Covid-19, so while I didn‘t have to teach today, I had to scramble to get all materials and create an at home classroom. But here I am, ready to teach the Civil War from my dresser tomorrow 😂. #teachersofLitsy #remotelearning #fuckCovid

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I‘m more partial to YA than middle grade books but everything Reynolds writes is amazing. This is our 1st book for virtual teacher book club.

Would love to use excerpts/chapters of this in the classroom if I didn‘t have time to teach the whole book. It‘s 10 interconnected stories of students on their walks home from school each day & how different each student‘s journey home is.

#middlegrade #readinonesitting #diversereads

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Best read in two or three long sittings. I started this book reading just a few pages every morning & found the whole experience frustrating because there are so many characters & events to keep track of. However, once I had the time (i.e. long weekend) to devour the last half in one go, I found I enjoyed the whole book much more. Beautifully written, horribly depressing & I didn‘t totally see the end coming. #weekendreads #read50states

Sunday ☀️ and sorting. #willievergettogrant #whoknows #mounttbr

Getting back into e-reading with #libby! In desperate need of a little escapism today. #fridayreads

How could I have forgotten to post in honor of #NationalCoffeeDay? Here‘s the latest #dailydunkin and before school read.

My internet was down for most of the day so I was able to relax and finish this awesome book. But now, it‘s 7:30 and this #teacherofLitsy has a real case of the #sundayscaries as she tried to prepare for tomorrow and the week ahead.

Also, it took me a very long time to figure out that the title of this had anything to do with cooking. 😂

My first Acevedo and it lived up to the hype. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#SaturdayNightIn volunteering with Fair Fight Action and texting voters in Georgia. Started an appropriate #audiobook for the occasion. #librofm #educatoralcs #GoVote

#dailydunkin #fridayreads