Original hosted by Sheila @ Book Journeys. Children’s lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.
This week, I finished:
- Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton (comic strip collection, adult) — It’s a collection of comics from her website, so exactly as expected
- How to Write a Novel by Melanie Sumner (adult) — Meh. I would’ve liked it more if the relationships and characters were a little more developed.
- Jem and the Holograms: Showtime by Kelly Thompson, illustrated by Sophie Campbell (YA, graphic novel) — Disappointing characterization with unnecessarily busy panels.
- Romeo & Juliet adapted by Gareth Hinds (YA, graphic novel) — Great adaptation with a really sympathetic Romeo.
- “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin (adult, short story) — Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. I just really loved this in ways I can’t explain. The ending burned a hole in my heart, and I sincerely feel like everybody should read it.
Last week, I posted:
[wrap-up-posts week=”51″ year=”2015″ listtype=”ul”]
Currently reading:
I just started All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr last night, which is a pretty big deal in terms of popularity. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh, and I started Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton, and it is pretty delightful so far.
I absolutely plan to read more Baldwin in 2016. He has so much passion, it practically sets fire to the page. I will look for this short story; I think the next one I read will be The Fire Down Below.
Yes, that’s the perfect description of his work. I really want to read more of his essays, too. I am sadly underread in the Baldwin department, alas.
I keep coming across James Baldwin references, and it’s starting to feel like a sign that I need to read more. It’s been years since I’ve read Baldwin. I’m trying to talk myself into joining a book club next month, and All The Light We Cannot See is the book choice for that meeting. I dutifully bought it a month ago and haven’t picked it up yet. The size is a bit daunting to me, though I am looking for another novel to sink into.
The size IS daunting. However, the chapters are pretty short, so it hasn’t been difficult to read at all so far. It’s mostly a matter of interest for me at this point.
I am about to begin reading All The Light We Can Not See as well for my book club. Really looking forward to it.