I feel like it has been forever since I have linked up with reading reviews! I'm so happy to be connected again, and I have just a bit of vacation reading to review. Make sure you join the link-up if you want to share your recent reads this Monday!
This Monday reading-list blog link-up is available through Teach Mentor Texts. This event was originally hosted by Book Journey, but I also love the idea of establishing a link-up with a kidlit focus. So once again, I am linking up with Teach Mentor Texts and sharing my recent "must reads," but I will also link up with Book Journey since some of my texts fall outside the kidlit genre.
Just Finished:
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
While this is not necessarily a difficult book to read as far as the act of reading is concerned, it is hard on your emotions. Don't pick it up expecting an easy, forget-the-character's-names-tomorrow kind of book. This is, by far, more of a knock-you-off-your-feet-with-wisdom type of text. You will laugh, and you will cry -although if you are like me, you will cry far more than you will laugh while reading Tuesdays with Morrie. If you can read through the tears, though, you will not regret this one. It is powerful, and I am almost overwhelmed by the amount of wisdom packed into this little book. It's hard to summarize, though; it's about life and death all aspects of -and in between- both. I love the relationship between the narrator and his dear teacher, Morrie, and I appreciate the power of life lessons captured throughout this plot. Tuesdays with Morrie should, without a doubt, be on your reading list.
The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley
I have to admit that after reading The Firebird, I am a new Susanna Kearsley fan! I loved this book. I expected it to have a bit of a supernatural theme; all of my prereading explained that the main character, Nicola, can touch objects and mentally experience the past of that object. She sees the past, similar to the work of a psychic. So I was not surprised by that element of the story. My surprise came in realizing that not only did this supernatural theme hold a love story, but it actually contained two beautifully-written, not-too-mushy, love stories that are interwoven within Nicola's supernatural link between the present and the past. To make the story even richer, the characters are based on real historical figures. Kearsley includes a full explanation of her authorial decisions at the back of the book, and I was fascinated as I read about the depth of her research while writing The Firebird. All in all, this is a wonderful story with a fascinating, rich plot. It's a must-read!
Currently Reading: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
To Read: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
To Read: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
