Book Shelf

So, March is Reading Month, right? Well, it's April and I'm still reading. I guess this post would have been better placed a month ago, but oh well! Now that I'm done with school/student teaching, I have SO much more time on my hands for reading, and I couldn't be more excited about it. My goal is to read 40 books this year, and I think I'm on track to meet my goal. 

I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and I adore it, but I'm still reading physical books, too. I try to read a blend of books so that I can be a good resource for my students, and so I can give good recommendations. That being said, I also stray outside of the Young Adult genre for myself :) 

This weekend I got a notification that I had 3 books waiting for me at the library! The nerd in me squealed a little bit knowing that the books I've been waiting for are now waiting for me. I'm excited to crack them open and devour them!

Scrawl by Mark Shulman 

 I saw this at the library of a school I was long-term subbing in. I'll be honest - the cover attracted me at first. But, I was hooked when I saw that the protagonist was a misunderstood boy, and the book was set up as his journal. I've been looking to expand my reading repertoire to include more boy-centered books so I have more knowledge of what to recommend to students. From the Amazon description:

"Tod Munn is a bully. He's tough, but times are even tougher. The wimps have stopped coughing up their lunch money. The administration is cracking down. Then to make things worse, Tod and his friends get busted doing something bad. Something really bad.

 

Lucky Tod must spend his daily detention in a hot, empty room with Mrs. Woodrow, a no-nonsense guidance counselor. He doesn't know why he's there, but she does. Tod's punishment: to scrawl his story in a beat-up notebook. He can be painfully funny and he can be brutally honest. But can Mrs. Woodrow help Tod stop playing the bad guy before he actually turns into one . . . for real?

 

Read Tod's notebook for yourself."

Sounds like an interesting premise and character!

11/22/63 by Stephen King (my first King novel!)

I've been waiting to read this book since before it came out in November. I've never read a King novel because I'm not a fan of scary things (my imagination goes wild and I don't sleep!), but this one seems like a little more time-travel than thriller. Here's part of the description from Amazon:

"On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force. 

Ahhhh the description has had me hooked for months!

Dead Dancing Women by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

I stumbled upon this book as I was looking for a download for my Kindle. Surprisingly, I could get this faster if I requested the physical book than if I requested the electronic book. What intrigued me about this book, and actually the entire series, is that it's set in Northern Michigan. I adore that area of my state, so I think it will be fun to read a book set there. Also, this is a mystery series. I've not read many mysteries, but I like that this is a series that I can continue to read if I like it. Here's what the Amazon description says:

"Escaping the city, and her coed-chasing ex-husband, part-time journalist and full-time failed mystery writer Emily Kincaid has moved into a cozy cabin nestled in the woods of northern Michigan. Emily spends her days writing for the local newspaper and crafting her latest forgettable novel. Then one morning her quiet life turns grisly when a severed head tumbles out of her garbage can.

Between hosting her ex and his female "assistant," reluctantly raising a rambunctious new puppy, and forming an uneasy alliance with the fractious Deputy Dolly, can Emily put an end to the killings — and somehow preserve her sanity?"

Sounds interesting, no?

What are you reading, or have you read, lately?