Hello to all who have found my blog from our class webpage! I want to welcome you all to school, and to you freshmen, welcome to AHS! I'm so thrilled to be back at school this year, and I'm looking forward to all we'll learn together. To orient you to this blog, I'll be posting responses to books I'm reading, as well as recommendations from students. I also enjoy showcasing student blogs to give you an idea of what your classmates are reading; they may be future books you might want to read.
As I said, it's great to be back at school, but I also had a great summer of reading. I tried to pick up as many books as I could, but as always happens, the number of books I read didn't put a dent in the long list I had going into summer. Here's a quick preview of a few books I read:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I'd never read Frankenstein, but I'd been encouraged to read it for quite some time. I really found it fascinating as the original story is totally different from the "Hollywoodified" versions that exist. The story is haunting, heartbreaking, and incredibly thought-provoking. While it's a difficult read, if you would like a challenge (the wording is very "old school"), I'd definitely recommend picking up this book!
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
My husband had read this book the previous school year and had recommended the book to me. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It's basically the tale of Hemingway's time in Paris in the 20s - a truly fascinating era. You make acquaintances with all sorts of artists and authors such as Stein and Fitzgerald. If you've seen Midnight in Paris, it definitely reminded me of this book.
Numbers by Rachel Ward
While I normally read a lot of Young Adult fiction, this is one of the few YA novels I read this summer. It's the story of a girl who sees the date a person will die when she looks into their eyes. Ever since realizing what the numbers mean, she has secluded herself and avoided people. She finally makes a friend, and they get into a very sticky situation together. I don't want to give too much away in this book (sorry for the broad plot points) in case you'd like to read it. Personally, I disliked this book. It was actually pretty depressing despite the interesting concept.
Currently, I'm reading Everything Asian by Sung J. Woo. I picked it up at a book sale at the IRA conference in the Spring. I admit that I was drawn to it because it was written by a Korean author, but I'm actually really enjoying it. The writing style is fascinating, and I love getting into the minds of many of the characters (each chapter is written in the POV of one of the characters). The book is about a young boy, his sister, and his mother who move to the US to be with his father who had been making a living in the US for years. The story is all about acclimating to a new culture and getting to know family who you don't remember. It's a great view into the mind and heart of an immigrant.
Well, I hope that some of my mini-book reviews enticed you to pick up a book and read. I'm looking forward to seeing what books you discover this year that I may enjoy as well.
Happy reading!
