Have You Read?

[Julia]

HNR, but it looks really good.

HYR Uprooted by Naomi Novik ?

[Kathleen]

Started it, but loss interest and quit. I love her Temeraire series, but this book did not pique my interest. Same is true for The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I loved the Harry Potter series, but quit The Casual Vacancy soon after I started it.

HYR The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling ?

[Julia]

No. And I'm not sure why not, either.

HYR Landline by Rainbow Rowell ?

[Kathleen]

HNR -- Reviewers seemed to love or hate it. Not sure that it is for me. What did you think of it?

Shades of Treason (Anomaly, Book 1) by Sandy Williams ?

[Julia]

I really, really liked Landline, which I borrowed from the library and that matters sometimes. I gave it five stars. I see that plenty of other people gave it one or two stars. I also know you are time travel- adverse and this is time travel- adjacent. Here's a quote from the book that I put in my review.

“(Somebody had given Georgie a magic phone, and all she’d wanted to do with it was stay up late talking to her old boyfriend. If they’d given her a proper time machine, she probably would have used it to cuddle with him. Let somebody else kill Hitler.)” (259)

HNR Shades of Treason.

HYR A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab ?

[Kathleen]

HNR, but I noticed that Rick Riordan gave it four stars and that is enough of a recommendation for me. He is not only one of my favorite authors, but I follow his reviews and find that my thoughts on a book are often in sync with his thoughts. So, I've added it to my tbr list.

Right Hand Magic by Nancy A. Collins (Golgotham, Book 1) ?

[Julia]

In the author's own 'review,' she said there was a Captain Jack Harkness*- type character. A Darker Shade of Magic just rocketed up my TBR list!

HNR Right Hand Magic, but have read the author's Midnight Blue: Sonja Blue Collection urban fantasy with vampires series.

HYR Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A. Collins ?

* Captain Jack is a companion in "Doctor Who" and a spin-off series called "Torchwood." And since there's time- travel, he could be back, so I use the present tense.

[Kathleen]

I know the Captain Jack Harkness character. I have been a dedicated Whovian for four decades (Think I discovered Doctor Who shortly after college in my twenties). Also, I have netflixed all the Torchwood episodes and specials.

Just finished Right Hand Magic this morning. I gave it five stars. One of the best original urban fantasies that I have read recently. I will probably start Left Hand Magic, the next book in the series, this afternoon. Just adored Golgotham, the fictional paranormal section of New York City in which the series is set.

HNR Sunglasses After Dark.

HYR Free Agent (Grimm Agency, Book 1) by J.C. Nelson ?

[Julia]

HNR. It's one of those books that readers seem to give five stars or one.

HYR If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo ?

[Kathleen]

Just finished Magic and Loss (Golgotham, Book 3) and gave it five stars as I did with the first two books in the series. I will be starting Free Agent next.

HNR If I Was Your Girl. Also, the grammar bothers me. The title should read If I Were Your Girl.

HYR Artemis Fowl* (Artemis Fowl, #1) by Eoin Colfer ?

*It's been around for awhile, but I've just never gotten to it.

[Julia]

I have read it, but I didn't like it enough to read more of the books. But I also don't remember anything about it.

HYR Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle ? I've read five of his books in the last four days. I'm a very big fan now!

[Kathleen]

HNR, but it looks cute and I've added it to by tbr list.

HYR The Griffin and the Dinosaur: How Adrienne Mayor Discovered a Fascinating Link Between Myth and Science* by Marc Aronson ?

*I just checked it out of the library. Fascinating account from a scientific perspective of how protoceratops remains could have been the source for the mythological griffin.

[Julia]

Looks interesting, but HNR.

HYR Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley ?

[Kathleen]

I have box sets of DVDs of both Roots I (the original) and Roots II (the rest of Alex Haley's book until his day), but have never read the book.

HYR Night Owls (Night Owls, Book 1) by Lauren M. Roy ?

[Julia]

HNR Night Owls; it looks like fun, thanks!

HYR Doctor Who: Summer Falls by James Goss ? The concept is that it's by Amy Pond.

[Kathleen]

HNR, but it looks cool.

HYR Shadows of Sherwood (Robyn Hoodlum, Book 1) by Kekla Magoon ?

[Julia]

No, but it sounds like one I need to read.

HYR Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson . It's Robin of Sherwood's story from Maid Marian's POV.

[Kathleen]

HNR, but I probably should. I've loved most of the various versions of the Robin Hood story.

HYR Heart of Brass* (Clockwork Agents, Book 1) by Kate Cross

*It's next up in my tbr pile.

[Julia]

HNR. I like the steampunk novels I've read, but I rarely get around to reading steampunk, I think.

HYR Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld ?

[Kathleen]

No, but it sounds superb and I've added it to my tbr list.

HYR A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

[Julia]

No, but I've read her Beastly and didn't care for it.

HYR Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth* by Chris Ware ?

*It's a graphic novel about a young man who meets the father who abandoned him as a child.

[Julia]

HNR, have not heard of it and I love graphic novels. Thanks!

HYR March: Book One by John Lewis ?

[Kathleen]

HYR, but it looks excellent.

HYR School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins* ?

*She wrote the Hex Hall series. I am currently reading School Spirits.

[Julia]

HNR, but it looks good.

HYR Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History by Joel Christian Gill ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, Book 1) by Erika Johansen ?

[Julia]

HNR

HYR The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ?

[Kathleen]

HNR, but I've added it to my tbr list.

HYR Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, Book 1) by Deborah Blake ?

[Julia]

Wickedly Dangerous looks like it could be fun! HNR.

HYR Spellcast by Barbara Ashford ? It's fun!

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR The Mark of the Tala (The Twelve Kingdoms, Book 1) by Jeffe Kennedy ?

[Julia]

Based on the reviews here, I don't think it's one for me. HNR.

HYR Rocket Girl Volume 1: Times Squared by Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR The Devil's in the Details by Kimberly Raye ?

[Julia]

HNR

HYR Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly ?

[Julia]

HNR, it looks like it could be one I'd like, though.

HYR The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider ?

[Julia]

After having finished The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, I recommend the movie, which is, or was free on Amazon Prime, instead of the book. And I have a t-shirt that says "The book was better."

HNR.

HYR The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good by Colin Woodard ?

[Julia]

HNR

HYR Jackson, 1964: And Other Dispatches from Fifty Years of Reporting on Race in America by Calvin Trillin ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR The Secret of Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story* by Peter Lane Taylor ?

*I was serving as a proctor for an assessment taking place in our school library and started reading this book as the students tested. I would highly recommend it to you.

[Julia]

HNR, but that sounds neat! I've put it on my TBR list, plus the book written by a family member who lived in the caves.

HYR The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR Frozen* (Heart of Dread, Book 1) by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston ?

*It is book after next in my TBR pile.

[Julia]

HNR

HYR March: Book One by John Lewis ? This is another one I recommend for your classroom library.

[Kathleen]

HNR

Based on the reviews the reading level seems a bit younger than high school. Also, all of our classroom novels are just that--novels. The autobiographical book we read is Elie Wiesel's memoir Night. We are allowed one graphic novel, but it must a novel (since we use Night as our biography). We would have to drop Night and all of us believe that studying the Holocaust is too important to be dropped.

HYR Darkfever (Fever, Book 1) by Karen Marie Moning ?

[Julia]

From what John Lewis has said, he's hoping for the largest possible readership: tweens, young teens, struggling readers and adults. Fifty plus years ago there was a comic book about Martin Luther King, Jr-- and that was one thing he looked back to as this -- and the two books that follow it-- was written.

No, I don't think you drop Night from the curriculum, but seeing if there is a copy of this available in the library to students makes sense to me.

HNR Darkfever.

Do you teach one graphic novel novel?

HYR Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson ?

[Kathleen]

We used the graphic novel version of Frankenstein along with the original novel to assist the students with getting through some of the passages with more difficult language. They can see what is happening and that makes what they are reading more understandable.

HNR

HYR The Book of Night with Moon (Feline Wizards, Book 1) by Diane Duane ?

[Julia]

HNR, though it looks like fun! Wizard cats! Years ago I read I think two So You Want to Be a Wizard books.

HYR, are you aware of the not new graphic novel/ history The 9/11 Reportby Sid Jacobson ? I've read The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and wouldn't wish that on anyone, but the first one is cogent, thoughtful and understandable.

[Kathleen]

HNR Like most Americans I was glued to the the television for days during 9/11. Don't think that I'm ready to read any book/report on the incident. So, I'll probably skip this one.

HYR The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis by Elaine Morgan ?

[Julia]

HNR and I won't. In another life my husband was a paleobiologist and forensic anthropologist. Elaine Morgan is wrong on every level about this.

HYR Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older ?

[Kathleen]

HNR

HYR The Passage (The Passage, Book 1) by Justin Cronin ?