What I'm Reading Monday - A big catch up...

Mrs. Knipper has been slacking on posting this month. I'm going to blame it on the plague I had plus weather. And there's plenty to post about because I read like crazy (and I'm not sure when because I didn't read when I was sick).

At school

The Archived by Victoria Schwab - This book is an interesting concept. The archive is a library of anyone who has died - and Mackenzie is in charge of making sure the bad histories don't get out.

At home

Her Darkest Curiosity by Megan Shepherd - This is the sequel to The Madman's Daughter; I haven't actually started it yet. Based off Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Finished

Legend by Marie Wu - I did a book talk over this a few weeks ago, and since there's so many books to go over, I'm skipping this one. But, as a reminder - this is a dystopian series on two kids: one who is a military genius and one who is a killer.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - This is a dual narrative. The teenager is an orphan dealing with a horrible foster family situation, and for her community service, she's assigned to an older woman to clean out her attic. As she tells her story, the teen realizes her story isn't all that different from hers.

Deadly Heat by Richard Castle - This is part of the series based off the TV series Castle. The

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs - Sequel to Miss Peregrine - already did a book talk on it.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen - I'm going to do a book talk on this one. It's about a guy who takes three servants and tries to make them into a prince. However, there's a big twist at the end.

Butter by Erin Lange - did a book talk; about the kid who wants to eat himself to death and broadcast it on the Internet

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd - Book based off Island of Dr. Moreau; Juliet is trying to figure out who she is and how much she is like her crazy father.

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler - Isabelle takes her hairdresser, Dorrie, on a trip to a funeral. Dorrie learns a lot about herself and race relations in the 1940s and in modern times. This is a cross between The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird

Oops! Forgot something!

I forgot in yesterday's post to add in what I'm planning to read next. It's a little tricky this week because the sequel to Miss Peregrine comes out today. I have had it pre-ordered from Amazon for more than a year now, which usually means it gets delivered on the day it comes out. However, this time - that's not's what's happening. Now, I'm not supposed to get it until Thursday. This throws a bit of kink in my plans because since I finished Enders, I figured I could wait until Tuesday when I got Hollow City to start reading it. But, I don't want to go that many days without reading something. I started a book Monday night, but I'm not too far into it. I may break my normal rule, and just bring home Legend to read. I'm being even weirder for what I'll read next at school. I'm just going to randomly pull one out of the box from the Scholastic Warehouse sale. There's enough in there, that I may take too long to think about it if I actually purposely pick one out.

There's going to be a lot of new books coming in to the classroom later this week. I've got to spend my yearly budget soon, and Barnes and Noble is having their educator week. That means 25% off, which means more books with my budget! Most of them I haven't read, so it may take a bit for them to make it to a book talk...

What I'm Reading Monday - Home Sick, but didn't read much

You would think I'd have massive list of books I'd finished with a "too cold" day and three days home sick. But I don't read when I'm sick - it makes my brain hurt. So, I didn't read much during the week but with my internet not working at home on Sunday - I didn't have much else to do. I ended up getting more read than I thought.

At school

Legend by Marie Lu - I think I may have hit my limit for a while with dystopian "teens against the world" books for a while. Everyone that I know who has read this loves the series, but I'm not that excited about it. I suppose it doesn't help that I didn't read it for more than a week because of being gone.

At home

I honestly finished my book (last one one the finished list) right before I went to bed last night, so I'm not reading anything at home at the moment.

Finished

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes - The book starts off during WWI until the main character is sent to a German prisoner camp. The last 2/3 of the book though, deal with a painting of her that is the center of a court battle. There has been precedence that items stolen by the Nazis during WWII are given back to the families of the original owners; however, in this book, it hasn't been set for items from WWI. It flashes forward to the present and our new main character has a painting of the woman from WWI in her possession, and now she's being forced to possibly give it up by law. The remainder of the book shows how she deals with it because it was a wedding gift to her from her husband who is now deceased. I didn't like this as much as Me Without You but it was still a really good read.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - This is a "classic" that I should have read but never did. Mrs. Longman started it last week and was talking about how much she liked it. It's very short and doesn't take long to read. The story centers around Ethan who is married but develops strong feelings toward his wife's cousin - who is living with the couple. The story culminates in Ethan and Mattie (the cousin) making a decision that deeply affects the trio for the rest of their lives. It shows a battle of doing what's right vs. following your heart. 

Starters by Lissa Price - I got this book last week because it was $2.99 for Kindle. I started reading it yesterday when our internet wasn't fully functional. It's another dystopian book, but teens (starters) are very, very limited in what they can do - and most have been orphaned during the spore war, which attacked mostly middle aged people. So, the world has been left to young people and senior citizens (enders), who have created very strict rules for the starters. And now, they can rent teens' bodies to relive their youth. But as Callie - a starter - finds out, there's something a little more evil to the entire plot.

Enders by Lissa Price - The internet was still down when I finished Starters, so I went ahead and got Enders so I could find out what happened (because of course, it ended with a cliffhanger). I was not as impressed with this one as the first. I thought there were a lot of holes in the story, and it jumped around a lot without explaining things very well. 

What I'm Reading Monday During A Too Cold Day

I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked over the break, but I finally got a few books finished that I've started and just stared at for ages. And, I as I wrote this up, I realized most of the books I didn't like. That probably played into why I didn't read as much - and a week at Disney usually means I don't read much because I'm at the parks.

At school

Legend by Marie Lu: I have just started this, so I don't have much to say about this yet. It is the first in a trilogy, and for once, I was smart enough to start the trilogy after all three were out, so I can read them closer together than the rest of the series when I usually have to wait years to get the next book. It's dystopian and is a dual narrator. I'm a little sad I left this at work; I could have read it today since we didn't have school.

At home

The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes: This takes place during WWI in France. It follows a woman whose husband has gone off to war, but her town is also being taken over by German troops. She and her sister run a hotel, and it hasn't had much business since the war started, but that doesn't stop the Germans from deciding they'll live there and force her and her family to provide meals for them. I really enjoyed Me Before You by this author, so I'm hoping this book is just as good!

Finished

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: I was hoping I didn't hate this book as much as I did the first time. No luck. I still got mad and kept saying it was stupid while I read it. I just didn't like it, and I don't think it holds up to the other two.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon: It took forever to get into this book, but once I got into it, I really liked it. Granted it took most of the book, but I am looking forward to the rest of the series. Once I finally got used to the terms and figured out what was going on, I really did enjoy it.

The Position by Meg Wolitzer: I really liked her other book The Interestings but this one just didn't hold my interest. It was set up a lot like the Interestings, but it seemed like more of a "test" project for the other book - like it was a rough draft. I didn't like any of the characters, and when that happens, I usually don't like the book. 

The Map of Time by Felix Palma: I have looked at this book several times at the store, and then finally picked it up this summer. It's broken up into three parts, and each part is really its own story. The thing that made me mad is that it takes forever to figure out the connection between the three parts (and I mean you don't get it until the end of a 600-page book). I also got frustrated because I didn't think the book matched up with the description on the back. There were several times while I was reading it that I would say "This book needs to get over itself." It has an outside narrator who interjects too much and is somewhat pompous. There's a sequel that I got when I picked this one up, but I'm not convinced I'll actually read it.

The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice - This was his first foray into the supernatural, and it seemed like he was trying to write like his mom (Anne Rice), and not like himself. It was a little wackadoo, and I'm not convinced I liked the premise at all. While her books still deal with werewolves, witches and vampires - they're somewhat based in reality and still have themes everyone can connect to. I'm not convinced this one did that. I did like his first two books, and I think he should go back to writing his genre - not his mom's.

Up next

I think I'll start The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight at school. It's one of the books I got at the warehouse sale last month, and I've got to get through that stack! I'm really not sure what I'll start at home yet since I'm not too far into the Moyes book. I think it will be something quick because the sequel to Miss Peregrine comes out on the 14th, and I want to be able to start reading that right away!

What I'm Reading Monday -

Having the financial literacy lessons (well, and end of the term stuff) threw a wrench in my reading this week, but I'll get over it. At least I finished two books this week!

School

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Having the financial literacy stuff last week didn't give me much reading time. I'm guessing this week I won't get much further. So I'll actually bring this one home over break so I can get it finished.

Home

The Bone Season - Goal for this week is to get it done because I am getting tired of typing its title.

Finished

The Fallout by SA Bodeen - This is the sequel to The Compound, and I don't want to give too much away about the book - which is why it was a different book talk in class. I liked it just as much as The Compound, and I thought it dealt with "the fallout" from that situation very well. The questions you were left with at the end of the first book do get answered - with a few twists thrown in there. I did realize I do have some issues with her writing style; I think there's some excessive details that I don't really need and slow down my reading flow. But, it still has a good overall story line.

Bossypants by Tina Fey - Tina Fey is hilarious. And smart. And geeky. And kinda my hero. I would say that this is more a collection of essays on her life than a true memoir. It was good, and it didn't take me long to read at all.

What's Next

I have big plans for break - not counting the trip to see family. But, I do plan on reading quite a bit. My Kindle is already loaded so when I go on vacation on Saturday, I am ready. 

What I Know Right Now

I know I'm stressed.

The end of the quarter/semester always does this to me. It puts me on edge. Makes me panic. I don't have enough time - and I worry that I won't get everything done on time.

Those essays are weighing on my mind. They need to get done - and done soon so revisions can be done on them. But when do I find the time?

And that semester test still needs to be written. I've got to get that done so there are actual copies of it for next Wednesday - and so I can make a review sheet.

I know I'm not at panic mode yet, but I also know it can be close. It can happen at any minute.

And, right now, that scares me.


I know I need to keep finding time to workout. But that stresses me out. It's the first thing that goes to the wayside when I get stressed. And, I know that's silly because that's the one easy thing to help reduce stress I also know this would be easier if I didn't have to go to the Y and I could just run outside.

I know that I haven't done much today, but I've done a good job of continously writing in my journal. Now I just need to make sure to condense it and put it on the blog. I know I need to do that more often, but, I'm not good at it is. IT is hard to find time to carve out 10 minutes for that because there are so many other things I could be doing.

I know I'm tired. I know this is my fault because I know I need to go to bed sooner. But when it's time to got to sleep, I'm wide awake. And, I know this adds to my stress.

What I'm Reading Monday - Not much has changed

My reading has dropped off significantly in the past week. It's a little embarrassing. But, that's what happens when I have more grading, watch rather important football games, and have to get ready for Christmas.

School

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Again a reread. I barely remember any of this book. The ending ticked me off too much and I blocked the rest of it out.

Home

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - I realized why this book has taken me so long to get through. You get a lot of information dumped on you in the beginning without much explanation. Now that I've started using the glossary for all the words (made up for the book), it makes a little more sense. But, it's a lot of work, and I tend to not like books that are a lot of work. I read for enjoyment, not to make my head hurt.

Finished

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - I liked this better the second time around. I think I wasn't reading as fast because if a book is fast-paced, I tend to read too fast and miss the small details that really bring out a  story. I didn't have to do that this time because I knew what was going to happen. I also thought the movie did a really good job with it and brought out a lot of those other little details.

Next up

I honestly don't know. I have the sequel to The Body of Christopher Creed, but there's several others I've got stacked up in various places I'd like to dig into. Christopher Rice's new book is at the top of that list, and I kinda went on a Kindle buying spree last week. I am a sucker for a book when they mark it down to $2. At least break is coming up soon, so I'll have more time to read. And with two 3-hour plane rides plus airport wait time, I'll have a lot of time.

What I'm Reading Monday - It's been a while

So, it has been three weeks since I've done a reading post. Oops. Probably because I was working on my word count (I didn't even come close to 50K words, but oh well). So, there's going to be plenty of books in this post.

School

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: This is a reread. I realized when I was at the movie, I forgot most of what happened in the book. So, I started with The Hunger Games, and I'm going to re-read all three. Let's hope that this time I don't get as mad at Mockingjay.

Home

Still plugging away at The Bone Season. And by plugging away, I mean I've been lucky if I've read a chapter a week. I am a slacker.

Finished

The Hunger Games: Still liked it on the second read, and it still kept me on the edge of my seat. That's the real sign of a good book. This time, though, I had the movie characters pictured. I don't always like that.

Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich: If you can't tell by the title, this is the 20th book in the Stephanie Plum series. Evanovich's books always make me laugh. And this one was one different. I am getting tired of Stephanie not being able to pick between Ranger and Joe. 

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

This was the one I did a book talk on with the opening scene of the kid getting decapitated at Disneyland. It really was funny and I highly suggest it.

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

I did a book talk on this one, too. She wrote The Compound. This one keeps you in the story just as much as The Compound did. However, I noticed that there are some holes in her writing. Nothing huge and nothing that would stop me from reading more of her stuff. But, enough that I noticed.

Soup by Jon Gordon

We read this as a staff book study book. A former student looked at it and said "Knipper, this is not a you book. Are you feeling OK?" It's pretty touchy feely, so I'll leave it at that.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I understand why so many people were in an uproar over the ending of this book. However, I felt it really worked and wrapped up the entire series. I get why people were upset, but we don't always get our way or wishes in a series (honestly, I was more upset about Hedwig dying. That still makes me mad). And it definitely wasn't anything that would urge me to send death threats (I didn't even send a strongly worded letter about Hedwig, so death threats are pretty much out of the question for about anything - especially if it is in a book.)

NaNoWriMo - What I Know So Far

We are now more than halfway through NaNoWriMo. Am I up to where I'm supposed to be word countwise? Um, not even close. I may catch up, but I may not. But, I've already learned some things through this process that should help me if I ever choose to do it again.

1. I'm not good at not revising while I write.
It's the editor in me. I want to go back and polish write away. But, in this situation, I know I need to just keep writing (I won't discuss how many times I get "just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing" in my head. Thanks Finding Nemo.) I can go back later and polish. This month is just concentrating and getting a word count done.

2. Know your characters!
Usually, I write by the seat of my pants. I got used to it as a reporter because typically you don't have time to make a detailed plan before you write an article - you just write. With this, though, I did have some notes and ideas (although I still don't have an end). But, I didn't really think about my character's motives, thoughts, feelings before I started writing. This has made dialog tough, and it's made coming up with their names even tougher (as of today, most of the character's are just referred to by their relationship to the main character).

3. Don't force writing.
Part of the reason I don't have my word count is that I haven't made myself write every day. I only write when I'm inspired to because if I force myself, it doesn't come out right.

4. Find inspiration, ideas everywhere and anywhere.
Keep your eyes open when you're out and about. You may get some weird idea for a scene -- or even a character. For example, as ridiculous as she was, I owe a very, very drunk girl at the Iowa Wild game a big thanks. Her antics have given me more than 2,000 words for one scene that I didn't know would be in the book but made a great comedic relief scene.

5. Any words are good words.
I may not be happy with what they actually are, but at least I'm writing. I honestly have never written this many words or stuck with a project for this long. So, that makes me really proud and happy. This book may never see the light of day, no one else may read it, and I may never go back through and revise, but it's there. I'll have finished it and written a book. And that's a huge accomplishment in itself.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? - Two Weeks Worth of Books

I really meant to post last Monday since I was home sick, but when my migraine got so bad I couldn't even talk - I decided I shouldn't try to write a post. So, this week you get two weeks worth of books. 

School

Allegiant by Veronica Roth - Full disclosure: I really can't remember the finer details of the first two books in this series. I am going to have to go back and review them. However, in this one, you do find out more about how the factions started and why they started - as well as what's going on beyond the boundaries. I'm about halfway through, and I don't want to give much away. I'm wondering what the ending will be because I know Roth got death threats (not kidding) about it. And that kinda disgusts me. Things aren't always going to end like you want them to - but that gives you no right to threaten someone else's life. I probably won't book talk this one when I'm finished because I rarely do that with books that aren't the first in the series. But, it should be on the shelf by the end of the week.

Home

I focused on Me Before You at home last week (see blurb below). So, I still haven't touched The Bone Season in a few weeks. I'm not starting another one at home, though, so I will go back to it this week. And honestly, the only reason I started Me Before You was because I was too lazy to go downstairs to grab it and wanted a book to read before I went to sleep.

Finished

Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien: Like I said earlier, I wanted to reread this because the first time I read it, I didn't have the time to really pay attention to it like it deserves. I am glad I did reread it, but I still have some issues with Tolkien. He is an excellent writer and does an amazing job of creating worlds. But, I just don't like his writing style. It gets too bogged down with all that creating. But, this is still a great story. It will be a little bit before I tackle Two Towers though. There's a lot of walking in that one - although my retelling of it is hilarious.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray - This book cracked me up. Cameron has to go on a journey to save the world while he is dying from mad cow disease. It is a trippy book (a goth punk fairy who has pink hair and combat boots is all you need to know that it is trippy) but it is funny and entertaining. I'll do a book talk on this one next week.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes - This was not a light read at all. Louisa Clark is 26 and still lives at home and has no real career for the future. She takes a job as a caretaker for a quadriplegic - Will - but soon realizes that her job means more to his parents than her just making sure he has someone to talk to. Will has made a very serious decision about his life, and they want Louisa to try to change his mind. This doesn't end like you expect it, and it made me tear up. But, this was probably one of the best books I read this year. 

Chupacabra by Roland Smith - This series is still good. There's one more left in it, so it will be interesting to see how he concludes it. I won't tell more about it from my last post because I don't want to give anything away. But, if you like Roland Smith, you'll still like this.

Tried - and dropped

King Dork - I read this for one 10-minute read in Strategic Reading. I couldn't get into it, and I kinda wanted to poke my eyes out while I was reading it. There's too many other books out there I want to read, so it went back on the shelf. I probably won't book talk this one because I wouldn't be able to say many nice things about it.

Up Next

At school - The Raft by SA Bodeen (she wrote The Compound)

At home - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt