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

NaNoWriMo - Taking the Plunge

One of my goals for this quarter was to post on the blog more and to write more with you guys. But that was before I decided to do NaNoWriMo - the challenge to write a novel or at least 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November.

I'm not sure what crazy has overtaken me on this. It's not like I've never thought about writing a book ... That is one thing on my bucket list. But in a month? And during the school year? That's super crazy. 

So, I have been writing more during quick write time, but I haven't been good about posting. And in the next month, I'm going to be posting even less. I have a feeling I'll be using quick write time to get some extra words in. But, I most likely won't post anything I write during this time. I don't even want to give you the plot because I don't want to feel like I've completely locked myself in. I could see myself occasionally posting some excerpts but never the entire thing. 

I will be writing with you - just not what you're writing about. And I will post my progress as the month goes on. Then, on December 1, I'll give you a rundown of how it went, what I learned and if I reached my goal.

What I'm Reading Monday - The piles are getting out of control again.

I was doing good about keeping the number of books I had going down ... and then I got bored with stuff at home. Oops. It's still better than some weeks.

Home

The Bone Season by Samanthan Shannon - Haven't read any more of this. I don't think I even physically touched it. Oops.

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien - This is what I focused on last week. I am almost done with The Fellowship of the Ring (the first book within the big book). The only other time I read this series was in college, and I think I do appreciate it more now. I have more time to enjoy it, and Tolkien does take time.

School

This was where I fell down and went boom on my limiting books idea. Blame conferences because I'd get bored, start a new book, and then stick it in my bag to take home. 

Chupacabra by Roland Smith - This is the third book in his Cryptid Hunters series. It's been a while since I'd read the other two, so I couldn't fully remember where it left off. Luckily, he put in character and plot summaries at the front for the synopsis. I really planned on finishing this one this weekend, but it didn't leave my bag, which didn't leave my car. Right now, you've got the good guys trying to rescue their friend from the bad guys - who is the grandfather of their friend. 

Going Bovine by Libba Bray - Not too far into this one. But, it's about a kid who gets mad cow disease.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park - This one is really short and is a dual narrative. One narrative takes place in 1985 and the other in 2008. It follow the issues in Sudan and centers around water and war. It is based on a true story.

Finished

Eye of Minds by James Dashner - There was a big twist at the end of this one. I'll eventually do a book talk on it.

What I'm Reading Monday - Ok, it's really Tuesday...

I'm one day late on posting this. Blame not having students yesterday. When Monday is a no student day, I get thrown off and forget to do things (like post this list or update my Wiki...). This week I decided I was going to get books finished that I had started a while ago. I've got two at home that I've been reading forever; one I finally finished. The other one is still gathering dust (literally); I'm not sure if I'll ever finish that one.

Home

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - This takes place in the future in London and is in an alternate reality. There was an event during Victorian England (end of the 19th century) that veered what we know as history off its real course. Paige is the main character and is a clairvoyant (she can walk through people's dreams). Everything is tightly monitored by the Scion (the government), but Paige is captured, arrested, and whisked off to Oxford - which has been in quarantine or off-limits for almost two centuries. That's as far as I've gotten in it.

Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein - I need to reread these, and I decided that I'd start them today. I don't know how long I'll stick with it, though.

School

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner (the guy who wrote the Maze Runner series) - I've just started this book, so I don't have much of an opinion on it. It takes place in a future where almost everyone is in a virtual reality game. From what I can tell, there's a guy who is trying to control people inside of it, and there's a government agency trying to fight it.

Finished

Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry - This was a good ending to the Rot & Ruin series (I've got all of them if you're interested). There were some points that were confusing, and I didn't think everything was well explained. But, I still enjoyed reading the series.

I, Q #4: The Alamo by Roland Smith - I started this series this spring and was immediately hooked. I had to read them back to back because each one left off with a cliffhanger. However, I wasn't as sucked into this one. I think it had just been too long, and I had forgotten some of the things that had happened to Q and Angela after they had been sucked into a plot to help capture terrorists. It was nice because there was a refresher on the characters and the plot up until now. I still like this series, but I think I may wait to read the next one until the entire series is finished.

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult - I started this one a long time ago. It's one of the Iowa High School book award nominees, but I'm not going to book talk it nor will I put it on my shelves. Now, I know this seems somewhat hypocritical because you know my feelings on banning books. But, I really don't feel comfortable having this one in my classroom. I'm not telling you that you can't read it, but I also don't think it is quite age appropriate for 14 to 15 year olds. This wasn't one of my favorites of hers, either. I'm not going to go into details about it - if you want to know more, check it out on Amazon.

Oh, Hannah

I would never say that any of these things that have happened to Hannah aren't horrible - especially when you add them together. But, I don't think she went about trying to solve them or get over them in the right way. Actually, I don't think she even tried to solve them at all. Instead, she chose to just let them fester inside of her, which made everything worse.

I really don't think she did a good job of advocating for herself or trying to get help. Yes, she went to Mr. Porter, but was he the best choice? Why didn't she try other teachers? The one from peer communications probably would have been a much better choice. She really seemed like she wanted to help her students. I don't think Mr. Porter felt the same way.

She also shouldn't have given up after only talking to her parents once. It is understandable that they were caught up in their own problems. But she was their only child. She needed to make them see that she really needed them. It's like I tell you guys all the time - I'm not a mind reader; I can't help you if you don't make it clear you need help. Sometimes, you have to really "scream" to be heard - and I'm not convinced Hannah did that.

I'm not fully blaming Hannah. It's obvious she was struggling with some serious issues, and that can cloud your thinking and judgment. But, I don't think she also truly tried to get help.

Like Dumbledore said: Help is always there for those who ask. (OK, that's paraphrased, but you get my gist). And, I'm not so convinced Hannah really asked.