IMWAYR! An attempt at something new for this blog

Something I have discovered in this month of slicing is that there are OTHER communities and challenges out there to explore through the blogging community.  I know this is probably a silly realization or an obvious one to many of you, but I really had NO idea.  

One of the ones I discovered recently through just random exploration of blogs in the "Slice of Life Story Challenge" community (hosted by Two Writing Teachers) was the "It's Monday! What Are You Reading" community of book bloggers.  I'm still trying to figure out who hosts it and how to "officially" join (if one even CAN officially join), but one aspect of blogging I have not explored enough of is blogging about books and my reading life.  

I read.  A lot.  I set goals for reading, use sites like Litsy and Storygraph to track my reading, participate in various challenges and games related to reading, Book Clubs, I mean you name it and I've probably done it when it comes to reading.  Except blogging and I've never been consistent about sharing what I am reading -- even WITH Litsy and Storygraph making that supposedly easier.

I would like to change that and I believe IMWAYR! is a way to go about that.  However, since this is my first one and because it's already so late -- I'm also probably going to keep this fairly short.  I will be ignoring the little voice asking me about "Am I doing this right?" "Should I include graphics?" "Do I want to start some sort of rating system?"  And address those concerns on a different post.  It's 8 pm where I am -- best to just get this written, up, and shared.  

So, without further ado, let's get into it: WHAT AM I READING?

FINISHED READING

I actually just finished THREE novels, one right after another this weekend, so I'll start there.  

We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen, was a fun adult scifi novel about two superpowered individuals with amnesia.  For some reason I thought it was YA, but apparently that was a mislabel somewhere and both main characters are in their late 20s/early 30s.  I found the book to be pretty enjoyable, though I got a little lost with some of the plot elements in the middle.  I really enjoyed the exploration of identity as it ties to our memories and how we see ourselves though -- not to mention the powers were kind of neat.

Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale, was not a YA novel I would have picked for myself.  However, the school I work had recently did "Blind Date with a Book" and this was the book matched with me.  I can see why -- it's a story about a high school dropout who winds up being sucked into the world of various books.  The premise is fantastic and while I wasn't necessarily a fan of the main character, I could see where she would be relatable to our students who might feel like they've "peaked" early.  I actually think this novel works better for older teens because of that, but the premise itself is what drew me to this read.  Who hasn't wanted to live out their dreams in the setting of their favorite novels.  This, along with some other reads in recent history, is starting to make me realize that maybe I do actually enjoy RomCom type fiction.

🎧Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, was the YA novel of choice for this month's book club.  I finished it this weekend, though we won't discuss it until next Sunday.  If you couldn't tell from the icon, I did this novel through audiobooks.  Of the books I finished this weekend, this was perhaps my favorite.  I enjoyed the characters and family dynamics, they felt authentic and real.  I especially loved how this novel depicted the relationship between the father and son -- not to mention how it dealt with depression.  I will definitely be telling my students about this one because I believe the message it has to share about mental illness and family dynamics is so important.

CURRENTLY READING

As for what I am currently reading and reading next:

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri, was recommended to me awhile back and I started this weekend.  While I didn't plan it, I thought it was interesting that this novel ALSO has a Persian protagonist and mentions Iran -- just like Darius the Great is Not Okay.  There isn't a lot to say about this yet because I only just started, but I've enjoyed the patchwork nature of the writing and how it's written in bursts (or Slices).

Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder, was a graphic novel I picked up on a whim at the school library.  This was another one that I didn't plan on reading, but just jumped out at me as I try to read more graphic novels and find memoir recommendations for students.  I'm trying to take it slow, but this is going to be one that sticks with me I can tell.  It also deals with family dynamics, cancer, and (if the title didn't give it away) the death of a family member.  I've not dealt with this personally, but I know many students who have and could probably benefit from a book like this.  I can't recommend it if I don't read it first though.

And that about wraps it up.  I look forward to trying this again next Monday and hopefully between now and then figuring out this whole IMWAYR thing a bit more.  

2021 Reading Goal: 25/75

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog link co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for kids and young adults.  The original IMWAYR focusing on adult lit was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is currently hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.