Thursday, August 23, 2012

Internet Girls

TTYL by Lairen Myracle
Internet Girls book 1

Maddie, Zoe, and Angela are three very different high school sophomores. They each have their own talents, interests, and issues, but they have been best friends for years. They have made a pact to stick together through thick and thin. But the pressures of high school, mean girls, boys, parents, and more threaten to divide the "winsome threesome." Told through a series of IM's, TTYL is a fun look into the lives of modern day teenage girls.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Silent Prey

Silent Prey by John Sandford
Lucas Davenport book 4

Lucas had helped to capture the evil Dr. Bekker in Eyes of Prey. Now as Dr. Becker is preparing to stand trial, he inexplicably escapes and begins killing again in New York City. Lucas is contacted by Lt. Lily Rothenberg, former lover, to help in the hunt for Becker while also investigating some rogue officers in her station.

Another good installment in the Prey series.

Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Nick and Amy, both writers in New York City, met at a party and eventually fell in love. They married and enjoyed the NYC writer's life until they both found themselves out of work. At first they were not too concerned, as Amy had an inheritance from her parents who wrote a very popular YA series called Amazing Amy, based on Amy herself. However, a series of bad luck, Nick's ailing father, and dying mother force them to leave the city and head to Nick's childhood hometown of North Carthage, Missouri.

The marriage takes a turn for the worse and on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick returns home to find the house a mess and Amy missing. What happened to Amy? Is she even alive? Flynn takes the reader on a psychological roller coaster full of evidence, lies, and red herrings.

I was very excited to buddy read this book with some fellow mystery lovers. One reason is that I loved Flynn's book, Sharp Objects. Her dark and twisty writing appeals to me and she tells a great story. Her characters are usually very unlikeable and it is hard to know who to root for. But that just makes the characters more interesting and more sinister.

More Wicked History


Wicked History by Scholastic

I have been wanting this series for my classroom for a long time. I have slowly been collecting them and so far I have collected and read six of them. They are great biographies of cruel rulers from around the world across history. The books give a lot of great information in an easy to read and follow format. Pictures, artifacts, works of art, maps, and genealogies provide visuals to aid in student's understanding.

Taylor Jackson


So Close the Hand of Death by JT Ellison
Taylor Jackson book 5

Taylor and Baldwin are after the Pretender again and he is getting closer and closer to his target - Taylor. Meanwhile, all across the United States, horrendous murders are being committed to mimic some of the world's most infamous serial killers. There are only two things thee murders have in common: a true crime blog run by a Nashville native and widow of a former officer and they are all being orchestrated by the the same man. Taylor knows the mastermind behind this string of murders is The Pretender, so she begins to prepare once and for all for their final showdown. One of them will not come out of it alive.

July Reads












June Reads





May Reads




April Reads







March Reads



Getting Caught Up....

I do not know what happened. I guess the end of the school year craziness and the lazy hazy days of summer that follow just got away from me. I just realized I haven't updated my read since March! What?!? So instead of doing a blurb for each book I have read, I am just going to do a month by month reading list. Start fresh with my August reads.

Happy Reading! and Happy Back to School!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

The Museum Beast

Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs
Pendergast Book #2

Deep in the underground of New York City, a whole world of mole people exists. When bodies begin to surface, missing heads, authorities are reminded of the terrible museum beast of a year before. Pendergast, D'Agosta, and Margo Green are back on the case to discover who these "Wrinklers" are and how they can be stopped while also averting a biological disaster.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Some Fun Math Books




Sofia and I had fun reading the first three math riddle books and figure out how to solve each one. I can't wait to try them out with some of my lower math kids.

The last book, Mystery Math, is perfect for a few of my kids who are really struggling to understand how algebraic equations work and how to solve them.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Getting Caught up with Scarpetta and Gang

Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta #18

Kay Scarpetta is taking a break from the Cambridge Forensics Center (CFC) to help out at Dover Air Force Base, leaving Jack Fielding in charge in her absence. When Kay is called back to investigate a young man's mysterious death, she returns to find the CFC in disarray, Fielding missing, and an investigation that has both personal and national security implications.

I always enjoy catching up with Kay, Marino, Lucy, and Benton. I liked Kay better in this one than I have for the past few books, but have to say I liked Benton less. I was glad though that Lucy took a back seat in this one.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Two Good Series Reads

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner
DD Warren book 4

Twenty-five years ago Danielle's father murdered her entire family then killed himself, leaving her as the only survivor. She has worked hard to move past the tragedy, now a pediatric psych nurse in an acute care facility, but the week of the anniversary always send her into a tail-spin.

DD Warren and her team are perplexed by two family annihilation cases. How are they connected? Does the pediatric psych ward have anything to do with it and how are the new cases connected to Danielle and her tragic past?

Another great page turner frm Lisa Gardner. So far, I have enjoyed every one of her books!

Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Pendergast Book 1

There is something on the loose in the Museum of Natural History. It seems to be connected to the secret Superstitions exhibit that has yet to open. Whatever it is, is terrorizing the museum faculty and brutally slaughtering many along the way.

This is my first book in the series, and I will definitely continue on.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

A Terrific Author Event


Last night, my sister and I went to a live book discussion and Q&A with Stephen King and new author, Lauren Grodstein. It was a wonderful event!! It was hosted by Algonquin Books and upon arrival we each got a really nice black canvas tote back with the Algonquin logo. Joe Hill was there (Stephen King's son). I was hoping he would be because he lives in our town. He sat in the row right in front of us (we were second row) and a lot of people tried taking a pic of him (including myself!) but he kept turning away from the cameras.


Stephen King and Lauren Grodstein were excellent! They were both very funny, down to earth, talked to the audience as well as each other. They had a really great in-depth discussion of her book, A Friend of the Family, and took a lot of questions from the audience about writing, etc. They both talked about how they were both big readers and what they love about books.



Lauren's book sounds terrific and my sister and I reach got an autographed copy.


We are lucky to have such an amazing little independent book shop in town and they always do the best events.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Fun YA

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Capricorn "Cap" Anderson was born and raised on an old Hippie commune called Garland. He was raised by his grandmother, Rain, who homeschooled Cap. The lived off the land and off the grid, only leaving the commune to pick up supplies in town every so often. One day Rain was up a tree picking plums when she fell and broke a hip.

While Rain is forced into rehab for 6-8 weeks, Cap is sent to live with Mrs. Donnelly who had lived at Garland until she was 12 years old, but now lives in the modern world. Cap becomes an 8th graders at a typical middle school where he must learn how to live in the real world and deal with all that happens in the halls of a middle school.

This was a really fun read!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Two Good Reads

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I am trying to get in all the classics I was SUPPOSED to read as a teenager but never did. After reading Wuthering Heights for the first time, I was anxious to get to Jane Eyre to compare them. Why do women think these brutish bullying men are romantic? I will never understand it. I liked Jane Eyre a lot more then Wuthering Heights.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

Ack. I need to think about this. Not sure what to say without spoiling anything!

Okay, I re-read the book jacket and hopefully I don't give away anything that isn't on there:

Chip and Emily Linton live in the Pennsylvania suburbs with their 10 year old twin daughters, Garnet and Hallie. Chip has a busy career as a regional airline pilot and Emily is a busy lawyer. On a routine flight, Chip is forced to bring his plane down in Lake Champlain, killing many on board.

With anxiety and PTSD, Chip and his family decide to leave the area and find a big beautiful old Victorian in a small White Mountain town in New Hampshire. In a dark cold corner of the old dirt basement is a large door with 39 carriage nails, precisely the number of people killed on Flight 1611.

This was a good read. Very creepy and engrossing. The beginning with the plane crash was difficult to read! I loved that this took place in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. An area I know pretty well as we had a ski house in North Conway growing up. So, I know exactly how creepy and desolate those northern NH woods can feel!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Escape

Escape by Barbara Delinsky

Emily has a great job at a high powered law firm in New York City. It is what she has worked for her whole life. She has a perfect house, they can barely afford. A fantastic husband (also an attorney) whom she never sees, and a BlackBerry that bings and dings 24 hours a day. A typical day in her cubicle suddenly sets something off in Emily. All of a sudden, she needs to get out. She needs to escape this rat race of a life and figure out who she is, what she wants, and what is important to her. She heads to a small town in New Hampshire to find herself.

I always enjoy Delinsky books. While this wasn't a favorite by her, I did really enjoy it and could definitely relate to a lot of what Emily was going through.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

A Chase Around the World

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Lisa Marklund

Jacob Kanon is an NYPD detective at the end of his rope. He has become an alcoholic and each day puts his gun in his mouth hoping to end his misery, but won't pull the trigger until his daughter Kimmy's killers are found. Jacob is on the hunt for a pair of ruthless killers moving through Europe killing young couples and sending postcards and clues to newspaper reporters as they go.

With the help of Dessie Larsson, Swedish newspaper reporter, Jacob tracks the killers to Stolkholm in a race against time to stop the killers for good.

This was another entertaining and fast-paced Patterson. Not my favorite, but it kept me engaged.