It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.  I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited.  **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Since I was out of town last weekend I never got the previous winner posted so this is the two week ago winner and this past weeks winner using random.org (because that is how I roll!)

 

Last weeks winner: Martha E!!!

It was a fairly decent week this past week.  I had no construction in the house except for early in the week, and now we are on hold waiting for a wood order to come in that has me hoping (Fingers crossed!) that it will be early this week so I can finish my book room before the family gathering on this coming Saturday. 

The things I posted here on Book Journey this past week were:

 

 

The Snow Child By Eowyn Ivey – audio review

 

What DO You Do With All Those Books?  (Early shots of the book room partially finished and discussion over the books…)

 

This One Is Mine by Maria Semple – Bookies Book Club read for Sept and probably the snakiest review I have written in a long long time

The Meryl Streep Movie Club is born this coming Thursday at my house – and on the blog!  Stop in and check it out and maybe chat along 😀

AND it is the last week to sign up to participate in the Banned Book Week Party here!

 

As for this week, any moment now I am going to realize that I did invite over many many relatives for next Saturday and I do need to prep my home, the garage and figure out what I am going to cook.  When that happens, I suspect I will be moving like a mad woman and that will requite either 80’s music (do not judge!) and/or audio books 😀

SO….  for this week… my plan is:

 

As I am participating in this wonderful idea – my priority book is 47 for this week:

 

The intense, personal slave narrative of 14-year-old Forty-seven becomes allegorical when a mysterious runaway slave shows up at the Corinthian Plantation. Tall John, who believes there are no masters and no slaves, and who carries a yellow carpet bag of magical healing potions and futuristic devices, is both an inspiration and an enigma. He claims he has crossed galaxies and centuries and arrived by Sun Ship on Earth in 1832 to find the one chosen to continue the fight against the evil Calash. The brutal white overseer and the cruel slave owner are disguised Calash who must be defeated. Tall John inserts himself into Forty-seven’s daily life and gradually cedes to him immortality and the power, confidence, and courage to confront the Calash to break the chains of slavery. With confidence, determination, and craft, Tall John becomes Forty-seven’s alter ego, challenging him and inspiring him to see beyond slavery and fight for freedom.

 

 

And in preparation for Banned Book Week I will be listening to:

Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn’t think that his refusal to sell chocolates during his school’s fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it’s as if the whole school comes apart at the seams. To some, Jerry is a hero, but to others, he becomes a scapegoat–a target for their pent-up hatred. And Jerry? He’s just trying to stand up for what he believes, but perhaps there is no way for him to escape becoming a pawn in this game of control; students are pitted against other students, fighting for honor–or are they fighting for their lives?

 

 

 

 

What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while’s he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He’s a wallflower–shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen’s story. Charlie encounters the same struggles that many kids face in high school–how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs–but he must also deal with his best friend’s recent suicide. Charlie’s letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his day-to-day thoughts and feelings:

 

I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they’re here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It’s like looking at all the students and wondering who’s had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.With the help of a teacher who recognizes his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like kudzu. When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie retreats from reality for awhile. But he makes it back in due time, ready to face his sophomore year and all that it may bring. Charlie, sincerely searching for that feeling of “being infinite,” is a kindred spirit to the generation that’s been slapped with the label X.

 

 

 

Oh and lets not forget that next weekend is also the Bloggiesta which I am going to squeeze in around the family thing because Bloggiesta is really that AMAZING and sleep is truly… overrated.  😛 

It should be a pretty great week.  I want to know about yours!  Are you participating in Bloggiesta?  Banned Book Week?  And what are you reading?  Be sure to use the hashtag #IMWAYR if tweeting on “The Twitter”  😀

AND be sure to link up your What Are You Reading post below! 

 

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and those of you who read mainly children’s through YA reads – please ALSO link your post here:

64 thoughts on “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

  1. Great picks for your Banned Books Week, although I still haven’t read them, but I’ve heard they’re great 😉

    Happy blogging, reading, listening and most of all have a great week!

  2. I actually LOVE 80s music…lol

    I am looking forward to Bloggiesta, Banned Books Week, and maybe I’ll stop in at the Meryl Streep event. However, I don’t have The Deer Hunter…so I’ll have to find it.

    Enjoy your week…can’t wait to see the finished book room!

    1. I love the 80’s too Laurel…. motivational! 😀 I cant wait for the room too… I am really hoping it is this week, I am going to give a call in the morning. I would love to have it down before the reunion.

  3. Looks like you have a good week planned. I hope you have a wonderful family affair too.
    Thanks for picking me to win… I’ll have to check out your goodie list. 🙂

  4. I’m a fan of 80’s music. Enjoyed your reviews from last week, couldn’t resist the snaky one lol. Have a great week, good luck squeezing in Bloggiesta and banned book week with all your other stuff … I don’t know how you do it!

  5. I listened to The Chocolate War for banned book week last year and really enjoyed it. I am hoping to participate in BBW and Bloggiesta, but have to be flexible as aging parents-in-law are having issues. One is in hospital and we are not sure if the other should be at home alone.

  6. I still haven’t read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Of course now it will be harder to get a copy from the library with the movie being released. 47 looks really interesting too. I hadn’t heard of it before.

    I had planned to sign up for Banned Books Week but I didn’t want to have to commit as it is a crazy week for me. I will be sure to visit the posts though.

    1. It is a crazy week that is for sure, I have post to write this weeks for the Banned Book hop, Bloggiesta and the Diverse Universe one. Thanks goodness there are many Children and Middle grade reads on the banned list so I can read those. 😀 I will probably read The Loraz since it was just a movie too 😀

  7. Banned Books Week has snuck up on me. I have one review ready to go and I’m about to prep another one, but I typically review every day that week. Oops. I intend to stop by the library tomorrow and grab some juvenile/middle grade books to try to squeeze a few more in. Enjoy your week!

  8. The Chocolate War and The Perks of Being a Wallflower look good! Can’t wait for Banned Book Week.

    Sidenote-I accused my husband tonight of not listening to me while he was on the ipad. He told me that’s exactly how he feels when I have my nose in a book. GASP! How dare he not understand! 🙂

    Shannon
    http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com

  9. Visiting your blog is always so interesting. I really need to eventually read Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite books. I hope you’re reading an edition with colored texts reflecting where they are in Oz. I can’t wait to see what the book blogging community has in store for Banned Books Week.

      1. I know for sure the annotated edition by W.W. Norton has a facsimile of L. Frank Baum’s first edition. Even if you weren’t going to read all the notes, it’s worth reading this version.

  10. A book room, that’s so exciting!

    Such great picks for this week. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is my favorite; I’m actually hosting a giveaway for it right now! 47 sounds really interesting. Have a great week!

  11. I want to read Perks of Being A Wallflower but right now it’s not a priority and it makes me sad. 😦
    LOL.

    So far I read and left comments in 14 blogs including this one. I’ll be back for more. Muwahahahahaha!

  12. I am trying to read about 4 different phyiscal books at one time. LOL! Right now my son and I are reading the Hunger Games. He asked me if I had a chance to keep reading but too many things going on that I had to take a break. My son, Tommy told me that he is waiting for me to catch up in the reading because he is in part two of the book. LOL! I have just started part two last last and WOO! There was a twist that I did not see it coming but LOVED it. That is all for now.

  13. I read The Chocolate War years ago and let my 12 year old read it recently. The ending is not what I remembered. Please come back and refresh me when you’re done. I also appreciate your snippet about “Wallflower”- I keep seeing this book and wanting to read it. I’m trying audible for the first time this week- I think my family needs to hear “The Giver”. Notice how all of these are from the banned books list? 🙂

  14. I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower for an Intellectual Freedom class. It was an interesting read. I love the update on your book room progress!

  15. Sounds like a good week, Sheila! I just signed up for your Banned Book Week thingy – love the pic you made for it!

    Chocolate Wars is one of the teen/YA books I was considering for next week – so I may just join you in that one!

    Enjoy your books this week and your family gathering!

    Sue

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