Book-lectic

Teaching Writing in Kindergarten: A Structured Approach to Daily Writing That Helps Every Child Become a Confident, Capable Writer

2:00 am 24 May 2013

A great resource for ideas on how to format a writing program for the year. While I may not be able to follow it exactly (I teach kindergarten in a foreign country and English is the 2nd language), I plan to incorporate as much as possible in my teaching next year. Fantastic read!

Teaching Children to Listen: A practical approach to developing children?s listening skills

2:00 am 2 April 2013

Teaching Children to Listen: A practical approach to developing childrenâ€™s listening skills - Liz Spooner, Jacqui Woodcock

This was such a great resource. Well written and all the appendices are really useful. I liked all the games that were included with detailed directions on how to use with ways to differentiate. Will be referring to it often!

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire 5)

2:00 am 24 October 2012

I FINALLY FINISHED IT! That book took forever and a day. The first 2/3 were enough to put me to sleep every night for months. It finally picked back up and left me with quite a few exciting cliffhangers to wait a few years to find out what happens with. Why give it 3 stars when it clearly only deserves 2? Well, it had enough of the good stuff and characters I love (or love to hate) in it. And it was the typical GRRM writing and storytelling that anyone who reads the books has grown to love.

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

2:00 am 5 July 2012

A little out of date, some really hilarious parts (Jon Cusack, cereal, football), some interesting parts (serial killers, Pam Anderson, Left Behind), and the rest was annoying and boring. Glad I finally read it and might even re-read my favorite bits at some point.

Shadow Song (Wheeler Hardcover)

2:00 am 5 March 2012

When I was 14 years old, my family took me to Yellowstone National Park. In one of the gift shops I picked up a copy of Shadow Song and the description on the back led me to buy it. It became my favorite book and it has never stopped mattering. At 14, I could not understand a lot of the adult topics in the book completely, but I loved the narrative, the romance lost and and found, and the friendship of a country boy from Georgia and the 'crazy' old Jewish man who heard the Shadow Song. Over the years I have read this book over and over and it takes on new meaning for me. I will always love this book, the way that Avrum loved Amelita Galli-Curci and the way Bobo loved Amy. This book is for anyone who has loved someone and thought they could never be with them. It is for people who cherish the memories of times past. It is lastly for those who love drifting off, on a sea of nostalgia, to a time when they were utterly happy and content.

Angel

2:00 am 21 February 2012

This was the second time reading this book and I loved it just as much as the first time. I think it is my favorite Johanna Lindsey novel (so far). Great characters, fantastic chemistry, lots of emotion, and excellent plot. All around good fun.

Habibi

2:00 am 14 February 2012

Stunning. Disturbing. Heartbreaking. Hopeful. Those are just a few of the words I would use to describe this novel. I have read a few of Thompson's graphic novels and was very excited to hear about Habibi. The illustrations are top notch and I loved all the symbols and calligraphy scattered throughout. Along with the story of Dodola and Zam (escaped child slaves who grow up together on their own in the desert), we get beautifully rendered parallel stories from Christianity/Bible and Islam/Koran. Thompson has really outdone himself with this work of art and it will be hard to top it. Saying that, the novel is strewn with the sterotypical ideas about orientalism, harems, and such. Also the inordinate amount of nude females with only the giant hairy guts of a few ugly old men for the ladies to see. I am not agaist nudity but, gimme a break, some equality would be nice ;P.

A warning though: The material in this novel can be quite disturbing and deals with rape, child marriage, prostitution, castration, starvation, violence, death, and a lot of female nudity. R rated for sure.

Extreme Exposure (An I-Team Novel)

2:00 am 13 February 2012

Sexy, sweet, suspenseful, romantic, emotional, and fantastic! My first read by Pamela Clarke and definitely not my last.

Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 4)

2:00 am 11 February 2012

I really love these books! I swear that Ward has thought through every little detail of her vampire world and it shows. I love reading about the different rituals and how new details are revealed (no pun intended) in each book. While they each focus on a different couple, the other story lines weave together perfectly and you really get to know each character intimately. This one focused on Butch and Marissa. Their story has been building since book one so it was great to see how it all works out. Looking forward to the next one in a few weeks (gotta space them out ;).

Her Own Devices (Magnificent Devices #2)

2:00 am 8 February 2012

I really enjoyed this second installment much more than the first. Much better flow, plot elements were explored more, you got to know the characters better. The romance element is sweet and I just love all the orphans to pieces. Lady Claire is a fantastic heroine. While I still think books 1 and 2 should have been combined, I am looking forward to the next installment with great anticipation.

Lady of Devices: A steampunk adventure novel (Magnificent Devices)

2:00 am 8 February 2012

It was steampunk and a dollar on Kindle so I felt like it was a deal that could not be passed up. It has the potential to be a much more interesting story but it does not seem to be fleshed out properly (characters and plot)and was often choppy. I would have given it a full five stars if it had not left so much out. The story has flavors of Oliver Twist (which I love), and has some other interesting twists as well, but just ends out of nowhere. There is a book two which I suspect might actually be the other half of a complete story (which did not need to be broken into two books). I plan on reading it immediately, but it does annoy me that it was made into two books.

Brave the Wild Wind

2:00 am 30 January 2012

I realized, about half way through, that I have read this book before. That did not stop me from enjoying it a second time. I read a lot of Johanna Lindsey's books about ten years ago, but can only remember a couple. I never really got into the romance genre, but I love Lindsey. Her books always have fun characters, drama, and a happy ending. The love scenes are not gratuitous either and are important to the plot or just simple and sweet. I do not need all the details, so that is nice.

This particular book had a lot of family secrets/misunderstandings, ranchers, indians, gambling, and travel. A fun quick read!

Life As We Knew It

2:00 am 29 January 2012

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book. This was not just heavy for the YA genre it is categorized in, but it was heavy period. Extremely well written and the diary style of the entries was absolutely invaluable (normally I find it annoying). Oddly enough, I feel like I am more prepared for some kind of catastrophe after this book. I also felt like I should start stock piling canned goods and water. I am interested in seeing where the other books head with the story. The small glimmer of hope in the end helped this book get one more star (I was feeling quite depressed while reading it). I definitely recommed it but, reader, be prepared.

The Heir

2:00 am 25 January 2012

Just as lovely and cute as I remembered it. This was the first romance I ever read back in 2001. Loved it. I did not read the other books about the Reid Family so I plan to read them this year as well.

Divergent

2:00 am 23 January 2012

While I was reading this book I felt like it was similar to Harry Potter minus the magic and Harry is a girl. It also felt like the Hunger Games minus the games with Equilibrium mixed in for good measure (one of my fav movies). That all said, it was very unigue in it's own way. I always seem to guess the mysterious past of the characters long before they are revealed, which is a bummer, but I love the other surprises throughout. The romance element was sweet and the action was edge-of-your-seat. Great world/society development and characters. Looking forward to book 2 in a few months!

Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 3)

2:00 am 21 January 2012

So far my favorite in the series has been the first (Wrath and Beth), but this is a close second (Zsadist and Bella). There are a couple things I love about the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that keep me reading it (even though I am NOT a fan of vampire lit). I love the extremely well written characters with their very unique strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. The vampire world Ward has created is so well thought out that you can tell she knows it inside and out. I love that even though there is a main couple in each book, you still see the advancement of other storylines and new twists shock you at every turn. And I love every character equally which rarely happens. Just so well done!