By far my favorite reads of the month are The Seed Keeper, Stay With Me, and Bloodmarked. Those really knocked it out of the park for me.

I was less impressed by How Much of These Hills is Gold honestly, while I appreciate the story being told, I felt like the flowery language made it so detached and it didn’t give me the emotional resonance that Stay with Me, or The Seed Keeper did. The Seed Keeper also had these gorgeous descriptive passages, but it forced you to slow down and it was so simply done, it was elegant.

Thank you to @thatgoodgoodbook for gifting me Uphill by Jemele Hill. I love the NBA and Hill is someone I have always admired. I remember when she tweeted about that awful president and how it was received, so it was interesting to hear her side of the story. She has led a very interesting life, and I thought she told her story really well. I was engaged throughout. And Indigenous Peoples History was a heavy read, and it’s meant to be a textbook. It did not have that narrative quality that makes nonfiction engaging, but again, I don’t think that is its purpose. It is to inform you of the truth laid bare, and I think it’s really important to have out in the world.

Invisible was a great graphic novel about Spanish speaking students that come from alllll over Central and South America, coming together in a common cause. A great one. Indian No More was pretty good, glad it exists in the world, and it’s an important story to tell. I can see myself using this as an anchor in social studies lessons.

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

#bookstagram #monthlywrapup #fiction #nonfiction #middlegrade #alwaysreading #readmorebooks #readers #greatbooksfor2022 #bookstagrammer

A big giant thank you to all of those who donated to my #donorschoose. You have no idea how happy it made me and the students. To have these books that feature primarily Indigenous and Queer voices means the world. It is so important to me to build a library that is as inclusive as possible. And to include books that do not shy from the truth, but that also celebrate all identities.

Pictured are the books: All Because You Matter, Keepunumuk, Shin-chi’s Canoe, Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, Finding My Dance, Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross Cherokee Space Engineer, Kapaemahu, Bounce Back, The Best At It, This is our Rainbow, King and the Dragonflies, Hurricane Child, Towers Falling, Almost Flying, Anna on the Edge, Quiet Hero: The Ira Hayes Story, and Cardboard Kingdom.

#readersofinstagram #teachersofinstagram #iteach4th #4thgrade #bookstagram #readindigenousauthors #readqueerauthors #queerbooksforkids #picturebooks #filipinobookstagrammer #classroomlibrary

A weekend in review. Some current reads on my nightstand and some new books from our local Friends of the Library book sale. What have y’all been reading? Miss this space but my scrolling addiction was outta control. It was me. Not you. Lol. #bookstagram #reading #readersofinstagram #fantasy #libraryuser #supportlibraries #carved #noodlesoup #halloweenpumpkins

I love this beginning of the year math activity I do with the class. I did it last year and the kids loved doing read alouds during math. Several gave feedback this year that it was their favorite part of the week! I got this idea on the internet and I’m hoping to expand the books I get about mathematicians! Super fun and high engagement. The books I use are On a Beam of Light, A Computer Called Katherine, Nothing Stopped Sophie, and The Boy Who Loved Math. #math #iteachfourth #teacher #mathbooks #mathbooksforkids #mathisfun

Listen. I had all the best intentions of reading poetry this month but when Babel landed on my doorstep thanks to the amazing @nerdtasticnoms those plans were laid to waste.

Obviously I have no regrets because The Poppy Wars was a warm up to this masterpiece. You knew RF Kuang was onto something there, but here, her thesis feels more fleshed out. I love how she writes her novels with no easy answers. I loved the etymological tidbits in this as well and the exploration of where words come from. Some people may find it a bit much but it has me thinking about language and colonization. Can a translation ever be true to its source material? The magical system in this book as a metaphor for the way power works within colonial systems is outstanding.

There is so much more packed into this chonker, from colorism to sexism and white woman tears. It’s A LOT, but I never felt like it was overstuffed. Kuang is a pro, and says just enough without beating you over the head with it. She clearly knows her stuff and trusts her readers to read between the lines.

This will be one of my favorite books this year. No question.

#Babel #RFKuang #Fantasy #DarkAcademia #Novels #Translation #BooksBooksBooks #Bookstagram #ReadMoreBooks #Academia #oxford

Before reading this book I highly suggest you do some research about “Magdalene Laundries” in Ireland. Without that context this might not hit as hard. I really liked this novella. I think it is beautifully written, I mean Keegan writes the process of baking a cake seem beautiful. Which I guess it is when you really sit with it. This is a reminder that how we live our life and how we treat others can make a huge impact in making sure justice and safety is provided for all. Power and greed corrupt and by now I hope we can all understand that the Catholic Church has those things in spades. This is short, but it packs a punch. I don’t want to say too much because I think this is best left for you to decide and unravel yourself. It’s a quiet one, but moving.

[ID: The novella Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan lies flat on a wooden table. There is an indoor plant next to it in a terracotta pot. The leaves are green with light green streaks going through it. The book cover is also green with the title and snow falling]

#bookerprize #bookerlonglist #bookerlonglist2022 #smallthingslikethese #smallthingslikethesebyclairekeegan #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreflection