Random Musings of a Bibliophile

It's that time of year again! School starts here in Tennessee next week. Our homeschool co-op, where I teach two high school English classes, begins on Monday. Here in my house, the Painter children have already started with their non co-op studies. As always, I enjoy sharing what I'm going to be teaching (and therefore rereading) through the year. For my Elegant Essay class: First Semester  Second Semester For my Literary Analysis Class (my oldest who will be a Sophomore is in this): First Semester Second Semester In addition to these, they will be reading a whole bunch of classic short stories we all remember fondly and not so fondly from our own time in school. They will also have one more novel I'm still deciding on. For my 5th Grader is doing an Ancient Based writing curriculum: He will obviously be reading way more books than this, but those will be of his own choosing from a list. What was your favorite required reading in schoo...

Here are some shorter musings on recent YA Fantasy Reads. A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer At nearly 500 pages, this book seems long, but I actually found it to be a quick, engaging read. Brigid Kemmerer certainly has a way with words and is a gifted writer. This is the first book of hers I have read, and I will definitely be reading more. As far as "Beauty and the Beast" retellings go, this one is fairly well done. Rhen has the factor the male lead in this story needs-the realization that he is undeserving of saving. I love that he rallied not for himself but his people. As far as staunch allies go, you can't get better than Grey. He is such a wonderful foil to both Rhen and Harper. (He is my favorite. I'm reading the sequel just because he's the main character.) My main issue with the book is Harper, who I never really saw as a fully realized character. Harper has Cerebral Palsy. She has a limp due to it. This causes her to have to explain it to...

When I first heard about Lovely War  by Julie Berry, I remember thinking, "Whoa, that's ambitious." And it is. The scope and depth of this story with all of its intricacies and thematic elements is massive. Berry manages to hold it all together beautifully. She managed it so beautifully that it is so far my favorite YA read of 2019. The  ecstasies  and  the  wounds of love were Aphrodite's work. Forging passions was what she was born to do. She, too, was a  welder, a mistress of fire of a different sort, working in materials more powerful and  resistant  than carbon and iron. And what did that toil do to her? In 1942 New York City while men are partying on the eve of shipping off to war, a stunning couple arrives at a hotel in the midst of the revelry and departs for their room followed by an overly enthusiastic bellboy. But none of these figures are as they appear. The couple is Aphrodite and Ares on a secret assignation that turns out t...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Auto-Buy Authors Here are my auto-buy authors and their most recent or coming soon release. Also, I got stuck on twelve and couldn't cut it down any further. So it's really Top Twelve Tuesday today. Or Thirteen rather as I sort of combined Emma and Genevieve. (I auto-buy all their individual projects too.) Who are some authors whose books you buy no matter what?   (I don't know what it says about me that there is only one male author on this list, but I don't dislike whatever it is.)

I take the 2nd Friday of every month to highlight some upcoming releases I am looking forward to that I hope are Future Favorites. Feel free to do your own post, just please link back to my blog and tell me about your post in the comments. Jason Reynolds has a new MG coming out!!!!! The premise is a fascinating one too. It sounds complicated, but Reynolds is a waste at voice and storytelling, so I'm sure it will be so well done. This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy— Talking about boogers. Stealing pocket change. Skateboarding. Wiping out. Braving up. Executing complicated handshakes. Planning an escape. Making jokes. Lotioning up. Finding comfort. But mostly, too busy walking home. Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look ...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Childhood Favorites For the purposes of this list, I'm ending my childhood at 6th grade, which was the end of elementary school for me. We begin with the books I apparently made my parents hate by demanding they be read so many times: Now the ones I read independently beginning in 2nd grade and reread until they fell apart. (In the order in which I read them.) Out of these independently read books 5/8 are still favorites. Any guesses as to which three are not? (Two I'm nostalgically fond of even if I realize they are Not That Great™️.) What's your favorite childhood book? Did you have a favorite that makes you cringe to think about it now?

June has been busy busy, and I've been doing a ton of school prep. I have found some new favorite reads however. Here They Are: June in Numbers: New Reads: 5 Rereads: 1 MG: 0 YA: 1 Adult: 5 Fiction: 6 Non-Fiction: 0 Realistic Fiction: 5 Fantasy/Sci-Fi: 1 So....June was supposed to be a "read the books I own month" and it WAS. Buuuuutttt...I went on vacation and bought more books, so this shelf is still out of control. July will also be a "read the books I own month". Do you see the difference from previous months? No? Me either.