Our school has done school-wide reads for the past several years. (Many writers we have chosen are up-and-coming writers who have since received Big Deal Book Deals or even Movie Offers. One writer we had actually quit his day job so he could move to Minneapolis/St. Paul--from California. I'd like to think we had an impact on him.) This year our kids are reading young adult literature written by Minnesota authors. We're reading four books and in the fall all four authors will make appearances at our school to work with/consult/meet our students and staff. The librarian has set up a collaborative website so that the kids can have conversations with the authors about their books. I have been pretty impressed with what they've been asking the authors about and what they have been commenting on. It's exciting (for an English teacher, that is!).
This week I started reading my pile of school books.
I actually read a CPHS Rebel Reads book in time to post on the collaborative site. I'm officially a part of the Book Nerd group! Here's what I posted about The Tear Collector:
Hi CP readers,
I just finished reading one of my summer reads --having a newborn has slowed down my summer reading pace! :-) I have The Tear Collector and I found it to be interesting. I, like Ainsley, thought I was so over the vampire genre. I read the series-that-shall-not-be-named and a couple of other picks from the genre; I felt like it had been over done. This was an interesting twist, which is what makes it palatable (IMO). Unlike the aforementioned series, Jones' characters weren't overly angst-ridden or dramatized. While reading this I wondered how a writer like Patrick Jones figures out how to write from a female protagonist's viewpoint? I also found it interesting that the writing of this book was motivated by the fact that readers were only reading vampire books--what was it like to write a book in spite of a genre (without making it tongue-in-cheek)?
The next question I have for the group is: I am willing to give someone my copy of this book if they are willing to loan me their copy of whatever book they read. Anyone up for a swap? (Sounds like Nailed is pretty intriguing.) Just let me know and we can arrange a hand off somewhere some time.
My recommendation to you, blog readers, is that if you aren't tired of vampire stories, you might like this one. If you have already read the Twilight Series, watch True Blood or enjoy any of the billions of vampir-y media offerings, you could let this one pass you by.
I actually read a CPHS Rebel Reads book in time to post on the collaborative site. I'm officially a part of the Book Nerd group! Here's what I posted about The Tear Collector:
Hi CP readers,
I just finished reading one of my summer reads --having a newborn has slowed down my summer reading pace! :-) I have The Tear Collector and I found it to be interesting. I, like Ainsley, thought I was so over the vampire genre. I read the series-that-shall-not-be-named and a couple of other picks from the genre; I felt like it had been over done. This was an interesting twist, which is what makes it palatable (IMO). Unlike the aforementioned series, Jones' characters weren't overly angst-ridden or dramatized. While reading this I wondered how a writer like Patrick Jones figures out how to write from a female protagonist's viewpoint? I also found it interesting that the writing of this book was motivated by the fact that readers were only reading vampire books--what was it like to write a book in spite of a genre (without making it tongue-in-cheek)?
The next question I have for the group is: I am willing to give someone my copy of this book if they are willing to loan me their copy of whatever book they read. Anyone up for a swap? (Sounds like Nailed is pretty intriguing.) Just let me know and we can arrange a hand off somewhere some time.
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