My Week in Books

What I Read Last Week   Two fiction and one nonfiction books this week.  The Truth About Twinkie Pie features Double-G, a brilliant girl who is being raised by her older sister. Double-G's life changes when she and her sister move to a new city and she has a chance to be the person she wants to be instead of the person her sister wants her to be. It's a refreshingly read with plenty of plot twists to satisfy the most demanding of readers. And lots of fascinating recipes, too.  There are some book characters you meet that you can never forget. Simon Shaw in See Ya, Simon is one of these. He’s slowly dying of muscular dystrophy and you know from page one that he doesn’t have long to live. You might think that would make for a very sad story, but See Ya, Simon isn’t like that at all. Simon doesn’t mope; no, he lives, every minute, every second, vibrantly, enthusiastically, energetically. He’s the kind of kid you would love to have as a son, as a brother, as a friend. A regular kid in a wildly irregular body who laughs it up and goofs around and lives. When his death comes (as you know, from the start, that it will) you feel the same kick in the gut you would if it was a boy you knew in real life. You feel the pain of his loss, but you are glad you had the chance to know him, even though it was just through the pages of a book. It was pretty obvious that The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace wasn’t going to be a happy story. It wasn’t. Rob’s mom refuses to marry his dad. His dad sells drugs. His dad is sentenced to life in prison for murder. The hope of the story is the sacrifices of Rob’s mom to send Rob to private school. Nevertheless, Rob sells drugs. Rob makes it to Yale, but keeps selling drugs. Rob graduates but still sells drugs. Despite, Rob’s mom’s best efforts, despite Rob’s brilliance, Rob is shot to death before he turns thirty. Yes, it's a tragic story, but it's worth reading to celebrate the efforts of Rob's mom, to encourage the work of kids like Rob, and to try to figure out ways that others won't have similarly short and tragic lives.

What Arrived Last Week   Mobile Library                          Sketch!  Hausfrau                    Rockin' the Boat A great week for books at my mailbox. Can there be anything more wonderful than receiving two review copies that come straight from your Amazon wish list? Or receiving two books that would have been on your Amazon wish list had you known of their existences? Yes, a great week.

What are you reading today?!

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  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 Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.