Books 2013

The books I read in 2013.

Dear Jo - Christina Kilbourne
    My school had the kids read this book the year before I began teaching there so it was in every classroom.  I had never read it so I picked it up.  It's about internet safety so I wondered if it would be a good one to suggest to my students now that the group who read it originally is all out of the building.  It's not.  The whole thing felt like it was written in 1994 when the internet was just becoming something you could have in your home.  They talked about chat rooms like people talked about chat rooms when I was 8.  I was shocked to find out it had been written in 2007.  If you are going to write a book for kids about using the internet safely, the first thing you should do is learn how to use the internet.

Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
     My coworkers had been passing around this book last year, but I never got in on the rotation to read it.  Then it came out as a movie and I had every intention of seeing it, but never did.  Then the movie was released onto dvd and I thought I might rent it.  The day before it came out on dvd I saw a student with the book and I told her, "Oh hey, that comes out on dvd tomorrow.  I was thinking I might rent it this weekend."  She asked if I had read the book and I told her I hadn't, but had thought about it.  That was the point at which she pulled out her bookmark and handed me the book and told me she had read it a million times and she wanted me to read the book before seeing the movie.  They promote the book by saying it's a story about being a teenager, but I was a teenager once, and it was nothing like that.  I'll be honest, I think I liked the movie better.  

When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
   This was a book that was picked by my middle school "book club" that meets before school in the library.  It was a quick read with an interesting concept.  I knew nothing about it before I read it, and I think that is the way it should be.  So if you are bored for an afternoon, this would be a fine way to spend time. 

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
   The same student that told me to read 'Perks' brought me another book by her favorite author and told me to read it.  The author is a man that does a popular youtube channel and so I knew who he was, I just had never read anything of his.  It is a story about a girl with cancer.  I was hesitant to read it.  Those kinds of stories are hard for me.  I ended up reading it all in one day.  A friend told me she had the worst 'book hangover' after finishing the book.  I had a headache from crying.  I also laughed out loud often.  I am torn on whether or not I actually liked it.  I mean I liked it, but it was sad, and I don't love being sad.  I think my next book will need to be either funny or a mystery or something.  Not sad.

Matched - Ally Condie - 
  Matched was a good change of pace for what I had been reading.  It was a semi-sappy teen romance meets dystopic society.  

Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion
   We listened to Warm Bodies as we drove to Las Vegas for Easter.  We had already seen the movie that came out based on the book.  We enjoyed the book (warning: it has some foul language) and we also enjoyed the movie, but they are different.  Most of what happens in the movie doesn't happen in the book until about halfway through.  

Divergent - Veronica Roth
  Brad actually read this first.  He loved it.  Does it need more of a recommendation than that?  

Insurgent - Veronica Roth
    Book 2 of Veronica Roth's series.  I should have waited until the third one is out to read these because now I have to wait to find out what happens.  BOO.


Maphead- Ken Jennings
  Nerdy book and I loved it.  I wish I could make anyone who questions why we learn geography read this book.  
 
The Dressmaker- Kate Alcott
  Is it normal to get cold in the middle of the summer just because of the book you are reading?  I was freezing the whole time I read this book.  I love learning about the Titanic.  I think if I'd known that the story was based on actual people on the Titanic from the beginning I would have been a little more into it. 




Crossed - Ally Condie
 It was weird coming back to this after reading Veronica Roth's books.  I kept getting the stories mixed up.
 
Reached - Ally Condie   
  Fun fact.  Ally Condie taught english at my high school.  I didn't have her a teacher, but I'll pretend like her writing a series somehow makes me cooler.

Enders Game- Orson Scott Card
  We listened to this book while driving to the condo.  I'd never read it and I wanted to know the story before the movie came out.  I really liked the book.  I also liked the  movie, even if it didn't really follow the book. 

Allegiant- Veronica Roth
 Ugh.  Just ugh.  I feel like she had a rough outline of what she wanted to have happen in the story, and then she published it. 
 
Hyperbole and a Half- Allie Brosh 
  I bought this book for Nate for Christmas.  But I had to read it first. Allie Brosh is really funny, but I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone who is offended by language.  She has a bit of a potty mouth.

Lock and Key- Sarah Dessen
  This book was darker than I thought it would be based on the cover.  It was one of those books where I started caring more about the characters than I thought I would.  It was pretty good.
 
On the Map- Simon Garfield
  This one only kind of counts because I didn't finish it.  It's one of those nerd books that takes awhile to get through.  I eventually had to take it back to the library.  But I liked it and will probably finish it at some point.