Creature Bug

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
by Roddy Doyle. Reading it with my students. I think I'll take the month off from any personal reading...

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
by C. S. Lewis. Crusing through #3 here in The Chronicles of Narnia. As I listen to Jason read them, I realize there's probably a lot Sydney isn't understanding. But she loves the book anyway.

Angelina and the Princess
by Katharine Holabird. Jules is suddenly smitten with the Angelina Ballerina books. No need to tell her there's a cartoon...we'll just enjoy the lovely books!

The Year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion. (audiobook version) After my summer of grief (which seems to be following me into my autumn), this was the book I needed to read. Cathartic. If you have ever experienced the loss of a loved one, you need to read this book. Absolutely. (*****)

Reading in the Dark: A Novel
by Seamus Deane. Read it again with my Irish lit class. Haunting, mythic, and reads like a memoir. Happy to say my students enjoyed it as much as I did. (*****)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith. A wonderful coming-of-age story. I read it on the airplane and cried. Beautiful blends the identities of being Irish, being American, and growing up poor. (*****)

Where the Heart Is
by Billie Letts. I was very skeptical about this book, and it ended up being such a delight. Really loved it. (****)

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger. I liked it. It surprised me in some parts, but it was a good story. (****)

Becoming the Parent You Want To Be: A Sourcebook of Strategies for the First Five Years
by Laura Davis. I skimmed a lot, but really found the chapter on discipline and how to keep your emotions under control very insightful. (****)

Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine. Really charming and lovely, just as a fairytale should be. I listened to the audiobook version, which is very well told. (*****)

Small Surrenders: A Lenten Journey
by Emilie Griffin. This was exactly what I needed to read. The book goes day-by-day through the Lenten season, and worth reading even if it's not Lent. (*****)

Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance

The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History

Flu : The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic