Monday, February 5, 2018

The RAHM Report for 2/5/18

What My Kids Are Reading


My Read-at-Home Kids Report from this past Saturday tells of my two-year-old's obsession with Gyo Fujikawa, as well as the books the baby enjoys these days and what my four-year-old is reading independently.

What I Finished Reading


  • The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick
    I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I gushed about it pretty excessively in my Goodreads review.
  • Good Charlotte by Carol Beach York
    My husband recommended this one. It was short and sweet, and I'll have a review on the blog soon. 
  • Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein
    This is a really well-written and fun cozy mystery. My review is on Goodreads. (Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!)
  • The Glory Girl by Betsy Byars
    I was planning to read this anyway, and decided to pair it with A Fine White Dust for a little book battle, as suggested by Living Read Girl. Not my favorite Byars, but it does have some of the classic hallmarks of her work. The post comparing both books is here
  • A Fine White Dust by Cynthia Rylant
    This was interesting and well-written and it paired really well with The Glory Girl. See link above for the comparison and to find out which book I declared the winner. 
  • Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller? by Alberta Wilson Constant
    My husband gave me a used (and signed!) copy of this book for Christmas. I tried to make it last for a little while, but it's such a quick read that once I got going, I couldn't stop! Set during the 1920s, it reminded me a bit of the Betsy-Tacy books, just set a few years later. Review is forthcoming. 
  • Advent of Dying by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
    I love Sister Mary Helen and the fact that this book is set during Advent. The Catholic aspect of the series appeals to me, but they're also really compelling mysteries and the main character has a wonderful sense of humor and spunky personality. I liked this one even better than the first book! 


What I'm Currently Reading


  • Clouds in My Coffee by Julie Mulhern
    I'm listening to the audiobook for now, but I might give in and download the ebook from Hoopla so I can finish it faster. The audiobook narrator, Callie Beaulieu, is excellent, though, and this book is just as funny and clever as the first two. 
  • A Family of Saints by Fr. Stéphane Joseph Piat, O.F.M.
    My book club is reading half of this for our next meeting. I've started it three times and the most I've managed to read is about five pages. I want to learn about St. Therese's family, but the writing style just isn't working for me. I may end up going to the meeting without completing all of the reading.
  • All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
    I've only read the first few pages, but I can't wait to get into this more. I just love this series. 

Challenge Progress

My challenge progress is slowing down a little bit as the second month of the year begins, but I'm still ahead of where I thought I'd be!

  • Four of the books I read this week county toward the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge:  Good Charlotte, The Glory Girl, A Fine White Dust, and Does Anybody Care about Lou Emma Miller? Letters D and G had already been crossed off my list for the A to Z Reading Challenge, but A Fine White Dust counted for the letter F as well. 
  • The Boy Most Likely To counts for the Library Love challenge since I borrowed the ebook from the library. It is also my 2015 book for the Family Tree Challenge.
  • Finally, Class Reunions are Murder and Advent of Dying both count toward Craving for Cozies, Cloak and Dagger, and Alphabet Soup. 
I'll be linking up today with Unleashing Readers/Teach Mentor Texts and Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


15 comments:

  1. I am especially intrigued by All Things Bright and Beautiful - I see that it's part of a series - placed it in my To-Find stack on Goodreads. :)

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    1. I hope you find it and enjoy it! The first book, All Creatures Great and Small, was one of my favorite books that I read in 2017.

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  2. A lot of older titles this week. I don't think I even have A Fine White Dust anymore-- with that cover, none of my students would pick it up, no matter how great it was.

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    1. The original cover is definitely not doing that book any favors. The 2002 cover is a little better: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003DYGNS8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

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  3. I always love Rylant's books, but haven't read that one in a while. Herriot's books are wonderful. I just re-read his dog stories recently. Wow, you've shared so many! Thanks!

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    1. There are a lot of Rylant books I've missed. When I finish reading the works of Betsy Byars, maybe I'll do hers next.

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  4. I recognize all of the kids books you read but don't think I've actually read any of them. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  5. Thanks for sharing your current list. I don't think I've read any of these, yet. I also have to say I really like your organizational layout for IMWAYR. I'm new to this weekly post and am still trying to learn the ropes. :)

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  6. I love the idea of the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge. Maybe I will try that next year. I already have too many goals! All those books are new to me. The Boy Most Likely To sounds most interesting. I am going to add it to my list.

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  7. Wow! That's a lot of books you've read! I hope you enjoy them all!

    Here’s my It’s Monday! What are you Reading !

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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  8. James Herriott. His books bring back happy memories. Have a good week. This week's post

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  9. I've long been a lover of James Herriot, so many wonderful memories! I used to watch the television adaptation with my mum when I was little. :-)

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  10. Wow, you got a lot of reading done. I love seeing backlist books on blogs because that’s what I read. Have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  11. When I was a classroom teacher with a group of grade 3/4/5's there were always students who loved All Creatures Great and Small and other James Herriot books. I'm sure I've read at least some of them, but it was so long ago that I could probably read them and not have the foggiest notion of what was to come.

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  12. I read my way through all the Herriot vet book with delight. I hope you enjoy the rest as well.

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