Happy/Sad

The older I get, the more I am finding that I am both happy and sad at the same time far too often.  Maybe, my father's passing has heightened this awareness in me, as I am both happy that he is home and free of the pain that he was suffering from, but also lamenting that he is gone from me here and now.  Either way my heart is full.  It is full of emotion - love, joy, pain, hurt, loss, and grace.  I get a little of this sense when I finish a book series.  As I wrapped up The SYLO Chronicles, I am happy to have read the story, but sad that I end my relationship with characters whom I have grown fond of.  I think it is why I love reading so very much.  Authors that create genuine, authentic, caring characters are magicians.  To me, that is beauty.  I know that the story is fiction...yet, I allow myself to revert back to childhood days; I let myself IMAGINE.  In doing so, I am so very often swept away into a world for a time, and my sincere hope is that I learn deeply and grow richly, from my experience there.  After reading this trilogy I desire two things: I want to passionate do my part to transform the world so that I indeed, leave it better than I found it, and as my heart continue to heal from the loss of my father, I want to be incredibly intentional about investing in the lives of those whom i care deeply about. Love you friends.

2 out of 3...

Last night I finished book two!  It is so wonderful to finish a book, but it is even better when you know that the story is not over.  This morning I will begin reading book three, Strike.  I hope that you all have been enjoying this unit.  I really like slowing down and wallowing in a a good book.  I always learn from he author and from the characters that I meet along the way.  Slow down.  Enjoy the present.  Read carefully. Enjoy!

A New Trilogy...

I'm so excited to being a new trilogy!  We are just beginning our Independent Reading unit with My Grade 9 class.  I am excited to read along with each of them and to learn new strategies to help guide my reading, and seeping my understanding of what it is that I am reading.  The series that I am undertaking during this unit is written by D.J. MacHale and begins with a book called Sylo. After 38 pages I am already hooked and am excited to keep reading more.  I don't want to give the storyline away but the books takes place up in Maine and the central character is a high school freshmen named Tucker.  So far a boy has tragically died during a Friday night football game, a mysterious flying object has blown up off the coast, and Ticket and his best friend are currently in the backseat of a police jeep trying to explain they had nothing to do with it.  Clearly, this is my kind of story:)  Enjoy reading friends!!

September 27

Finished Orbiting Jupiter.  Highly recommend.  Easy read.  Hard content.  Life is not always easy or beautiful.  Gary Schmidt reminds us that there are deep deep troughs in life.  I am reminded again of that today.  My heart is heavy.

Orbiting Jupiter

I LOVE when someone I love and trust recommends a book to me.  On Monday my friend, Mark Hiskes put a book in my hand, Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt.  Immediately I was excited as I have read some other Schmidt works including Wednesday Wars.  Last night I read the first 65 pages and can see why my friend enjoyed it so much.  I'll be finished by Friday and the book will be back in the library.  Feel free to grab it then - I think you too will very much enjoy it.

Blessings,

The Hero of Ages

I spent the last part of my evening talking with my father-in-law.  We had just finished putting together a bunk bed for my boys.  By "we" I mean he put it together and I helped put it into the corner of the room at the end.  As we sat around the island in my kitchen we were chatting about all the many pieces that it took to put the bed together.  There were hundreds!!  He then picked up my book The Hero of Ages and asked if it was good.  I laughed into just how incredible the series (Mistborn) has been and how I am loving this final book.  It clicked to me thinking about just how many pieces go into writing a trilogy.  All the little details, the characters, the descriptions of the setting and all the sensory details that make the book really pop.  I smiled and then spent the next two hours reading.  I love books.  Happy reading friends.

Mistborn

Good morning friends!  I finished the first book in the Mistborn trilogy.  This morning Mrs. Houge walked into my classroom with a surprise. BOOK TWO!  It was checked out by someone else and now I can jump into the second book in the series, The Well of Ascension.  I am a bit weird when it comes to reading.  I only like reading series that are finished (I do not like reading them as they come ou because then I have to wait so long for the next book).  I hope you find a book that invites you into a world of discovery and joy.  Blessings on the start of the school year!