On a cold February night in 2007 a car accident involving a drunk driver took the lives of Michelle Williams and two of her children. Her husband, Chris, survived and immediately made the decision to let it go, to forgive the teenage driver who inflicted this great pain on him, and to move forward with…
Author: Shannon
Educated by Tara Westover
Tara Westover was raised on a mountain in Idaho by survivalist parents who were suspicious of all authority figures and formal establishments. As such, she was born at home with a midwife, never went to a doctor, and never set foot in a school. Her mother used herbalism to treat all illness and injury, her…
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg
How They Croaked has 19 chapters detailing the lives and deaths of 19 famous people. From Albert Einstein to Henry VIII, this book covers a wide range of historical figures. And while it’s interesting to learn how they died, it’s also nice to get a snapshot of why they were famous in the first place,…
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
When Sir Charles Baskerville dies in somewhat mysterious circumstances, his friend enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes to not only investigate the death of Sir Charles, but to protect the heir to his estate, Henry Baskerville, from meeting a similar fate. With the help of Dr. Watson, Sherlock delves into the curse of a hellish…
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence
Annie Spence is a librarian and, as you can imagine, an avid reader. This book is a series of letters written to various books she has crossed paths with, from books she loves (this girl is obsessed with The Virgin Suicides, and pretty much everything by Jeffrey Eugenides, and Jeffrey Eugenides himself) to books she…
2018 Summer Reading List
If you are a regular reader, you’ll notice that we’ve been absent. It turns out both of us have been in a reading funk. We just aren’t reading anything worth mentioning, or really anything at all (I KNOW, it’s awful). But summer is fast approaching, and you can’t have a successful summer without a stack…
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Three young people living ordinary lives. Three families uprooted by political and social turmoil. Three stories of escape and survival. In Refugee, Alan Gratz weaves three stories together into one powerful novel. Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Germany. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. All…
A is for Musk Ox by Erin Cabatingan
Most alphabet books start with A is for Apple, and this one would have been the same if Zebra had his way. Luckily Musk Ox is here to spice things up. He decides A is for musk ox, because musk oxen are awesome, plus they live in the Arctic which includes some of Alaska. And…
Science Fiction for People Who Don’t Read Science Fiction
People often ask me what genres I like to read, and my usual response is, “Oh, a little of everything.” While this is true, there are a few genres that I read less often than the others: mystery, romance, and science fiction. (While we are on the subject, there is one genre that I have…
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
It all began when Floyd’s kite became stuck in a tree. The trouble really began when he threw his favorite shoe to knock the kite loose, and THAT got stuck too. After that it starts getting a little more unusual as Floyd finds various things to throw up there in the hopes of knocking down…
The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright
Chellamuthu was a typical poor Indian boy, living with his poor Indian family, in a poor Indian village. When he was 8 years old, he was abducted from his family, sent to an orphanage, and adopted into an American family, despite his pleas to be returned to his family. Fast forward 10 years, and we…
10 Books to Help When You’re Feeling Blue
Let’s just be honest: February isn’t an inspiring month. It’s been cold for months and the forecast doesn’t usually show any temperature spikes. And if you or a family member is in school you’re all burned out yet summer break is still eons away. Basically, February feels like a slogfest to me–no wonder there’s a…
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