It's Monday! What are you reading? 5-17-21

   

It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

I recently read and loved:

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

This quiet but powerful story will leave a lasting impression with its complicated but nuanced approach to immigration, family, culture, and inter-generational tensions. Don’t be surprised if this book has a Caldecott and Newbery sticker come January. The Librarian's Stories by Lucy Falcone, illustrated by Anna Wilson In a village set in the midst of war, people are full of fear and hunger. So they see the young librarian sitting on a bench every day reading stories as foolish and dangerous. It doesn’t take long, however, for the librarian’s daily presence in the village square to become a source of joy and hope. Buried Beneath the Boabab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani A book told in a series of short vignettes about an unnamed Nigerian girl who was kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group back in 2014. There is also an excellent afterword at the end of the book that places the story in historical context.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

An outstanding audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo. I love the modern take on Pride & Prejudice through the lens of gentrification. The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron This book was life-changing and dare I say life-saving. My whole life I thought the trait of being overly sensitive was a liability. But backed by science and research, Elaine N. Aron actually posits why being a highly sensitive person can be a positive trait. I recommend this for all people who consider their sensitivity to be a negative trait as well as the people who love them.

Healing SIBO: Fix the Real Cause of IBS, Bloating and Wight Issues by Shivan Sarna

For people like me who have been living with IBS for most of their lives and have resigned themselves to the thought that it's always going to be a series of frustrating symptoms that seem to have no cause... well it appears to have a cause now: Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. This book gives a really well-researched explanation of SIBO for laypeople in easy to understand language. Currently reading:  Kaleidoscope by Brian Selznick Currently reading with my ears:  Creative Quest by Questlove