Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

Unputdownable

This may not be a word, but it is a perfect description of some books.

I am the type of reader that usually devours books in one sitting, but that is more of a reflection of my reading speed, rather than the merit of any books. When I find a book to be “unputdownable” it means that I start reading it after 9pm and do not go to bed until it is finished. It is a usual thing for my attention to be grabbed by a book in the daytime, but the real mark of a book’s “unputdownable-ness” is if I stay up past my teacher bed time to finish it.

Last night, I had this experience with Touch by Courtney Maum.

This book follows trend forecaster Sloane Jacobson as she engages with a big technology firm to workshop the latest technology. Her partner of 10 years is a French neosensualist and spends his days typing away on his phone or laptop, ignoring her.

I started this book at 10pm and finished it at 12:10am and barely put it down in between.

Because of this COVID-19 world, I was sucked into this book that focused on how we grapple with needing touch and personal connections in this world of technology and automation.

It was unputdownable because I wanted to live vicariously through Sloane and her physical experiences. As, Sloane tries to advocate for more touch and more connections and all I could think was “I want that too.” I know I cannot have that and will not have that at least for awhile, but I felt that momentary loss while reading. Hand shakes, hugs, making out with strangers…all frowned upon during a pandemic and taken for granted by us pre-COVID and by the characters in the book. I know that I never will again.

It was the perfect book, at the perfect moment.

What defines an “unputdownable” book for you?

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx · 2 Comments

On Not Liking a Book:

Whenever I do not like a book or enjoy the reading experience of it, I feel terribly.

I know that authors spend a lot of time crafting a narrative that they are proud of, that makes them a livelihood, and that makes them an author. So, when I read someone’s work and hate it, I feel ashamed. I wonder what’s wrong with me that I did not like it. Then, I go onto Goodreads and I find that I cannot be honest in my review.

This thought/feeling/fear/habit is one that I have mentioned in previous posts and has been on my mind this past week. I read Diary of a Mad Fat Girl by Stephanie McAfee and I just hated it. It was about a quirky, impulsive, funny, and confident (mostly) art teacher, so, by all accounts, I should have loved it. And I didn’t. I found the young female characters to be irrational stereotypes. The younger males were all overly handsome nice, solid, calm, rational, lacking personalities, and boring. The older males were misogynistic cheaters and the older women were wealthy, harmless eccentrics or openly hostile and conniving shrews. The women were always fighting and the plot lines were absurd (Often I like absurd plot lines, just did not like it here.)

That being said, it was what I felt and what I thought. It does not mean that I am right or that I interpreted the characters the way that the author intended. That is why my Goodreads review was “Listen, I didn’t really like this one.” The understatement of the year, but appropriate. I do not think it is my place to rip an author apart because of how I felt about her characters and story. Sometimes, fellow readers will have the above critiques about books that I love. We are all different people with varying tastes and preferences. Books too.

That is why I try to honest about how I felt about a book or interpreted a book, but never accuse an author or book of being awful. That’s not a fact. When I find something to be awful, it is because I did not enjoy it or it was not to my taste. Reviewers would do well to remember this. Myself included.

How do you handle reviewing books you do not like? What books do you like that no one else does? What books do you not like that everyone else does?

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

Reading Challenge (BIPOC Authors) Update 3

Hello Book Blog World!

With all of the craziness surrounding back-to-school…and our remote/hybrid learning planning, I have found myself reading less and writing about books less. This is an unusual time, so I am gaining some unusual habits; habits that I hope to break.

Over the last few weeks, I have added: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum.

A multiple award winner and I understood why. The story was powerfully told in verse, in an elevator. I couldn’t put this one down.

I have been doing a lot of reading on racism, antiracism, and reading BIPOC fiction authors and this one made also consider my role as a white teacher with BIPOC students. Tatum gives important information on how racial identity develops in people (especially adolescents) and where some of the most common stereotypes come from.

I wish I could have taken her course in education school, but I got a lot out of the book for my students now.

Any other suggestions to add to my TBR?

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

On Reading Fan-fiction and a Review of Jo & Laurie

When I say I read everything, I mean that I read EVERYTHING.

One of my comfort reading activities, especially after reading or watching something that I really enjoyed or was unsatisfied with, is to take to Tumblr and find fan-fiction for that book or movie or a favorite character.

And, I am not afraid to admit it.

In high school, I stumbled upon LOTR stories and Harry Potter stories. After reading Cassandra Clare’s Draco trilogy, even today, I sometimes cannot separate her story from the Harry Potter canon.

I know that fan-fiction is not thought of as “literature” or as as a respected form of reading or writing, but I love it for what it is. How many budding authors have fine-tuned their craft while creating new universes and situations for beloved characters? How many characters have become beloved because the fan-fiction world took notice of them and gave them storylines they were lacking in a book or movie? How many of us have gotten to enjoy a continuation of our favorite series because someone took the time to write about it for us? How many of us have enjoyed a character/YN pairing that allowed us feel something?…whatever it might be.

Of course fan-fiction has its own issues: quality of writing, questionable themes, and even creating personas for real people, but on the whole, it is a fantastic concept. People are reading more, writing more and exploring more complex emotions through the genre. As an educator and a reader, I love that.

Now, I also love when authors create published fan-fiction…like Jo & Laurie.

Margaret Stohl and Melissa De La Cruz wrote this fun reimagining of Little Women, for readers like me, that maybe wanted a different ending to the book. Some critics of this book slammed it for being “glorified fan-fiction,” but that is exactly what made me enjoy it. I would be lying if I said that I never searched for fan-fiction where Jo and Laurie’s relationship ended differently when I was a teenager. I appreciate that two established and talented authors made something that told the story I was looking for in the early 2000s.

I really enjoyed this creative, new take on Jo’s relationship with Laurie, with her family, and with her writing. And you may too!

In sum, fan-fiction, I like what do….most of the time.

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

Reading Challenge (BIPOC Authors) Update 2

Challenge aside, I would read anything that Anna-Marie McLemore writes. To complete the category “Latinx Author or Book in Spanish” I chose their Wild Beauty.

Once again, I wanted to live in the world that they created. This time, the book followed the youngest of three generations of cursed women. Each women in the family blames themself for killing or making the person they love disappear. So, what happens when a mysterious boy appears in their magical garden? You will have to read to find out.

I will say it again…I adore Anna-Marie McLemore and want to live in the worlds that they create. The scenery and the book itself was lush, beautiful, and heartbreaking. I loved coming across the references to the” weight of feathers” and the cursed red shoes; both parts of her later books.

A spot of magical realism and strong women always make for a great read.

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

On Reading American History

When I was in AP US History (not bragging,) my mind was blown.

Over the summer, our teacher required that we read Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen. I was appalled by all of the “lies” that I had been told. Why was I only learning now, at age 16, that Columbus was maybe not the hero I thought he was?

This idea could be a much longer post about the prevalence of classism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, elitism, the patriarchy etc. in our history books. And maybe I will make that post someday, but this post is about how I learned about important people and important facts that do not often make it into history textbooks. I read about women, BIPOC, queer people, and every one in between, often left out or rewritten in standardized texts. I read about struggles and triumphs. I read about the people who fought, voted, and spoke out. I read about events that became more real to me as I read about a historical figure with thoughts and feelings. Reading history beyond textbooks and beyond school humanized events for me. These “alternative history” books give readers, like me, the emotional connection that a textbook is often lacking.

Ever since my AP US reading days, I have tried to pick up history books that told me more about real people that came before me who I know little about. This summer, I read two: A Queer History of the United States and An Indigenous People’s History of the United States.

Both were engaging and often moving reads. Both of these groups have been (and often still are persecuted) for who they are, but are such important parts of our country and our country’s history. I learned a lot from these texts.

Highly recommend picking up both books or either and expanding your historical knowledge base!

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

Review: Save Me a Seat

This one was on my to-read list for a full year. A student raved about it during a book talk in June of 2019, but I was too deep into Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series to remember that I wanted to read this one.

I’m glad I did.

This middle grade novel is heartbreaking and eye opening. It follows the POVs of two boys: one boy is white and receiving special education services and the other, an immigrant from India. Outsiders in their class, they are forced together, much to their chagrin.

Lessons are learned. Friendships are assumed, made, and broken. My students enjoyed this book and you may too.

I appreciated that the authors wrote in their own voices to lend authenticity to the boy’s experiences.

The thing that especially broke my heart in the story was how prejudiced and useless the adults at school were. It seemed like they had no empathy training and their students took cues from their behavior. Worst!

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

“Guilty Pleasure” Read- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Tucked away in the mountains last week, I devoured The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I had a coffee. I had an Adirondack chair. I had a view. I had this fun, humorous, and tension-filled book.

The main character, Lucy, is nice. Her office mate and nemesis, Josh, is not. However, he is annoyingly handsome and smart and makes her life miserable by competing with her at every turn.

I think you know what happens…

In real life, the enemies who are really in love with each other is never a thing. Usually, it makes me roll my eyes. However…in this book…I kind of dug it.

This read is hot and funny, despite any problematic tropes. I read it in like two hours and immediately wanted to start it again.

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

“Guilty Pleasure Read” The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe

Okay, this book is exactly what it looks like and I liked it.

And I don’t care what you think.

The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe follows Mamie Greene, the oldest of three sisters (the other two do get their own books and I am here for it) who leads a double life as uptown princess and Robin Hood of the tenement blocks. Her worried father has her followed by his lawyer…who is obviously tall, dark, handsome, smart, and secretive…and banter, tension, adventure, court cases, and everything else ensues.

I do not want to give too much away, but this book was a good escape, especially on a deck, with a coffee . I always go into books like this (guilty pleasure reads) wanting to find ridiculous speeches and descriptions to share with my bookish pals, but I always end up getting kind of sucked into the story.

And it is totally fine. Right?

Posted on by Ms. Kelly Proulx

Reading Challenge (BIPOC Authors) Update 1

Today, I added another book to my total for the BIPOC authors challenge, bringing it to three. To complete the square “Coretta Scott King Award Winner,” I read Walter Dean Myer’s Monster.

This book has been around the “Own Voices” circuit for awhile, but I had not gotten around to reading it. I was instantly drawn into the story by the main character (Steven’s) choice to tell his story as though it was a movie. Withdrawing himself from his own incarceration and trial, he made a powerful statement about the current plight of some teens of color. It also made the story a quick and engaging read.

The only thing I wanted was a little less of the actual court procedure. I wanted more of all the very human characters in the the times outside of the court room and less of the constant objecting by the opposing councils. I understand the Steven observed this and that real lawyers do this, but these moments were never my favorite parts of the story.

Doing a BIPOC authors challenge or trying to diversify your TBR list? This book, while a little on the older side now in 2020, is worth a look and a read .