My kids’ second Spring break is over and I’m in full production mode for Packet 4 and my free lance project in a non-fiction project. I’ve been toying with chapter books and early readers these past few days, and I’ve been trying to read as many chapter books as possible. I’m shocked (not really. Maybe a little) by the lack of diversity in early readers and chapter books. I only found KEENA FORD, by Melissa Thompson and RUBY AND THE BOOKER BOYS, by Derrick Barnes, and DYAMONDE DANIEL, by Nikki Grimes. I found SOFIA MARTINEZ, but I haven’t received it yet, and I’m anxiously waiting to read it with my daughter who’s in second grade and loves chapter books. More than ever, We Need Diverse Books in which every child may see herself.
I’ve also been studying on scene, and one of my VCFA friends recommended THE SCENE BOOK, by Sandra Scofield. It’s a treasure trove of advice that’s keeping me up at night thinking about my WIP. I’ve also been up reading Nation, by Terry Prachett and because of some wonderful news I can’t wait to share with everyone.
Books. Wonderful books. I love to see them, talk about them, touch them, arrange them in shelves and find them under my kids’ pillows every morning when I make their beds 🙂
What books are you reading?
Hello, Yamile! What books am I reading? Not enough. There are so many books to read, and I have shelves of them that I hope to get to before my time on earth is done. I just finished CRIMINAL by Karin Slaughter, which was very good. She did a lot of research into the social and political climate of 1974 Atlanta and it shows. I felt a little guilty that it took me so long to get through it, snatching chapters and half chapters as I had time. But when I read about the amount of work that went into its writing, I felt better about taking my time over it. Who wants to spend hours preparing a meal that's eaten in five minutes? I'm now reading INDEFENSIBLE by Lee Goodman. So far so good. 🙂
Colin, I know the feeling! Even though I'm often reading 3 or 4 books at a time (77 this year so far), I always feel it's not enough! You're so right about taking your time with books. There are some that are meant to be savored. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!