I read; therefore, I rule

I try to read as much as possible in the summer because I'm way too busy in the school year with basketball and grading papers and reading the novels I must teach to my little darlings. I think I read one book last January. Anyway, my latest summer reads and current reads are as follows:

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Now, I know this is completely old and the movie has been out since I was in high school, but I just finished Bridget Jones's Diary today. I loved this book. It was sarcastic, funny, and always made me feel good about myself that I wasn't obsessed with weighing myself everyday or using words like arse and bloody. If you haven't read it, I suggest it if you have a day of boredom.

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I finished this yesterday. It's a story about a young boy who can talk to wolves and he is on a quest. I'll be teaching this to my 7th graders this year and it was a really cute, quick easy read (of course, it's for 7th graders). It's a bit long, but the words are large and when told through the eyes of the wolf cub, it's absolutely adorable. If you have a couple days and want to read, I suggest you pick up a copy--so cute. The kids consider it a "page turner."

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This book I read in high school, but as I'm also teaching this to 7th graders, I had to re-read it. It never fails that some male sports team always dye their hair blonde. My brothers did it in high school and the kids at my last school I taught in did this and all I could think was that they all looked like a bunch of Ponyboys on the run..? Anyway, if you haven't read this "classic," then you're missing out. It's the story of two rival gangs told through the p.o.v of a gangster (not really in my eyes, but maybe to the middle school youth). It's very good and will only take a few days and you'll find yourself saying "Let's do it for Johnny, man."

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Now, I've read all of Chelsea's other books and my favorite was My Horizontal Life. That was funny. As the books went on, I felt she was running out of material and getting ridiculous. Trusting advice from a friend that this was HILARIOUS, I downloaded it and was extremely disappointed. I found myself empathetically smiling. It wasn't funny; it was dull and I immediately wanted my money back. But, maybe you'll feel different and side with my friend who recommended it.

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I borrowed this book from my friend Nicole as she suggested it was a great read from college. I started it this past winter and had to put it down. I was reading/had read too many dystopian novels that outraged me and had me swearing I would turn into a robot or some other futuristic cyborg. This is a story in the future where women have no rights, become vessels to impregnate, are not allowed to speak, and have no money, jobs, etc. Quite scary, but a very good read. Once I had some time away from Fahrenheit 451 and Hunger Games, I was able to pick this back up and finish it in one night.

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Another lend from my bestie Nicole, aka ReRe. This was hilarious. I read it in two days and I can't really summarize because it's not really about anything other than her life and it was quite funny, which leads me to my next funny, quirky read:

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Now, Re claims this one wasn't as funny, but I thought it was equally funny if not funnIER. Again, a novel about her life and all the oddities and quirks she has. Another "coupla day" read.

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Since I LOVE The Wizard of Oz I figured I would love this book. It tricked me by bringing up Dorothy within the first couple of pages, but she really isn't in this book. It took me months to get into it. I probably started it in February and was able to finish it in June by reading it only at night for ten minutes before I began drooling and snoring. Not my favorite read, but also not my genre. I will see the musical next summer and join everyone in saying, "Well, the musical was awesome." This of course is from people who are unaware that it is even a book.

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This book took me about three hours to read since it is a young adult book, which is a genre I'm trying to get into a little bit more. This is a story of a girl who is looking for a pen pal and she finally finds one, but...it's not an ordinary girl...dun dun dun ( ominous musical overtones ensue). It was quick, good, and surprisingly full of swears.

And my last book that I read this summer (so far...of course it is only July 19) is

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Not only, do I not want to post this, I don't even want to admit to reading it to friends. I was duped into downloading 50 Shades of Grey by my friend Rachel who has a great blog : Thou Must Live...and eat! She posts about things she's obsessed with and this was one of them. Now, I did not know going into the download that this was an erotic novel; the obsession had not been in the national news yet. Also, a high school student of mine had been reading it, so I figured why not? Well, by the second chapter I realized what I had got myself into: literary porn; I of course use the term literary loosely here. Anyway, of course I finished reading it and flat out refused to read the second one. While visiting a friend the other day, she mentioned she had the second book and was done reading it and that I must read it also to find out what happens. So there you have it folks. An English-teaching, literature-reading, feminism-supporting, intelligent woman is currently reading 50 Shades Darker. Why I ask? Why? It's badly written and terribly misogynistic, yet it is on my nightstand and I'm already on page 100...dang.

I'll post a part deux in August when I have the rest of my summer reading finished.