Weekly Mews: Bookwanderers, Rainbows, and My April TBR List Poll (Please Vote!)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants discuss what they are reading and other bookish topics. I am linking up to Nicole of Feed Your Addiction's Monthly Wrap-Up Post, where any book bloggers who write monthly wrap-up posts can link up and visit other bloggers to see what they have been reading.   I am linking to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently. 

As I write this I am sitting on my couch with my daughter cuddled up next to me, playing a game on her tablet. My tortie cat is attacking my foot playfully (thank goodness I am wearing thick socks!), while my other one is napping peacefully at the end of the couch. My husband will be walking in any moment with the pizza. We are going to catch up on the most recent episode of The Masked Singer. I love these quiet evenings with my family. Will you join me?

New to the Shelves:

In early March, I picked up a copy of Pages and Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James while visiting Barnes and Noble. My last physical visit to a bookstore for a long while, I am afraid.  As a book lover, I couldn't resist. It is about an 11 year old girl whose mother disappeared and is being raised by her grandparents who own a bookshop. She loves to escape into books--and soon the characters of her favorite classics start visiting her in the bookshop.

I pre-ordered paperback copies a couple books awhile ago (when I was spending my gift cards) and one came in this past month. I am so excited! It is Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout. Her young adult novel Speak is one of my all time favorites, and a book I have a very personal connection to. Shout is a memoir written in free verse, which delves into the author's childhood trauma and the significance it had on her writing, as well as other aspects of her life.

Have you read either of these or anything else by the authors? If so, what did you think? What books have you added to your shelves recently? 

What I Am Reading: I am embarrassed to say I am still making my way through Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I am closer to being done than I was last week, at least. I blame it partly on my working part of the week from home this week. I usually read during my lunch break, and, considering my lunch break at home was spent with my husband and daughter and I had to work through my lunch breaks at the office, there was not much reading getting done. I am sure the other part is that I have not completely regained my reading mojo.

What I Am Watching: More Vampire Diaries and Elementary. Nothing really noteworthy, I am afraid.

Off the Blog: This week was the start of my new work schedule, working part of the week from home and the other in the office. It went well overall, with a few minor kinks. It was hard going into the office the second part of the week though. As I was getting ready for my first day back, I caught myself as I was putting on my lipstick. What was I doing?! I have to wear a face mask in the office! No lipstick needed.

Mouse's dance classes started on Zoom this week as well. She is not terribly enthusiastic about having to take classes via a screen, but it is better than nothing. Rehearsals for the summer ballet and musical (which will likely be postponed) are also supposed to start up again this month.

As predicted, the governor announced all schools in the state will be closed for the rest of the academic year. My daughter was really sad to hear the news. She misses her friends and teacher. The teacher is busy getting Google Classroom set up and plans to have that officially under way April 13th. I will be grateful for the additional educational support when it comes. My husband and I are doing what we can, but with both of us working full time during the week, and her being so young still, I wish we could do more for her. I cannot imagine what it is like for working parents that have even younger and multiple children at home right now, trying to juggle it all. She's getting a good lesson in how to be self-sufficient, at least!

My computer of nine years has started showing serious signs it is ready to be laid to rest. My hard drive isn't long for this world. All the files have been backed up, and while I am hoping it can hang on for a while longer, I also know it may go at any moment (please don't be while I am using it--like right now!).

We decorated for Easter this past weekend. And this past week Mouse created some giant eggs to put in the window for neighbors who may go on an Egg Hunt. This weekend we will be decorating  flowers and butterflies for the Christmas Easter tree.

 A glimpse of part of the rainbow on our walk

Here is what I finished reading in March:

• Well-Read Black Girl ed. by Gloria Edim
• The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
• The Five Year Plan by Carla Burgess
• Go Away, Unicorn! by Emily Mullock
• No News is Good News (Ivy + Bean, #8) by Annie Barrows & Sophie Blackall
• In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
• Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna and Loren Long
• Ivy + Bean Make the Rules (#9) by Annie Barrows & Sophie Blackall

Mouse recently rediscovered The Book With No Pictures in her personal library. We read it three times in a row one evening; my husband, Mouse, and I, each reading it to each other. Go Away, Unicorn! is one Mouse picked up at her most recent school book fair. It's really cute. We continue to enjoy the Ivy + Bean books. We still have two more to go before we are caught up with the series. I reviewed both The Five Year Plan and In Five Years earlier this month, both were enjoyable reads. One a cute romance and the other a fiction novel about love, loss and self-discovery. I also read Well-Read Black Girl, a collection of essays written by several women authors of color, which was amazing.

My reading really suffered this past month. I expected it would given all we had planned. Mouse's birthday, dance rehearsals, spring break, and family coming in from out of town. I did not expect to get much reading done. The month went into an entirely different direction (no family visit, cancelled rehearsals, and a kind of extra long spring break that still hasn't ended)--and still, not much reading. I am hoping April will be better. And if my computer survives, hopefully I will be able to blog more too.

This Past March In Reading Mews:

• Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: Dreams Underfoot/The Sea Glass Cottage/The Mountains Sing/Murder at the Mena House
• Weekly Mews: Illness,Injuries, Good Books, & My March TBR List Poll (Please Vote!)
• Weekly Mews: School Closures, Social Distancing & Birthday Cake
• Weekly Mews: The Reality of Now

Tell me what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your March? 

Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

April is National Poetry Month. Did you know the newest book on my TBR shelf, Shout, is a memoir in verse? I love that! I am really excited about this month's three choices. They are all books I have been wanting to read for a long while. They are all also novels written in verse. Will you help me select the one I read this month in honor of National Poetry Month?

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman (2014)

Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her. [Goodreads Summary]

Sometimes I think our family lives and breathes dance, which is one of the reasons I knew I had to read A Time to Dance. I am also very curious about the bharatanatyam dance form. I have seen a couple of You Tube videos, and it's beautiful. This novel promises to be heartbreaking and inspiring. Veda could have given up on dancing altogether, but she doesn't.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (2018)

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. [Goodreads Summary]

I still remember the first time I got to see slam poetry performed in person, a piece on women's history. I was mesmerized and loved every minute of it. I know first hand the comfort putting words to a page can bring, especially when it seems like the world is against you. I cannot help but want to know more about Xiomara and hear what she has to say.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (2011)

For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.

But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Ha discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.

This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next. [Goodreads Summary] 

Of all three of these, this one has been on my TBR the longest. I am not sure why I have not read it. The Vietnam setting, particularly the time period, call to me. If you have read my blog before, you probably know my father was a Vietnam War Veteran, and I find myself drawn to books set in and around that war. I also like to read novels about the immigrant experience, which is often full of hardship and hope.

What do you think? Do any of these appeal to you? Which one should I read next?

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful week. Stay safe and well.  Happy Reading!

---

© 2020, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.