Review: Dear Committee Members

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was hilarious. It says I started this back in January, but actually I didn't start it until yesterday and then I blew through it, often trying not to laugh out loud and wake Kait, since I usually read while she's napping next to me.

I think that academics everywhere should read this and it would be a good pairing with the novel Stoner. It's funny and at the end poignant.



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Review: Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories

Let's Eat Ramen and Other Doujinshi Short Stories by Nagumo

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I'm a newbie to graphic novels in general, but especially to manga. I think that this went a bit over my head, as I was rather confused by the extreme simplicity of the plots. A shy girl eats ramen , there's a few lesbians, and a sort-of ghost.



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Review: H2O

H2O by Irving Belateche

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was ok. The writing was a bit simplistic and the plot and world building could have used some work, but it was fairly enjoyable. I'm not sure where this came from, but I'm guessing it was a Kindle freebie.



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Review: Explaining the Explicit

Explaining the Explicit by Julian Barnes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I've read this before: about two years ago I went through a minor obsession with Kindle Singles and downloaded almost anything with an author I recognized. I read and even made notes on this one, though I only vaguely recalled the essays as I reread them. And I've got no idea why if skipped reviewing it last time. Mostly what I got out of it was a list of further books to read in the future, but it was an interesting read.



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Review: Body and Soul: Short Story

Body and Soul: Short Story by Barbara Gowdy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was an interesting exploration of an elderly woman and several foster children she cares for. I've always meant to read some Gowdy and I'm now curious to see what her novels are like.



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Review: Lilliput

Lilliput by Sam Gayton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was cute. I look forward to reading it with Kait one day. It's made me want to reread Gulliver's Travels, which I last read in my first year of university.



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Review: Snowdrops

Snowdrops by A.D. Miller

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



That was engrossing. I stayed up reading it until 3 am in spite of the fact that I know I'll pay for the exhaustion later once Kait wakes up. I identified with a lot of the expat commentary, though Korea has nothing on the decadence of the Moscow expat - or maybe it does if you're a banker.



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Review: Stand Tall!: A book about integrity

Stand Tall!: A book about integrity by Cheri J. Meiners

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really liked this introduction for children about having integrity. It covers making the right choices, sticking to your word, being kind, etc. There are lots of helpful activities at the back of the book to expand on the ideas. A great book to introduce as children start school.



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Review: Stand Tall!: A book about integrity

Stand Tall!: A book about integrity by Cheri J. Meiners

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really liked this introduction for children about having inter girth. It covers making the right choices, sticking to your word, being kind, etc. There are lots of helpful activities at the back of the book to expand on the ideas. A great book to introduce as children start school.



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Review: Forgive and Let Go!: A book about forgiveness

Forgive and Let Go!: A book about forgiveness by Cheri J. Meiners

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A useful book to help children walk through negative feelings that provides strategies to feel more positive. Lots of helpful guidance questions and activities at the back. I'm not sure I agree with the step regarding imagining a person apologizing.



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Review: Stay!

Stay! by Alex Latimer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I loved this! We need to buy a paper copy for Kait because Buster and Watson have a lot in common as bad habits go.



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Review: Voices Are Not for Yelling

Voices Are Not for Yelling by Elizabeth Verdick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I think this would be a great resource for classrooms of younger children. The illustrations are inclusive. I liked that the book started out positively, then introduced the problem and solution. I did think perhaps there could have been coverage of when yelling is okay - for help, cheering for something, etc.



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Review: Nanny and Me

Nanny and Me by Florence Ann Romano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The illustrations are beautiful and it fills a need in terms of explaining to children what having a nanny will be like.



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Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I read a ton of Poirot novels in my early teens. I can't recall if this was one of them, but since back then I was relying on small mall bookstores rather than the much bigger ones with better selection of today, I read them very much out of order and missed tons I'm sure.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable read and I might have liked it even more if I hadn't read it in tiny chunks while nursing Kait, which occasionally made it hard to follow along with Poirot's reasoning.



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Review: A Land Without Jasmine

A Land Without Jasmine by Wajdi Al-Ahdal

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was really interesting. The end was a bit annoying - I wanted more than a mystical bridegroom to explain what happened. I liked the shifting perspectives of each chapter, though I found Jasmine's the most interesting.



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Review: Gnome on the Range

Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was bizarre but enjoyable. A romance based around horse semen found in garden gnomes. I'm guessing I got this as an Amazon freebie and it was worth the read just for the outlandish situation.



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Review: The Olive Tree

The Olive Tree by Elsa Marston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The story was a bit meh, but I loved the setting and the illustrations.



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Review: The Other Side of the Wall

The Other Side of the Wall by Simon Schwartz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



That was interesting. I hadn't realized that legally leaving East Germany was an option.



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Review: Fishfishfish

Fishfishfish by Lee Nordling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



That was interesting. I'd like to see the various stories kids could tell using the illustrations.



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Review: A Dog's Breakfast

A Dog's Breakfast by Annie Graves

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I loved this! It's the kind of book you can enjoy yourself while reading to children because of the snark.



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