Our topic is
What are We Reading? I love this topic...I've learned so much about my blogmates, our readers and books.
Carmela,
JoAnn,
Jill,
Laura and
Esther have each checked in about the books they've checked out this summer.
My turn!
Here's what I've read recently:
~
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green on my Kindle (loved it)
~
WE ARE CALLED TO RISE by Laura McBride ~ adult book (wonderfully written...but why are adult books so sad?)
~
TEA WITH GRANDPA written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg ~ (SPOILER ALERT: I've bought copies to give to grandparents who Skype their grandkids)
What I'm currently reading:
~
DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth on my Kindle (not crazy about the writing so far).
But I am CRAZY CAKES for audiobooks. I live in Southern California, so maybe that explains it. Or maybe I should say I live in my car in Southern California. :-)
So here is my list of
3 WONDERFUL audiobooks in the order I read them. And yes, you can say "read them" if you listened to them. Because I said so.
ONE:
Marcelo in the Real World by
Francisco Stork, read by
Lincoln Hoppe (read a review
here)
Lincoln Hoppe is an AMAZING voice actor. I think I want to marry him.
Hang in there with this audiobook. At first it felt soooo slow...I wasn't sure I was going to keep listening. But, boy, am I glad I did. I mean, wow.
From the
Random House website:
"Reminiscent of
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the intensity and purity of its voice, this extraordinary audiobook is a love story, a legal drama, and a celebration of the music each of us hears inside."
TWO:
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by
Gary D. Schmidt, read by
Sam FreedFrom
Wikipedia:
"Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, published by Clarion Books, is a 2004 historical fiction book by Gary D. Schmidt. The book received the Newbery Honor in 2005 and was selected as a Michael L. Printz Honor that same year. The book was based on a real event. In 1912, the government of Maine put the residents of Malaga Island in a mental hospital and razed their homes."
“Schmidt’s writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters. . . This novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.” ~ School Library Journal, Starred
THREE:
Okay For Now by
Gary D. Schmidt—
National Book Award Finalist. Read by Lincoln Hoppe. (!)
Here's what the
National Book Award website says:
“In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.”
His main character, Doug Swieteck, first appeared in Schmidt’s Newbery Honor book, THE WEDNESDAY WARS.
Listen to an 8 minute NPR on-air interview of Schmidt about OKAY FOR NOW
here.
There. Those are my Fab 3.
What I look forward to listening to next:
~
THE WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary D. Schmidt, read by Joel Johnstone. I think I may have this read years ago; I can't wait to
listen to it. (I'm inspired by Esther and am reading a string of books by the same author...something I almost never do. Gary D. Schmidt is a brilliant and deeply affecting writer.)
Did you know that many folks read books aloud for your listening pleasure on YouTube? Go to YouTube and search for a book title. For example,
click here for a sampling of folks reading THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.
And...if you know any flat-out beginning picture book writers in the Los Angeles area, my six-week class,
Writing Picture Books for Children in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program starts August 6th. (The student who benefits most from this class has never heard of SCBWI.)
poem and drawing (c)2014 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
posted by April Halprin Wayland...who's amazed that you've read all the way to here. Thank you. 
