We all know that summer is a great time to catch up on reading. My TBR pile/list is a little out of control and summer cold be a time to make a dent, right?
At the beginning of the summer my short list was Welcome to Writing Workshop by Stacey Shubitz and Lynne Dorfman, Teaching AI by Michelle Zimmerman, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, plus rereading Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson. I also belong to a book club that reads a book each month, and I'm reading The People and the Books by Adam Kirsch for a class. I am required to read Teaching AI for school as we are piloting an Artificial Intelligence curriculum for 1st through 8th grades.
I have made headway with all of the professional development books. I have kept up so far with my book club -- we read The Trouble with Goats and Sheep this month, which I recommend, and next month is Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk. I love NYC so I'm looking forward to her walk through that city.
However, A Discovery of Witches completely took over my reading life. I decided to read it after reading an interview with the author, who is a historian. The novel is filled with academia and history! I was captivated. And then discovered it was a trilogy! Of three long books. I am now in the midst of the third book.
This is a fantasy novel infused with the author's knowledge of academia and history. It is a vampire novel, though witches are equally important. I don't read vampire novels. I read the first Twilight book and hated it. I tried Anne Rice and couldn't get into it. Deborah Harkness said in an interview that she has not read any other vampire novel, so her vampire world and characteristics are entirely her own. The witch characteristics are also her own, with some historical facts included.
I still have about 4 more weeks to catch up on my professional reading. But what is summer for if not for trying new things, relaxing, and reading for pleasure?
No comments:
Post a Comment