Reader Round Up: December
December, amidst traditional and expected festivities, is Christmas break. A lovely respite from the storms of education. Trust me, both teachers and students appreciate the time off from school. Parents might also appreciate the time with their kinder–that is a case by case decision (especially depending on the weather and inside time).
As an empty nester educator I look forward to getting some deep, uninterrupted reading accomplished. It’s my last push to hit my Goodreads goal, which is 101 this year. Oh, wait–I’m posting this in January so yes, I did make my goal and then some. Here are the highlights:
Surfacing by Mark Magro ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
When Silence Sings by Sarah Loudin Thomas ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas (Elizabth Rokkan, translator)⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (Stephen Snyder, translator) ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
On Fortune’s Wheel by Cynthia Voigt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Pam Webb 
I need to checkout these books. Not heard of any. Which ones were your best, Pam?
I am so delighted to know you teach. Ive always revered teaching fraternity.
Actually I had reviews for each of these, but something hiccuped and none saved. I don’t easily hand out 5 star ratings, so that’s one indication. Engaging series would be the Testing, if you like YA dystopian.
You have such EXCELLENT taste in books. Seriously, I know you don’t hand out five starts willy-nilly. Thank you.
You create such outstanding characters and there isn’t the usual sugar and spice ending—take me by surprise and earn that five!
Much less five stars!
Got my hubs reading your new one. He looked at me after the first chapter and remarked, “She writes well!” I doubt know why that was such a surprise—I don’t recommend any old fiction to my MacGyver-only-read-tech-manuals guy.
I’ve never heard of any of these books, which spurs me on to explore more. Well done getting through 101 books as well.
I would think the two translations The Memory Police and The Ice Palace would be on your radar.