It's Monday! What Are You Reading! : Jumping in to Save Myself!

http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=12061

Have you ever found yourself in so deep you had to go deeper to keep yourself afloat?  Well, I have, and that's exactly why I am here today!  I am reaching to the It's Monday! What Are You Reading?community to keep me buoyant in my #Mustreadin2017 challenge.

It all started when I surrounded myself with AMAZING people who read and share and say smart stuff!  It didn't take me long to know I wanted to be just like them!  So when they mentioned a title, a blog, or a hashtag I bought the titles, added the blog to my Feedly, and searched the hashtags!  The problem was I wasn't getting any smarter.  Then, I realized these smart people weren't just curating they were actually reading!

So, one day I visited the blog of Cathy, (one of those smart people who say smart stuff) and realized she was having the same "good problem" as she called it and had made a plan with #mustreadin2017 community started by @CarrieGelson to not to simply stay adrift but to actually reach shore!

In my typical fashion, I jumped in! (You see how I am already digging myself in deeper.) I created a #mustreadin2017 plan and made a commitment by not only pushing the orange PUBLISH button on blogger but I also shared the link on Twitter and Facebook! There was no going back, I was in!
   

~~~~~~

So how am I Doing? What Am I Reading?

I shared The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas with my first-grade class, and the discussion was intriguing and demonstrated the strengths of the readers.  The story is about a man who lives all alone at the edge of the water. He has a very important job of opening any bottles containing a message and delivering the message to the recipient.  The man is very dedicated to his job but more than anything wishes that one day the message would be for him.  When the man retrieves a bottle with an unspecified message, the deeper meaning of the story begins.  This is where the story left the pages of the book and began to fill our hearts.  

Currently, this book is borrowed from the library, but this will become a forever book on my shelf! 

~~~~~~~

Dear Dragon by Josh Funk was another favorite this week! The story beautifully illustrates the beauty of getting to know the person behind the one you see. When Blaise and George are assigned to be pen pals they know nothing about the other. And that is precisely what makes this a beautiful story of true friendship.  Sometimes the best friendships are made we can't see the outward appearance of others.  Blaise and George will write themselves right into your heart and leave the door open for the important conversations facing our nation.  

Currently, this book is borrowed from the library, but this will become a forever book on my shelf! 

Special Bonus! @JoshFunkBooks is very responsive on Twitter! 

~~~~~~

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by JD Vance was just for me. This book, written by JD Vance a former Marine and Yale Law School Graduate shares the story of growing up in an Appalachian Town and the struggles of the white working class. Much of the story takes places in Middletown Ohio, a town not far from me. My dad grew up in a town much like the town of JD which made this memoir and his stories even more powerful. I plan to watch the many Ted Talks with Vance and the interviews with Vance about Trump.