July Reading List

I already posted a bit about this book early in July, but “Between Two Kingdoms” is an amazing read. I’d initially read it shortly after its release but re-read as a part of a young cancer survivor book club I joined this summer. One thing that stood out to me during this second read was how many lines I marked with a post-it as relatable and enduring. When we met virtually in mid-July for that book club discussion, every other survivor in our discussion had at least one poignant line that stood out to her; as we shared, I realized just how profound an impact cancer has on people even years beyond diagnosis and treatment. Suleika Jaouad is an incredible writer, and I highly recommend this book whether or not you’ve personally experienced cancer as a young adult.

For another complete change of pace, I next read “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”, a realistic fiction whose title and blurb seems to imply quirkiness and lighthearted hilarity. I have to admit that I was expecting something more like “Bridget Jones’s Diary” when I read the back of the book. Though Eleanor is an unusual character and there are certainly many quips throughout, the book actually dives into the dark issues of emotional abuse and childhood trauma in a powerful way that left me cheering for the main character (and her dear friend, Raymond) by the end. Honeyman carefully balanced the horrors of trauma and depression with the silliness of some of society’s expectations for the workplace, femininity, and relationships.

The last book I read (and, admittedly, I’m still wrapping up the last couple chapters though it’s now August) is a nonfiction book geared towards higher education teachers. I think “Distracted” would make an awesome discussion for our upcoming teacher in-service (and I even mentioned that to the folks in charge of in-service– we’ll see if anything comes of it!), but it looks at ways of holding students’ attention in this distraction-filled digital age. It also addresses the fact that humans are naturally easily distractable as a part of our nature and how this isn’t just a new phenomenon. However, the ease of endless information being right at our fingertips certainly makes distraction more tempting. Lang addresses how we can arrange our classroom to promote attention and other ways to establish a strong community at the start of the school year. As I’m currently prepping and lesson-planning for the new year, I feel like this was the perfect time to read this book!