It’s Monday! What are you reading? Is a meme sponsored by Sheila at Book Journey.  Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Menor Texts gave the meme a kidlit twist.  It’s a great way to reflect on what you’ve read and reviewed the last week and plan what you want to read next.  Join up with us and discover what good books other people  are reading.

I have much to be thankful for this past week … and throughout the rest of the year. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive as I have started in a new direction as a freelance copywriter. I am thankful for the opportunity to pursue this new adventure and for the past 15 years of teaching that have enriched my lives. I am thankful for the writers past and present who create entire worlds out of words–worlds and stories and characters who make me think, make me laugh, make my cry, and most of all make me wonder.

I shared my last picture book expeditions for November (Don’t worry, I will be heading back to find more picture books soon) in From Tall Tales to Fairy Tales and An Explosion for the Senses. I also shared my thoughts about The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. You can also check out my complete list of books I read during November that I share with the Centurians Facebook Group. If you’re not a part of it, check out the group.

I finished…

The Freelancer’s Bible by Sara Horowitz – This resource is packed with valuable information for anyone embarking on (or in the middle of) this journey into freelance work. There are many opportuntiies and advantages to this journey, but also unique challenges. Horowitz gives a framework for thinking through them and plenty of options for solutions, always focusing on what freelancers can do for themselves rather than complaining about the unfairness. I checked this out of the library, but it is a refernce I want for myself.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo – I finished! I finished! I finished! I didn’t think I would, but a long car ride in the dark gave me time to do so.This section is sad. Jean Valjean confessed his true identity to Marius and has been slowly separating himself from Cosette so as not to have his past intrude upon her happiness. It’s slowly killing Jean Valjean. Marius is both revolted and terrified by the confession, yet he can’t reconcile how Jean produced the innocent wonder that is Cosette. Then the rascal Thenardier shows up, trying to extort money out of Marius by revealing Jean Valjean’s secrets. He reveals more than he knows when he shows who saved Marius from the barricade.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen – Wow! I loved Sage from the very beginning. How can I not love a rough and tumble orphan who is street smart and toughened yet still cares for those less fortunate than him? The plot is brilliant. I had my suspicions (probably influenced by reviews I read earlier) but I was still amazed at the revelation at the end, and even more impressed when I went back to read parts again. They clues were there from the first page, but nothing is given away.

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan – My daughter says it’s about time I got started on it. She downloaded it to our Kindles soon after it came out and has been waiting for me to start so she could talk about it. Now that I’ve finished Les Mis, I’m diving in. So far it’s nonstop action packed on every page. I loved the ending, especially for Nico and Leo, two of my favorites.

I’m currently reading…

The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner – Is it bad that my daughter has to tell me to pull myself together as I break down in sobs as I try to read aloud to her? Every night when I close the book, she begs for more. As long as she doesn’t have too much homework before finals loom, we should finish this week.

Children of the Lion by Peter Danielson – A friend lent me this series a long time ago. They’ve been sitting on the bottom of the shelf until I had time to start an 18 book saga. Now’s the time. I’m halfway through the first one and am caught up in the drama and passion that sweeps across time and the desert to imagine the story of Abram and his descendents.

Coming up…

We decorated the house for Christmas, and that means stacks of Christmas books are lyng around the house, waiting for me to reread them. I also have a new marketing book I picked up from the library, and of course, the new saga I’ve started.

What have you been reading this week?