Space Station Mir

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl ! I read a lot of books as a child that impacted me for life, and I'm so glad I did. However, as a teacher and book blogger, I hear about so many other great books that I wish I'd gotten to read as a child or young adult--the eternal conundrum: so many books, so little time! Here are ten books I read as an adult that I wish I had read as a child or teen: Books I Wish I Had Read As A Child The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Sensing kind of a theme here: my love for castles transcends my childhood and adulthood! Books I Wish I Had Read as a Teen Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Kindred by Octavia Butler Deenie by Judy Blume Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

What a creative idea! We could also do band names that would make good book names. I'm more of a book person than a band person though, so let me know what you think! Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Top Ten Titles That Would Make Good Band Names 1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler 2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore 3. The Scar by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko 4. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han 5. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski 6. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman 7. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert 8. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 9. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin 10. Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster

I love this topic! Some books come up frequently on the blog because they're new or popular or classics. However, some are rarely discussed either because they don't fit with other books or topics I discuss or aren't as much in the zeitgeist, so I'm glad to highlight some of my less touted favorites today! Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl Top Ten Books I Enjoyed But Rarely Talk About 1. The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks 2. The Seventh Princess by Nick Sullivan 3. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 4. World War Z by Max Brooks 5. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman 6. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger 7. Marathon Miranda by Elizabeth Winthrop 8. Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare 9. Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan A lot of these, as so many of my favorites, are books that impacted me as children. Nobody who knows me is surprised that some of the books that influenced my childhood included Little Women, ...

It's been a weird month, to say the least. At first, I was so flummoxed that I barely read anything besides my Twitter feed. More recently, I've been on a streak of reading a book a day, even spending 6-9 hours a day working and at least 8 hours sleeping, so that's felt pretty good. Even though I'm less inclined to reach for a book than Netflix after a long day of work, I always feel much better after reading than binge-watching. It's a better palate-cleanser after working on the computer all day. Books Read This Month The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster Deenie by Judy Blume Kitchen Privileges by Mary Higgins Clark Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows Favorite Book This Month I never would have read The Power of One if it hadn't been for one of my book clubs. It's about a boy growing up in South Africa in the 194...