Sunday, April 19, 2020

Don't Feel Guilty If You're Not Reading Right Now

Since "Safer at Home" measures started, I made big plans to get back into reading. I even made a nice pile of books that I planned to tackle right away...but...

I barely touched my books these past few days... 

I am remote teaching and I find myself working way more than I was before (and I was already working long hours before). Also, being in front of a screen almost all day really tires out my eyes, which makes reading more difficult. 

So...I was feeling really guilty for not starting on my reading goals. I even cried the other day because I felt like I let myself down. Luckily, I encountered this video on YouTube:

Monday, April 13, 2020

Audiobook: Funny, You Don't Look Autistic

Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum
Narrated by the author, Michael McCreary
Duration: 3 hours 37 minutes
Slaying autism stereotypes with stand-up, one joke at a time. Like many others on the autism spectrum, 20-something stand-up comic Michael McCreary has been told by more than a few well-meaning folks that he doesn't "look" autistic. But, as he's quick to point out in this memoir, autism "looks" different for just about everyone with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Diagnosed with ASD at age five, McCreary got hit with the performance bug not much later. During a difficult time in junior high, he started journaling, eventually turning his pain e into something empowering--and funny. He scored his first stand-up gig at age 14, and hasn't looked back. An #OwnVoices memoir breaks down what it's like to live with autism for readers on and off the spectrum.


Sunday, April 5, 2020

Children's Book: Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail


Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian TrailEmma Gatewood’s life was far from easy. In rural Ohio, she managed a household of 11 kids alongside a less-than-supportive husband. One day, at age 67, she decided to go for a nice long walk . . . and ended up completing the Appalachian Trail.

With just the clothes on her back and a pair of thin canvas sneakers on her feet, Grandma Gatewood hiked up ridges and down ravines. She braved angry storms and witnessed breathtaking sunrises. When things got particularly tough, she relied on the kindness of strangers or sheer luck to get her through the night. When the newspapers got wind of her amazing adventure, the whole country cheered her on to the end of her trek, which came just a few months after she set out. A story of true grit and girl power at any age, Grandma Gatewood proves that no peak is insurmountable.



Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Audiobook: The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan

The Nanny
Narrated by Clare Corbett, Patience Tomlinson, and Ben Eliot.
Duration: 11 hours 8 minutes
When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.

Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.

Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…

In this compulsively readable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.