Hey book nerds!
Last month I was waiting for the burrowing owl chicks at San Diego Zoo to hatch. They finally did and all seven chicks survived! They’re absolutely adorable and they’ve grown so much already. I love the little guy yawning in this screenshot.
I’ve been at the beach most days watching the whales migrate north. It’s been a fantastic season; sometimes I’ve seen twenty whales in about an hour. There’s been plenty of blows (puffs of water that look like smoke), as well as tail and fin slaps. I’ve even managed to see some really impressive breaches. It’s been magical.
On my walks along the beach I’ve also spotted some dolphins. Usually I only get to walk with them for a few steps before they speed off but one time this month my mother and I got to walk with a pod of about a dozen dolphins for 2km (1.24 miles) along the beach. They were quite close to the shore and were catching waves and jumping out the water. Now I look for them every time I’m there.
This month I acquired a new obsession: panoramic photos. There have been so many gorgeous winter days, with amazing clouds, that I can’t help myself.
Bookish Highlight of the Month: I have two highlights this month. My favourite fiction read was Grady Hendrix’s The Final Girl Support Group. I’ll be telling you all about my love of this book and all things horror tomorrow. My favourite non-fiction read, which I read back in March but was released this month, was Kate Moore’s The Woman They Could Not Silence. I’m still thinking about Elizabeth Packard three months after finishing this book.
Until next month, happy reading!
June Reads
- The Book of the Baku (the Baku eats your nightmares. Maybe it’s best if you don’t feed it)
- William Shakespeare’s Get Thee Back to the Future! (the title says it all)
- Hot Dog! #10: Beach Time! (these friends are going to the beach, no matter what)
- Ellery Hathaway #4: Every Waking Hour (can’t wait for the next one)
- The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel (a childhood favourite gets the graphic novel treatment)
- Pumpkin Heads! (illustrations that need to be framed)
- A Little Bit Different (meet the Ploofers and Toasty, who are just so cute!)
- A Little Bit of Courage (Toasty and the Ploofers are back!)
- Father-Daughter Incest (this was groundbreaking in the 1980’s)
- Creatura (Australia has so many more weird and wonderful animals than I, an Australian, ever realised)
- The Woman They Could Not Silence (non-fiction read of the month)
- The World’s Most Pointless Animals (I’m not sure how well this will work with its target audience)
- Corners (a father tells his son about an important summer of his own childhood)
- The Valedictorian of Being Dead (a firsthand account of depression and suicidal ideation)
- The Boy from Earth (danger, action, humour and the unexpected)
- Malice’s Adventures in Underland #1: Malice in Underland (this family has literal skeletons in their closets)
- Clara Voyant (Clara may or may not be clairvoyant but she definitely needs an attitude realignment)
Kindle Black Hole of Good Intentions
In the iconic film by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, teenaged Marty McFly travels back in time from the 1980s to the 1950s, changing the path of his parents’ destiny … as well as his own. Now fans of the movie can journey back even further – to the 16th century, when the Bard of Avon unveils his latest masterpiece: William Shakespeare’s Get Thee Back to the Future!
Every scene and line of dialogue from the hit movie is re-created with authentic Shakespearean rhyme, meter, and stage directions. This reimagining also includes jokes and Easter eggs for movie fans, from Huey Lewis call-outs to the inner thoughts of Einstein (the dog). By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll be convinced that Shakespeare had a time-traveling DeLorean of his own, speeding to our era so he could pen this time-tossed tale.
NetGalley
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realised – someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
A Little Bit Different is a light and fun story depicting the journey from ignorance to acceptance and celebration.
Meet the ploofers. The ploofers have been practicing something special which they all want to do at the exact same time – but wait! What’s that? One of them does something different! When one little ploofer goes against the usual flow of things, the rest of them turn their backs on him. But all it takes is for one person to recognise the beauty in being different to spark a change in attitude of everyone.
With simple, yet striking, illustrations and a cutaway cover design that adds tactile interest, A Little Bit Different is a joyful reading experience for both you and your child, providing the opportunity to spark more meaningful discussions about people’s differences and how we accept and value them.
In this follow-up to the beloved picture book A Little Bit Different, the Ploofers are back for a heartwarming exploration of fear and finding courage.
The Ploofers have just learned a valuable lesson in celebrating differences and trying new things. They’ve been practicing something very special again and this time it requires extra teamwork… But Little One is too scared to go on this new adventure. Will some kind and encouraging words from Toasty help him find a little bit of courage?
With simple, striking illustrations and a cutaway cover design that adds tactile interest, A Little Bit of Courage picks up right where A Little Bit Different left off. With a subtle yet powerful message on overcoming anxiety and finding the courage to live life to its fullest, this book will resonate with children and adults alike.
Schizanthus Nerd 