July's books 2021

​​I have been reading a lot lately... summer break does that to me; it allows me to focus on things I love that help me relax. I was behind my reading goal for this year, because between January and May life was stressful, unpredictable and just overall chaotic. I know I'm not the only teacher that had a rough last year, especially end of the school year. 
But I used my time during the summer to catch up, so here is my review of the books I read... 

The Midnight Library:
I will give this book 4 starts, because I really like the format. I have to confess that when I am reading A LOT of my analysis is based on how the book is written, sometimes that weighs more for me than the actual plot. I think a lot of times stories are recycled and yes, we are human beings and experience all different kinds of events and emotions, but it’s the way someone tells their story that compels me. The author of this book did a

great job breaking from the typical chronological narration or the parallel format… and if you have read my last book review, you will understand how tired I am of reading the same type of books: those who tell one story in the present and one in the past at the same time, until the two stories collide in a way. This book was definitely NOT like that and I appreciate the style of it.
Now, the story did seem very existentialist and that says a lot about the society we live in and this particular moment. I like making the connections between books and what they say about us as a society… this one definitely highlighted a lot of our issues. Beginning with the fact that we have forgotten to live in gratitud, and because of it we are thinking ahead all the time in the most pessimistic way. I think this is a real issue for our generation and the next. Until we learn to live in the present, we will never be happy.

The Lions of Fifth Avenue
I liked this book a lot, but mainly because I am a nerd and love books, so mixing a good mystery with an amazing library story intrigued me and I did not want to put this down. However, I will take half of a star away, because of the style/format of the book… as I mentioned above I am tired of the repetitive parallel stories… there is so much more to explore and experimental literature is a 

passion of mine (highly recommend The House of Leaves if you want something that breaks the standards). But, I really enjoyed this and it was a good get away book. If you want to loose yourself in a story that is easy to read and intriguing I totally recommend it.

Educated
I started this book with zero expectations… I had heard it was good, some people recommended it, but I didn’t even know what it was about. I Haden’t looked at the reviews or back cover at all, which I think was the best thing I could do. I cried so many times with Tara’s story… it took me to a world that was completely unfamiliar to me and helped me see/understand other 

perspective. I love when books show me something I have zero clue about. I did find a lot of very important topics that I think are worth discussing with our students, so I highly recommend to read this in class. It might just be one person’s story and perspective, but it can definitely open up conversations about family dynamics, mental health, toxic environments, and many more experiences that I am sure out students go through without knowing how to handle. I give this book five starts!

Anxious People
LOVED THIS!!! It was so easy to read. Format was different and exciting, the narrative portrayed the same anxiety the characters were going through. I love when authors can deliver a message with the plot of the story, the style and format it’s written on. It’s so hard to set the right tone of a story and for me this book achieved the level on anxiety, uncertainty and confusion not only with the 

story but also with the format the author chose to write this book. The delivery was perfect! I definitely recommend this book! I find It so important to explore all the intricacies of our anxiety. All human being experience anxiety in different levels and as we are moving forward to find ways to ground ourselves and become better at talking about our needs, reading literature that helps us navigate those topics is essential. I think that is an amazing book to read with students and I will definitely give it five stars

El tiempo escondido
Ok… fun fact about me: I love historical literature, especially anything that has to do with Spain, the civil war, Franco’s dictatorship, the transition to democracy, and the attempt to remember and put together all the stories that were buried during those years. So.. I have read a good amount of literature that explores these topics, and let me tell you… 

this book IS NOT IT! I hated it… I honestly blame this book for falling behind on my reading goal. It took me two and a half months to finish this… yes, I know I could have stopped reading, but I didn’t want to. I actually wanted to finish and I was hoping the book would get better and it didn’t.. ok no, I take that back.. it did get better, but it was still not good enough.
I know a lot about Spain’s history and I could understand all the historical context that the author felt he needed to include, but a person who has never studies history (especially this time in history in Spain) will never understand the complex and detailed way in which this author decided to relay the story. All the historical background was unnecessary… there were too many details, so many that anyone would get lost in the story. It took away from the actual plot. So, I definitely not recommend this book… it’s too much and unnecessary. I give it two start (and I’m being nice).

I hope this is useful! Thanks for reading this looooong post!! 

Un abrazo, 
- Jimena