Well, hello everyone!
It's no secret that I've been gone from this blog for quite some time. I even need to relink my social media accounts so that I can stop seeing those strange smiley faces! I wanted to re-evaluate the way I wrote reviews; how much subjectivity do I want to place in a review? How do I feel about the star system? (Spoiler: I don't like it and therefore do not give star ratings anymore unless it's a 5* because it just resonated with me.) How do I want my reviews to be formatted? Who am I trying to reach?
All of these have been on my mind as I've toyed with the idea of coming back to book blogging and book reviewing. Literature has, and always will be, my first love. And I'm so grateful that I've been able to translate that love into others through my profession.
I've been having a great time living life and settling into my role as a teacher. I've been teaching for 8 years now but I've been a middle school teacher for the past 4. I'm currently finishing my MA and working part-time as an English and History teacher at an Orthodox Jewish school. (They have their Judaic studies in the morning and their General studies in the afternoon.) Teaching middle school has really opened my eyes to what students are reading and how much I want to encourage parents to let their students read and read voraciously. Trust me, middle schoolers know so much more than you think and being exposed to new concepts is only going to help them become better adjusted adults.
Thus my new series that I'll be starting on here is going to be called FOR THE PARENTS. These are going to be reviews of middle school/YA books where I will tell you what I liked about the book while also being open and honest about the content so that you can decide if your child is ready for it. I do really recommend that parents think long and hard. Literature is a good thing. Reading is a good thing. I hope that these reviews will help parents encourage their children rather than restricting them.
I've also been doing so much traveling, as you can see from some of the pictures I've been placing in this post. (I do have a travel blog here, by the way, if you're curious!) Traveling and reading are my true passions, my true hobbies. I've been lucky enough to travel to over 20 countries and teach in 4 of them. And soon that will be 5! I am currently in the midst of accepting a job in Kuwait for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year as an English teacher at an American Academy.
So what does this mean for my reading preferences? On top of the FOR THE PARENTS series, I'd like to also start a BECOMING CULTURED series, where I read works by people of other cultures and about other cultures, whether it be historical or current. This can include fiction and nonfiction, too. I have been adoring traveling to new places, learning about events and seeing things for myself - as well as meeting absolutely lovely people - and now I'd like to take my mind there, too, when I'm unable to travel due to work.
So, that's basically my long winded way of saying I'm back to book blogging & book reviewing and I hope to connect with the community again. Let's get reading!
