Here is this week’s list of blog posts, short stories, poems, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.
Thank Goodness It’s Friday…or, Not via jtvancouver. What one teacher has learned about the glaring need for individualized attention from his students. He talks about poverty a lot in his piece, but I’ve seen similarly unhealthy cycles play out in families from every social class. At first I was a little worried that he was writing off an entire group of people based on the dysfunctions of a few of them, but I’m sure longterm readers know that I wouldn’t be recommending this post if that was actually what occurred.
Wishes for Sons. Feministing has been publishing one poem a day this month because April is apparently National Poetry Month. This is my favourite one so far.
Why You Should Never, Ever, Ever Get a Tattoo (but Having a Baby Is Fine) via incurable hippie. The parallels between the two are astounding.
The Men Who Left Were White. This is a really thought-provoking post about identity, ancestors, and those mail order genetic tests that a lot of people have been trying out lately. It’s interesting to see just what these tests can reveal.
From Cogs via wordblender:
The pros and cons
People like me
I have a nice face
My physical features aren’t atrocious
From Repairing the World:
By the time Lila and Bridger arrived, the sitting room floor was already part savannah. Yellow grass grew on dirt where hardwood had once been. The border between grass and floor hissed and threw up sparks as the savannah crept towards the davenport on one side, the longcase clock on another and towards Lila on a third. On the fourth, the grass seemed to stretch through a wide hole in the far wall to a pale green horizon. The intrusion, however, couldn’t have breached the far wall yet.
My to-read list grew dangerously slim as winter melted into spring, so I was very glad to pick up my friend Daphne Ashling Purpus’ newest book, Dragon Magic.
It revisits the same universe where Dragon Riders and The Egg That Wouldn’t Hatch took place, although it also works well as a standalone novel. I loved the gorgeous cover she chose as soon as I saw it.
There are plot twists in this book that make it difficult for me to discuss what happens in great detail, but I will say that I was totally surprised by several of them. This was my favourite book in the series so far, and I’d recommend it to anyone in the mood for an imaginative young adult fantasy novel.
What have you been reading?
Thanks so much for including the blogpost by Tom MacInnes. It is a part of a month long series he is writing but it stands alone too. I think very highly of Tom and think your readers will be moved by his thoughts and open heart.
You’re very welcome! I can’t wait to read the rest of Tom’s series. It seems really good so far.