If you’re like me, you’ve spent some of the past few months mourning the loss of various activities and freedoms thanks to the international COVID-19 emergency.  It’s been a rough time for everyone, and no one has been untouched by it.  We’re all feeling a little off-kilter, topsy-turvy, crowded and cramped, and even just plain crabby.

But then, here comes that Pollyanna of poetry, Emily Dickinson:

There is no frigate like a Book

To take us Lands away,

Nor any Coursers like a Page

Of prancing Poetry--

This Traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of Toll--

How frugal is the Chariot

That bears a Human soul.

So, my question:  where is your reading taking you this summer?  And what do you think of it?   We’d like you to send us your own (BRIEF) book reviews--let us know what you’ve been reading, what you recommend, what you don’t.  It’s a great way to learn about new reading opportunities and learn from each other’s experiences, too.

Please include the following and email to me (Stacie) at sCourt@LearningAlly.org:

• Title

• Author

• BRIEF review

• Your name

All reviews received by July 20th will be considered for inclusion in the following week’s blog post (basically, we’ll print them all but reserve the right to edit to keep them appropriate for our audience).  Any book you've read/started to read since locking down is eligible for inclusion.  We will also print multiple reviews of the same book if received.

To get you started, here are a couple of sample book reviews:

Funny Girl: A Novel                           Nick Hornby

I love Nick Hornby’s writing! (in case you’re not familiar with him, among many others he also wrote High Fidelity and About a Boy)  In this book, Barbara leaves her working-class home in Blackpool, England, to follow her dream of becoming Britain’s version of Lucille Ball.  The writing is superb and the story is great, combining Hornby’s tongue-in-cheek comic sense with a nostalgic view of 1960s TV.  I kept David awake with my giggling while reading this wonderful little book.

Billy Budd                      Herman Melville

This was the shortest book I was assigned to read in high school...and the only assigned reading I did not finish.  I have since read Moby Dick and loved it, so I determined to give Billy another try  this summer.  Guess what?  I’m still not finishing it.  I find it dreary and deadly boring.  I cannot stay awake.  I did some research and discovered that even Melville himself got bored with it and never completed the book.  If he didn’t feel the need to finish it, neither do I.  Goodbye, Billy Budd.

Happy Reading!

Yunqing Han, also known as Isabella, is an inspiring and determined high school junior from Beijing, China. Yunqing currently studies at a boarding school in Virginia, plays the piano in their free time and is a volunteer for Learning Ally! Yunqing has been reading with Learning Ally for almost 2 years now. 

Yunqing’s journey with Learning Ally began after realizing they had a passion for education. Before becoming a volunteer, Yunqing’s school offered a co-curriculum opportunity where Yunqing would spend 5 weeks in a professional setting. During this time, Yunqing was partnered with a special education school where they became a teaching assistant for students with severe physical and learning disabilities. After completing their time with the school, Yunqing became inspired to find more opportunities to help students. With a long browse on the internet and lots of determination, Yunqing found Learning Ally.

When asked how they balance schoolwork with volunteering and what incentivizes them to do so, Yunqing said they found time to volunteer on the weekends when the school library was less crowded and more quiet. Yunqing said they also found added benefits to volunteering, other than being able to help students with learning differences. 

Reading the textbooks and literature books has allowed Yunqing to improve their English fluency, as it is not their native tongue. When COVID-19 came about, Yunqing’s classes moved online and they had less opportunity to practice English with their classmates and teachers. Reading for Learning Ally gave Yunqing the opportunity to continue practicing their English conversation skills and improve pronunciations. 

In addition to growing their speaking skills, Yunqing also did some studying while volunteering. Yunging recalls: “I actually studied part of my AP European history exam with Learning Ally’s textbooks. I happened to be recording a chapter on the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires and by reading the material, I essentially reviewed what I needed to know about Islamic influences on Europe for the exam.” 

When we asked Yunqing if the pandemic challenged them as a student and in volunteering, they said they were able to find a silver lining. Due to the quarantine, Yunqing moved home to Beijing. Now living at home, Yunqing records with an audience in their parents’ living room, rather than their quiet, private nook in the school library. From reading in front of their parents, Yunqing has discovered that they read with more focus, clarity, and has a much better delivery when someone is sitting right beside them listening. Yunqing suggests that all readers and narrators pretend as if there is a person listening to them read. Not only does it improve your sound, but Yunqing says “Everytime when I feel like I do not want to continue reading after the first hour or so, I imagine someone sitting right in front of me saying ‘I want to listen to one more chapter’ and then I keep reading.” Yunqing added: “ I really enjoy reading for Learning Ally, sometimes I think it helps me more than I help it.”

Check out Yunqing Han's narration of "Yen-Shen: A Cinderella Story From China". 

Yunqing, you are an inspiring, young professional. From all of us in the Volunteer Nation, we want to say thank you for all you do!