Thursday, June 21, 2012

Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up and Why I Haven't Blogged As Much


I started this challenge with an ambitious goal as usual.  I had 42 books on my list.  Of those 42 books I managed to read 7 from my original list which you will find here.  I read an additional 19 books for a total of 26.  That's a little more than half of my original goal.  So what happened?  Life.

This was one of the toughest and most stressful school years ever.  I have  had several medical and dental issues that have prevented me from reading as much as I normally do.  This also hindered my personal writing.
At first I was very down about not meeting my goal.  I pride myself in reading a lot.  This was the first time I fell  real short of a goal.  However, I read some really great books. Here is a list of the other books I read.

Children's Picture Books:
A Rose in the Desert - Chi Emerole  
Eutopia - Kathy Motlagh 
I Remember Mommy's Smile - Diana Wolfman Baker
Sofia's Rainbow - Lina Simoni
Sweetie goes to Bed - Lydia Lin 
Tashi and the Tibetan Flower Cure - Naomi C. Rose
Stripey Follows His Dream - Gail Shumway


Middle Grade / Young Adult:
My Monster Burrufu - Alberto Corral 
Night Buddies - Sands Hetherington
The Prince Who Fell From the Sky - John Claude Bemis
Spectral - Shannon Duffy
Swipe - Evan Angler


Adult:
A Gift For My Sister - Ann Pearlman
As One Devil To Another - Richard Platt
Kill 4 Me - Joel M. Andre
Mirrors of Anguish - R.P. Kraul
Walter's Muse - Jean Davies Okimoto


Short Story:
Tea With Death - Joel M. Andre


Nonfiction:
Off to Class - Susan Hughes


I had some books that were absolute favorites of mine:  My Monster Burrufu was one of my favorite upper elementary/middle grade reads.  It is all about stereotyping and prejudice in a wonderful story.  I want to start my school year reading it aloud to my new students.  The Prince Who Fell From the Sky was a wonderful Fantasy told from an animal's perspective.  If you liked C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters then it is a safe bet you will like As One Devil to Another.


If you are unfamiliar with the author Oliver Neubert then you need to acquaint yourself with him.  I first read and reviewed  his book Chantel's Quest. He wrote and asked me to read and review His Wind of Life Series.  I read the first two books.  All I can say is OH MY GOSH THEY WERE WONDERFUL!  The Flyers and The Wanderers are both fantasy books in a series about two different groups of people who at one time lived together but later were separated by their appearance.  The prejudice was evident in these books and the lessons were wonderful yet subtle.  The third book in the series Vita is due out soon.  These are definitely MUST READS!  All ages will like these books.

If you want a humorous read then you must read Scary School by Derek the Ghost.  Kids will really enjoy this.

Adults will enjoy the thriller Mirrors of Anguish by R.P. Kraul.  This is a classic thriller in every sense. This is an author whose other books I look forward to reading.

I guess over all I would have to say that even though I didn't reach my goal number wise, I've read some really terrific books.  I've slowed down my reading this summer as I'm working on my writing.  I'd like to have one completely fleshed out and one completed.  I don't know how well that will work as I've been connecting with next years students and their summer reading.  It is great to see so many of them excited about reading.  I must share a post from one of my students with you, so that you can understand how excited they are.


"Are you guys reading a book and then when your parents say Dinner DINNER and you will not get up because you enjoy the book so Much.................Well I do and It is Called Boys Without Names it is a Happy/Sad book And I am Convincing you guys when I am done with the book go to the Public Library and they will have it I Maybe Promise Not sure because I have to Return It in "



This excited me because this is one of my students from next year.  Most of them have been chatting back and forth on Edmodo about the books they are reading.  It seems I have a lot of readers coming to me next year.  Not only that, but a large number of them LOVE to write.  They have been participating in our weekly writing prompts.  They encourage each other.  I am hoping this will be my dream year of teaching.  I look forward to doing a modified version of the Fall Into Reading challenge with my students.


Thank you Katrina for such a wonderful, laid back challenge for readers and reviewers.  




4 comments:

  1. I felt a little weird too not meeting my goal - but then I chilled out, realized that I will finish the books on my list ... but it still stings a little :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the best past of this reading challenge is that it is so low-key and laid back. I made a list of 20 books and read most of them plus a bunch of others.

    Have a great summer and good luck with your writing! If you get a chance, come check out my Spring Thing Wrap Up post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm not familiar with any of these. It's helpful that the challenge is flexible. I'm sorry for the medical and dental problems and the stressful school session but glad you had some time to read and write. That's so great that your students love to read and write.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think that's a big part of it--not just reading books to check them off a list, but to enjoy them, learn from them, and grow. My list is always just to help me get organized and hopefully complete some books I've been wanting to read.

    ReplyDelete