2015 Reading Resolutions - December update

The year is nearly over.  How about another update on my 2015 Reading Resolutions?

1. Participate in at least one 48-hour Reading Challenge.  If not done by June 30, 2015, organize my own. One day I will do this!  Dewey’s  24-hour Read-a-thon is slated for April 25, 2015!  I did it!  I did it!  I participated in the Dewey 24-hour Read-a-thon in April.  The fall Dewey 24-hour Read-a-thon was scheduled for October 17.  I participated in that one as well. 

2. Read more books from the below lists.

·         Read 2015 winners/honors for Caldecott, Belpre illustrator, Coretta Scott King (CSK) illustrator, Odyssey(read 31/attempted 4) YALSA non-fiction , and Geisel  (a.k.a. the awards I finished reading in 2013 and again in 2014).  The 2015 winners/honors will be announced on February 2, 2015, adding several titles to my TBR list. Finished all!

·         Schneider Family Book Awards - 36 total books 15 read/1 abandoned

·         Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's Young Adult Literature Award –30 total books 23 read/1 abandoned

·         Morris – 35 total books 24 read (Finalists announced in December 2014; winner announced February 2, 2015)

·         Read at least six honors/winners from: Newbery (400 total books 102 read/1 abandoned), Printz (77 total books 41 read and 7 abandoned), and CSK author (161 total books. 38 read. 1 abandoned).   Thanks to the spring Dewey 24-hour Read-a-thon, I finished the CSK titles. And thanks to the fall Dewey 24-hour Read-a-thon I finished both Newbery and Printz!

Newbery 1.     Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm 2.     The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 3.     Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm 4.     Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff 5.     The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes 6.     Paperboy by Vince Vawter 7.     Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman 8.     Show Way by Jaqueline Woodson 9.     The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Printz 1.     I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson 2.     Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith 3.     Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos 4.     And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard 5.     Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill 6.     Keesha's House by Frost, Helen

CSK author 1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 2. Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison 3. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 4. The Other Side: Shorter Poems by Angela Johnson 5. I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson 6. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson

3. I’ve decided that 2015 is going to be the Year of Non-Fiction.  This means I plan to focus on reading non-fiction titles - not just those on award lists such as YALSA Non-Fiction (25/30 read as of December 15, 2014) and Sibert  (39/53 read as of December 15, 2014) – but non-fiction in general for a variety of ages.  This will include biographies. YALSA Non-fiction finalists were announced in December, but the winner for that award – and the winners and honors for most of the other Youth Media Awards won’t be announced until February 2, 2015. (UPDATED TOTALS: YALSA Non-Fiction (30/30 read) and Sibert (46/59 read).  It has become more the Year of Graphic Novels than the Year of Non-Fiction.  I need to get on the ball!

4. Read the Harry Potter and the Outlander series again. Both are favorites of mine.  After recently watching all of the Harry Potter movies, I realized how many details I had forgotten (that are missing from the movies as well).  I think it is time to revisit the stories.  I’ve listened to the Outlander series twice.  It takes quite some time!  Hopefully by starting them again this month I will finish in time for the next book to be published. (Please be soon.  Please be soon. Please be soon.) I was participating in a Buddy Read of the Harry Potter series through one of the Goodreads groups I belonged to, and had read books 1, 2, 3, and 4, and 5 for it. Since then I dropped that group (too many changes through the year).  It took me a while, but I did read HP6 over June and July. In November I read book 7 as a read along with a friend who had not previously read all of them. 

I finished Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and An Echo in the Bone. I’ll likely not start the final book until January, as I have a few other audiobooks to finish first.

5. Set aside time each week to read the libraryland blogs, journals and other news sources. This really needs to be a part of my regular workweek.  Ever since Google’s blog reader bit the dust, I’ve fallen behind on reading blogs.  I’m trying Feedly, but need to get in the habit of checking it on a regular basis. I give up on this.

6. Keep up with tracking books read!  I read over 775 books in 2013.  My goal for 2014 was 1000, and I ended up reading just over that amount. In 2015 I am going to go with a less hectic goal of 500. I have been using Goodreads for years, and plan to continue. I lowered my goal to 250 and feel so much less stressed. I’ve hit my revised goal!  My new goal was to read 350, which I also hit.  I’m now over 360 books.