2015 Reading Resolutions update

It's been some time since I've updated on my Reading Resolutions for 2015.  Here ya go:

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! It’s been three months and I am itching to do another one.

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 96 read/1 abandoned), Printz (77 total books 38 read and 7 abandoned), and CSK author (161 total books. 38 read. 1 abandoned).   Thanks to the Dewey 24-hour Read-a-thon, I finished the CSK titles.  I’ll likely read more throughout the year.

Newbery Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm The Crossover by Kwame Alexander Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

Printz I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos

CSK author I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison The Crossover by Kwame Alexander The Other Side: Shorter Poems by Angela Johnson I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson 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 lately).  It took me a while, but I did read HP6 over June and July.  I plan to start book seven soon.

I finished Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, and The Fiery Cross. I’m taking a little break to listen to other books before continuing the series.

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!  So far I am doing well with the new goal and am more than 40 books ahead of schedule.  I’ve been reading a lot of graphic novels, especially Marvel superheroes. 

2015 Reading Resolutions update

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! 

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 Caldecott, Geisel, Belpre illustrator, CSK illustrator, and YALSA non-fiction titles. Have read three of the remaining Odyssey titles, leaving only one more to go.
•  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 93 read/1 abandoned), Printz (77 total books 37 read and 7 abandoned), and CSK author (161 total books. 38 read. 1 abandoned).   Thanks to the Dewey 24-hour Read-a-thon, I finished the CSK titles.  I’ll likely read more throughout the year.

Newbery Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Printz I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

CSK author I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison The Crossover by Kwame Alexander The Other Side: Shorter Poems by Angela Johnson I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson 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 (45/59 read). 

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’m participating in a Buddy Read of the Harry Potter series through one of the Goodreads groups I belong to.  So far I have read books 1, 2, 3, and 4, have started HP5.  I finished Outlander and recently started the second book, Dragonfly in Amber.

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. Part of me thinks I should 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!  So far I am doing well with the new goal and am more than 20 books ahead of schedule!

And the winners are - 2015 YMA

image from: Youth Media Awards

On February 2 the Youth Media Awards were announced.  I noticed two things about this years winners and honors.  There was a lot more diversity (likely due to the We Need Diverse Books campaign) and several graphic novels. I was happy to see how many I had already read.  I've marked them on the list below. I've also marked which titles which are on multiple awards  lists (including National Book Award).

Coretta Scott King Awards

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

2015 Winner 

• Brown Girl Dreaming written by Jacqueline Woodson (Read. National Book Award, Newbery, Sibert)

2015 Honors:

• The Crossover Kwame Alexander (Newbery)
• How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson illustrated by Hadley Hooper
• How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

2015 Winner

• Firebird illustrated by Christopher Myers. The book was written by Misty Copeland

2015 Honors:

• Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by Christian Robinson (Sibert)
• Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Frank Morrison

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award

2015 Winner

• When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds 

John Newbery Medal

2015 Winner

• The Crossover Kwame Alexander (Coretta Scott King)

2015 Honors:

• El Deafo written and illustrated by Cece Bell (Read)
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Read. Coretta Scott King, National Book Award, Sibert)

Michael L. Printz Award

2015 Winner

• I’ll Give You the Sun written by Jandy Nelson (Stonewall)

2015 Honors:

• And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard,
• The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley (Morris)
• Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
• This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (Read. Caldecott)

Mildred L. Batchelder Award

2015 Winner

• Mikis and the Donkey written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson

2015 Honors:

• Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust written by Loic Dauvillier, illustrated by Marc Lizano, color by Greg Salsedo, translated by Alexis Siegel (Read)
• Nine Open Arms written by Benny Lindelauf, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova, translated by John Nieuwenhuizen.

Odyssey Award

2015 Winner

• H. O. R. S. E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination written by Christopher Myers and narrated by Dion Graham and Christopher Myers.

2015 Honors:

• Five, Six, Seven, Nate! written and narrated by Tim Federle
• The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place written by Julie Berry and narrated by Jayne Entwistle
• A Snicker of Magic written by Natalie Lloyd and narrated by Cassandra Morris.

Pura Belpré Awards

Pura Belpré Illustrator Awards

2015 Winner

• Viva Frida written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Caldecott)

2015 Honors:

• Little Roja Riding Hood written by Susan Middleton Elya  and illustrated by Susan Guevara (Read)
• Green Is a Chile Pepper written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong and illustrated by John Parra
• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh (Sibert)

Pura Belpré Author Award

2015 Winner

• I Lived on Butterfly Hill written by Marjorie Agosín and illustrated by Lee White

2015 Honor:

• Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes written by Juan Felipe Herrera and illustrated by Raúl Colón

Randolph Caldecott Medal

2015 Winner

• The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend written and illustrated by Dan Santat (Read)

2015 Honors:

• Nana in the City written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo
• The Noisy Paint Box: The  Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Mary GrandPré
• Sam and Dave Dig a Hole written by Mac Barnett and  illustrated by Jon Klassen (Read)
• Viva Frida written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Belpré)
• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Sibert)
• This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (Read. Printz)

Schneider Family Book Award

2015 Winners

• A Boy and a Jaguar written by Alan Rabinowitz and illustrated by Catia Chien (ages 0-10) (Read)
• Rain Reign written by Ann M. Martin (ages 11-13).
• Girls Like Us written by Gail Giles (ages 13-18)

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

2015 Winner

• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Newbery) 

2015 Honors:

• Brown Girl Dreaming written by Jacqueline Woodson (Read. National Book Award, Coretta Scott King, Newbery)
• The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia written by Candace Fleming (YALSA Non-fiction)
• Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by Christian Robinson (Coretta Scott King)
• Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands written and illustrated by Katherine Roy
• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh (Belpré)

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award

2015 Winner

• This Day in June written by Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., illustrated by Kristyna Litten

2015 Honors:

• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out written by Susan Kuklin (Read)
• I’ll Give You the Sun written by Jandy Nelson(Printz)
• Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress written by Christine Baldacchino and illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant (Read)

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

2015 Winner

• You Are (Not) Small written by Anna Kang and illustrated by Christopher Weyant (Read)

2015 Honors:

• Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Arthur Howard
• Waiting Is Not Easy! written and illustrated by Mo Willems (Read)

William C. Morris Award

2015 Winner

• Gabi, a Girl in Pieces written written by Isabel Quintero (Read)

2015 Honors:

• The Carnival at Bray written by Jessie Ann Foley (Printz)
• The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim written by E.K. Johnston
• The Scar Boys written by Len Vlahos (Read)
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender written by Leslye (Read)

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

2015 Winner

• Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek written by Maya Van Wagenen (Read)

2015 Honors:

• Laughing at My Nightmare written by Shane Burcaw (Read)
• The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia written by Candace Fleming
  (Sibert)
• Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business—and Won! written by Emily Arnold McCully (Read)
• The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights written by Steve Sheinkin (Read. National Book Award)

dry spell

This past week I have hit a bit of a dry spell.  I have several books going right now, but can’t seem to really get into any of them.  This happens from time to time.  My theory is because sometimes my brain gets a little overwhelmed with all the written text I’ve consumed and goes on a mini-vacation.  

Sounds legit, right?

One of the books I was listening to was Scowler by Daniel Kraus.  I’m at least 75% through the book.  The narration is fantastic, and the writing is well-crafted.  The story, though?  It’s freakin’ me out, man.  I last listened to the audiobook during a recent morning commute to work.  I started the book and then within 30 seconds stopped it.  I even said aloud – to myself, as no one else was in the car with me – “I can’t do this. I can’t listen to anymore. Nope. Not happening."

Scowler was the 2014 winner and the last of the Odyssey honors and winners I haven’t listened to– until next January. 

So…that one is on hiatus.  The hubby downloaded it from my Audible.com account.   I told him to listen to the story and let me know what he thinks.  Specifically, if he thinks I can listen to the rest. 

Then I was listening to Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi.  Again, fantastic narration.  The story had potential to be a lot of fun.  But the tale has too many issues for my like.  Seriously.  It is more of an issue novel than a fun zombie story.   Illegal immigration. Unsafe practices in the food industry. Corporation cover-ups. Corporation bullying. Racism.  All wrapped in a book for middle schoolers.  I have nothing against adding one or two to a story, but when you get that much going on in a short novel it takes away from the rest of the story.  

The third audiobook I’ve been listening to has been a backup audiobook.  It’s an adult non-fiction book about food and kitchen science.  Interesting enough, but easy to set aside.

Have I mentioned how lost I feel when I have no audiobooks to listen to during my commute?  It forces me to listen to the radio.  Commercials annoy me.  If I am going to hear someone talk, I want it to be a great story I can read with my ears!

I have two Audible credits to spend. Soon I will have four.  The hubby would be more than happy to spend them for me, and I might share the wealth, but first I want to find something worth using at least one of them. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

The dry spell also encompasses print versions, but not to the point that I have completely set aside all of the books I’ve been reading.  I’m not certain, but I think that would be a sign of impending doom.