The A-Z Reading Challenge: Sign-Up

Okay. This is my last year-long challenge for 2011, I swear. (Probably.) Truthfully, I've been thinking about joining The Thoughts of a Book Junky's A-Z Reading Challenge for some time. Why? I'm pretty sure that I could do this one fairly easily and I have already read one book that starts with "x." When is that going ever to happen again?

Here's a **tentative** list of the books I'm going to read for this challenge:

A- Across the Universe by Beth Revis
B- Bumped by Megan Mccafferty
C- Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
D- Drought by Pam Bachorz
E- Extras by Scott Westerfeld
F- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
G- Grace by Elizabeth Scott
H- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
I- Identical by Ellen Hopkins
J- Jane by April Lindner
K- Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters
L- Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
M- Momento Mora by Angie Smibert
N-Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
O- Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
P-Paranormalcy by Kirsten White
Q-
R- Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
S- Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
T- Timeless by Alexandra Monir
U-Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
V- Vesper by Jeff Sampson
W-Wither Lauren DeStephano
X- XVI by Julia Karr
Y- You by Charles Benoit
Z- Zombies Vs Unicorns

Okay, so I'm stuck on "m" and "q." Any recommendations?

Audio Book Review: Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin

Marnie's lived a charmed, but lonely life. Her mother has just recently died, leaving her millions of dollars to inherit, but without a family. She's enrolled in a prestigious boarding school, but has no real friends and spends much of her time playing in virtual world online.  There, she meets a boy named "Elf" and he is one of the only people that she has a connection with.

When Marnie is kidnapped her crazed, psychopathic chemistry teacher, she finds out just how alone she is. This teacher, Leah, claims that she, too, is Marnie's mother's daughter. When all seems hopeless, the Elf somehow comes to her and she's no longer alone. But, they're both stuck and don't know how (or if) they're going to escape.

I've read several books by Nancy Werlin at this point. Some are among my favorite reads and others are not. Unfortunately, this book fell in the latter category. I was just not engaged in the book, even though the reader, Emily Durante, did an amazing job.

I did not hate this book and it had many areas of high interest for me. I think that the parts that lost me happened right away. I am not a gamer and have very little understanding of gaming worlds. Once Marnie is kidnapped, I was definitely hooked. But, this part of the book became so bizarre (and not in a good way) and preposterous that I could just not believe it.

And, the book goes on. And it didn't really get better for me. I wish that this were not true, because I have loved some of Werlin's other books (The Killer's Cousin, The Rules of Survival) and wanted to love this one. Alas, that did not happen. But, I will look forward to reading more from this author and from the woman who read this book.

Read By: Emily Durante

Length: 6 hrs. 40 mins. 

**This audio book counts toward my participation in the 2011 Audio Book Challenge from Teresa's Reading Corner and Whisper Stories in My Ear Audio Book Challenge**

Book Review: Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Chicago in the 1920s. Two teen girls desperately want to be the flappers they see in the silent films and read about in their gossip rags. And, one who wants nothing more than to escape the seedy underworld of speakeasies and underworld excess.

Gloria and Lorraine have always had it good. They attend private school, have their every need and want taken care of by their rich parents. They have maids, chauffeurs, and clothes. But, they don't have want they want most--The glam look sported by the local flappers. They want to bob their hair and wear daring clothes, ones that will get them in the illegal restaurants and bars that play jazz music and serve alcohol.

When Gloria's cousin Clara moves to Chicago from her family farm in Pennsylvania, her wants and desires have nothing to do with dancing, fashion, and booze. Unbeknown to Gloria, Clara wants to recover from her year in Mew York City, where she ran to from the farm and is now trying to escape. Exactly what happened in NYC is not clear until late in the book, but we know it's bad. Bad enough for her to want to hang up her dancing shoes and put away her flask forever.

And there are boys and men. Lots of them. It seems that they are all dashing and handsome and want something from these girls. Of course, their motives can't be trusted. But, in this time where everything's illegal (or at least frowned upon), these three girls quickly find themselves going to places they've never been and won't soon forget. Once they enter this dangerous and magical world, their lives will change forever.

*   *   *

What a fast, fun read that was! This novel is the first in a new series about the 1920s. It seems like the series will follow the three girls I spoke about in my summary. Which is awesome. Because I want answers! This book has it all--Romance, action, time-period lingo, warring generations, illegal everything. I loved it and could not put it down. 

I don't know how necessaryily accurate every little detail of this book was, but I didn't care. It made me long to find a jazz bar and dance the night away. I felt entriely swept away by this story and could not put it down. Even though it was a little over 400 pages, I read it in the space of a few hours. It is light and fun and flirty. I can't wait for the second book, Ingenue, which is set to be released this fall.

**Counts toward the YA Historical Fiction Reading Challenge from YA Bliss**

The YA Historical Fiction Challenge: Sign-Up Post

For the past month or so, I have been resisting the urge to sign up for this challenge. Why? I don't know why exactly, but I think it had something to do with the fact that I've already signed up for a half dozen challenges and don't want to over-commit myself. But then, I was thinking more about it (and I spent all day reading an awesome HF novel) and decided to go ahead and sign up.

I don't read a ton of historical fiction YA, but I love it whenever I do. Books like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys are some of my favorite reads. So, I am hereby committing myself to reading 15 YA historical fiction titles this year. Off to finish title #1!


I know a bunch of you have already signed up, but if you're still interested/ want more info then check out the YA Bliss site.

YA Series: Sign Up Post

This is a great challenge hosted by Shannon @ Stalking the Bookshelves with the help of Farrah and Britney @ I Eat Words

Guidelines

• Challenge runs from January 1st-December 31, 2011, sign up continues until Dec. 1st.
• Books must be from a MG or YA Series 
• All Series must have at least 3 books out by the end of 2011, to count for this challenge.
• You do not have to start at the beginning of a series. (Ex: You've read the first 2 Harry Potters but not the rest, books 3-7 would count towards your total.)
• You do not have to continue a series if you discover you don't like it, the books you've already read will still count towards your total.
• You do not have to be a blogger to participate but you must have somewhere to post your reviews if you wish to be entered in for the prizes.
• Please grab a button and post about this challenge, then link it, so we know you are taking part. If you don't have a blog please leave a comment and a link of where you will be posting your reviews.
• It doesn't matter what level you choose but please be aware that you will not be granted extra entries if you read and review past your level amount. (Ex: Level 1 participates can only submit up to 5 reviews as entries for the prizes, reviews that are posted after that are welcomed but will not grant you extra entries.)
• If you have any questions or concerns please leave a comment or feel free to email me, link is on my profile page

Prizes

~At the end of the challenge, 2 randomly selected individuals will win their chose of any YA series book under $15 that will ship from the Book Depository.

LEVELS

Level 1-Trying it Out 3-5 Books

Level 2-Making an Effort 6-8 Books

Level 3-Working Hard  9-12 Books

Level 4-Fully Committed 13-16 Books
 Level 5-Beyond Obsessed 17-22 Books
Level 6-Addicted and Loving It 23-30 Books

 

I am going to sign up for the Addicted and Loving It level. This sounds a little crazy right now, but there are tons of series books on my to-read list this year.

Some of the books I might read for this challenge include:

 

The Uglies Series

~Uglies

~Pretties

~Specials

~Extras

The Need Series

~Need

~Entice 

~Captivate

 

Iron Fey Series:

~The Iron King

~The Iron Daughter

~The Iron Queen

The Caster Chronicles:

~Beautiful Creatures

~Beautiful Darkness

~Untitled Book Three

Hush, Hush Series:

~Hush, Hush

~Crescendo

~Tempest

 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth Series:

~The Forest of Hands and Teeth

~The Dead-Tossed Waves

~The Dark and Hollow Places

Wolves of Mercy Falls Series:

~Shiver

~Linger

~Forever

 

The Maze Runner Triology

~The Maze Runner

~The Scorch Trials

~Untitled Third Book

This gives me about half of what I need to complete this challenge. Lots of these books will count toward some of the other challenges I'm participating in, so I'm not too worried about reading them. 

 

Any other series books that I should get hooked on??

Reading Challenges: 2011

After careful consideration, I've finally decided which reading challenges I'm going to participate in for 2011. I participated in a few for 2010, but wanted to limit my choices this year to ones that are really and truly accomplish-able for my reading tastes and pace. Here are the ones I'm going to join in on this year:

This is probably going to give me the most difficulty, but I love zombie novels and have about four sitting on my TBR shelf right now. I just need six more (and to read them all) and I'm golden. Click here for more info and to join.

First and foremost, I am joining this challenge because the button is so darn cute! Also, I love to listen to audio books and have an hour commute back and forth to work every day.  I just joined audible.com and our school library offers lots of audio books, so I think I'll have enough to choose from. Click here for more info and to join this challenge.

While I was thinking of joining one audio book challenge, I came across a post about another one! How fun. So, to ensure that I listen to at least 12 audio books, I am joining another challenge. This one sounds like great fun and there are prizes. Click here for more info and to join.

I've already signed up for the Debut Author Challenge at The Story Siren, so I'm all set for that one. And, I've been reading books for the Contemps Reading Challenge that started this fall. There may be one or two more that I decide to join, but this is enough pressure for right now. Off to start reading!

The Holiday Break Reading Challenge: Book Collage 2010

This is the last challenge in the Holiday Break Reading Challenge for 2010. It was a fun one, even though it took a long time. It'll be cool to compare the end of 2011 to 2010. Here are the YA books I readin 2010:

Wow. That's a lot of books!

Thanks to you all and Karin the Librarian for making this challenge 

and this reading year an awesome one!

The Holiday Break Reading Challenge: Create-A-Cover

Today's challenge for The Holiday Break Reading Challenge is one of my favorites. I love to make fake book covers! It actually helps me to think of all the book possibilities there are...Now, if I could only write one! That would be cool.

Here's the cover I came up with after following the instructions laid out by Ms. Karin the Librarian:

Souri and her family emigrated to the United States from Iran when she was just ten years old. She loves her friends and her life in America, but is thrown into an unforeseen battle between the two cultures when she decides to wear the traditional headscarf, the hijab. 


Though most of her American friends and her family are supportive, her school is not. They have a policy against wearing any type of head covering in class. To protest this policy, Souri takes a vow of silence and will not speak until the school amends their policy. 


Through this period of silence, Souri has an opportunity to think, observe, and reflect on what truly matters to her. Ultimately, she finds that keeping silent can leads to a discovery of something that she didn't know she had--a voice.

*   *   *

What do you think? My description reminds me of Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah, but I think it veers into a more political/ protest-y direction with the whole keeping silent thing. I actually had a student who was originally from Iran a bunch of years ago, and know that she struggled to keep the two cultures (home and school) in check. She's all graduated college and doing wonderfully now, but I think of the talks she and I had about the conflicting values of home and school often. Anyway, I think I'd read this book...

The Out With A Bang Readathon: End Day Two

Again, I am not actually going to stop reading right now, but I am going to move the whole production to the bedroom. I am on vacation, and love reading into the wee hours of the morning. So much fun!

I made some more progress today than I thought I would. I knew that I would be *disrupted* by plans to see and movie and have dinner with friends. Lucky for me (kinda), the nearest shopping/ dining/ movie locale is about an hour and fifteen minutes from my home. So, I had plenty of time to listen to my audiobook while driving to and fro.

Here's what I accomplished today:

Listened to audiobook of Room for approx. 5 hours (1 hour left!)

 

Read a little over 100 pages (LOVE it!!)

Read to page 80 with husband (he's so cute!)

Purchased:

 What did you read today? Any recommendations?

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: FIVE Great Miracles that Got Me to Read YA Lit

I've decided to join the Persnickety Snark in her FIVE Challenge. Basically, there she has established a list of categories for each day leading up to the new year. Here are the lists that she has planned:

December 21 - 5 Great Debuts
December 22 - 5 Great Covers
December 23 - 5 Great Series
December 24 - 5 Great Re-Reads (books you've LOVED so much you went back for more)
December 25 - 5 Most Anticipated (2011 titles)
December 26 - 5 Hopes for YA in 2011
December 27 - 5 Great YA Movie Deals
December 28 - 5 Great Author (in the flesh) Moments
December 29 - 5 Great YA Bloggers
December 30 - 5 Great Miracles that Occurred to Get Me Reading More (choose your genre)
December 31 - 5 Best Titles for 2010 (which I double because 5 is too hard)

Today's topic from the Persnickety Snark is "5 great miracles that occurred to get me reading more" of a certain genre. I read all sorts of genres of YA because my whole purpose in reading YA (besides the fact that I love it) is to bring it to my students. So, I read whatever I think the teen boys and girls, aged 13 to 19 that I teach, will love. And that's a whole lot.

What is more interesting to me is how I came to love reading YA at all. When I discovered YA, I was an English major who loved modern, multicultural, and world lit. But, there were a few "miracles" that occurred in my life that changed my focus from reading heady adult books exclusively to reading books for teens. Here they are:

1. Taking a great course on YA lit for my undergrad program. Can you imagine getting to read YA for class? I had to read 15 books, all self-selected. Everyone did. So, each week we gave a "book talk" and got to hear about what everyone had read the previous week. It was awesome to be submerged in all sorts of new titles and authors. (This was about 11 or 12 years ago, though, so many of our current faves weren't published yet).

2. Reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is the one book that made me realize just how important reading actual YA with teens is. I read it before I was a teacher and knew that students needed to read quality books like this one. I have taught this book for several years now, and it still moves the teens in my classroom. It is real and honest and well-written and important.

3. Seeing the excitement of students who grow to love reading. I teach teens who are labeled "at-risk," which basically means that they may drop out of high school. Many students come to me as freshmen having never read a book all the way through. My job, as I see it, is to find the book that will make them readers. Maybe not all-the-time readers, but at least have had that one book that they couldn't put down. That feeling is good enough to last a lifetime.

4. Starting the Chick Lit Book Club at our high school. More than five years ago, a library aide approached me with the idea of starting a book club for teen girls. We're now in our fifth year, have about 20 girls and 7 adult women, and read one book per month. It's amazing. This club has brought together teen girls from a variety of "cliques" in our school and it's considered cool to be part of this club. It's pretty awesome.

5. This blog! This forum is a real help to me. I participate in discussions with all sorts of readers from all over the world. I hear about books before they come out and am better able to decide which books are going to appeal to my teen readers. I started this blog on a bit of a whim last year, after my classroom blog got too crowded with YA stuff. Now, it's a huge part of my life.

Thanks for reading and participating in this blog. You have no idea how great this is for my teaching and for my students. It's great to show them that there are readers all over the globe who come together to chat about books. That's the "miracle" of the blogosphere and YA lit!

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: FIVE Great YA Bloggers

I've decided to join the Persnickety Snark in her FIVE Challenge. Basically, there she has established a list of categories for each day leading up to the new year. Here are the lists that she has planned:

December 21 - 5 Great Debuts
December 22 - 5 Great Covers
December 23 - 5 Great Series
December 24 - 5 Great Re-Reads (books you've LOVED so much you went back for more)
December 25 - 5 Most Anticipated (2011 titles)
December 26 - 5 Hopes for YA in 2011
December 27 - 5 Great YA Movie Deals
December 28 - 5 Great Author (in the flesh) Moments
December 29 - 5 Great YA Bloggers
December 30 - 5 Great Miracles that Occurred to Get Me Reading More (choose your genre)
December 31 - 5 Best Titles for 2010 (which I double because 5 is too hard)

Today's post for the Persnickety Snark's FIVE Challenge is to name five of my favorite bloggers. This is easy because about a couple dozen awesome blogs come to mind, but difficult to choose the ones I'll name here. Just know that I read dozens and dozens of blogs daily and love what you all are doing.

Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Love this blog! I really warmed up to it this summer when Lenore hosted the Dystopian Reading Challenge. I read tons of books and learned so much about the genre through her many reviews, updates, and author events. It was an awesome time and I can't wait for her next Dystopian celebration. 

Eating YA Books is probably the blog that I read most often. I always check in to see what Jan has to say, because I've found that I really and truly agree with much of what she writes. She is a school librarian and is committed to reading the latest YA so that she can entice unsuspecting young readers to become lifelong readers. She's an inspiration!

 Vampires and Tofu. Enough said! I love this blog for its title and it's content. It's edgy and fun and I read whatever Angelique writes. She reads a huge variety of YA and adult books and I do too, so my reading needs are totally met on her blog. It's fun and funky and I can't get enough of it. 

My Girl Friday is a great blog to read no matter which day of the week you visit! She has great taste in books and often has extra little posts about non-bookish topics. I just enjoy her taste and her writing. I definitely read whatever she posts, whenever she posts it!

And, last but not least, I love reading whatever Misty at the Book Rat blog has to say. This is how much I love her blog--I have an intense fear of rats, mice, and any other such vermin, yet I still visit her blog and read all the time. Intense fear. Screaming. But, I've learned to scroll quickly past the little Book rat face in her blog's header to get to the good stuff--what she has to say about books.
She's funny and has great vlogs and reads a wide variety of books. Love it.

So, check out these blogs if you get a chance. I love them and bet you will, too!

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: FIVE Great Author Moments

Today's assignment from the Persnickety Snark asks bloggers to think about the great author moments they've had in 2010. I haven't actually met any authors because I live in the middle of nowhere, but I have had a lot of great author interactions over email and through my blog. So, rather than talk about in-the-flesh moments, I'm going to pay tribute to those authors who have contributed to this blog or my classroom in some way.

Holly Cupala, author of Tell Me A Secret

Kersten Hamilton, author of Tyger, Tyger

Mindi Scott, author of Freefall

Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of Jumpstart the World (amongst other books)

Swati Avasthi, author of Split

All of these ladies contributed greatly to this book blog. I loved interacting with them and learning more about the people behind these awesome books. My recommendation of their books to my students are much more honest and well-rounded after having had conversations with these women.

Thanks, ladies. You are a huge inspiration to me and my students. And, you're always welcome here!

The Holiday Break Reading Challenge: Book Title Sentence

Check out the Holiday Break Reading Challenge page to see all of the awesome book title sentences created by participants! Here are the instructions from Ms. Karin the Librarian: 

Today's activity requires you to create a sentence out of the books you have on your shelves. The main words for the sentence must come from the book titles, but you can add a small word or two in order to help it make sense if you need to. Just put your added words in [brackets]. You can use as many book titles as you want, but use at least 3. Here is my book title sentence:

A little hard to read, so I'll write it out. I added a couple of words.

Bloodthirsty accomplice hidden [in] dark water [for] the long weekend.

I had a couple of cute ones going, but I always go for the dark and dramatic in the end!

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: FIVE Great YA Movie Deals

I've decided to join the Persnickety Snark in her FIVE Challenge. Basically, there she has established a list of categories for each day leading up to the new year. Here are the lists that she has planned:

December 21 - 5 Great Debuts
December 22 - 5 Great Covers
December 23 - 5 Great Series
December 24 - 5 Great Re-Reads (books you've LOVED so much you went back for more)
December 25 - 5 Most Anticipated (2011 titles)
December 26 - 5 Hopes for YA in 2011
December 27 - 5 Great YA Movie Deals
December 28 - 5 Great Author (in the flesh) Moments
December 29 - 5 Great YA Bloggers
December 30 - 5 Great Miracles that Occurred to Get Me Reading More (choose your genre)
December 31 - 5 Best Titles for 2010 (which I double because 5 is too hard)

It sounds like 2011is going to be a great year for YA in theaters. Or, that is if the movies that are slated to come out in 2011 are well-made and actually come out on time. Here are FIVE of my most anticipated YA books to movies for 2011:

 

But of course. This is (hopefully) going to be my all-time favorite movie ever. Maybe I'm setting myself up for a huge disappointment? It just can't be helped!

 

While reading this book, I had the sense that it was pretty much made for movie production. Rather than turn me off from this book, I actually am finding myself looking forward to seeing this played out on the big screen. I have a number of students who have read (and loved) this book. I bet it'll be a huge hit. 

 

It's about time. This is a modern YA classic and definitely deserves a film. Middle schoolers (and middle school teachers) everywhere will rejoice! 

I could never understand why this book wasn't made into a movie during the Lord of the Rings frenzy.  I think it's my favorite and I love to teach it. It'll be nice to be able to show an actual film rather than the corny cartoon version the next time I teach this novel. 

 

I haven't actually read this book yet, but I have it and plan to read it before the movie comes out. I think that the Beauty and the Beast generation must be in their teens now and will love to see an edgier version of this classic tale. It'll be cool--I just know it!

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: FIVE Hopes for YA in 2011

I've decided to join the Persnickety Snark in her FIVE Challenge. Basically, there she has established a list of categories for each day leading up to the new year. Here are the lists that she has planned:

December 21 - 5 Great Debuts
December 22 - 5 Great Covers
December 23 - 5 Great Series
December 24 - 5 Great Re-Reads (books you've LOVED so much you went back for more)
December 25 - 5 Most Anticipated (2011 titles)
December 26 - 5 Hopes for YA in 2011
December 27 - 5 Great YA Movie Deals
December 28 - 5 Great Author (in the flesh) Moments
December 29 - 5 Great YA Bloggers
December 30 - 5 Great Miracles that Occurred to Get Me Reading More (choose your genre)
December 31 - 5 Best Titles for 2010 (which I double because 5 is too hard)

Here are my FIVE hopes for YA in 2011:

1. That all of these dystopian novels continue the craze for this genre. I can't get enough and I hope people don't get sick of it too soon!

2. That some of my favorite authors like John Green and Markus Zusak announce new books. I miss them!

3. That strong female lead characters become the rule and not the exception.

4. That lots of realistic books are written for teen girls so that I can continue to choose great titles for the Chick Lit Book Club. We need to talk about real issues that real girls face all of the time!

5. That more and more teens read more and more books! I love this growing trend of larger YA sections in bookstores and kids reading thousands of pages per quarter in my classroom. (Yes, I keep track!)

The Holiday Break Reading Challenge: Christmas Activity

Phew. I'm finally done with eating, presents, and family. What an awesome Christmas! Now, I'm sitting in the spare room at my parents' house and have a little time before I zonk out to catch up on the Holiday Break Reading Challenge assignment for today. It's pretty simple and fun. Here are the instructions:

1. Since today is the 25th, turn to page 25 in the book you are reading right now.

2. Count down the page to line 25 and tell us what the sentence says. If there is a partial sentence or word in that line you can leave it out. If you don't have 25 lines on your page just choose the 7th line (2+5=7).

3. Be sure to post a picture of your book along with your sentence and link it below using Mr. Linky.

I am reading XVI by Julia Karr right now. It's pretty awesome so far, and I'm well past page 25. I wish that the 25th line were more exciting, but it's not. It doesn't even make sense really, so I'm going to cheat and do the sentence before it. Yup, I'm a cheater. I'm okay with it.

"Plus, you'll be out there in space, and who knows if there are any guys there?"

This is much better! It's a great book and it's coming out in early January. Dystopia fans--I don't think that you'll be disappointed, but I haven't read the whole book yet. And, finally, a picture of this awesome book. Love the cover! Off to read...

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: Most Anticipated Reads for 2011

Merry Christmas all! I am not actually writing this on Christmas Day, in case you were wondering. It's a couple of weeks before Christmas and I am preparing my blog for a few days without. I'm sure that the rest of you are doing the same. Even so, I hope that you are all having the bestest of days!

I've decided to join the Persnickety Snark in her FIVE Challenge. Basically, there she has established a list of categories for each day leading up to the new year. Here are the lists that she has planned:

December 21 - 5 Great Debuts
December 22 - 5 Great Covers
December 23 - 5 Great Series
December 24 - 5 Great Re-Reads (books you've LOVED so much you went back for more)
December 25 - 5 Most Anticipated (2011 titles)
December 26 - 5 Hopes for YA in 2011
December 27 - 5 Great YA Movie Deals
December 28 - 5 Great Author (in the flesh) Moments
December 29 - 5 Great YA Bloggers
December 30 - 5 Great Miracles that Occurred to Get Me Reading More (choose your genre)
December 31 - 5 Best Titles for 2010 (which I double because 5 is too hard)

Here are my FIVE selections for Most Anticipated Reads of 2011:

 

 

 

 

 

 Some paranormal, a few dystopias, a couple of series books. There are SO many reads that I can't wait for 2011 to bring. Now you know what I'll be using my bookstore giftcards to pre-order!

The Persnickity Snark FIVE Challenge: The Great Re-Reads of 2010

I've decided to join the Persnickety Snark in her FIVE Challenge. Basically, there she has established a list of categories for each day leading up to the new year. Here are the lists that she has planned:

December 21 - 5 Great Debuts
December 22 - 5 Great Covers
December 23 - 5 Great Series
December 24 - 5 Great Re-Reads (books you've LOVED so much you went back for more)
December 25 - 5 Most Anticipated (2011 titles)
December 26 - 5 Hopes for YA in 2011
December 27 - 5 Great YA Movie Deals
December 28 - 5 Great Author (in the flesh) Moments
December 29 - 5 Great YA Bloggers
December 30 - 5 Great Miracles that Occurred to Get Me Reading More (choose your genre)
December 31 - 5 Best Titles for 2010 (which I double because 5 is too hard)

Here are my FIVE selections for Great Re-Reads (Books I read and then decided to teach/ use in the Chick Lit Book Club) 2010:

 

I now teach both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, so I get to re-read these titles every year!

I re-read this book in 2010, listened to it on audio (brilliant!) and wrote a grant to get copies to teach. I'm teaching it right now to my seniors. They're loving it!

 

I will be teaching this amazing World Lit selection to my sophomores this coming year. Great selection to help us understand what life is like for impoverished children around the globe. 

This read was a huge hit for our first Chick Lit Book Club meeting of the year.  The girls were outraged that forced marriages go unpunished in our society. Lots of great discussion!

We read this book for our November selection for the Chick Lit Book Club.  The discussion, the questions, the insights that came out as a result of reading this book were some of the most powerful that I've listened to in my five years of running this club. Great for mature YAs who want to discuss bullying, identity, and violence in our society. 

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 These are some of my favorite re-reads of 2010. I don't re-read a whole lot of books when I love them--I usually just find a way to teach them or include them in the Chick Lit Book Club. That way, I get to re-read and share them with my students and the cute little Chick-ens of our book club. When I love a book, I want others to love it too. What better way to be excited about teaching and learning than getting to be passionate about great reads?!

If you're interesting in linking your top FIVE lists, visit the Persnickety Snark!

The Holiday Break Reading Challenge: Books Involving Christmas

Before I start this next assignment in The Holiday Reading Challenge (from Karin the Librarian), I'll admit that I have not read a lot of books that revolve around Christmas. I love love love Christmas, but I don't always love reading about it. This is a situation I'm trying to remedy. This year, I signed up for the Holiday Reading Challenge at All About {n} and read three Christmas books. That's a good start, I think!

But, my all-time favorite Christmas book is one that I've read about a dozen times and have seen performed live three times. You're probably thinking that it's A Christmas Carol. Quite the opposite, really. It's David Sedaris's Holidays on Ice.

Yes, the cover is tilted. And so are the stories. It's really super-duper, laugh-out-loud funny. When I've watched it performed live at my favorite local theater, The Portland Stage Company, I literally laugh so hard that I cry. And it's not a pretty cry.  The door to the stage always warns that this play is for "Mature Elves Only," and they mean it.

Here's the promotional poster for this play:

If you're at all a David Sedaris fan, you should read this book! You won't be sorry!