2012 Challenges

2012 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren

Seriously, this year is the year. I feel it!

The deal: Read at least 12 young adult and/or middle grade debut novels. The major change this year is the deadline extension to January 31, 2013.


I only know of two titles right now that I would like to read that meet this challenge: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges and Tempest by Julie Cross.

Off the Shelf 2012 hosted by Bookish Ardour

I definitely own more books than I have time to read. Then I get them from library and there's no time to read what is already lying around my house since library books have a due date. Hence, I have shelves ridiculously full of books that I have never read. That's why I am taking the Off the Shelf challenge. It is an opportunity to read those that are unread and neglected.

The deal: Choose a level (listed on the site) and read titles owned prior to Jan. 1, 2012. This includes print, ebooks and audio books, if you happen to own them.  Anything acquired in 2012 doesn't count, since it hasn't had time to reach the neglected state.

Challenge Level: Trying - Read 15 books 
I have no list for this. I'll grab things as I feel the desire.

"New Adult" Book Challenge hosted by A Tapestry of Words

The New Adult challenge attempts to bring to light titles that fill the gap between the teen years in high and midlife often portrayed in young adult and adult titles. "New Adult" encompasses post-high school teens and early twenty somethings learning to make a way in the world. Living in a college town, being aware of these titles will certainly come in handy during reader's advisory.

The deal: Protagonists should be no younger than 18 and no older than 30. If the protagonist spends the majority of his/her time in High School, that's YA. Post high school is New Adult. Choose a level and enjoy!

Challenge Level: Just Graduated - Read a minimum of 3 New Adult Books
Titles I've been holding off on reading that meet this challenge: Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson, An Off Year by Claire Zulkey, and Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn.

Finally, I will once again try to read 100 books this year. I'm not officially signing up anywhere, just keeping it as a personal goal.


Anyone else taking any new and/or interesting challenges this year?

2011 Challenges Wrap Up

 I realize this normally happens very late on Dec. 31 or very early on Jan 1, but I'm definitely behind when it comes to my blog. I think of it often, but haven't had the time/motivation combo to pay it some love. I intend to kickstart it again soon.  But first, the year of failure limited success. Below is the final status of my challenges from 2011.


Catherine Ryan Hyde Challenge
The challenge: to read ONE title by author Catherine Ryan Hyde. I totally nailed this one! If I didn't then failure would have had to remain the word above. Though I haven't reviewed it for the blog, I read Second Hand Heart, which is technically an adult novel, but I feel falls into this newly minted "new adult" category that has been discussed recently. I'm very happy to have explored an author that I had yet to get around to reading, and hope to add more of her titles to my read pile. 

Debut Author Challenge
Unlike 2010, I had the entire year to read twelve little books. I had enough debuts in my possession to complete the challenge, but alas, it was not to be.
Titles for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge:
1. Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler
2. The Rendering by Joel Naftali
3. Gossip from the Girls' Room by Rose Cooper
4. The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

That means I read one more debut this year than I did last year. So it's a partial success? Ok fine, I just don't like that it's all downhill from here.

100+ Book Challenge
So with this one, I wasn't as close as I would have liked. My grand total was 72 books. Unfortunately because of the way it works, some of my titles were left in the abyss between the years, so there's about four or five of them that I'm not really sure how/where to count. Not that they would have helped any.  The final* list is here.

*"Shelfari is off reading a short novel" so I can't compare my lists at the moment, so there may be an addition or two. Or not; I could just be hoping that I'm forgetting something.

Nanowrimo
I decided to try my hand yet again at writing 50,000 words in 30 days. I started off strong with about 3,000 words the first day. I peaked at 5,000. *Shrugs* It was a busy November.

So those were my challenges for 2011. Not the best year of reading stats wise, but I did discover some new authors that I enjoy and some fantastic reads. Plus there was that whole London trip.

Stay tuned for info on my 2012 Challenges and, ya know, maybe even some reviews.

Blog Hiatus

From Flickr: London, England by TJ Morris

This time next week I will be in London!!  I'm participating in a fantastic study abroad opportunity through Florida State University.  During my trip, I will not have time to post on the blog so there will be a hiatus from now until August.

I will, however, be keeping a travel blog. Please feel free to follow if you're interested. If not, I'll see you August! Have a wonderful summer!

Challenge Update

This year I've chosen to participate in three challenges, and now seems like a good time to evaluate how I'm doing.

The Catherine Ryan Hyde Challenge
The challenge is to read one, yes, just one book by Catherine Ryan Hyde. So far, I have not read that book. Looks like I need to make a trip to the bookstore.

The 2011 Debut Author Challenge
I thought I was doing pretty well with this one.  I feel like I type the word "debut" and tag posts 2011 DAC an awful lot.  And I do, but it's for IMM, not my reviews...oops. So far, I've read three debut novels. That just leaves nine to go. Luckily, I have ten debuts in my possession. I just need to get reading!

100+ Book Reading Challange
To do this one right, I should be around the halfway mark of fifty books. My last count has me with thirty-seven.  Hopefully catching up on the challenges above (and making good use of my over-abundance of travel time coming up) I'll get a bit closer to the halfway point. Even better, Shelfari might stop telling me that I'm behind my pace...whatever that means.

A Question Becomes a (Personal) Challenge

Does anyone else ever feel this way about their books?  (See these and other cool bookends here.)

I hope it is safe to say this: anyone with a bookshelf (or bookshelves as is the case with us more prolific readers) probably has at least one book that they have no read for one reason or another.  Sadly, I have realized that I have many more unread titles than I would like.  I've gone through phases where I've bought and bought and bought some more but I have not made it a priority to read those books.  For instance, when Mockinjay came out, I finally decided that I should read The Hunger Games series.  I bought all three, put them on my shelf, and that's where they've been ever since.  This is not the type of book-owner that I want to be.  If someone takes a peek at my shelves and asks for a recommendation, I don't want to say, "I haven't read that yet, or that either...or that."


But what do about it?  How do I drag myself away from the shiny new books and read those that have been languishing on my shelf for months, or worse, years?

The Answer: I'm creating a challenge for myself.  I am going to go through all the books in my apt (I have others elsewhere) make a list of titles that I have not read, and then actually read them.  During this time, I will limit the number of books that I purchase and the number of books I borrow from the library.  I've already been working at the second half of that, but as you may have noticed with my last IMM post, I have not done a very good job at limiting my purchases.  I'll definitely have to limit it to a number of books rather than a dollar amount, because I'm way too good at finding deals.  This will not only facilitate reading the books that I own, but it means that perhaps I can actually read the books I get from the library.

If anyone else has this or a similar problem or goal feel free to join me.


Lastly, I'd like to note that Kathy of Ms. Martin Teaches Media turned my thoughts in this direction with her Book Buying Ban.  I didn't want to go that route, but reading her posts made me want to know the numbers for sure when it comes to books owned vs. books owned and read.  I'll include updates along the way.

Forgive the Silence...

I'm sorry for not posting any new content recently.  I've been attacked by a mean little stomach bug and haven't had the energy for much of anything this week.  Hopefully with some rest and reading this weekend, all will be back to normal soon.  Thanks.

2011 Catherine Ryan Hyde Challenge!

Just an announcement that I am participating in the 2011 Catherine Ryan Hyde Challenge.  This challenge is hosted by Shooting Stars Mag (this link will take you to the challenge page).  It's an easier challenge than most: participants are to read at least one novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde with the option to read more.

At my library, we have a very long list of titles by this author, some of which are familiar--such as Pay it Forward and Diary of a Witness--while others are not.   I have not read any of her novels before, so it will be a treat to discover something new.

Challenge Wrap-Up

This year I took part in two reading challenges and one personal challenge:

1.  The Debut Author Challenge hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren

I failed miserably at the Debut Author Challenge.  I thought maybe I could get twelve titles read even though I started late (like August late), but it didn't happen.  I wasn't even close.  I read three debut novels: Firespell by  Chloe Neill, Split by Swati Avasthi, and How to Grow up and Rule the World by Scott Seegert.  Oh well, the point was still made and I added new authors and new books to my ever-growing TBR pile.  Maybe I'll have better luck next year.

2.  100+ Reading Challenge hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog.


This reading challenge included almost everything.  Any novel read in any way, including audio. Even though I joined this one late too, I could count everything from the beginning of the year. And thanks to Shelfari, I still knew what those titles were.  I hit the 100 book mark at the beginning of December.  Click here to see the complete list.


3. Nanowrimo

Participating in nanowrimo was an awesome experience. Almost every day I hit a new high in terms of writing for one specific story idea than I ever had before.  I pulled out a win this year and I still grin like an idiot when I get emails from Nano calling me a writer.  I'm also following up pretty well by editing and rewriting as necessary.  The scariest part is remembering that I agreed to let someone read it.  Dear Someone, Please be gentle. Loves, Jenn

I Lives!

Ok, I admit it.  That break was a tad bit longer than I expected.  But I can catch you up superfast:

• The Art Show was awesome with many submissions by some ridiculously talented teens. 
• I participated in Nanowrimo for the first time and won, which is pretty sweet.  Now I just have to see if I can make it coherent.
• Classes are officially over, which means I get to read real books again until January.  Hurray!
• And as a reward for winning Nanowrimo, my bestest friend took me to see Harry Potter, and now I'm re-reading it.  I read it incredibly fast the first time so work people wouldn't spoil the ending for me (and they would have, too!) and now I don't really remember what happened.

Now that we are all caught up, reviews will resume shortly.

MIA

I'm a bit swamped this week with our Teen Art Show happening Saturday and major assignments due.  I'll return next week with new content and perhaps some photos of award winning art! 

Banned Books Week

Today marks the beginning of Banned Books Week 2010.  In our department we have two different displays for banned books: one in the children's area and one near the young adult area.  They've only been out for a few days but we've gotten comments and surprised questions about some books that have been banned or challenged.

Those of us who truly love books understand how important it is to keep the freedom to read alive which is why we celebrate the freedom to read during banned books week.  It's a reminder that, by speaking loudly our favorites are available for others to choose and to love or to hate and disagree with.  But the fundamental element of freedom to read is the freedom to choose. 


Below are a few of my favorites:

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
A Light in the Attic - Shel Silverstein
The Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things - Carolyn Mackler
Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
King and King -  Linda da Haan

There are many more that I've read and/or enjoyed that I didn't add.  But it's safe to say I read banned books.  Do you?

Banned Books Week runs from September 25 - October 2, 2010.

Tuesday Mash-Up

I'm starting to have a few ideas of what to do on Tuesdays, but they aren't fully formed so today's a mash-up of things.


First up I found a new book!  Dust City by Robert Paul Weston. It's available Sept. 30!

Next, here's the trailer for The Magnificent 12: The Call by Michael Grant.  You need sound for this one.








Finally, Jessica over at I Read to Relax has a fun little give-away going on.  Click to take a look.

That's all for Tuesday! 

Niceties

Just an FYI that my classes have started again so my posting schedule might have to change.  Expect at least two days a week and I'll hopefully get to continue reading fun stuff along with not as fun stuff.  For now, enjoy the cute kitty.

E-books

So e-books.  I’ll admit, I’m intrigued, curious even, but I’m not about to trade out my entire library for a digital edition where available (unlike my music collection which is now more useful and enjoyable as a result of its digitalness).  Why?  My name is Jenn and I am a book-o-holic.  The proof: afriend of mine gives me a gift card to a bookstore for my birthday and Christmas specifically to “feed my addiction.” Yes, he’s an enabler, but he’s my enabler.

E-books are a pretty cool thing.  I’ve read a few and have used them for assignments, but as I said above, I’m a book lover.  Some say it’s a romantic notion to talk about the way books feel or smell or the joy of finding the right one.

My tendency is to scan shelves looking for interesting spines to make a selection.  I’ve admitted before that I do tend to judge books by the cover too, but I don’t see how the act of searching a shelf or display really translates to the digital world.  Yes you can scan through book covers like album covers on an iGizmo, but there really is much more to it than that.  There’s something about finding the right book and having in your hand. I love passing some of my favorite books to friends and family after I’ve enjoyed them, but digitally that’s not allowed. 

Anyway, one problem I’ve found with scanning covers like albums is that you get no real sense of the book.  I’ve added books my TBR pile based on descriptions and covers only to find that they didn’t really interest me.  If I were to purchase a ebook based on those factors, about half the time (maybe even more), I'd be disappointed and couldn’t even pass it along to someone else you might enjoy it.

Need an example of how cover browsing doesn’t work? Borders claims to have over a million ebook titles to browse, but, let’s face it, the narrowing features kind of suck.  Ebooks >> teens >> fiction = Ruby Lu, Brave and True, a funny and charming chapter book about an eight year old magician.  Uhhh....what?  Also I don’t want to look through pages and pages and pages and pages of titles.    Books on a shelf have a limit and, for the most part, are shelved in the correct area.  So what about all those books that don’t appear on shelves? Hopefully they have really good marketing campaigns so I learn about them.  Also through the blogs I follow, I learn about a lot of interesting new books.

Of course, he's in his jammies!

Finally, judging from all the book-buying that goes on as listed in  IMM posts and from my last trip to the bookstore with friends (2 people = 8 books), books aren’t as close to extinction as some like to imagine.  I will agree that the book as we know it is undergoing a change, an evolution, if you will, but evolution does not equal death. Even Captain Picard still has printed books that he actually reads when every known piece of knowledge is loaded on the computer (Yep, I realize I just totally upped my nerdy-ness and should start watching something besides Star Trek: The Next Generation in my free time).

So I might end up with a digital  book reader someday, but for now I’ll stick with books just the way they are. 

Challenge and Bookstores

Another challenge...this one I made a page for here.  Enjoy!


Also, this weekend I'm going to my favorite bookstore in Jekyll Island, Ga.  It has both used and new books, but the next coolest thing is that it's a house (well formerly an infirmary for America's rich and famous of days gone by).   Each room has a different theme and there's always new and interesting, one-of-a-kind gifts.  I can't wait!

Remiss

Last week I was remiss in my posting duties, though I did get a review out on Friday.  My only explanation is that I thought I had content prepared and ready to post and I did not.  This week things shall return to normal with reviews and a look at some upcoming books.

Boys and the Library

During my morning blog reading session, I came across a post from Ask the ALA Librarian on boys and reading.  This prompted a moment of thoughtfulness on the subject.

A common misconception is that boys just don't like to read.  In my opinion, boys are not encouraged to read quite as much as girls are.  Boys are generally expected to run around outdoors like little heathens and be loud and boisterous, while expectations for girls tend to involve quieter activities, like reading.  It's usually the little boys that are shushed at the library; hardly ever the little girls. (This thought process is related to yet another blog post found here).

This all falls under that large debate of nature versus nurture.  Are boys louder because they are boys or because they are raised to be loud?  (Of course loud here is meant to encompass "typical" boy behaviors).  My brother and I are actually examples of this very thing.  He does like to read, but when we were kids, I'd be the one with the book amusing myself, while he constantly needed to be entertained.  Was there a difference in the way our parents raised us that caused this, or was it just because he's a boy? 

In any case, I was happy to see this article, "Why Aren't Little Boys Reading?"  I was happier, of course, to see that the Toledo-Lucas County Library is actually taking measures to entice boys in particular.  One of my favorite ideas is to create programming targeted to boys, including programs with gross or creepy crawly in the title.  Another great idea are displays targeted to boys—testosterone fueled reads, perhaps? : ) 

This article really brings to light some problems I myself have felt in the library.  An archived Booklist webinar, Sensational Summer Reading, also touches on these issues.  Research on the whether summer reading programs benefit students shows that boys tend to participate less; my guess would be this is because generally programs don’t appeal to boys.  When I worked at a small branch we had a tough time getting the kids away from computers to get them to participate in other programming.  Unfortunately, where I work now, there’s no place for tweens or teens, which makes it much harder to get kids interested in anything we do.

In instances like these, I feel the need for a little CYA, so here goes.  Currently, boys slip through the cracks in terms of library interest and usage.  We can do things to encourage and pique their interest, but the goal is to do so while preventing the slippage of girls because we focus time on boys.  As with anything involving any two groups of people, it’s a delicate balance to increase the interest and participation of one group while maintaining or continuing to interest the other group.

Further reading: (These were listed on the ALA Librarian post.  I didn't directly use them above, but created a little list for myself with  what I found.  They are quite useful.)
ALA Wiki on Boys and Reading
YALSA Booklists: Quick Picks and Graphic Novels

Resources (all mentioned above):
Ask the ALA Librarian - Motivation for post
Awful Library Books
Why aren't little boys reading?

Booklist Webinar: Sensational Summer Reading

Just a Note

Normally it won't take so long for new reviews or information.  I kind of "put the cart before the horse" so to speak and attempted to debut my idea before completing the spring semester.   It's over now and I definitely have time again.  Phew!