Tuesday, January 7, 2014

My #MustReadin2014

must-read-in-2014-challenge

**#mustreadin2014 reflections**

It's always interesting to look back on what you wrote, isn't it?  I like how at the end I wrote "look for all of these to be crossed off".  Ahahahahahahahaha!

Now that I've had a good laugh, it really is interesting to look back at my reading.  Here's what I learned this year:

* Kid lit books are so much better than adult books.  They are shorter so I feel like the character development has to happen quicker, but better.  Plot has to be developed, tighter, and better.  The threads need to be woven in a way that makes it understandable and not drawn out.  Bottom line, it's better writing.  It's not to say I won't read any more adult books.  It just means I'm going to be more careful.  I still have some adult books that I had or purchased this year that I did not get to.  I know there will be more published in 2015 that I will want to read.  I'm going to put the books I'm hoping to read on my #mustreadin2015 list, but I know I'm not going to worry if I don't get to them.

* This year I set a Goodreads goal.  I really had no idea how many books I would read.  I met my goal before the first half of the year so I changed it.  And then I never really looked at it again.  At some point I noticed I had met it, but I didn't really try.  I could use the number of books I read this year and make a new and higher goal, but I'm not going to.  It's not about the number of books. I know I read (a lot).  I'd rather make sure I read the books I want to instead of how many.  I'm going to continue to make a #mustread list and I'll continue to track my reading, just not worry so much about quantifying it. 

* When I think about my reading, I know people look at how much I read and think I read all the time.  I do, but I don't sit for hours at a time and read.  Except for the last couple of days when I've tried really hard to get a few more #mustread books in.  But normally, I just read in the edges (I like Donalyn's term).  I read when I fit it in.  I probably read the least amount of time right before bed.  I'm watching the news, I'm checking my phone one last time, and reading a bit.  I try to get a little caught up on the weekend when I might have an hour in the day to sit down and read.  I try hard to make kids understand this.  I think it's a hard thing for them to internalize.  I think parents need to think about this more.  People think they just don't have time.  They do.  They just need to look at their time with a new lens.

* When I thought about my #mustreadin2015 list, I thought that I was not going to put a lot of books I already own on the list.  After all, this year I did that and I did not get to all of them.  But the books I have are books I want to read.  They should go on the list.  Especially the ones I'm thinking about that I really want to get to.  So what if I don't end up crossing them off.  There needs to be no book shame in not finishing your #mustread list.  It shouldn't be a goal, as much as a plan.  A challenge.  Where the prize is you still have books to read!  Yea!  Good prize! (and a whole new year with more books being published, yea!)

So here's my original post.  Love going back and reading it.  Make sure you chuckle at the part where I crossed everything off!


While I am so excited to have found this wonderful community in Twitter and blogging, however it has killed my TBR pile.  As in increased it.  Amazon loves me.  Bookstores love me.  My library card is maxed out.  But that's all a good thing, right?  

My daughter is loving it.  She has always been a reader and the only time she listens to me is when I am giving her a book recommendation.  So many of my TBR books end up in her pile and she often gets to them before I do.

I know I am going to read a lot of books in 2014, but there are some I feel strongly that I MUST get to.

I started using Twitter the day after Christmas.  It has been a great place to see what is going on in the literacy world, but also to get {more} book titles.  As soon as the New Year hit, people started using #mustreadin2014.  Now this is where I could post my titles and almost be held accountable for reading them.

Soon, I found Carrie Gelson and a couple other bloggers were putting together a list of everybody's Must Read list on her blog.  Find all the details HERE.  I knew I had to join them.  Of course when all this started I didn't even have a blog yet!  Had to get that going first :)  So, blog done, now time for the list.  
Introducing my #MustReadin2014 list!!

I'm not including any picture books - literature or informational texts.  I'll always read those.  Rarely do I have a TBR pile for those only because I can get through them so much faster.

Middle grade:

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle read 12.29.14
Treasure Hunters by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo read 2.16.14
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder read 12.14.14
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan read 6.15.14
The Quirks by Erin Soderberg read 8.07.14
The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen read 6.27.14
One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt read 1.28.14
Rump by Liesl Shurtliff read 4.05.14
The Real Boy by Anne Ursu
Winners Take All by Fred Bowen read 12.31.14
The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff read 12.30.14
Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder read 3.16.14
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd read 1.31.14

YA:

eleanor & park by Rainbow Rowell read 2.23.14
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
delirium by Lauren Oliver
Divergent by Veronica Roth read 2.27.14
The Land of Stories The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer read 7.30.14

Adult:

Dream It! Do It! by Marty Sklar
What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Morning Glory by Sarah Jio
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Inferno by Dan Brown

I think I'll be busy.  Look for all of these to be crossed out :)
The sad thing is there are barely any 2014 releases on this list and I KNOW I'll be reading those when they come out too!  What a problem to have :)

Happy Reading!

2 comments:

  1. You will love One For the Murphy's and Counting by 7's. We share several other titles! Good luck!

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  2. Love that you have just started a blog and have jumped in so enthusiastically! You have some fantastic titles on your list for reading this year! I loved Eleanor and Park and Counting by 7s - both favourites of mine for 2013. Happy Reading! Thanks for joining the #MustReadin2014 community!

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