Reading in 2021. Not the same. And a #mustreadin2021 update - 12.31.21

 2021 started out with so much promise.  I really thought this was the year that was going to push us past the pandemic.  Yeah.  That didn't work out so much.

When the pandemic started I thought a lot about what blogging was going to look like.  Ultimately, I decided to continue blogging because it was a way to feel normal, as well as help authors and publishers with getting titles out there.

I did notice my reading changed at the start of the pandemic.  I started reading more young adult than middle grade.  I don't ultimately know why - I needed a change?  Something that felt so different?  At any rate, I continued to read steadily through the early months, especially into the summer.   Once school started and we moved to a remote setting, my reading was interrupted, but again, once I got my footing, I was able to continue.

At the start of 2021, reading was definitely slower than pre-pandemic times, but I had a flow.  When I think about life March 2020-March 2021, there was a lot of home time.  We really did not do much.  My daughter had swim practice regularly, but being home from school and not going anywhere else allowed time for books.  April of 2021 gave us our first time for travel.  We had to travel for my daughter's first round of Paralympic Trials.  The travel was fine because again, really didn't go anywhere outside of our Airbnb.  The swimming did not go well.  From April to June (official Trials), things got a little more intense with swimming so reading slowed down.  Once she officially made the Tokyo team, I had the rest of June to live the dream.  That tension was off, school was done, and I made great headway into my reading piles.  

Then came July and if you didn't hear the screeching of the breaks to my reading game, well, I'm surprised.  Training was crazy. By the time August hit, between training and Tokyo prep, there was so little time to do anything.  And school was starting.

School 2021.  Even more different than school 2020.  You would think since we were back full time in the classroom it would be back to normal.  We all know that was silly to even think that.  I'm so grateful that in IL we are mandated to wear masks and have some distance.  Our school is even tested (optional) once/week through the Univ of IL Shield test.  But even with mitigations, it's so not normal.  And it's so stressful.  Reading?  Ha.  What's that?

Did I mention we also went through an entire first floor, leading up to the second floor renovation?  Because that wouldn't be any stress??

And now my daughter is a junior in high school, returning to school for the first time in 18 months, and having to go to classes, deal with COVID 19, pretend that isn't happening and keep up with all learning expectations, and figure out college, because shocker, that doesn't just fall in your lap.

A few weeks into the school year and I knew something had to give.  I couldn't keep it all up.  

So away went blogging.  I miss it.  But here's the other problem to that, blogger keeps changing what it allows and the newest thing is it took awhile subscribing by email.  So if you got this, thank you for subscribing awhile ago, because that is no longer an option.  I'm trying to figure out a new platform, but seeing as my technology goes no further than being fancy enough to use different fonts, setting up a blogging platform can be tricky.  Still working on that.  I'm looking into different options, but I still think it will end up as a summer project.

For the rest of 2021 I read what I could and was just satisfied with what I could do.

That means the stacks piled up, but I just look the other way.

Every year I keep track on Goodreads the number of books I've read.  Since I started keeping track in 2014, this will be the second lowest number of books read in a year.  In fact, I'll have read over 100 books less than I did last year.  I knew it was less but I was pretty surprised to see the actual number.

One of the reading communities I participate in is the #mustread community.  Late last year I chose books that are written by BIPoC authors.  Given how the start of 2021 began, these are books that need to be read and shared widely.  I started out well, but as my reading tapered, so did this list.  These are still books I will get to, but not sure when!  Here is how I did:

One day I'll get to the others on this list!

I've spent the last few days thinking about 2022 and reading and blogging.  I'll share my thoughts on that soon!

In the meantime, stay healthy and well, and continue to find time to read!

#mustreadin2021 - 1.08.21

 

Better late than never, right?  I've had my 2021 Must Reads list together for awhile, but couldn't find the time to write the post.  Happy to finally be sharing it with you.

I had already had the idea of what my list would look like, but when the #DisruptTexts movement hit some criticism due to an opinion piece in the WSJ, it became solidified.  In my opinion, the op-ed piece completely missed the point of what the #DisruptTexts movement does and focuses on.  

So this year, my must read books are mostly current YA novels that are written by BIPoC authors.  Books that should be read and shared in high school classrooms today.  I have two MG titles that are also #ownvoices novels, as well as the new Barack Obama book.  Because, you know, I need reminding of what a President sounds like while I wait for January 20th...

Now if you have seen President Obama's newest book, you know not only is it a great read, it's also a weight.  Getting through that book in a month would have me forgoing all other reads, which is hard to do.  So that one is split into months - I'll read parts of it starting in January and finishing in April.  I'll have a reason to continue reading since I'm using it as our current book club selection that I do with my sister.

If you have followed my blog, you know that I read one book a month for my Must Read selections.  That way I know I can get to one book that has been languishing in a pile, yet still make time for all the millions of other books I want to read.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you also know that I tend to add a book here or there because it is near impossible to limit a list to just 12 books.  This year was especially hard!

Without further ado, here are the books I must read in 2021!

January:  A Promised Land (parts 1-2) by Barack Obama

February:  A Promised Land (parts 3-4)

March:  A Promised Land (parts 5-6)

April:  A Promised Land (part 7) and Grown by Tiffany Jackson

May:  Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh and Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon

June:  Something to Say by Lisa Moore Ramée and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

July: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

August:  This is My America by Kim Johnson

September:  The Assignment by Liza Wiemer

October:  The Belles by Dhonielle  Clayton

November:  Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

December:  For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington and Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Should be another great year of reading!  Happy 2021 to all.

#MustReadIn2020 recap - 12.20.2020

Time for the #mustreadin2020 recap!  

But first for a quick summary of how my Must Read lists are put together.  Several years ago I switched to this format, and I really like it.  I don't know about you, but I have a lot of books in piles in many rooms in the house.  Some are even on shelves!  What you need to know, there are a lot of books.  While I was making Must Read lists year after year, I was focusing more on what I knew I wanted to read in the upcoming year, often adding books that had yet to be published.  Meanwhile, there were many books I wanted to read just sitting, gathering more dust.  Not because I didn't want to read them, but because there were so many to read.  So I turned my focus to those books.  Rather than add books I knew I would probably read anyway in the upcoming year, I selected books that were already in my piles.  And instead of making a long list of them, I decided to stick with 12 - one for each month.  Of course that has always been hard to do, limit a list to just 12 books!  So I often look at the year ahead and try to find months that I know I may be able to squeeze an extra book in and add a couple of books to that month.  I'm pleased to say this is the second year in a row that I actually completed all of the books on my #mustread list!  Which is an amazing feat given this year.

Ah yes, 2020.  To say you accomplished a goal in 2020 is amazing.  When I made my 2020 list, I had no idea what was going to happen.  For example, I put 2 books on my March list, because I knew we were going to AZ for Spring Break.  It's always a relaxing trip so I have lots of time to read!  2020 reality - we didn't go anywhere for Spring Break, instead stayed home and stayed safe.  Instead I started reading some YA series so I could pass them along to my 14yo daughter who needed some reading material to balance her Netflix and social media time...  I also put 2 books down for the month of April.  I knew my daughter would be swimming in Indianapolis for the Paralympic World Series that takes place in the USA.  More extra reading time.  2020 reality - it was one of the many events that were cancelled and instead I found most of my reading time being taken away because I was busy learning how to teach in a virtual setting.  While the rest of the year was not exactly smooth, I had {thankfully} only scheduled one book each month for most of the remaining months.

And reading was interesting.  Usually, I find my #mustreads titles to be fantastic stories and I often kick myself for not getting to them faster.  This year my selections had some amazing reads, and some that were less than stellar.  Some of the titles I celebrate, some I questioned.  Some titles I wish I had read during a different time (like maybe not during a pandemic).  Here's a quick rundown.

Becoming

by Michelle Obama

Loved this one.  Love the Obamas, but I really admire Michelle.  I loved learning more about her upbringing and her years in the White House.  It will be interesting to read her husband's recent memoir and compare!

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

I read this one during the early parts of the pandemic and it was PERFECT.  It took me away when I needed a new world to go to.  I loved meeting the characters and the world building Bardugo created.  I quickly read all of the books in this series.  I had already read the Six of Crows duology and I really wish I had read this trilogy first.  I continued on to The King of Scars and I cannot wait for the next book to be published in 2021!

The Night Diary

by Veera Hiranandani

This is the book I was reading on March 13, the day my world went on shutdown.  How do I know?  Because the cover picture is still hanging up on my "What is Mrs. Knott Reading?" board at school!  I really liked this one and the glimpse into history was an important one for me.

Piecing Me Together

by Renee Watson

One of those why did I wait so long to read books.  It was excellent, although it's one I read very early on in the pandemic and I'm having trouble remembering details of the story.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

by Kate DiCamillo

So I didn't care for this one.  Too dark.  I know, I'm kicked out of certain book discussion circles now, but it's not one I enjoyed.

Stars Above

by Marissa Meyer

This was the last book I read for this challenge and I absolutely loved being back in the worlds of Luna and Earth.  This is a series I will always recommend.

Genesis Begins Again

by Alicia D. Williams

This was on my list because it, like Piecing Me Together, was a Newbery Honor winner that I had yet to read.  This gave me more understanding of colorism for an African American.

          

Love, Ruby Lavender

each little bird that sings

The Aurora County All-Stars

by Deborah Wiles

Again, books that have been on my shelf for a really long time.  I loved meeting a new main character in each story and seeing old friends in all of them!

In My Shoes

by Donna Gephart

This was a really hard one for me because the character has a limb length discrepancy, which my daughter has.  There were so many inaccuracies that really bothered me.  My review is here.

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere

by Julie T. Lamana

I thought this book was well-written and it seemed very realistic.  The problem I had with this one is that pretty much all of the characters were African American and it was written with a dialect that is associated with the Black community.  And the author is white.  So, there's that.

Nowhere Boy

by Katherine Marsh

Loved reading this one.  Again, another insight, another perspective to a life very different from my own (refugee story).

Fleabrain Loves Franny

by Joanne Rocklin

I remember when this first published a lot of readers raving about this one.  It fell flat for me and I skimmed through a lot of it.

See You at Harry's

by Jo Knowles.

Don't read this one during a pandemic.  Completely influenced my feelings.  Just too sad for my taste right now.

     

Framed!

Vanished!

by James Ponti

I don't have many mysteries in my collection, so really glad I finally got to this series.  Already bought the third one in the series and can't wait to see where in DC they'll explore next!

What did you read in 2020 that stood out?  I have to imagine your reading life was impacted by global events too.  

I will share my 2021 list later this week!  Another list that has been influenced by the world around us.  

Happy New Year, reading friends!

#mustreadin2020 list

Happy 2020!  I'm looking forward to this new year and new decade!  One of my absolute favorite things to do at the start of every new year is to create my mustread list for that year.  Be sure to follow along with my links for #mustread on the right side of the page for more information about this community.  

Yesterday I closed out 2019 with a round up of how my #mustreadin2019 year went.  It was the first year I completed all of the books on my list.  Sticking with a list of 12 books, one each month, was certainly the way to go.  So of course this year I have 17 books on my list (seriously, smacking my head right now.....).  I just couldn't bring the list down.  As I organized some shelves this past summer and fall, I started adding books to a future mustread pile.  But unfortunately that did not include some books I had up in my room.  I'll try it out.  Worst thing that can happen is I have more books to read for the following year, lol!

Here are the books I'll be reading this year:

January:  Becoming by Michelle Obama
February:  Shadow and Boneˆby Leigh Bardugo
March:  The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani and Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
April:  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
May:  Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
June:  Love, Ruby Lavender, each little bird that sings, The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
July:  In Your Shoes by Donna Gephart
August:  Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana
September:  Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
October:  Fleabrain Loves Franny by Joanne Rocklin
November:  See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles
December:  Framed! and Vanished! by James Ponti


Looks like another great year of reading, right?  Some new(ly)-ish published books and some that have been around for awhile.  All books I own.  All waiting to be read!

I'll be back in December 2020 to update you on my progress!

Happy 2020 reading!

#mustreadin2019 recap 12.31.19

Click on the #mustread tab on the right side of the screen and you'll see that I've been a part of this community for years.  This is the first time I have completed my list, whoo hoo!  Completing my list may have been the goal, but it was never the real reason to participate in this community.  Being able to get to some of the books that have been gathering dust in my piles, books I know I'll enjoy but just haven't gotten to... I'm guessing we all have piles like that.  We want to read the books, the problem is there is always more books!  

A few years ago I changed how I selected the books on my list.  Now I choose just one book each month.  I try and make time once a month for these books.  Sometimes I end up doubling up books in a month because some months are busier than others.  But I love that I try and ensure that there are 12 books I read that I've been wanting to read that year.

2019 was the year to finish series.  Every book was part of a series or a follow-up to another book.  I did switch out a book on my list so I could finish up with a series that was a must read.  I'm looking forward to creating my 2020 list.  I cleaned out some shelves this summer and already started a pile!

Here's a recap of my 2019 reading.


Ashes
by Laurie Halse Anderson
read 2.23.19
This was an amazing trilogy and I will always be amazed the way Anderson was able to research, document and write this series.


Fairest
by Marissa Meyer
read 3.23.19
I always enjoy reading books that feature the perspective from another character.  Especially the villains!


Revenge of the Teacher's Pets
written by Jennifer Ziegler
read 4.28.19
Love this series for young middle grade readers.  Strong, fun girl characters!


The War I Finally Won
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
read 6.06.19
This one didn't reach my heart quite like the first one but I enjoyed being back with Ada.


Most Valuable Players
by Phil Bildner
read 6.25.19
Sad to say goodbye to these characters.  I enjoy sharing their stories with 4th grade readers every year!


Bounders: The Tundra Trials
by Monica Tesler
read 7.29.19
I read 3 books in this series for my mustread list.  If you do anything for 2020, make sure the series is on your mustread list!


Bounders: the Forgotten Shrine
by Monica Tesler
read 8.16.19
I love this series.  I will forever book talk it and share it with readers.


Stars So Sweet
by Tara Dairman
read 10.14.19
Took me awhile to get to this third book because the last few years this series has been in demand by readers!  Glad to finally return to Gladys and her cooking world.


Bounders: The Heroes Return
by Monica Tesler
read 10.29.19
The journey these characters have been on has been exciting and I have enjoyed seeing the change over time!


Hide and Seek
by Kate Messner
read 12.02.19
It's been awhile since I read the first book in this series but it didn't take me too long to get caught up!  Another fun adventure.


Winter
by Marissa Meyer
read 12.07.19
Wow.  800+ pages and it was a lot of action!  I have one more book in this series, a novella full of stories from all of the characters.


Manhunt
by Kate Messner
read 12.28.19
A satisfying conclusion to this trilogy!


Glad to have completed these stories.  Looking forward to the stories 2020 will bring!  Stop by tomorrow and find out what was added to next year's mustread list!

#mustreadin2019 1.02.19

I will say it over and over - I am so grateful for this community because it makes sure I get to some books throughout the year.  I'm not sure who originally said this quote but it's true, "I was born with a To Be Read list that will never be completed."  By participating in the must read community, I always ensure some of my books are read!

A couple of years ago, I switched to assigning books months to be read.  I work better with deadlines!  I also switched to only adding books I already own - books that are currently sitting in shelves or piles in the house.  These are the books I want to make sure and get to so they don't continue to collect dust in the house!

This year I am concentrating on finishing some series.  After making this list, I can already see I'm not finishing all of the series, so it looks like I may continue this into 2020!

Here is my #mustreadin2019 list!

January
Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson

February
Fairest by Marissa Meyer

March
Winter by Marissa Meyer

April
Revenge of the Teacher's Pet by Jennifer Ziegler

May
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

June
Most Valuable Players by Phil Bildner

July
Bounders: The Tundra Trials by Monica Tesler

August
Bounders:  The Forgotten Shrine by Monica Tesler

September
Hide and Seek by Kate Messner

October
Manhunt by Kate Messner

November
Stars So Sweet by Tara Dairman

December
Book Scavenger: The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Looking forward to checking off each book as I read it and getting some series {close to} completed!

Happy 2019 reading!

Final #mustreadin2018 update 12.31.18

Fittingly I am squeezing in my #mustreadin2018 post on the last day of the year.  I feel like that sums up my reading year - a lot of it was squeezed in or done quickly.  Since I started tracking my yearly reading in 2014, this past year, 2018, I read the most amount of books I've ever read.  And while that should be an accomplishment, I think back to how many books I read through so fast so I could get on to the next one, and how many books I don't even remember much about.  I'm hoping to change that next year.  I want to spend more time, especially on picture books, thinking about how they can be used by teachers.  2018 was also a funny year for me because I feel like I didn't "fall" into as many books as I usually do.  There were some definite stand outs, but I felt like I had more reading slumps than usual.  I'm hoping 2019 will be an end to that, and judging from some of the ARCs I've already read, we've got some great books ahead!

Thinking about my #mustreadin2018 list, I got to all of my books except one!  I started something new two years ago - instead of making a list of must reads, I assigned books each month.  Somewhere within the month I would read those books.  I did that because I have a stack of books I just don't get to and I know they are books I want to read.  I stopped putting upcoming books that I knew I would probably read whether they were on a list or not, and focused on my towering TBR towers and to get books off of that!  That worked out better than a list except I was adding 2-3 books each month.  Sometimes I only have time for a middle grade book each week.  When you add the new releases I try to get to in a month plus these others, I fell behind quickly.  So last year I changed it to one book each month, except I had 13 books I really wanted to read so I figured June would be a good month to read 2 books.  Wrong.  I actually just finished one of the titles from June yesterday!  But, I read twelve books that have been sitting in my house... some for a very long time!  Here's the recap:



X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon
Quick thoughts:  I really didn't know much about Malcolm X before I read this.  And I was happy to find out that this really concentrated on his earlier life.  Interesting read, definitely for the older crowd.


March trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell
Quick thoughts:  Again, what was briefly mentioned in my history books became so much more fascinating and understandable by reading these books.  I wonder if in conjunction with mandated textbooks, if classes offered readings from books like these and from my first book, if students would have a better understanding of history and be able to change the future...


Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Quick thoughts:  This was a book I added because I had the first book on my #mustreadin2017 list.  A book that was celebrated by so many readers, I didn't love it until the end.  I had a better time reading the second book, maybe because the world building was complete, so the action happened faster?  I'm glad I came back to the series and completed it.


Cress by Marissa Meyer
Quick thoughts:  I've been slowly getting through this series, reading one each year.  So far Scarlet has been my favorite.  I found the character of Cress to by whiny and complaining.  I like the twists and turns this book brought to the overall plot line.


Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Quick thoughts:  So this is a book that I've owned for years.  My 13yo was a very little girl when I bought it.  Another book that has had a lot of love by readers I trust, I really had a hard time with it.  I did not enjoy any of the characters that much and even though I liked it more at the end, definitely not enough to continue the series.  


Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
Quick thoughts:  My daughter has read all three books in the trilogy and she is not one for historical fiction.  There is a reason for that - these books are absolutely amazing.  The plot lines are tightly written and correctly match history because of the amount of research Anderson has put into each story.  I enjoyed seeing how the quote that starts each chapter will have an effect on the storyline.  I also spent just as much time reading the backmatter because it was so interesting to see how she added history into the story.


Scythe by Neil Shusterman
Quick thoughts:  This is the mustread for this year that blew me away.  I had put off reading this book because of the subject matter (killing people) but after hearing everyone say how good it was, I knew it was time to read it.  I still don't like the premise, but once you read it, you can't help but understand and care for the characters.  That's what amazing writing will do.  I devoured this book, told everyone I knew to read it and then made sure to get the next one in the series read.  Now if Mr. Shusterman could just finish book three that would be great...


Bounders by Monica Tesler
Quick thoughts:  I'm really glad for science fiction like this that draws readers in and gets them excited about the topic.  Science fiction can be a hard sell for younger readers and it's not the first genre many pick up.  Writing this makes me think about how I want to for sure do a #firstchapterFriday on this series and genre in January!


The Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Quick thoughts:  Another book I've owned for a really long time but just hadn't gotten around to reading.  This is one of those books that I think is better for an older audience than my school (we go up to 4th grade).  With the density of the book and range of the book titles, I can see older readers appreciating it more.  My daughter has read through the entire series, but she did so at an older age (6th-7th grades).


Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Quick thoughts:  Yup, another book that has been on my TBR for a really long time and I've owned the book for quite some time.  I can see why this book has been celebrated and well loved by readers.  One that was book talked by many teachers at one point, but maybe needs some more love again.  I can see a whole new generations of readers wanting to get to know Bud.


How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
Quick thoughts:  See why making these must read lists are so important?  Everyone but me has read this book, now it's crossed off my list!  This book is quick to read with characters to love.  I can see why it's a hit!


When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
Quick thoughts:  Not my favorite of his, but I think this is one of his very early books which makes me see how his writing has gotten even better over time.  However, the books he writes, the way he writes, absolutely speaks to this generation of readers.  I'm so glad we have his voice to share with kids today.  And after hearing him speak enough times, I can hear his voice when I read his words.  

Well, that wraps up 2018!  Check back tomorrow and see some of the books I'm reading in 2019!