Monday, December 16, 2013

Stay On Target

 Still on the hook for my challenges -- I've only one last Cybils finalists to finish so I'm turning my attention to my geography lists.  I need eleven more states, including D.C. I think this is the worst shape I've been in for December since I started this challenge.

Of course, there may be some other distractions going on this month. At least I finally have my tree up, and have scattered my outdoor lights across the floor of my living room. If you peer through my windows you may get a glimpse of them blinking.

I'll sign in at Book Journey or Teach Mentor Texts since I want to see what everyone else is reading this month.

This week I finished:
  • Ruby Holler, Sharon Creech. Kidlit. For my elementary school book club.
  • Boy21, Matthew Quick. YA. Cybils finalist. My high schooler recommends it.
  • The Last Dragonslayer, Jasper Fforde. Kidlit. Cybils finalist. The protagonist is 15, but it does read more as kidlit than YA. Another book receiving my son's praise.
  • The Cabinet of Earth, Anne Nesbit. Kidlit. Cybils finalist.
  • The Adventures of Beanboy, Lisa Harkrader. Kidlit. Cybils finalist. My son recommends it, although he thought it took place in Ohio. Sadly, it is Kansas based.
  • Chomp, Carl Hiassen. Kidlit. Cybils finalist.
  • The Peculiar, Stefan Bachmann. Kidlit. Cybils finalist.
  • Endangered, Eliot Schrefer. YA. Cybils finalist.
  • A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman. I defiantly read a book just for me. Go Mrs Pollifax, international agent in a spiffy hat.
What am I currently reading?  My book bag has some essays by Fadiman, a cozy mystery in Indiana, the latest paperback In Death book, and my NOOK. 
  • At Large and At Small, Anne Fadiman. Library. Gems of essays for the sake of being essays.
  • The Storyteller, Antonia Michaelis. YA. Library. The last of the Cybils, but so dark I'll probably take a week or so to read it.
  • Paradise, Toni Morrison. It's been pushed aside by Cybils reading, but its Oklahoma setting may push it back up.
  • Calculated In Death, J.D. Robb. Library. Only one dead body so far, so maybe it's not one of the gruesome ones.
  • Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?, Louise Rennison. Audio. YA. Library. On disk 4/5. The boys are liking this even though they only here it intermittently -- I listen even when they aren't there.
  • Conspiracy, Lindsay Burokers. NOOK. Still not making progress. The library picks always push in front of this poor purchased book.
  • Developing Standards-Based Report Cards, Thomas R. Guskey & Jane M. Bailey. I should just finish this -- the last session roamed all over the book.
  • Radio Fifth Grade, Gordon Korman. The new teacher does not respect the radio.
  • Out to Canaan, Jan Karon. Service sometimes demands sacrifice. And guests.
  • Keep Me Forever, Rosemary Laurey. I like the progress of the rich gardener.
  • A General Theory of Love, Thomas Lewis. Some false notes about autism.
  • The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens. Pickwick is defiant, and goes to Bath. I snore.
  • How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, Orson Scott Card. I like his definitions of science fiction.
What's up next? I'll attack the eleven books I need for the Where Are You Reading challenge, and hope to fit in two more colors books as well. I got a bunch from the library, so that should help.

2013 Challenges:
  1. Cybils: 73/74.  I'm 50 pages into the last one.
  2. Where Am I Reading?: 40/51. No change -- I had zilch luck with the wave of Cybils I just finished, which I was kind of hoping would give me a few of the remainder.
  3. Crazy Quilt Colors: 7/9. Still need brown and patterns.
  4. Reading My Library:  Not this week, either. Maybe next week.
  5. Best of the Best 2012: 46/25.   In Zanesville is on deck. 

5 comments:

Mary Hill said...

Sounds like you have your stack full of reading material. I try to focus on just one or two a week. That is all I can handle. I love Sharon Creech. Have you read Walk Two Moons?

Mary-andering Among the Pages

GatheringBooks said...

I didn't realize there was a Cybils challenge in the kidlitosphere. Had I known about it, we would have joined. We've devoted a theme to Cybils early this year - and read/reviewed most of the winners and finalists from the previous years from January/February of this year. Thanks for sharing all your book recommendations (as well as your kids' recommendations!).

Beth said...

It's only my personal challenge, so it's not big in the kidlitosphere. Melissa Wiley did it for 2010 (http://melissawiley.com/blog/2011/01/01/cybilsshortlistchallenge/), and I just kept going.

If you do one next year I'll hop on yours!

Mary, yes, that's the first book I think of for Creech. I've read many of her others, even the poetry ones (and I'm not fond of poetry novels, so that's saying a lot).

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

You have your tree up? You beat me.

Elizabeth said...

I didn't stop by last week so I am stopping this week. :)

WONDERFUL week for you.

THANKS for sharing. ENJOY your reading and your Christmas week.

Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My It's Monday, What Are You Reading