March Bookish Events

I’m starting to think March is a book blogger’s January, filled with tbr to-do lists, read-alongs, and events. It’s like everyone decided that January wasn’t good enough so they’re cramming as many things into March as possible since February was so short. Yesterday, I looked around the blogisphere and found some really interesting events going on, so I thought I’ll share them with you all.

The lovely Care is hosting a read-along of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles that’s going on right now.  This is a really great book to read so if it’s on your reading list, why not join in? I think the read-along is going on all month though Care’s final post will be up March 15^th. The Twitter hashtag is #achillesong

Care also told the rest of us about the read-along that’s going to start of Possession by A.S. Byatt that’s being hosted by Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) and Lu (Regular Rumination). The official post is here. On March 11^th there will be a check-in of chapters 1-6. I’ve always been intimidated by Possession for years but recently bought a copy so I’m in. The read-along Twitter’s hashtag: #readByatt

Heather and Andi, the lovely ladies behind Estella’s Society are hosting a bookish photo-a-day challenge. The challenge will be going on on Instagram though several bloggers, including myself, will be posting on our blogs and other platforms. Hashtag #estellagram

Looking for a chunkster to pick up? Then you’re in luck. The Chunkster Challenge’s Chunky Book Club is hosting its first group read of the year with The Map of Time by Felix Palma. Discussions on the book will start on March 15^th and continue through the rest of the month. Remember: you don’t have to be a challenge participant and you can read the chunkster in any format you want.

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayer is a book that I’ve been reading nothing but positive things about so I was happy to see that it’s this month’s book pick for the Mocha Girls Read Book Club.

Is your TBR stack getting out of control? (Of course it is.) Kimba over at Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting a month-long TBR Read-a-thon. If reading strictly from your tbr pile for a whole month is too much, Kimba is also hosting a TBR Pile Read-a-thon from March 15^th – 18^th. #takecontrol

Since it’s March that means Kristen’s back with Diana Wynne Jones Month, a celebration of the late author and her influential work. There will be giveaways, guest posts, and read-alongs of Howl’s Moving Castle and A Tale of Time City.  I’m giving away a DWJ book this month so stay tuned. #dwjmarch

Last but not least, Rebecca (Lost in Books) is celebrating Women’s History Month with guest posts and book reviews.

Whew! That was a lot! Are you joining any read-alongs or bookish events this month?

My edition from Penguin Threads

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot about this read-along even though I signed up for it! Jill (FizzyThoughts) is hosting a read-along of Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women. #Marchon

Armchair BEA – Introductions

Today is Day 1 of Armchair BEA, a week-long event for book bloggers who aren’t attending BEA in New York. The organizers asked everyone to answer a few questions about themselves.

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?  My name is Vasilly. I’m a mother of three and a college student who’s majoring in anthropology. I’m also a Southern California native. I’ve been blogging for the past five years since April 2007, after looking online for others who read as much as I do. I ended up finding a whole community.

2. What are you currently reading? I have a huge stack of books on my nightstand. I’m currently reading Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by the late Laurie Colwin; An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor; The World’s Religions by Huston Smith, and A Clash of Swords by George R.R. Martin. I feel like I don’t have enough books going right now, so I’ll probably start two more.

6. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read? I can’t just give you one post; I need to give you two. I really enjoyed reviewing The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It was a co-review with Aarti (Booklust). I also love my review of Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin.  It was a book that I loved so hard. I wanted to buy a copy and put it in the hands of every reader I knew.

7. If I could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? This question is so easy. I would eat dinner with author Michael Lee West. I read her book, Consuming Passions last year and enjoyed it so much. West is someone who can tell you the best stories and many of them includes food. If not West, I would love to have dinner with Dorothy Allison and Melanie Rae Thon. Both are two of my favorite authors.

9. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? The community itself! I love making new blogging friends and finding new blogs to follow.

The results are in!

Next month’s read for the African American Read-In is:

Click to enlarge.

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes!

Here’s more about the book from the publisher’s description:

Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. She doesn’t have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya’s visions show a powerful hurricane–Katrina–fast approaching, it’s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm.

Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family–as only love can define it.

I’m really surprised about the results. For days,  A Lesson Before Dying and Fences were neck-and-neck for the top spot. Ninth Ward is already on my tbr list so I can’t wait to start reading. Remember, discussions start February 22nd.  Thanks to everyone who voted.

2012 National African American Read-In

Next month is the Twenty-Third National African American Read-In. The event is sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English.Churches, schools, book clubs, and bookstores all over America will get together to read and discuss books by African Americans.  Doret from The Happy Nappy Bookseller and Edi (CrazyQuilts) came up with the great idea to host an online read-in next month.

Here’s the details:

Four books were chosen for the poll below. Readers can only vote for one book. I’ll announce the results on Monday, January 30th. That gives anyone who wants to participate enough time to grab a copy and read along with us. The read-in is set for February 22nd. Discussions questions will be posted on this blog along with Doret and Edi’s blogs. I hope you all join us for this event.

Have you read any of the books listed in the poll?  Are there any that catch your interest?

Edit: I’ve just added two more books to the poll.

World Read Aloud Day

Did you know that today is World Read Aloud Day? The day is hosted by literary organization, Litworld. The organization’s goal in organizing this day is to encourage people of all ages to celebrate the power of literacy by reading aloud. Litworld is hoping to reach 774 million minutes read today for the 774 million people worldwide who can’t read or write. If you plan on reading something today, why not read it aloud and celebrate the day too?

I love reading poetry aloud so I plan on re-reading Mary Oliver’s Red Bird, one of my favorite books of poetry. Here’s a few books I plan on re-reading to my kids today that are great for reading aloud:

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl by Virginia Hamilton. The adventure of Bruh Rabbit who steals from Bruh Wolf is a greatfolklore that leave kids wanting more.

 

The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco. The Junkyard Wonders is about a special fourth-grade class who don’t fit in with the rest of the school and their very special teacher.

 

The Library by Sarah Stewart. The life of librarian Elizabeth Brown who loved books so much, her homebecomes a library.

 

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to my Daughters by Barack Obama. I read this a few days ago and had to have a copy of it for my family. In his letter to his daughters, President Obama conjure up famous Americans of the past to show how great we all can be.

 

So that’s what we’re reading today. Are you going to participate in World Read Aloud Day? You can follow Litworld on twitter at @litworldsays or on their Facebook page.