Spring Reading Thing 2012

March 20, 2012 – June 20, 2012

Hosted at Callapidder Days

If you didn’t know that today was the first day of spring, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking out my window. It’s nice and cold outside, perfect winter weather. So it seems a little funny to be making a list of books I want to read for spring. I missed last year’s Spring Reading Thing, a seasonal “challenge”, and I refuse to miss it again this year.

I decided to dedicate this year’s SRT to my many stacks of unread books. This idea came to me yesterday after “finding” an under-bed shoe storage filled with books. I think that’s one of the great things about Spring Reading Thing is that participants are encouraged to make goals. It’s not just the amount of books to read but anything else you can think of.

One of my goals is to read at least fifteen of my own books within the next three months. It doesn’t have to be the fifteen books on this list but it needs to be fifteen. I’ve own The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot since its publication in 2009. I even pre-ordered it and still haven’t read it. If I don’t read it by the end of this challenge, I’m going to give it away to my local public library. Which leads me to my second goal:

• Give away at least ten books by June 20^th. If I don’t miss the 30+ books under my bed, I won’t miss the ten that I plan on giving away. I’m thinking of this as my own bookish spring cleaning.

Last but not least is to have at least one read-along with my daughter. She’s ten and hasn’t read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett yet. It’s been a reading tradition of mine to read it every spring. I already bought her the book and movie version. Now it’s time to read it to her. Maybe I’ll give her a package of seeds to go with it. I think she’ll like that. If the read-along is a success, we can add Natalie Babbit’s Tuck Everlasting in June. It’s one of my favorite summer reads.

My pool of books:

1. Head Off and Split by Nikki Finney (poetry)
2. Land to Light On by Dionne Brand (poetry)
3. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (non-fiction)
4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (non-fiction)
5. Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (middle grade)
6. The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
7. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
8. Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech (poetry)
9. The Humming Room by Ellen Potter (middle grade)
10. Sula by Toni Morrison
11. Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
12. What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage
13. No Regrets Parenting by Harley A. Rotbart (non-fiction)
14. The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman
15. Among Others by Jo Walton (young adult)
16. The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier
17. Wonder by R.J. Pollacio (middle grade)
18. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (young adult)
19. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (middle grade)
20. Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith (middle grade)
21. The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon (middle grade)
22. Cousins by Virginia Hamilton (middle grade)
23. An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor (non-fiction)

So that’s what I’m planning this spring. Have you started thinking about your spring reading? Are you joining Spring Reading Thing this year?

Sunday Salon: I have no idea what to call this post

Right now it is late afternoon and there is little noise in my house. The kids are all drawing or reading and I am getting on the computer for the second time today. Usually I’m on all day but I needed a break. Earlier I was at the library researching books for one of my classes. I was only suppose to check out two books for the project but instead went overboard and brought home an armful  of books. Oh well.

I just finished Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner. I started it this morning and spent most of the day reading it for this month’s  Well-Read Ladies book club selection.  Every month we read books from different genres and write notes on our group blog for discussion. This month was young adult and next month for our classics pick is John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I cannot wait! It’s on plenty of my challenges lists.

Speaking of reading challenges, I’ve noticed that I’m not paying much attention to the challenges I signed up for. I’ve only finished two challenges this year, the Essay Reading Challenge and Young Readers Challenge. I am paying attention to the Spring Reading Thing Challenge though. When I signed up I swore I would read at least eighteen of my unread books or give the difference away. I can change the list anytime I want to but not the number. The challenge ends June 20th so I’m still hopefully I can hit eighteen. Since Bones of Faerie is one of my own books, it’s the first book I finished for the challenge. 17 to go. . .

Just when I was thinking of giving up most of my challenges, I found of that the brilliant  Maggie over at MaggieReads is hosting her annual Southern Reading Challenge. When I think of summer I think of this challenge. The challenge is from May 15th to August 15th and you only have to read three books. I had to join one more challenge! As usual I went overboard, picking more than three books but I am going to read at least three. Here’s a list of the books I’m interested in reading:

1. Mudbound by Hilary Jordan.
2. One Writer’s Beginnings byEudora Welty
3. A  Death in the Family by James Agee
4. Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
5. All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
6. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
7. A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
8. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
9. The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

Now it’s time for me to get off and get the kids ready for school tomorrow. After that I plan on curling up with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and finishing it before tomorrow.

Have a great week.

2009 Spring Reading Challenge

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring! The birds are chirping, flowers are starting to come up, and noses are running. The perfect way for me to celebrate the new season is by joining the Spring Reading Challenge hosted by  Katrina at Callapidder Days.

The challenge  starts March 20th and ends June 20th. The rules are to make a list, read, and blog about your progress at the end of the challenge. How easy is that?

Since the challenge takes place throughout spring I decided to do a little spring cleaning and read only books that are on my shelves. Every month the number of unread books on my shelf grows and I would love to make a huge dent in it. The genres of the books I picked range from short stories to memoir, classics to poetry. Here’s my list:

1. Sweet Hearts- Melanie Rae Thon
2. The Water Will Hold You: A Skeptic Learns to Pray – Lindsey Crittenden
3. Unearned Pleasures – Ursula Hegi
4. I am no one you know – Joyce Carol Oates
5. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
6. Tender Morsels – Margo Lanagan
7. Delicate Edible Birds – Lauren Groff
8. The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson
9. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafron
10. Tales of Burning Love – Louise Erdrich
11. Repair – C.K. Williams
12. Sinners Welcome – Mary Karr
13. Heliopolis – James Scudamore
14. Nocturnes – John Connolly
15. Cries of the Spirit – Marilyn Sewell
16. The Bloody Chamber – Angela Carter
17. Lullabies for Little Criminals – Heather O’Neil
18. Blue Highways – William Least Heat-Moon

I’m reserving the right to change my list at any time. I also decided that if I don’t read at least 18 books from my shelves, I will give the difference away. So if I end up reading only 12 books, then I plan on giving away 6. I really need to pare down the number of books on my shelves. Wish me luck!

Are you joining The Spring Reading challenge also?