I’ve subscribed to Middle Grade Carousel for a long time, but have not participated in any of their challenges. I think it’s time to change that. I read a lot of middle grade for my teaching, but have a lot of books on my shelf at home which I have not gotten to yet. Participating in the challenge will give me motivation and guidance for deciing which to read next. For now, I’m just deciding on one book for the month, but will hopefully get to more.
The theme for April is “Some Friendly Competition”. The book I chose from my shelf is Much Ado About Baseball by Rajani LaRocca. I’ll give you updates as I read.
Who knows more about the joy of reading than authors?
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
“A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.”
“I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that something is books and all their proffered experiences.”
“She loved that moment when she walked into a bookstore. Books were stacked everywhere, with friendly little signs directing you to local authors or signed copies or bestsellers.”
I have been neglecting Nicole’s Nook lately, so when I saw this tag, I thought it would be a fun way to ease back into posting. More end of year posts to follow soon.
This is a yearly tag by Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out where you fill in the prompts using books that you read throughout the year.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
July 18: Books With One-Word Titles (submitted by Angela @ Reading Frenzy Book Blog)
I haven’t participated in the last few TTTs. It was fun browsing my read books to see which of my favorites were one word titles. There was an interesting mix of genres and they were all 4 or 5 star reads for me.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
June 6: Books or Covers that Feel/Look Like Summer
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
May 30: Things That Make Me Instantly NOT Want to Read a Book (what are your immediate turn-offs or dealbreakers when it comes to books?)
This was much more difficult for me than last week’s list about things that are instant buys. I really will read almost anything. So, I had to cut this to a “top five” list.
1. Horror- this is the one genre I really don’t read
2. Child abuse
3. Crudeness that is more for shock value than contributing to the story
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Today’s topic: May 23: Things That Make Me Instantly Want to Read a Book (these can be auto-buy authors, tropes you love, if an author you love blurbed it, settings, genres, etc.)
Concepts
Retellings- fairytales, myths, Jane Austen, I love any book that takes a known story and twists it.
Dual timelines with connected stories
Romances with marriages of convenience or fake relationships
Settings
Greece
Scotland/Ireland
Locations or historical time periods which are unique and not as well-known
Characters
Librarians, Bookshop Owners or Writers
Bakers/Chefs
Female Warriors
Real people from the past whose stories are not well known (people from marginalized groups, or people on the sidelines of more famous historical figures)
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Today’s topic: Books I Recommend to Others the Most
I was at a party this weekend and overheard a conversation about how this was the best book they’d ever read. I then jumped in and started recommending it to anyone who hadn’t read it. It’s that good.
I read a lot of WWII era books, but this is the one I recommend most often. The story revolves around a group of women who are employed to secretly decode German military messages.
I hesitated to put this book on the list, because unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of The Hunger Games. But, I read this book before it was a box office phenomenon and recommended it to many people.
The book is so much better than the movie. This is another one that goes against my usual preferences. Never have I loved a book so much while hating every character.
I enjoy books that have multiple, connected stories, but there’s usually certain stories that you’re more interested in than others. I loved every one of the storylines in this one.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
April 4: Indie/Self-Published Books (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits)
I don’t read a lot of indie books, so I don’t have ten, but I wanted to highlight some local authors who I know personally.
Barbar Helene Smith uses her background working for the FDA to create the believable Connie Murphy mysteries staring FDA investigator.
Rick Iekel combines the history of aviation, the story of the Rochester airport, and personal stories from his years as the director of the airport. The Roc Journey thru the 20th Century
Andrea Page is a former co-worker and friend. After learning of her great-uncle’s role in WWII, she spent years researching the Sioux Code Talkers of World War II.
I can’t share too much about The Divine Meddler without spoilers. I will just say it’s a great concept that combines mystery and redemption.
