Booking Through Summer Reading Challenge Wrapup

This was hosted by kimberlyfaye reads and BookNerd Betsy. 
I did a poor job at getting into the social aspect of things, but not too shabby with my reading. I think I may have commented a few times, but forgot the mini-challenges and forgot to comment on most of the posts I read. However I still enjoyed it! I wanted to finish 10 books and I managed to finish 12, so not too bad!
This is my completed reading list.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
Persephone the Phony by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Aphrodite the Beauty and Artemis the Brave by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
The Girl with the Windup Heart by Kady Cross
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
El Deafo by CeCe Bell

Thanks to the two great hosts and I had fun! 

Re-Readathon #2 TBR and goals

This is hosted by Bex at An Armchair by the Sea and you can sign up at this link.

I would like to finish at least three rereads. I have started the Iron Trial, which I need to reread for a reading challenge at work and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I always get bogged down in the fifth HP and I am hoping this rereadathon will keep me motivated to finish it in a timely manner.
I had also started rereading the Little House on the Prairie series and hope to read Little House on the Prairie, since I managed to reread Little House in the Big Woods earlier this year. Another possibility is Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey, since I read Dragonflight last year and want to reread the series or at least reread what I managed to read of the series when I was younger.

Thanks to Bex for hosting!

RIP X Signup

Image used with permission, property of Abigail Larson.

I am a little late signing up, but I do enjoy this challenge. This year The Estella Society is hosting and you can sign up at this link. I think I will try for

This is four books that fit the categories of Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, or Supernatural. I know I want to read Oblivion by Kelly Creagh, which brings in Edgar Allan Poe and the world he created. I would also like to read Dracula for my classics challenge. The Sign of the Book is a mystery that is for my book club that I need to read this month. For the fourth book, I am not for sure. I have a few possibilities, but I will pick the fourth book at a later date.

I may also do some short stories and a scary movie or two, but for now I am focusing on the four books. Thanks to   Andi and Heather, of the Estella Society for hosting this! I am ready for fall weather and moody stories!

COYER Summer Scavenger Hunt Wrapup Post

The COYER Scavenger Hunt Challenge was hosted by Fantasy is More Fun, Because Reading, and Books, Movies, Reviews.Oh My!
I had a blast with this. Unfortunately I was not as socially active as usually due to craziness at work, but I did manage one readathon and occasional Facebook posts.
These are the books I was able to finish during COYER:
Killer Frost
An Abundance of Katherines
Crimson Bound
A Whole New World
The Girl with the Windup Heart

I had hope to finish 6, but 5 is not too bad. Thanks again to Berls, Michelle, and Stormi for hosting!

2015 Bookish Resolutions Challenge: August Update

This is hosted by Michelle at Because Reading is Better Than Real Life and Laura at Trips Down Imagination Road and you can sign up at this link.
My resolutions:
1. Read at least 6 Classics this year.
2. Finish at least half of the challenges that I signed up for this year.
3. Finish at least 4 series this year, particularly ones where I have only the last book in the series left to read.
4. Try to blog more, like at least 10 posts a month.
5. Get healthy!

1. I have finished 4 Classics now. I read Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote and Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery last month, but I still need to review them.
2. I have now started all my challenges and I think I have met my goals for one of them. This is definitely an improvement over last month.
3. I have completed this goal!!! I finished The Girl with the Windup Heart last month, completed my 4th series. I am still going to try to complete a few more series.
4. I did a great job blogging last month with 22 posts!
5. HAHAHA! I gained 6 pounds last month. I am going to start back hardcore this month, because last month was unacceptable!

Thanks to Michelle and Laura for hosting! How did you all do this month?

My September To Be Read List

This is hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading. This month I am going to focus on three books that I need to read for the high school freshmen reading challenge that I cosponsor with the high school librarian. We pick four Bluegrass Award finalist or winners a piece and do booktalks for the students. From those 8 books, they chose one to read and do a project on it. We pick the top projects and each group has a chance to win the grand prize of $100. This year I loved Iron Trial one of my picks, but the other three have not caught my interest, so this month I am going to have you all pick my next read for this, since I need to have all four finished by the end of October. Here are my three choices:


First Choice:

Poppy

Contemporary is one area I read little of, but we want to use this book, since Alecia is a Kentucky author. The story sounds sweet, a family of singers trying to get their big break. A girl falling for a fellow country music star, while she is chosen as a solo act over her family. I am hoping I can get interested in this soon.


Second Choice:

Putnam

Dystopian and I am kind of tired of dystopian novels, but I have heard good things about this. We try to pick a couple of books that could appeal to either gender, so aliens trying to take over the world, sounds like it could be for either one.


Third Choice:

Philomel

This is one of our "boy" books, since Wildflower is one of our "girl" books. The plot sounds promising, a boy trying to learn how his father's murder, while dealing with emerging superpowers. He never knew his father was a superhero and now he must become one.


Please help me find where to start with our challenge and choose the one that sounds best.

El Deafo by CeCe Bell

This book works for the Newbery Challenge and for the Book Blogger Recommendations Challenge. This was a Newbery Honor this year. I will say I like that the awards went to more unconventional style books, two verse novels and a comic book. I think this will make the award more attractive to young readers while holding on to the literary merit that each book has. 

Amulet Books

This is another autobiographical book chosen for the Newbery this year and this one is in comic book format. CeCe's characters are bunnies, but the story is taken from her childhood. She had meningitis which caused her deafness. At first she attends a school where her classmates are all deaf, but when her family moves CeCe is in a class where she is the only one who is deaf. Her teachers must use a microphone that is connected to a device called the Phonic Ear, because of this device CeCe imagines herself as a superhero named El Deafo. Some of CeCe's friends take advantage of her deafness and she uses her device to spy on the teachers. Eventually she finds a true friend and she tells her about imagining to be El Deafo.

The illustrations and story line are well done and draw the reader into the story. By using rabbits instead of people, she appeals to animal lovers, comic readers, and to those who have a disability or want to understand someone who has a disability. The story does not necessarily make CeCe's deafness something that holds her back, even though Bell shows how people took advantage of her at times. CeCe embraces her differences and becomes her own superhero. A very sweet story with great graphics and likable characters. I think this was deserving of the Newbery Honor and is one I would booktalk with 4th grade. 4 cups of cocoa.