Since March, I have made a commitment to read more books. Reading is always something I have loved to do, but didn't make the time to do while I was teaching. I spent so much time using my eyes on the computer and grading papers, that when it came to reading, I usually just fell asleep! I did listen to audio books on my commute, especially when I drove at least thirty minutes to my job.
I use Goodreads to track the books that I have read and those that I want to read. I use the app on my phone, which is very user friendly. In addition, you can mark a book as "Currently Reading", and you can update your progress in that book as you are reading. I find that part very motivating! Another thing they offer is a Reading Challenge. You set a goal for the number of books you want to read in a year. I first set my Reading Challenge at 12 books, thinking I could read one book a month. Well, I met that goal and put my challenge to 24 books. I met that goal, too. I also met my next goals of 36 books and 48 books. I have now read 48 books since March!! My new challenge is to read 65 books this year, five more in October, and six in November, and December!
I also joined an online book club called #spiveys club. It is found on Facebook. At the moment there are 9,900 members. It is an awesome place to get great book recommendations. Every month the members vote on 1 or 2 books to read. At the end of the month, questions about the books are posted, and we share our viewpoints on the books. It is great fun, and the Facebook group is nothing but positive!
Barnes & Noble also started a Book Club. The Barnes & Noble Book Club meets in the cafe area of local stores. They have a moderator, and they give you a free coffee or tea and something from the bakery. Barnes & Noble chooses a book that is pre-released. You can buy the book from them at a reduced price, which I have done two out of three times. The three books they have chosen this year have been The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer, Clock Dance by Anne Tyler, and the current selection, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. (I'm a little partial to the Green brothers since they grew up in Orlando.) The book club meets every other month.
The Book of the Month Club is something I just joined a month ago. Again, for $14.99 a month, you choose from five pre-released books. Last month I chose November Road by Lou Berney, which I have not read yet, but is set against the assassination of JFK. This month I chose In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown by Nathaniel Philbrick, (I am a history buff after teaching 5th grade U.S. History forever!), The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton (story of a love affair and a mysterious murder), and Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand, who is one of my favorite authors! I had two credits, so I got two books free, and one for $9.99. So basically three pre-released hardback books cost me $24.98 or $8.32 a book! What a deal!
These are the books that I read for the month of September:
I use Goodreads to track the books that I have read and those that I want to read. I use the app on my phone, which is very user friendly. In addition, you can mark a book as "Currently Reading", and you can update your progress in that book as you are reading. I find that part very motivating! Another thing they offer is a Reading Challenge. You set a goal for the number of books you want to read in a year. I first set my Reading Challenge at 12 books, thinking I could read one book a month. Well, I met that goal and put my challenge to 24 books. I met that goal, too. I also met my next goals of 36 books and 48 books. I have now read 48 books since March!! My new challenge is to read 65 books this year, five more in October, and six in November, and December!
I also joined an online book club called #spiveys club. It is found on Facebook. At the moment there are 9,900 members. It is an awesome place to get great book recommendations. Every month the members vote on 1 or 2 books to read. At the end of the month, questions about the books are posted, and we share our viewpoints on the books. It is great fun, and the Facebook group is nothing but positive!
Barnes & Noble also started a Book Club. The Barnes & Noble Book Club meets in the cafe area of local stores. They have a moderator, and they give you a free coffee or tea and something from the bakery. Barnes & Noble chooses a book that is pre-released. You can buy the book from them at a reduced price, which I have done two out of three times. The three books they have chosen this year have been The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer, Clock Dance by Anne Tyler, and the current selection, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. (I'm a little partial to the Green brothers since they grew up in Orlando.) The book club meets every other month.
The Book of the Month Club is something I just joined a month ago. Again, for $14.99 a month, you choose from five pre-released books. Last month I chose November Road by Lou Berney, which I have not read yet, but is set against the assassination of JFK. This month I chose In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown by Nathaniel Philbrick, (I am a history buff after teaching 5th grade U.S. History forever!), The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton (story of a love affair and a mysterious murder), and Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand, who is one of my favorite authors! I had two credits, so I got two books free, and one for $9.99. So basically three pre-released hardback books cost me $24.98 or $8.32 a book! What a deal!
These are the books that I read for the month of September:
I loved all of the books, with the exception of The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye. It just doesn't have the feeling of the original Steig Larsson trilogy to me. I really want to read the Harry Potter series, so I finally finished the first book. I started it countless times, and would get the teacher sleepy eyes! I loved Looking for Alaska by John Green. This is another book I have wanted to read and finally got it on sale on Audible. It is excellent! I love Green's style of writing. Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things was hard to put down. The character I resonated the most with was Ruth, the nurse. To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han was adorable. It is a young adult book, and it is a great story. There is a movie on Netflix (I loved the book more than the movie), and there are two sequels that I'm going to have to read! My favorite book this month was The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. That is a mouthful! I loved this book! The setting is after WWII in London and Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. It is written in letter form. It is very cleverly written, and just a sweet story. The movie on Netflix is outstanding! They strayed from the book a bit, but it was still excellent. The scenery is beautiful!
So, what am I reading now? I have just completed The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable that imagines the affair between JFK and Alicia Corning Clark. I am now reading An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. I don't want to give anything away about this book. It is his debut novel, and I love it!
As you can tell, when I'm not cooking or writing, I'm reading! So, what are you reading?
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