Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Rainbow of Books





Scored from TLA: 211 books!


For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Book Characters Who Can Teach Us How to Be Happy






 
























Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

¡Vamos a Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon Tambien! (Let's Go to Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon Again!)





Hour 24: Middlemarch is Finished! 
and End-of-Event Meme

And I close the book on Middlemarch. I feel quite satisfied.

End of Event Meme:

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I just couldn't keep myself from falling asleep in Hour 15.
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I am amazed to find that reading one enormous classic was a perfect choice for me this readathon. 
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? It is perfection as it is.
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved all the mini-challenges. Co-hosting was especially easy this year because of the prep work Andi and Heather did before the event.
  5. How many books did you read? Just one, but it was a big one.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? Middlemarch.
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? Middlemarch. Mid-book I became quite enamored of it.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? NA.
  9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? NA.
  10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 100% likely. I will definitely be a reader and I might again be a cheerleader or co-host.
Now I'm off to catch up on some missed sleep.


Hour 23: Middlemarch
I've got seventy pages to go and two hours left.


Hour 22: Mini-Challenge: Blame It On
I'm awake (kinda-awake, sorta-awake) and I've got three hours to finish the last 105 pages of Middlemarch.

 I just can't resist a mini-challenge, too. 

I've added Tess of the D'Urbervilles to my TBR list, and for that enormous title I blame Yamini @skepticalreader from Must Read Faster. 

Hours 15-21
...just...couldn't...stay...awake....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Hours 11-14 
Reading Middlemarch. Like crazy. 
Made it to page 661 before...I...fell...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Hours 9-10: Co-hosting!


Devices at the ready. Think I have enough?


Hour 8: Mini Challenge: Spine Poetry



Spine Poetry Mini Challenge, 
using only blue-cover books obtained from recent library conference:  

My Diary from the Edge of the World 
from the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess

Summer by summer, 
those girls, last in a long line of rebels, 
kissing in America the boy who knew everything, 
betting on hope. 
Listen to the moon. 
Gone crazy in Alabama. 
Survival strategies of the almost brave into the dangerous world. 


Hour 7: Mini Challenge: Treasure Hunt
Alright, this was fun. The instructions were simple: Find a book with a tree on the cover or snow on the cover or weapons on the cover. Here's what I came up with:


It was easy to find trees. Apparently all my favorite books have trees on the cover...

...though, oddly, no trees on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.


Weapons and snow were a snap.

Challenge completed.


Hour 2: Mini Challenge: Classic Words of Wisdom

I couldn't resist sharing one of my favorites:



I relish the impossible things. Like completing a 24-Hour-Readathon!



Hour 1: Opening Meme


Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I'm here in Alvin, Texas in the USA.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Middlemarch. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? My delightful husband brought a carton of ice cream and a package of Hershey's Kisses for me to enjoy during Readathon.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a primary school librarian, a reader, and a blogger. I love to read happiness books, travel stories, literary fiction and nonfiction, poetry, and children's books.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? I'm planning to focus on a single book this time. I hope to finish Middlemarch, that 766 page behemoth. 

Pre-Hour 1

It's my 15th time at the starting gate.
It's time for Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon!


¿Esta lista? Are you ready?
My delightful Meditation Room? ¡Sí! 
Candle? ¡Sí! 
Relaxation fountain? ¡Sí! 
Reading music? ¡Sí! 



Comfy reading clothes? ¡Sí! 
Coffee? ¡Sí! 
Snacks? ¡Sí! 
Books? ¡Sí! 


How about you? ¿Esta lista? Ready? 

What are we waiting for? ¡Vamos! Let's go!


Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Report from Library-land

Opening session at the Texas Library Association Conference with David Balducci


Everything you need to know about helping children read from reading expert Dick Allington: Volume and access.
Sounds like the library to me.


Author Katherine Center. Her new book was on my wishlist. And I got a copy!


The usual conference crazies.


Amazing authors. L to R: Mac Barnett, David Small and Sarah Weeks, Ed Young.


Teen book frenzy.


First place at the librarian 5K!


211 books scored!





For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.


All-Time Favorite Authors


Ten all-time favorite authors? I just couldn't stop at ten. Here are some of my favorites:



Anne Lamott
Anne Tyler
Dr. Seuss 
Maira Kalman
Kate DiCamillo
Bill Bryson
Billy Collins
Beverly Cleary
Roald Dahl
Anne Fadiman
Brian Floca
Malcolm Gladwell
Kevin Henkes
Tony Horwitz
Bill Martin Jr.
Kathleen Krull
Erik Larson
Katherine Center
Haruki Murakami
Richard Powers
Terry Pratchett
Anna Quindlen
Marilynne Robinson
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Cynthia Rylant
Carol Shields
Wallace Stegner
William Steig
Mo Willems
Don and Audrey Wood
Ernest Hemingway
Robert Pirsig
Ray Bradbury




Any of these authors on your list? 



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Texas Love



For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Inspiring Quotes from Books

















Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.