It is hard to keep all of the books straight. I don't know what I would do without Goodreads. I am happy I don't have to deal with spiral notebooks full of titles anymore. Here is what I got to read this past week.
Newbery Challenge: I finished Smoky the Cowhorse and started Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon. Smoky was kind of slow going for a long while, but then towards the end the storyline picked up and it seemed like all sorts of things were happening. I am enjoying Gay-Neck a lot more already. I seem to gauge how much I like a book by the speed I read it. When I love a book, it just flies by.
Caldecott Challenge: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is the only one I recorded reading. Love that book!
2011 Nerdies Book Award Nominees: I finally read some graphic novels I had been waiting for. Page by Paige written by Laura Lee Gulledge was great. The artwork was clever AND beautiful. I also appreciated seeing Paige's struggle with her own creativity and personality. Even at my age, I am still wondering who I am. There was a similar flavor with Level Up by Gene Luen Yang. What a common quandary - what am I going to be when I grow up? The last one of these that I read was a picture book - Prudence Wants a Pet by Cathleen Daly. Simply adorable.
The only other book that I managed to squeeze in was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. I have to say that being published anywhere near The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was not helpful to this book. Me and Earl is definitely a different kind of book. I am still processing this one. This was a bit of a ramble about a hard time in a teen's life. He narrates using a screenplay type of format alternating with traditional writing since he enjoys making movies. He portrays himself as a bit of a cold fish and so I had a hard time connecting with him. I appreciated the honesty of someone frustrated with the process of watching someone die.
For the coming week, I have some professional reading to do, some caldecotts, finishing Gay-Neck, Feynman, Hera, and a few other 2011 Nerdies Book Award Noms. I would like to finish off that list and keep trucking with some 2012s soon. I am also going to be reading a lot of Dr. Seuss this week - always fun!
