Reading Update and Plans for 2021

 Reading Update & Plans

It seems I read a few pages in 2020. What I noticed for certain is that I read longer books this year. In 2019, I read 917 books, but fewer pages than this year. So.... I looked back and I read about 78 books for adults in 2020 compared to 47 in 2019. I think this was a way to make sure there was no work happening. When I read YA or children's lit, it's fun, but is tangentially related to blogging or work. Reading was escapism in 2020. Some people had trouble reading long books, but I actually read fewer picture books. I needed things I could fall into for hours at a time.

Here are my favorite YA books of 2020 that were highlighted over at Rich in Color

Here are my favorite YA graphic novels of 2020 that were highlighted at Rich in Color:

I was participating in the Year of Reading Asian Challenge hosted by several people:

• Lilyat Sprinkles of Dreams - twitter: @sprnklsofdreams
• Shealea at Shut Up Shealea - twitter: @bookshelfbitch
• Vicky at Vicky Who Reads - twitter: @vickycbooks
• CW at The Quiet Pond - twitter @artfromafriend

I chose to aim for the Bengali Tiger level which meant reading 50 or more books by Asian authors. I was counting picture books and middle grade too and I ended up reading 74 books for #YARC2020 which are also listed on my Goodreads shelf. :)

I enjoyed this challenge, but am not sure if it will be offered again this year. After doing this challenge two years in a row, reading books from Asian authors is part of my plan anyway. Also, I listen to Books and Boba and they are often leading me to great titles.

Another challenge I was doing was the #MustReadin2020 that was inspired by Carrie Gelsen. Several of us have been participating in the #MustRead challenge for a few years. I chose 35 books to read in 2020. I finished 32 of them. I still have three that I will move to my #MustReadin2021 list. To see the list since the cover images may be difficult to read, visit my Goodreads shelf. 

The Fire This Time, Salvage the Bones, and The Buddha of Suburbia can go back on the list. I am not quite sure what I will be putting on my list for 2021 yet, but will try to get that done soon. I will be trying out a new platform though. I have moved my books over to The Story Graph which is still in beta form. It will be interesting to use something other than Goodreads for a bit. 

I am also considering participating in the Read Native 2021 challenge this year so you may see more about that soon. 

I hope you have a great year because we all really deserve one at this point. Happy reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last Week in Books:

Kiki's Delivery Service is a middle grade translation that is just as cute as you might expect if you have ever seen the Miyazaki movie. 

The Paper Boat is a picture book that helps to tell the story of a refugee family making the ocean crossing. It was hard to fully understand the metaphor of the illustrations until I read the author's note. It's fairly powerful even if without totally understanding, but once that is clear it is even more impactful.

Kent State is a young adult graphic novel that pretty much gutted me. It does offer some hope, but honestly, it was really bleak. 

Mind the Gap Dash & Lily was super fun especially after watching the Dash & Lily Netflix series (which I loved). I had read the other two related books previously. 

The rest of the books were adult nonfiction. Women Race & Class was on my #MustReadin2020 list. It was enlightening and confirms to me that I want to read more from Angela Davis. Janesville was also on that list. Since I live in Wi it was interesting, but I wish the author had gotten into some of the racial issues and a few other aspects of the town's history. Otherwise, it was pretty comprehensive. 

Minor Feelings was a fantastic collection of essays that delve into some of the feelings and experiences that the author has had as a result of growing up Korean American/Asian American. It was one I heard about on the Books and Boba podcast (highly recommended).

Secondhand is a very interesting look at the ways that our things move through the world once we donate them. I read this for a book club and am looking forward to the Zoom discussion. 

The Coming Week: 

I'm still reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and I have a few middle grade books from the library - The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and Keep it Together Keiko Carter. Other than that, I'm not sure what I'll be picking up, but plan to read several more books beyond that as it's winter break. Have a great week of reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 583/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 338/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 230/200

#MustReadin2020 - 31/35
#YARC2020 - 74/55
Muslimshelfspace - 27/30

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last Week in Books:

I finished Krik? Krak! this week. It was on my #MustReadin2020 list. It's a collection of related short stories by Edwidge Danticat. It was an emotional read for me. There's a lot of pain in these stories. Survival and family and love too, but a lot of pain.

I did read other books, but didn't make it all of the way through. I am reading another #MustReadin2020 title. This one by Angela Davis - Women Race and Class. The more of her work I read, the more impressed I am. This one is laying out the history of how these three things have been entwined in the U.S. 

The Coming Week: 

I started reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. With a bit of a break this week, perhaps I will finish a few more books before my next post. I have The Summer of Everything through Overdrive and I just now got access to the Mind the Gap Dash and Lily. I may watch the series over break. I am also working my way through Star Wars: The Jedi Mind. I have my next #MustReadin2020 book too -- Janesville. We finished watching The Mandalorian and have considered watching the 9 major Star Wars movies over break. Not sure if I want to commit to that or not.  It would put a big dent in my reading time. I wish you a great week!  

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 575/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 335/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 225/200

#MustReadin2020 - 29/36
#YARC2020 - 71/55
Muslimshelfspace - 27/30

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Blog Information:

End of the Year Giveaway & Hiatus

Last Week in Books:

Picture books this week were great. I read I Talk Like a River via audio. From the cover image it looks like the illustrations are wonderful. I appreciated the audio because it is narrated by the author and the book is about the way his stutter is part of him.

Perdu is about a lonely and lost dog that is wandering and looking for a place to belong. 

Pokko and the Drum is really unique and is very celebratory and fun as the main character goes on a drumming adventure. 

Tiara's Hat Parade is a lovely book about a mother and daughter and the hat shop they adore. They have to close the shop due to finances. It strikes me that this is a timely book. 

I read three middle grade novels. The Sea in Winter was beautiful. A young dancer has an injury that has changed her life drastically. Her parents are Native and through the story, she learns more of the history of where she lives. The book is focused in closely on how she is dealing with loss and how her ancestors did too.

Ciel is about an nonbinary trans person beginning freshman year of high school. It's a story of self-identity, friendship, changing relationships and daily life as a young person. 

The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is one of just a few books I've read that is set in Sri Lanka. It's a fun adventure type book. I will likely do a longer review later on Goodreads. It's a bit of a Robin Hood type of story so the ethics are something to think about. 

This Train is Being Held is a contemporary YA romance that was on the serious side. I think they were going for a Romeo & Juliet type of story. 

The Perfect Escape was also a contemporary YA romance, but had a lot more humor and light-heartedness--also zombies. 

Healing Rage is an interesting look at rage and offers many practical options for healing. I read all the way through first and now and going back through and doing the journal activities.

I also read two adult romances. Boyfriend Material was a page turner. It was also hilarious and was simply a lot of fun. I stayed up way to late reading. 

The Princess Theory was another rom-com and it was cute.

The Coming Week: 

I started reading Women, Race & Class, which is on my MustReadin2020 list, and a friend gave me Star Wars: The Jedi Mind so I'll work on those. I will likely do some re-reading this week. I wish you great reading ahead.

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 573/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 333/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 224/200

#MustReadin2020 - 28/36
#YARC2020 - 71/55
Muslimshelfspace - 27/30

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Recent Blog Posts:

My 2020 YA Favorites - Rich in Color

2020 Graphic Novel Recommendations

Last Week in Books:

Rent a Boyfriend was a fun romp. I've always been a sucker for fake relationship stories. I listened to it since the audio was available sooner than the hardcover at my library. 

I was excited to get my hands on The Thirty Names of Night since it is by the author of The Map of Salt and Stars which I loved. Like Zeyn Joukhadar's first book, this one flips back and forth from one time to another. There is also a touch of the magical to it. The main character is in his upper twenties so it isn't YA, but it felt a little bit like a young adult story to me and I really enjoyed it.

Pride was a little bit of a re-read. Robin Stevenson has put out a revised edition of a middle grade nonfiction history of Pride that had been published in 2016. This version has more voices from young people and while the previous edition was inclusive, this one was even more so. It's an excellent overview for young people. 

I listened to the audiobook The Fountains of Silence. Ruta Sepetys is so good at telling a story. I have given every single one of her books five stars. Most of this story happens in Madrid while Franco was in power. It's a part of history that doesn't get much attention in US high schools so many people don't know much about it and how the US was involved. Historical fiction is a great way to learn more about our past. 

I spent most of today reading An Ember in the Ashes. It was a heart-wrenching, but satisfying conclusion to the four book fantasy series. Sabaa Tahir certainly knows how to get tears out of me. 

The Coming Week: 

I am currently reading Healing Rage by Ruth King and Together Apart (YA collection of love stories in the time of COVID-19). I have a few ARCs I need to get to, but I may just keep reading books that strike my fancy. I wish you a week filled with excellent reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 559/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 325/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 215/200

#MustReadin2020 - 28/36
#YARC2020 - 70/55
Muslimshelfspace - 27/30

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last Week in Books:

For relaxation over break, I read quite a few romances. The Worst Best Man was my favorite of the bunch with The Happy Ever After Playlist a close second. I almost didn't keep reading 99 Percent Mine. It was okay, but had issues. 

I read two YA books. The Suprising Power of a Good Dumpling dealt with mental health issues and was more serious than I expected. I enjoyed it as a family story with a bit of romance. It was one of  K-pop Confidential was a good look into the world of K-pop much like in Shine by Jessica Jung. The storylines are different and are both worth reading, but this just also points out some of the high pressure of the training for K-pop personalities. 

I also finished the adult nonfiction collection Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis. This is a collection of speeches that she has delivered over the years. It is truly interesting to see the many connections between these movements and causes that are truly all working toward full freedom. 

The Coming Week: 

I'm listening to The Fountains of Silence and just started reading The Thirty Names of Night. I have a few other audio books on deck, but am not sure what else I will get to this week. I wish you excellent reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 553/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 323/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 211/200

#MustReadin2020 - 28/36
#YARC2020 - 69/55
Muslimshelfspace - 26/30

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last Week in Books:

This weekend I noticed that I have now read 56 romances this year. That's double the amount I read last year and I still have a month to go. This is definitely a sign of stress since those are my escapist reads. I read another two adult romances this weekend. Loathe at First Sight had humorous moments in spite of the serious amounts of misogyny and hatred shown to the main character as she begins her career in the gaming industry. It was a rather tame romance compared to Get a Life Chloe Brown. Chloe also experiences quite a bit of humor, but has a much more steamy relationship. I enjoyed both, but Chloe was my favorite of the two for the story yes, but also because I haven't read many romances that feature a main character with a disability. I can't promise that it is done perfectly since I don't live that experience, but it was good to see.

Two of the YA graphic novels were phenomenal. Displacement is a look at the Japanese internment experience of the main character's grandmother. She is whisked back in time and she sees what her family had to go through. It also deals with how trauma can affect future generations. The Magic Fish is also an immigrant story with another unique story framework. Tiến and his mother share folktales that mirror events and emotions from their own lives. Tattercoats is one of my favorite fairytales and it is featured here as you see on the cover with the patch on his jacket. Several other tales are woven throughout and the illustrations are magnificent. Snotgirl was gorgeous, but the storyline wasn't exactly my cup of tea. It was a feast for my eyes though. 

Lupe Wong Won't Dance is a great middle grade novel. Lupe vehemently opposes participating in the square dance unit in her PE classes. She needs an A though to earn a reward her uncle has promised. It's painful watching the lengths she will go to trying to get rid of the unit. There is humor and a great friendship story here along with a little baseball. 

The two picture books were nice. What Sound is Morning? is poetic and Waiting Together is sweet, but I'm not sure I will remember then two weeks from now if I'm being honest. That may be more of a commentary about my lack of concentration than the quality of the books though. Who knows? 

The Coming Week: 

I've made some progress with the Angela Davis book I'm reading. The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling and K-Pop Confidential are up next. I will likely get a few new books to support an indie bookstore this week. I wish you a lovely week of reading.

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 546/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 317/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 204/200

#MustReadin2020 - 27/36
#YARC2020 - 67/55
Muslimshelfspace - 26/30