26 Reasons Why You Need To Read More by Jarry Lee

Although my heart hurts because another BookExpo America has come and gone and I still have yet to attend, in honor of another successful year, here's a delightful post from last year's BEA.

Reposted from BuzzFeed

Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock

Review: Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Amy Kathleen Ryan. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2011. 307 pp.
Rating: Striking

Trigger Warning: Non-Consent

**Note: I started writing this review a few days after reading the book in December 2014, so my review will retain all feelings and reactions written in my notes at the time I read the book. I'm on a serious mission to clear out my draft folder and complete the dozens of book reviews that I've started over the last few years. Also, this review contains slight spoilers.** 

What if you've never seen the sun, felt the wind blow across your face, been drenched in the rain, or stared at the immense blue sky? What if the only home you have even known is an egg-shaped vessel that has spent over forty years plowing through the depths of outer space destined for a new world? What if you were responsible for ensuring the continuation of the human race? What if future generations could trace their lineage back to you? What if your allies suddenly appeared without notice? What if, concealed by the cloak of friendship they steal from you what they most need? 

"They must want something from us,"..."or they wouldn't be here."  (4) 

Now, imagine being torn away from your family and placed with another under the guise of a rescue mission. 

Dewey's Read-A-Thon Wrap-up

Books picked. Snacks prepped. Electronics charged. Everything I needed for twenty-four, solid hours of reading was in place. Off to bed. Rise and shine, the day has come! Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I check my phone. It's not yet 8 o'clock. Quickly, I open up to the day's current devotional. What! You got to be kidding me!? It's the 16th. The read-a-thon isn't today...it's next Saturday, the 23rd. Sucker-punch right to the gut. I knew the read-a-thon was on the 23rd, but somehow in my mind the 23rd equated to the 16th. Needless to say, I had to regroup and replan my day. It's going to be a long seven days, I think. 

Read-A-Thon Updates

Update #1--11:06 am

Hey reading pals! I just finished my first book of the day.

24-Hours of Non-Stop Reading

Guys and gals, the time has come. Read-A Thon is finally here! Woohoo! 

Although I wanted to throw all 1,480 books on my TBR list in my reading pile, I narrowed it down to fifteen, consisting of mostly middle grade and young adult novels. Just in case my eyes grow weary, there's an audiobook on standby. My goal is to complete three books and at least one chapter of the professional development book, Diagnosis and Improvement in Reading Instruction. 

Review: How Wendy Redbird Dancing Survived the Dark Ages of Nought by Lyn Fairchild Hawks

Lyn Fairchild Hawks. Self-Published, 2013. pp. 268.
Rating: Decent + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙


Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse/Rape

Some months back, a couple of weeks after I'd finished this book, a student who was new to the youth group remarked that she always wears a jacket because she's constantly cold. I then asked if she was anemic and she said that it was her security blanket...that it protected her from many things. Being extremely thin, I wondered if she was self-conscious of her body or was she possibly hiding/shielding herself from somebody or somebodies; however, we were interrupted before I could question her further. Not only did this conversation call up images of Linus from Peanuts dragging his blue blanket—which could morph into various objects when needed, such as a lasso or shepherd's head covering—everywhere, but it also caused me to think of Wendy Redbird Dancing with Michael Jackson, greasy hair, and kohl eyeliner as her security blankets.

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon

A night person I am not...never have been...not even a little bit. Growing up, my mother never had to fuss at me about going to bed on time. During my college years, dancing the night away at my favorite dance club kept me awake for sure, but that was the only thing. My personal best in pulling an all-nighter to finish a paper was 11:00 p.m. Sad, but true.

Review: Titans by Victoria Scott

Victoria Scott. Scholastic, 2016.
Rating: Worthy + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Goodreads Summary: Ever since the Titans first appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan’s world has revolved around the mechanical horses. She and her best friend have spent countless hours watching them and their jockeys practice on the track. It’s not just the thrill of the race. It’s the engineering of the horses and the way they’re programmed to seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she’ll ever touch.

She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines to ride, and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid’s who wager on them.

Mocha Girls Read Spell It Out Challenge 2016

Though I've been adding books to my To Read shelf on Goodreads like a crazy woman, without much reading going on, I've decided to participate in the Mocha Girls Read Spell Out Challenge again this year. Like last year, I've chosen the Out of This World level, which is twelve books. Below is a list of the books I'm reading for the challenge. Between the compilation and posting of this list, I read the title I'd originally chosen for "I," Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor. Since I hadn't declared my intentions to participate in the challenge before I read the book, I decided to choose another title. 

A Book Blogger's Reflection

As many of you have probably noticed, my blog has been relatively quiet for most of the past year. At the outset of my blogging adventure, I aspired to post at least twice weekly. Though that lofty plan fell far short, it was never my intention to neglect my blog—failing to give it the attention required and deserving of such a magnanimous book spreading platform. So, I've decided to step back and reflect on the reasons why I started this blog in the first place.

Top Ten Books That Colored My Whitewashed World by Beth Shaum

Great top ten list! Many of these are already on my TBR list. Since I've only read two (When I Was the Greatest & The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian) of the ten books on this list, I have plenty of reading to do. :) Originally posted on the Nerdy Book Club.

Top Ten Books That Colored My Whitewashed World by Beth Shaum

There have been many moments in the past few years of my life that have helped me to examine my own prejudices and privileges. I think back on my worldview back in my teens and early twenties and I am ashamed of myself for how I perceived people who were different from me. So I'm currently trying to remove my blinders and shed the cloak of white privilege that has prevented me from understanding the added opportunities I've been granted in my life simply because I'm white.

What is the biggest thing that has helped me to make this leap? Reading.

Top 10 Fictional Characters Who Gave the Best Advice by Elizabeth Snevily

This...this—wise advice and beautiful graphics—is what you miss when you don't keep atop of your email. Reposted from the Nerdy Book Club.

TOP 10 FICTIONAL CHARACTERS  WHO GAVE THE BEST ADVICE by Elizabeth Snevily

There comes a time in every character's life when they are at a crossroad. They must face the simple, honest truths about life and how to live it, but often times they need the insight, advice and guidance from a friend, parent or stranger to help them choose their own destiny. Whether or not they listen to this lesson is their decision, but we, as readers on the sideline, implore them to follow or even sometimes abandon the advice given.

A New Year of Reading Adventures: 2016 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Postcard from
Author Lisa Maxwell

It's 2016 y'all and I'm going to have a kick-butt year in the wonderful land of Bookdom! My reading plans for the year include finishing a few of the series I've started, completing a couple of books I've abandoned, in addition to whittling down my to-be-read pile, while adding replacement books right back on the list. Come on now, it's hard out there for a bibliophile. :-} 

Public Libraries and At-Risk Teens by G. Neri

Reblogged from School Library Journal 

"All teens are at risk. They’re at risk of falling prey to ignorance, hatred, violence, and all the other negative influences that surround them. They’re at risk of failing to take advantage of the opportunities and resources available to them. Everything we do here in the Teen Lounge serves at-risk teens. The rules of the teen lounge are respect the space, respect the staff, respect each other. And that’s all we try to encourage." -Andria Amaral, Young Adult Services Manager, Charleston (SC) County Public Library

Public Libraries and At-Risk Teens

10 Creative Ways to Store Your Books

I love them all, but my favorites are #'s 1, 9, and 10.

Reblogged from the Reading Room

Books are beautiful – even more so when displayed on a gorgeous and creative bookshelf! Check out the images below to see some of the weirdest, most creative, and most beautiful bookshelves we think you'll love. You might just find some inspiration for your own home library!

Academic Minute: Writer’s Block

To all my writer friends preparing to tackle NaNoWriMo next month this one is for you. 

"Instead of focusing on the language of the piece of writing, the plan for the writing gets in the way." -Dan Chelotti

Reblogged from Inside Higher Ed.

Review: Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon

Amy Harmon. CreateSpace, 2012. Ebook.
Rating: OMG

Good writing is said to be fluid, melodious, and uses figurative language and other literary devices correctly without beating the life out of a work. Then there's good writing that moves you and swallows you up. Running Barefoot is not a book that you devour in one sitting, but one that you savor and slowly digest its beauty, page by page. It's a story that softly caresses you, gently rocks you, tickles you from head to toe, while plying butterfly kisses along the column of your neck; pulling out of you everything you have to give and more.

Laura Jarratt’s top 10 YA thrillers with sisters

I've come across dozens of top ten book lists over the years, but I've never before encountered a top ten list featuring books about sisters—better yet, a top ten list of YA thrillers with sisters. Having three sisters myself, there's nothing like a sister's love. I could not resist sharing this awesome list.

Three of the ten are adult books that are suitable for teens, while the other seven are completely young adult (YA).

Review: Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words by Rachel Coker

Rachel Coker. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. 247 pp.
Rating: Worthy

In rural Tennessee, ensconced in a world of Emily Dickinson, mythology, and piano lessons, thirteen-year old Alcyone "Allie" Everly cares for her cancer-stricken mother. Without a friend, save the irksome Sam Carroll, the boy who's always around, Allie is confined to her mother's introverted, fantasy world; until disaster strikes tearing it apart. Allie is then shipped off to Maine to the home of Beatrice Lovell leaving everything she knows behind only hours after the funeral. Forewarned by her mother to, "...look out for yourself and don't let your guard down. Don't ever forget your roots or your common sense," Allie subconsciously creates thick walls barring anything of her new life to creep in, especially her adoptive mother. Yet, it isn't until Sam's unexpected arrival in Maine that Allie's defenses begin to unravel. 

A Delightful Bargain

Found this little beauty today while book window shopping. Ah, the euphoric moment of finding a brand new hardcover copy of a book on your to-be-read list at an amazing discounted price. Score! :)

#278 on Goodreads TBR bookshelf