Congratulations and thanks to those of you who joined in the summer reading challenge–those who commented online to let me know you were participating, and those of you who took it “silently.” How was it?
If you participated, you’re entitled to a bookmark, courtesy of me! You do not have to have met your challenge goal. You just need to be at least 13 years old. To claim your bookmark, email your info to jennifer[at]jenniferhubbard[dot]com. (Until Nov. 10, or while supplies last.)
The challenge was thus: read ten books between June 10 and September 21. Ideally, the ten should include a book you’ve always wanted to reread; a book picked up just on impulse; a classic you always felt you should’ve read; a book from AuthorsNow!; a book outside your usual genres; and 5 others of your choosing. But the main purpose was to read!
I originally planned to read HATE LIST (Jennifer Brown), BROWN (Richard Rodriguez), FLASH BURNOUT (L.K. Madigan), THE SCHWA WAS HERE (Neal Shusterman), INITIATION (Susan Fine), CRASH INTO ME (Albert Borris), RULES (Cynthia Lord), THE GRAPES OF WRATH (John Steinbeck), CHICKEN DANCE (Tammi Sauer), and of course one impulse book.
My impulse book ended up being EVEN THE STARS LOOK LONESOME, by Maya Angelou. I read all of the above books on my list by Sept. 21, with two exceptions, which I’ll discuss below. In addition to the books originally on my list, I ended up reading PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE (Cynthea Liu), MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD (Francisco X. Stork), BRALESS IN WONDERLAND (Debbie Reed Fischer), SURF MULES (G. Neri), GIVE UP THE GHOST (Megan Crewe), PEAK (Roland Smith), SHADOW CLUB (Neal Shusterman), WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW (Sonya Sones), VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY (Melissa Walker), ETERNAL (Cynthia Leitich Smith), SHINE, COCONUT MOON (Neesha Meminger), AFTER (Amy Efaw), and WHAT I MEANT (Marie Lamba). I also got on a rereading kick: THE DUNGEON MASTER (William Dear), THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (Rona Jaffe), THE DHARMA BUMS (Jack Kerouac), THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (Lauren Weisberger), PLANT DREAMING DEEP (May Sarton), and JOURNAL OF A SOLITUDE (May Sarton). From my total summer reading list, I suppose you can tell that my tastes range widely!
Now for the exceptions: I didn’t actually get CHICKEN DANCE until after Sept. 21, but I have it now. Also, I ended up substituting Elie Wiesel’s NIGHT for Steinbeck’s novel as my classic. I did read the first chapter of GRAPES, but I wasn’t ready for it, or in the mood, or whatever. There are books I love but have to be in the right mood for, which is just one more reason I support free-range reading. And why there were no “musts” in this challenge, no demerits, no black marks–just suggestions. That’s why everyone who participated gets a bookmark. Whether you claim your bookmark or not, I hope you enjoyed the experience.
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1 Herb Behrens // Oct 11, 2009 at 2:59 pm
The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA has a program for young readers (and writers). check it out at http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html
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