There's a Book For That: December 2015

It is December 31st.
It is quiet.
The girl is in bed.
I just finished updating my Goodreads account for the year and now, I'm taking a moment to reflect on my own reading life.

I'll talk about her reading life (especially this last year) in another post, but for the moment, I'm going to think about mine.

This has been a slow year for me. I have found very few books that I loved. I only gave 5 stars to six books this year. I admit I'm a tough critic, but I also found that there were few books out there that touched me enough to earn 5 stars.

What I did realize, was that the books that touched me, I wanted to share with others. I treasure and love my books, but I found myself handing out the copies I had because I wanted other people to feel the same joy and love I had for these books. So, although my list is sparse, it is a true reflection of the books I loved this year.

My reading stamina also declined tremendously. I found myself unable to sustain reading a book over several nights. My solution? Comic books. I became a frequent visitor to our local comic book store (Aw Yeah Comics located in downtown Skokie). Last year was the first year I started reading graphic novels. This year, I made the leap to actual comic books and trade paperbacks. I'm hooked. I have a few series that I follow and they are just the right length to read before bed. Interestingly, I know many educators who scoff at the idea of students (and probably adults) reading comic books. I'm sure I did too. But now, after actually reading them, I would defend many as a quality reading experience.

My hope is to read more informational texts in 2016. While I love novels, I think I might be missing out on the nonfiction world.

My Five Star Books of 2015

All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely