81 Books in 2013

I read 81 books in 2013.
(the one really bugs me; I want to read another book to round that to a two so it's 82). My goodreads challenge was 75.
There were books I enjoyed, some that were quick reads, and others that I LOVED. These are the ones I highly recommend (in no particular order):


Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman

Jellico Road by Melina Marchetta

Pivot Point by Kassie West

Defy by Sara Larson

Mind Games by Kiersten White

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Insurgent by Veronica Ross

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson


 I'm not sure I could pick a favorite out of these choices. MIND GAMES was different and intriguing while PIVOT POINT had a great voices in alternating chapters, but it was the same person. INSURGENT and SHADOW AND BONE are amazing books that are part of trilogies and THE DAY BEFORE is in verse.
DEFY actually came out in 2014 but I read it early on Netgalley. Girl dresses as boy as not to get killed, crushes on prince--nice! SKY JUMPERS was a fanstastic middle grade book.

What about you? Did you have ONE favorite read?

Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

Holy reading, Batman!

Rory Gilmore from "The Gilmore Girls" was seen reading over 335 books over the course of the filming of the show. Can you believe it? It's a pretty diverse list, from BAMBI to CLOCKWORK ORANGE to OTHELLO.

You can take the Rory Gilmore Challenge and see how many of the 339 you've read.

I've read: 114

NaNoWriMo pre-challenge!

NaNoWriMo pre-challenge!

You have roughly 1month, 1 week and 4 days to finish up your novel or memoir or short stories this month so you are ready to get writing for NaNo.
And you have roughly 1 month, 1 week and 4 days to decide what you want to write for NaNo and get a draft or outline written.
I need to finish writing and editing my WWI Historical Romance and possibly get ahead on the new book I have a fourth of the way written.  Then on the last week of October I hope to wrote out a rough draft for the thriller in my head.
I've written three 55, 000 word stories thanks to NaNo. Last year I didn't have time to write like a crazy beheaded chicken. The year before that I decided to try an outline. It was harder for this pantser but I did it. This year I have a new book in my head and I'm not sure if I'll have an outline this time or not.


What are your goals for the rest of the year? 
Are you particiapating in NaNoWriMo this year?
What are your writing?

Banned Book Challenge

I'm always surprised at the books that have been challenged or banned over the years. Then again, I'm NOT surprised at some of the others. No one has to tell me not to read certain because they're naughty or racist or full of evil. I choose for myself. I also choose not to read certain genres or book because of content. I'm not a prude or an introvert. I read 100 books a year. I just choose to read ones that don't get me down or fill my head will scenes I wouldn't want to see on TV or at the movies. Why would I want to read them?

But! I will  protect my children while they are young and innocent. For that reason, there are books that are not in my home and will not be in my home. Even if it's an English assignment. Does this mean I ban books in my home. You betcha. This doesn't mean I'm keeping my children in a bubble or I'm limiting them for when they go out in the real world. This means I am protecting them, and as their parent that is my right. I can control what comes in and out of my home.

I will not go to the local library and ask them to ban books. I have let them know they may want to read certain young adult books and see if that is the right shelf for them or if they should have an adult label.

My oldest daughter was not a reader until the Twilight series came along (you know what I just realized?? Twilight is not on the challenged or banned list!). My daughter devoured those books in a week. I read the books before she did and we talked about certain scenes in the books. Like it's not okay for a boy to hang out in your room. "Duh, Mom. We already have that rule."

Reading challenged/banned books is not the answer either. No one should feel pressure to read books they don't like. You don't like the idea of reading about witchcraft? It's okay if you don't want to read Harry Potter. You don't want to read about gay dads? Fine! Don't read Daddy's Roommate. Are you an animal lover? You may not want to read Of Mice and Men.

Read what makes you happy. I realized I really enjoy reading young adult books because there is usually some semblance of happiness. But I'm still picky which books I read from that genre.

Guess which book is the most banned books in America right now? Harry Potter.


I talked about some of the challenged/banned titles with my teens and tweens. Here's some of our discussion:

"Harry Potter is on the banned list."
"Why would they ban Harry Potter?"
"I think some people saw the word "witchcraft" and thought it was about real witches and cults."
"That's stupid!"
"Tom Sawyer has been banned, too."
"What? Why?"
"From what I understand, people were offended by the way blacks were portrayed in the book."
"But that's part of our history."
"I know. Here's another one: Daddy's Roommate."
"I'd never read that."
"Me either. But some people don't want you to even have a choice."
"Well, that's stupid."


Here is a list of challenged books in 2012 and the reasons why:

2012

Out of 464 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

 

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

How many banned/challenged books have you read? Here are two challenges:

100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 1990-1999  
(I only got 22)

100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 2000-2009
(I only got 21)