Monday, December 26, 2011

I Challenge Thee, er, Me 2012

from art.com
It's that time of year. Challenge time.  How will I grow as reader and a reviewer? Each year, I attempt something new and usually abandon it about 1/4 of the way through.  Not.This.Year. I am going to do this. I have two official sign-up challenges and then some personal challenges I will be tackling this year.

The Classic Double Challenge
This challenge intrigues me because you pair contemporary fiction with classic fiction. Something that I think could lead more students into choosing and reading classics outside of the classroom. I'm going for the LARGE level - 3 pairs of books

The 2012 YA/MG Fantasy Challenge
I enjoy reading Fantasy and Science Fiction. I'm not sure what attracts me to these titles and I want to find out. This particular challenge will pair nicely with my own personal Cybils challenge listed below.  For the YA/MG Fantasy challenge, you need to read 10 YA/MG Fantasy books released in 2012.

Cybils 2011 YA/MG Nominated Fantasy/Science Fiction Challenge
This challenge definitely needs a shorter name! There were too many books on the Cybils F/SF nominations list that I had NOT read.  So, I am going to remedy that by trying to read 15 books off the YA list and 15 books off the MG list.  Some of these will be decided when they release the finalist list on January 1!

My Printz of the Past Challenge
I became interested in the ALA Printz award back in 2006 when I became a middle school librarian.  I've been into it pretty much nonstop. In 2010 I formed the Goodreads Mock Printz group. This started as a part of a book group I was hosting at work and has grown from there.  I've been trying to at least read the winners of the award but decided this year to challenge myself to read all the Printz Award/Honor books for the past 11 years.

2012 MG/YA/A Genre Challenge
Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer, has a book requirement in her classes.  She challenges the students to read 40 books in a variety of genres, to stretch themselves, to become better readers.  I take up her challenge with #bookaday and want to participate in this one too. Although her exact numbers to read in each genre may change with her students, I'm going with the original one published in The Book Whisperer.

I also want to read a variety of adult books so, I'm adding a component for genre books written for adults. Hence, the "A" in the challenge title.

2012 Battle of the Kid's Book Reading Challenge
Every year School Library Journal hosts a Battle of the Kids' Books to find the best book of the previous year. They get celebrity judges, authors all, to read two  of 16 books and determine which will move on until only 1 is left. I discovered the challenge in 2010 and read 11 of the 16 books.  Last year I read 15.  My goal for 2012 is to read all 16 and try to pick the winner!

I'm creating a challenge page that will list a combination of books I want to read or have read for challenge.

Are you up to the challenge?  What are your reading goals for 2012?

UPDATE: Adding a Newbery Awards challenge that will cover three to four years! Check out Watch.Connect.Read for details! Totally "stress-free" #nerdbery challenge! Yay, Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp!

9 comments:

  1. Your challenges inspire and intimidate me. I feel the pressure to set high goals for myself as a reader, but I am not sure what that looks like for me. I suppose I could read more adult books:)

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  2. Donalyn,
    I'm always able to read more, so I decided to challenge myself to read differently instead! I read a decent amount of adult books, but most, okay all, are contemporary realistic!

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  3. I like the idea of some of these challenges especially the Classics Double since I want to read more classics next year.Since I'm going back to school next semester, my biggest goal is just to read! Good luck!

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  4. Vasilly,
    I want to do more at work this year, so my goal is to read less but read more deeply. I usually read tons of new books but I want students to realize there's also value in older books. Plus, I want to try to understand the awards committees so I can join one!

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  5. Great challenge list Ms. B! You can totally do it! We can cheer each other on during the course of the year. =)

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  6. Okay I'm in for the #nerdprintz. Might be a 2-year challenge.

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  7. Aneeqah - we have this! Can't wait till we start reviewing these books!

    Lea - Nerdy Book Club members unite!

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  8. So glad you joined up! I think contemp retellings have a lot of potential to get people reading older stuff. Looking forward to your reviews!

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  9. I've started my year of challenges by reading the YA Fiction finalists for the Cybils award. I've already read three of them, but I want to read the other three by the Cybils judges' deadline in February.

    I like the idea of reading more Printz winners and honor books. It's something I've been working on for a while, along with the Morris winners and honors.

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Thanks for chatting! I love comments and look forward to reading yours! I may not reply right away, but I am listening! Keep reading and don't forget to be awesome!

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