The Plan of All Plans...May 19, 2009

My I Wanna Read It physical pile has fallen over and gotten out of order. It is also out of hand. These seem to be going First in Last Out instead of First in First out!

I'm trying to review every book I receive which has slowed me down and it seems to be adding unnecessary pressure.

So this post is to help me organize the books I have and to move them when reviewed. The order is gleaned from my In My Mailbox posts and my Library Loot posts as well as New Arrival posts:

Bold - Library Book
Purple - received from publisher
Green - asked to receive/won from contest/blog tour

February
Absolutely, Maybe by Lisa Yee
Happenstance Found by PW Cantanese
Waiting For Normal by Leslie Connor

Confetti Girl by Julia Lopez
Samurai Shortstop by Aan Gratz
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Storm: Infinity Code by EL Young

Drood by Dan Simmons
Big Splash by Jack Ferrariaolo

March
Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin
In Between by Jenny B. Jones

Dust of 100 Dogs by AS King
There's No Place Like Here by Cecila Ahern
Last Summer of Me and You by Ann Brashares
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo

Young Samurai by Chris Bradford
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy by William Boniface
Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee
The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston
Death Run by Jack Higgins
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

April
Willow by Julia Hoban
Jerk, California by Jack Friesen
Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
My Life In Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald
Three Girls and Her Brother by Theresa Rebeck
Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes

This Is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy-Stone
Triple Shot Bettys in Love by Jody Gehrman

Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell When It Happens by Susane Colasanti Need by Carrie Jones Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian The Song is You by Arthur Phillips

Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiana
Lesson Learned by Earl Sewell
Initiation by Susan Fine
Death By Bikini by Linda Gerber
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
Heartbreakers by Pamela Wells
Vamped by Lucienne Diver

Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn - BT 6/12

May
Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson
Miracle Girls by Anne Drayton
My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Storm: The Ghost Machine by EL Young Storm: Black Sphere by EL Young
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

Blood Water by Dean Vincent Carter Extreme Kissing by Luisa Plaja
Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney Flightsend by Linda Newbery
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
Dragon Whisperer by Lucinda Hare Bang, Bang, You're Dead by Narinder Dhami
Dread Pirate Fleur by Sara Starbuck The Sorceress by Michael Scott Sebastian Darke by Phillip Caveney

Exit Music by Ian Rankin
Sisterchicks by Robin Gunn - BT 6/8 City of Fire by Laurence Yep Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by E. Van Lowe Children of the Dawnland by Kathleen and Michael Gear
My Dating Disasters Diary by Liz Rettig

Leftovers by Heather Waldorf Neil Armstrong is My Uncle by Nan Marino

Wings by Jason Lethcoe All of the Above by Shelley Pearsall Great Call of China by Cynthea Liu

Dessert First by Hallie Durand

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

The Book Thief (Readers Circle)

That is my favorite YA book this year. I am "hand-selling" this to my 8th grade students. They are studying the Holocaust right now. Markus Zusak approaches the topic from a different viewpoint. He introduces you to the people who were left behind, the people who had to leave, people who didn't agree but didn't have a choice, people who tried to do the right thing and what that cost them and their families. He does all of that, and more, with compassion. The compassion comes in the form of Death, who narrates the story. He has a sense of humor and a great big heart. It is truly a great book. I've only physically read it once, but I listen to the audio over and over. The narrator hits the exact tone that I imagined! Well worth reading. Don't let the size put you off. It's actually a fast read. Enjoy!

Also posted on: Goodreads, LibraryThing

Old Blog, New Year

I used to have a blog called Read.Think.Learn. I think, as part of the new me, I want to go back to doing the reviews for my students. This is my second year as a librarian and now I have students in middle and high school as well as some authors I've met. I think it's time. I will be careful though. I burned out because you couldn't update at school and I was super busy at home. I'm still super busy, taking classes at IUPUI, single mom-ming it, hanging out with my homies, running a couple of school book clubs, you know the drill. I'm going to start off small, just with the books I read for book clubs, including our ARYA book club (Adults Reading Young Adult books) which is just me and some teachers finding a reason to get together once a month!!

Ok, that's what I'll do. Right now I'm reading: Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and Teach Me by RA Nelson. Those are the book club books du jour. For fun I'm reading: Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt.

I also have a Facebook and Myspace account. As well as GoodReads and LibraryThing. I need to consolidate!