Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Books in Boxes - #MustReadin2017



Being part of several reading communities rewards me with many book recommendations, sometimes too many.  This past year has been no different.  It is time to reflect on what was read in 2016 and round up those books that we didn't read because 2017 came too quickly.  I am joining Carrie Gelson of There's A Book For That, and many other bloggers to create my Must Read in 2017 List.  

I keep several boxes and stacks of books at my house.  My TBR boxes.   Most of these boxes contain books that I want to read before I hand them over to my students. When too much time goes by, new books are purchased, or boxes are overflowing, I begin to purge the stacks.  As I was purging during my Christmas break, I pulled out the ones I truly wanted to read in 2017.  These are the books that will stay with me just a little bit longer before I take them to school.

So here is my #MustReadin2017 list:

Nonfiction

I have been trying to stock my classroom library with nonfiction for upper grade levels. I brought many lower to middle grade books with me when I moved to 6th grade, but needed to think about titles for middle school readers.  I recently had a Donor's Choose project of nonfiction books funded, so I have added two of those titles to my list.



The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown


2016 Nerdies

Several books in my boxes were awarded a Nerdy this year.  (I must have good taste...just not enough time!)  Here are three titles that made my list.



As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

2015 Nerdies

And several books in my boxes were awarded a Nerdy in 2015.





Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman



A Little Help from My Friends


Many books I own received some type of book love by my reading friends, or else I would not have purchased them.  These books in the boxes fall into this category.




Summerlost by Ally Condie
Mayday by Karen Harrington
Save Me a Seat  by Sarah Weeks
OCDaniel by Wesley King

#Bookrelays 

Last but not least, I am in a group of middle grade teachers who receive ARCs from various authors and publishers.  We read the books, talk about them on social media and blogs, and then share them with each other.  This group has brought a new perspective to my reading life.  It is fun  receiving books in the mail filled with their thoughts written on sticky notes and tear-dried stains.  I received this ARC back in the summer, and it has now made it to my #mustreadin2017. (I want avoid being kicked out by my relay team!)




Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar Read 1/27


I know many of these books will make it out of my boxes and will be replaced with 2017 books. This coming year looks to be a great year for reading.  Follow along with us and mark your calendars for these updates on our progress.


Spring update: Thursday April 6th, 2017
Fall update: Thursday September 7th, 2017
Year end update: Thursday December 28th, 2017
Thank you for being a part of this community. You all make my reading experiences so much richer!


Happy Reading!

13 comments:

  1. I'm glad you reminded me about Summerlost. I read some of it online, but never got the book! Of all you shared, I would recommend the 2 nf books. I loved both! Happy Reading, Leigh Anne. What a dilemma of what to choose!

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  2. Ah, a wonderful group of books to be pulling out of the boxes! Salt to the Sea is just an incredible read. It was one of my favourites of 2016. Happy reading! Thanks for being part of this community.

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  3. Such a wide range of books - more now added to my growing list! Happy reading indeed.

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  4. Dare I add one more to your list? Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is a must read if you are reading Salt to the Sea. They are not sequels, but the main character in Salt to the Sea is related to the main character in Between Shades of Gray, which I think should be read first. Then you can see the connection of the two books. Happy reading!

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    1. I have that one in my box too! I will read that one first - thanks for the heads-up!

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  5. I loved reading about your TBR boxes, and you've picked some really great-looking books. I particularly love Challenger Deep and Salt to the Sea, although they both made my cry!

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  6. Lucky Broken Girl is fantastic! Don't miss that one!
    I had Red Queen on my list last year. I really liked it and now I have book 3 on my list this year!

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  7. Save Me a Seat is a wonderful book. It's interesting, humorous, and has a great message.

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  8. So many wonderful titles. I listened to All American Boys and highly recommend it. The narrator is phenomenal and it adds so much to the book. You've got some titles on there that I had forgotten about. This could be a dangerous hashtag for me. :) Happy Reading!

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  9. It looks like you will have an exciting reading year Leigh Anne. The Boys who Challenged Hitler and Save Me a Seat are on my list also. All the others on your list that I've read are worthwhile reads. Summerlost is a very sweet book to read when you need to feel good. Now I'm off to add more books from here to my want to read list.

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  10. Well, I have been to four blogs and added 6 books to my Goodreads "want to read" list. This is going to be dangerous. I added two as I stopped here to see what you might be up to in 2017. I know the Nerdies are going to keep me busy for weeks. #goodproblems

    Looking forward to reading with you in 2017.
    Cathy

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  11. Loved The Boys Who Challenged Hitler and Boys in the Boat! I have Salt to the Sea on my list, too (carried over from my 2016 list). You'll love Save Me a Seat! I highly recommend the audio version.

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  12. Salt to the Sea is on my Must Read list too! I'm making a Goodreads list based on this opportunity, from your list I'm adding The Boys Who Challenged Hitler and Boys in the Boat. They caught my eye at the book fair in the fall, and I didn't pick them up...

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