Thank you to Unleashing Readers for continuing to promote reading and great book titles and especially for letting us wayward readers find our way back here.
The year 2023 has been my year of the reading slump. I did not meet my Goodreads goal: 49/60. For whatever reason, I could not find a rhythm to my reading life. This not only affected my personal life but also my teaching life.
I feel my students have also not been reading as much as they have in the past. Upon reflection, I feel my reading life, of a lack thereof, has bled into theirs. I know when I bless a book, the likelihood of my students picking it up and reading it increases. When I am excited about a book, they become excited about a book.
I know how this works!
But that just hasn't happened this year. Which is why I am posting here today. I am hoping that being a regular part of this community will help to motivate me and reignite my passion for middle grade books.
I have included my top 10 reads for 2023 and what I have learned from reading them.
When Stars Are Scattered was my last book read in 2023 and made me realize how lucky I am to have the freedoms that I do.
Wand had just enough fantasy to keep me going and left me appreciating the fact that "The more people you love, the bigger your heart gets."
Slacker taught me that even gamers have big hearts, and that when we open them, we never know what we might get in return.
The One and Only Ruby showed me that family, no matter what it looks like, is important.
A Work in Progress...well, we all really are a work in progress.
The Do More Club opened my eyes to what it is like to be Jewish in our country and we should all strive do "more good" in our world.
Dust shows the importance of when you see something, say something.
Finding Perfect shows that people may not always be what they seem on the outside and taught me even more about people with anxiety.
Rivals reinforces my belief that there is more to being athlete than winning and losing.
City Spies is an espionage/thriller series that lets me get wrapped up in great adventures and helps me appreciate that it is ok to lean on others to help us work through our problems.
Looking forward to reading more in 2024!
Happy New Year! I hope you find a renewed passion for reading through this community! I really liked a few of those you posted - Slacker, The One and Only Ruby, and When the Stars are Scattered (a student favorite, too). A few are in my stack and I really need to pick up - A Work in Progress and The Do More Club.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find more inspiration here, too, Leigh Anne, and loved the list you shared. I've read some, & noted others. When Stars Are Scattered is a favorite, a wonderful story. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I love the lessons you got from each book.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year. I find that sometime I get too much inspiration from here, but I hope it inspires you to read more. I find that listening to books always gets me through those times when reading (focusing) with my eyes is problematic.
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