Maria's Mélange

(I'm transferring posts over from my old blog host. This one originally posted December 31, 2011) Resolutions become much more real when you let people know about them, right? As I mentioned briefly in my last post, I’ve decided to take on a challenge with some of my Nerdy Book Club colleagues. The plan? To read all of the Newbery books starting in 1922. Now, the challenge is also meant to be “no stress” – meaning that we can each make the challenge fit our own needs and desires. My plan is to read at least one book from each year, and to complete the challenge within two years. If I’ve already read the Award book I’ll either reread it or choose one of the Honor books to read. For those who are handy with the math, that means 90 books. So I’m shooting for about 4 books a month to meet this challenge. That, of course, is in addition to the other books I already plan on reading. Oh, and all the comics I plan to read…. I suppose if I get behind I can always make it a 3 year go

(This post was on my original blog host, and I'm moving it over here. It originally posted December 30, 2011) What does every book addict need in her life? An online reading community that provides a constant flow of “next book” suggestions, of course.  Just in case you have the same problem, I’d like to welcome you to two of the communities I have discovered over the past year. Nerdy Book Club  -  http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/ This is a brand new site that celebrates reading. It just began in December, but is already full of inspirational posts about passionate readers and teachers of reading. The philosophy is that if you love books, you are already a member. You can also follow the hashtag #nerdybookclub for some entertaining tweets. The site just held voting for the “Nerdies” – the best books of 2011 in a variety of categories. I’m adding many of the nominees and winners to my own reading list. Several Nerdy Book Clubbers are starting a reading challenge to re