When I went to my list to check my reading for my Must Read in 2015 List, I was surprised at how much progress I've made! I knew I had read several of the books, but I am excited to announce that I have read or listened to 17 of the 25 books on the list.
As I look back on timing, I started out strong, for the most part reading these books one after another. Having six snow days might have helped the process too! At this point, the 2016 Illinois Bluestem List has been announced, so my priority has been reading missed books from that list. At this point, I have read about half of my Must Read in 2015 books and listened to the other half.
These are the books from my list that I have read so far:
All of these have been fabulous books. As a matter of fact, I rated every one of them with five stars! Probably my favorite has been Fish in a Tree, which I have recently read and discussed with a fourth and fifth grade book club. It has provided us with some heartfelt conversations. We were also fortunate to be able to meet Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt, who visited our community, as we finished her book.
I have listened to following audio books from my list:
I will say that I prefer actually reading a book over listening to one, but I do listen to a lot of books. I spend a great deal of time walking or running, and during those times I am almost always listening to a book! Of these books, probably my favorite listening experience came from The Paper Cowboy. It is a powerful story, and the reader really brought it to life. My other favorites were Legend and 11 Birthdays. Since I work in an elementary library, we do not have Legend as a part of our collection, but it is sometimes nice to read something for the older crowd of kids! I have had many girls read 11 Birthdays, and I see why! I will say that it wasn't at all what I was expecting as I was prepared for realistic fiction, and was shocked when I realized it was fantasy!
I am excited to continue from my Must Read in 2015 list, and even though my reading from this list has slowed down a bit over the past few weeks, I think I will have all 25 titles read! I enjoyed taking some time to check my progress, and I am eager to hear about everyone else's 2015 reading.