Sunday is for housework, so there’s always an audiobook playing whether a new one, middle of one, or finishing one up. So first was finishing up the audiobook If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So, a YA featuring GLTBQ characters, friendship estrangement, and Cantonese culture.
The second was finishing a short story collection I recently borrowed from the public library called Night of the Living Queers edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown, a few weeks past spooky season, however it was still a smart read featuring GLBTQ characters and all sorts of creepiness.
Third was finishing a nonfiction title recommended by a colleague in a recent professional development session called Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley and David Kelley. Inspiring and thought-provoking.
Fourth was Deb Caletti’s newest Plan A which I wanted to get through ahead of professional development session I’m going to be running in the next few days as it’s a timely read on abortion for a teen audience.
In between halves for my son’s indoor soccer team, I threw in a short read, my fifth– a WhoHQ title that was just delivered– What Do We Know About the Winchester House? by Emma Carlson Berne to which I could safely answer before I read it… nothing! But now I know something.
And I started a sixth before bed: Kate Pearsall’s Bittersweet in the Hollow with the gorgeous cover and intimidating quote “beware the forest”.
We had a four day week this week with Veteran’s Day being observed today and while the shorter weeks always feel like the longest, they’re not when you’re pushing books.
This week, I’ve helped students with three specific searches:
Tomorrow my colleague and I will be visiting classes in a separate building to begin a conversation about reading for self-identified non-readers. These are students who are in specialized classes in iterations of 15:1:1 and 8:1:1 setting whose teacher wants to encourage a connection to reading which has been largely absent from their academic pursuits.
Years back I attended a training that used the term undiscovered reader rather than reluctant reader or nonreader as it changes the mindset to an ownership for the adults in their lives who are just as important to the process of them discovering an appreciation for reading as the student themselves. It often only takes one book.
My first memory of a book that I wanted to read over and over and over again was Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. That was early enough on in my life that I was always a casual reader and could find books to read when I wanted. While I don’t have a specific person that I can point to that helped me appreciate reading, Mrs. Preston, my pint-sized Dr. Seuss loving elementary school librarian did love her job and I do remember that about her right down to her stereotypical outfits and glasses with the chain to hang around her neck when she pulled them off.
I’m hoping to channel a little of that energy tomorrow when we visit their classroom. Books can be friends, companions, portals to learning, a break from reality, entertainment, and so much more. We’ll break up the time with some booktalks, a book tasting, some bookmark coloring, and a tutorial on Sora. The goal is to provide a non-threatening environment to encourage exploration and possibly check out a book digitally or in print that they could spend time reading. No quizzes, no homework, no journaling. Just reading. I applaud the teacher for taking this step in breaking down the barriers to access and providing a safe place to books to exist.
Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to move a few of them from undiscovered readers to readers.
Last week I posted about Of sleepless nights and grey hairs about our upcoming author visit. That even though we’ve been doing them for a decade, it’s still stressful each time. However, like childbirth, you forget the pain and realize that you’d be willing to do it all again. I was certainly frustrated in the days beforehand because our school is currently experiencing a spate of pulled fire alarms, the business office surprised me with additional paperwork that put the visit in jeopardy, and while advertisements were everywhere, students were still surprised when I talked to them about the visit. The Zits comic from about a week prior sums it up:
While some are expected, like the fact that most people wait until the last minute to do anything, so signs ups were fast and furious up until literally minutes before the events started, others were unpredictable. I had prepped Candace Fleming ahead of time of the possibility of a fire alarm and announced the protocols for students during the visit that when it did not actually happen, she was a little disappointed. But I’d rather lower my expectations and be pleasantly surprised than caught off guard.
Ultimately the three presentations went swimmingly. Not only were students fascinated by her topics and pictures and stories, they spent time afterward hanging around her to get their books signed, chat, and take selfies. With a small break after the first presentation, I organized a small lunch with a few female students under the umbrella of finishing Women’s History Month with our female author with female power players in our school (one from our literary magazine, one the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and one that belonged to the Women’s Empowerment club). It came together with donations from community organizations and a little money from the school and prep work with teachers to engage the students in their classes, particularly from our science department and of course, true crime fans since Candace Fleming’s newest book is the YA Murder Among Friends about the infamous murder of a fourteen year old boy by two eighteen year olds, Leopold and Loeb.
But in the end, the impact of the visits for how few or how many students come is often unseen. I’ll use this example, serendipitously about a month ago, I received an email from a student who graduated ten years ago. He was writing to seek out the librarian to tell her about the impact an author visit at the school had on him because of the turmoil in his life that he was able to meet this author, was gifted a book to have signed by the author, and to share that the library in general was a safe place for him. He wanted to thank that librarian. To borrow a Taylor Swift line, “Hi, it’s me.” This email came a decade later.
Then, there might be the immediate results of the impact. My favorite image is one we shared on our social media after her last session wrapped up. These boys stayed after to have her sign their phone cases and take pictures and were beaming about the connection. It was unexpected. Yet, a joyous reminder that books and human connections are what we all need.
I’ll add, if you’re looking for a visit worth your while, consider Candace Fleming. Her range of picture books through YA meant that when I booked her, several other local librarians jumped on board. In three days, she went to one elementary school, one middle school, and our high school. And the majority of her work is nonfiction, which is what resonated with our students. As she said, she doesn’t have a person light a cigarette in her book, unless she knew it to be true in her research. As an obsessive reader of nonfiction, I love her attention to detail and the stories she chooses to share. She’s also a fabulous human being. We need more Candace Flemings in front of our kids sharing about curiosity and facts. She nor I will likely ever know, but I do hope one or two teens were impacted by her visit and the things she shared.
Continuing with the theme of Women’s History Month, I want to give a shout out to influential women authors through the lens of my reading experience.
Probably forever, Ruta Sepetys will always be at the top of the list. Having had the pleasure of her company in person does add an additional layer of appreciation for her, but her books themselves mine hidden histories which are captured with elegance and an emotional capableness to reach through the pages of the book to reach the reader on another level. She’s simply the best.
Mary Roach is the queen of curiosity for me. All of her books from the science of the military to cadavers have endlessly fascinated me. Years ago I wrote that she would be an author I’d love to have lunch with just to pick her brain. She’s got a fascinating array of subject areas, but I’ll follow her wherever that curiosity leads.
There is no one more Instagram-poet famous that Rupi Kaur. I follow her as do many of my high school students to see what new and old poems she drops there. Then I scrambled when she publishes a collection to get my hands on a copy and then make sure I have a handful in our library too. I confess to also following her social media to see what dress she’s wearing and to celebrate that this poetess sells out arenas to read her poetry. She’s an experience.
Sarah Andersen of Sarah’s Scribbles fame makes me laugh– every.damn.time. Her humorous take on the extraordinary and the mundane in her comics (but I’d be remiss not to gush about Fangs too) gave me a boost in the mornings when I would read a few pages from her comics with my cup of tea. She’s more than just a writer, she’s a creator.
And when I think about books whose settings and writing envelope me, I think about the atmospheric writing of Cat Winters. She pulled me in with In The Shadow Of Blackbirds and kept me there with all of the other books (and short stories) that she’s written. She’s the ultimate spooky YA writer.
One for the money, two for the show, three to make ready and four to go.
I was thinking about this children’s rhyme when I was contemplating what type of reading goals I could set for myself for 2023. As a practice, I don’t make goals because there’s usually a committee, reviews, and general work around reading (even though it’s never really work) that I’ll always be reading anyway. And I read widely already. So I thought I would highlight each month a children’s book, a middle grade, a YA, and an adult that I read. Here’s January’s books via rhyme–
One for the money: An Immense World by Ed Yong
It made so many best lists for 2022 which is why I added it to my TBR for January and it did not disappoint. Yong, take all my money because as a lover of science titles, this one was lyrical, moving, and insightful for a general adult audience.
Two for the show: How You Grow Wings by Rimma Onoseta
Sisters who grow up disparately loved by their mother, the choices that are made ultimately separate then reunite them in a moving story that brings them full circle. Clever, clever book for young adults.
Three to make ready: Ancestor Approved edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Short story collections are one of my favorite categories to explore and each of these short stories featuring Indigenous characters can be mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. All of the stories drew from a wealth of experience, storytelling, and heart.
Four to go: The Sun is Late and So Is the Farmer by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin Stead
This children’s book includes a cast of animal main characters, including the four pictured on the cover wondering where the sun is and thus where the farmer is. The vibe of the cover art and title exactly matches the book itself.
And rounding out the last four posts is my young adult top 10 because that’s who I spend the most amount of time reading and recommending for as a high school librarian. I’ve had the best time reviewing all of my reading this year to be able to pick out the top 10 of each target audience and from conferences to reader’s advisory, telling people to READ THESE BOOKS. So here they are!
I get chills just thinking about my reading memories with these titles which run the gamut of graphic to nonfiction, memoir and historical fiction with some of the best darn authors out there. I think in each one of these books there were lines and pages that I Post-it’ed to go back and reread and experiences that made me into a better human being. Plus, the best kinds of books lead you to other discoveries and I can say that each one of them led me to at least one other book or Google search.
Cheers to the book memories of 2022 and the new ones I’ll make in 2023!
Middle grade needs it’s own category this year because I spent an inordinate amount of time reading the excellent selections of middle grade titles this year. It was a banner year for sure. Today I celebrate middle grade and tomorrow I’ll round out my four posts with the best of young adult.
When I look back at this titles as graphic novels, verse, manga, fiction, and nonfiction, I can’t help but celebrate the range, depth, and breadth of creativity and sensitivity for an age of transition. I should know since I have two thirteen year old boys myself. The message of perseverance; the power of individuality; the adventure; the need to remember the past and explore the future– it’s all here in these titles. If you’ve missed any one of these, you MUST pick it up.
Readers Be Advised 