A Year Book in Review

To know me at all is to know I’m a voracious reader. I’m one of those people who has about ten books going at once. There’s a stack of books on my bedside table big enough to damage my head if we had even a mild earthquake. Five rooms and two hallways in the house have book shelves that are stuffed full. I have cases of books stored in the shed, several audio books on my computer, and even a couple of my iPod. My car usually has at least one audio book to keep me company as I travel. My desk at school will sometimes collect three or four books that are currently “in progress,” and yet I still make regular trips to the public and school libraries.

Okay, so I’m addicted to reading. I know it; my students know it; my sons and husband know it—although they might not always like it. I’ve tried to cut back on the number of books I own, but those little buggers just seem to multiple! I’ve sold books on eBay, given books as gifts, and donated them by the sackful to not only my classroom at school, but to other teachers, public libraries, and charitable causes as well. Yet I never seem to make a real dent on the number of books stashed away in every nook and cranny—oh, and there the chest of drawers stuff with paperbacks I failed to mention.

If I were to retire today from everything I do and spend all my time doing nothing but reading, I doubt I’d make it through them all before my time was through. But that doesn’t stop me from the thrill of pursuing a bookstore, surfing through Amazon, or welcoming books sent to me for review.

With all this reading going on, I often get asked to give my opinion about books, books, and more books. I’ll be speaking in March at the UELMA conference; I review regularly for The ALAN Review, LMC Magazine, and The Signal Journal; and my students, friends, and family as always asking me what they should read. Heck, I even hear from students from years ago: “Mrs. Staheli, Can you tell me a good book to read?” I give them a half-dozen titles and they are off and running.

I were to give a long report on every book I loved this year you’d be here all night reading this blog, so I’m just going to list the best books I’ve read in the past year out of the nearly 150 books I completed. Maybe you’ll find something here you will add to your reading list for this year. As for mine, the list is already full and it’s still only January!

The Loser’s Guide to Life and Love – Ann Cannon

Search and Destroy – Dean Hughes

Legend of the Jewel – N.C. Allen

Wolf Rider – Avi

Might As Well Laugh About It Now – Marie Osmond

The Chosen One – Carol Lynch Williams

Cash in a Flash - Allen & Hansen

Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society - Shaffer

The Christmas List - Evans

Far World: Land Keep - Savage

Christmas Jars Reunion - Wright

Uprising - Haddix

The Hourglass Door - Mangum

Oh, and I can't forget the one that could possible get me out of all this book mess:

Enough Already - Walsh