Happy New Year 2015

I can't even begin to wrap my head around the fact that it is New Years! I have had so much on my plate these last 2 months. I haven't been able to share because I was throwing a surprise party for my husband and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I have been slacking here on my blog and will commit to being more active this coming year. 

I am so excited for 2015! I feel like we all have so much to look forward to in the coming months. 

Love the thought of this.

 

I am not much into resolutions but I do like to make goals.

I am one of those people who work better with a list.

My goals:

#BookItForward

The Kid President

I absolutely love the Kid President. His message in this video, strikes a chord with me. I long to promote my students to be lifelong readers, as I am. I am so very excited to share this with you!

This is where you come in...I want us to all #BookItForward. That means I want you to take a book you love and pass it on. this will promote reading and your love of literature with someone else. It's not just an opportunity for kiddo's at my school but for everyone. Share the books with me that you are going to #BookItForward. Who knows, you could inspire someone to love reading by sharing your favorite book choice.

I am sharing my favorite book with both of my grandson's  (one for each of them). The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. To each of my children I will share The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I absolutely cry when I think of the amazing and inspiring insights both of these books lend. Some books MUST be shared! Those books might be different choices depending on who you might give them to.

I will send home Book It Forward forms. These can be filled out and I will share on instagram, to help the Kid President to reach his goal.  I love that we can all be a part of this amazing opportunity.

My Book Goal:

Another one of my goals is to read more and for enjoyment. So many of you ask me or email/messages about what I am reading or what would be a good book club book. I thought I would share our choices for the year 2014.
 I have been in a book club for several years. I love the ladies in my book club. We have 2 Salina elementary school teachers and a retired  teacher, an attorney, 3 stay at home moms, a nurse, a pharmacist assistant and me, a primary librarian. We each bring something different to our group and I love the conversations and the way our group connects. It is always a lot of fun and I find myself laughing about our conversations weeks or sometimes months afterward. Over the last year we have read some amazing books. Here is our list for this past year, 2014. We meet once a month and it is always a feast for the mind and stomach. 

January: Such A Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster 

This is an awesome book to read in January when everyone is trying to shed a few pounds. It is at times, laugh out loud funny. We had a great time discussing it and throwing caution to the wind and sharing some amazing treats.

February: Three Wishes By Liane Moriarty 

This was actually my book choice for the month. I loved the Liane Moriarty book I had read just a few months before that's called What Alice Forgot and I wanted to read another. This was an easy lighthearted read and we enjoyed it. After the holidays, something easy and fun was just what we all needed.

March: The Art Of Racing In The Rain By Garth Stein

The Art of Racing In The Rain has it all love, redemption, danger and most especially the canine narrator, Enzo. This old soul of a dog has much to teach us about being human. I loved this book! Thanks for sharing this special story with us Karen, it is one I will always remember. The laughter of discussing this book and contemplating what our dogs/pets must think of us...Oh Boy!

April: Glitter and Glue By Kelly Corrigan

I love all the Kelly Corrigan books, they are a joy to read and so easy to relate to. I was swept away through this sweet and sincere memoir in just one sitting. It was a fast but interesting read. So many times I bounced from relating to the daughter and her relationship with her mother and then suddenly I knew exactly how the mother felt. Discussing this book we found that many of us could relate to the mother or the daughter and 2 of us were able to relate to both of these characters for one reason or another. This is a wonderful book about relationships between mothers and daughters and how that relationship changes over time.

May: Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

This book is absolutely AMAZING! It is well written with 2 narrating voices. It is a true spiritual story of faith in others and also our faith in ourselves to do the right thing. i needed a box of tissues by the end of this book. As we discussed our year of books at our last book club meeting I was told that this book is being made into a movie. It will be a must see for me. I will totally be bringing my tissues.

June: The Good House by Ann Leary

I think we all agreed, that every one of us enjoyed this book. Over the last
2 years I think it was one of our most enjoyed. Not the best by far for me             but the overall, most enjoyed by all. Our discussion went on for several hours.     This book had great characters, wonderful depiction of the community and it's history.   I couldn't wait to see, what trouble the main character would get into next. The workings of alcoholism and the denial that tends to be associated played out through this book.

July: This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Trooper

This by far was my favorite book of the year. I laughed, and actually found myself reading parts of this allowed to my husband. This was made into a movie and for the most part was pretty close to the book. I enjoyed our discussion of this book and the ins and outs of this diverse and typically dysfunctional family. I really loved that this book could have been any family in the USA. 

August: The Vacationers by Emma Staub                         This was my first time reading Emma Staub. I enjoyed her writing style and I found the story line amusing.  Another family dynamic you will find connections too. Even in our discussion of the book we drifted off to other things. Not one of my favorites but perfect for a lazy day at the beach.

September: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

My first introduction to Gillian Flynn and I was hooked. I ended up reading all 3 of her books. I loved her writing style and as creepy and mysterious as they were I found longing to know more and to read more of her novels. I was drawn to this book initially because the crime that occurred, to main characters family actually takes place in Kansas. I love when I can make an  initial connection to a book as it tends to draw me in. In our discussion it was a fine line between those that appreciated this book and those that hated it. I, myself am not typically drawn to this type of creepy and brutally telling tale. But I went along for the ride and was happy I did. Most of us went on to read Gone Girl and Sharp Objects. I enjoyed all 3 but I felt this one was the most brutally graphic for me. VERY CREEPY!

October: The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

The Prayer Box was a beautifully written story! I loved it. I couldn't put it down. This story takes a lot of different twists and turns but I really enjoyed how Tandi, the main character begins to sort through the boxes and belongings of Lola Anne Poole, her deceased landlady. She begins to learn about herself as well. In our discussion we all had connections to this story. 

November: Mr. Miracle was a fun easy read it was aimed to  get us into the spirit of the season. It was a quick little read. I am a huge fan of all of Debbie Macomber books and I do believe I have read them all. This book did the trick and opened up our group discussion and set off our cookie exchange.

December: Winter Street by Elin Hilenbrand                            This was my book selection and I was so happy to be able to include it this month. I really enjoy Elin Hilenbrand but have always read her beach reads. I was excited to read this story since it was different from her typical writing style. I wasn't disappointed.

It takes place in a B&B in Nantucket where a family comes together. The ending felt abrupt it left me wondering if there will be a sequel next year...?   Due to the holidays we haven't met to discuss this one yet but aim to meet this week.   

Our book club is much like any book club, friends getting together sharing stories and time together. I have learned a long time ago some of my most favorite reads are the ones I never thought I would read.                    

Library Reading Challenge

I have a blogging friend who has started this library reading challenge I have accepted. I will be creating one for my students and adults that I will share as we get back to school. Good luck and I hope you will accept my challenge.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

Mrs. Shamhart