read a book every two weeks

Before I mark this entry as complete, I’d like to point out that since becoming a librarian, I read all the time! I may not finish a long book in two weeks but I’m always reading something. Usually I’m reading many things at once!

Wow. So it’s been a long time. But no fear, I’m still alive. Actually, I’m taking an Advanced Children’s Lit course this semester so I’ve been keeping up with this goal very easily. I’ve read all of the 2007 Newbery Award winners as well as the 2007 Caldecott Award and Sibert Award Winners.
What struck me was that all of the 2007 Newbery books feature strong female protagonists. This was especially interesting considering that there was a recent article/study showing that gender bias still exists in children’s literature. I read the 2007 Newbery winners back to back and walked away feeling empowered as a woman. Recently, I started a wiki for children’s literature called Children’s Lit Love and plan to start a thread discussing this issue. It should be an interesting discussion.

On another note, I am writing a 40-page paper for my class on visual literacy and the graphic novel. I’ll tell you how that progresses and turns out. My professor let me borrow an advanced reader’s edition of The Invention of Hugo Cabret which claims to combine elements of novel, comic book, film and picture book. So far a very intriguing read. A new format perhaps? I think people like Jules Feiffer have already experimented with the comic book/novel format. Then you have Captain Underpants which combines comic books with the easy reader. I have to say though that these aren’t as seamless as what I’m reading so far with The Invention of Hugo Cabret. More on this work of fiction soon.

So I thought that this would drop off once school started. Right. Especially since I’m taking a Children’s Literature class! I’m basically reading the equivalent to several books in one week! Yup. Who would have thought? That’s why there are a slew of children’s books in my AllConsuming list. But more than that; I feel like I’ve rediscovered this area of literature. When I was little, my parents weren’t very good at pointing me in the direction of high quality children’s lit. It’s nice to discover that there are some pretty sophisticated picture books out there; as well as young adult literature that sometimes can crossover to adult literature. I think the area that is lacking is the easy reader one. Lacking I tell you.

I have revised this goal from once every week to once every two weeks to make it more manageable. While I haven’t read as many novels as I have wanted this summer, I have read quite a few comics. I’m slightly behind on my reading journal. Although I’m still maintaining a reading list on All Consuming, I’m taking my time in writing thoughts and entries on books/comics I have read.

The other night I finished five comic trades of Fables. Greatly enjoyed them and will try to write a review for at least a number of them soon. Still haven’t finished A Brief History of a Smile, though I have completed Fortune and Glory. Which reminds me that I have to write thoughts on that as well…

Well last week, I finished Batman: The Long Halloween and the Ultimate Spiderman Collection. The latter was a doozy! I think my problem now is catching up on all the reviews I need to write as well as sticking to one book. I keep getting distracted by other books! This week’s goal: A Brief History of a Smile and Fortune and Glory. I’m probably not going to start Perdido Street Station for another couple of weeks.

Well this week has proven interesting as I set out to read a stack of comic trades and ended up completing two of them and a children’s novel. I’ll consider this week’s goal completed :) I may spread the comics among my novel reading. We’ll see. I’m debating on whether I should tackle another whopper of a novel this week: Perdido Street Station or try a shorter novel. Again. We’ll see :)

I reached the last words on page 636 of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” looked over expectantly to the adjacent page and realized as I faced in huge bold letters, not unlike those found in Art Deco and Propaganda Posters of the World War I era, the heading “Author’s Note,” that I had finished the novel. Woohoo!!! In one week. As long as this journey felt, I wanted to read more, to continue in this compelling world Chabon had created. This upcoming week, I’m fudging my goal slightly to account for graphic novels, which are generally faster reads. By the end of the week, I’m hoping to complete a three trades: “Daredevil: The Murdock Papers,” “Daredevil: Born Again,” and the “Ultimate Spiderman Collection—Barnes & Noble Edition.” So it will be a big fix of Brian Michael Bendis. I can’t wait.

EDIT: SOMEONE (who shall remained unnamed) just plopped TWO more comic trades on my lap: “Batman: The Long Halloween” and “Superman For All Seasons.” So…yeah. Now I have my work cut out for me.

and on page sixty-six. I found that during the school semester, I was required to read so much in such a short period of time that I (1) was afraid that I wouldn’t absorb it all and (2) found my mind unwittingly wandering to other books I could have been reading. There is a benefit to reading deadlines, though, as I’ve discovered that I just as likely forget what I’m reading if it drags on too long. Also I find discussion and reflecting on what I’ve read in a journal (as I did for several of my classes this past semester) to really help with digesting the material, despite the time crunch. With all of this in mind, I’ve decided that my first book to tackle this summer be one that I’ve started and stopped twice now: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, not because it is horribly boring or badly written. Rather because it is very dense and challenging. I figure that if I can get through this book by next Sunday then the rest of the summer should be cake.