Mid-August Morris Update

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been on a reading blitz to read as many Morris eligible books as I can before school starts. Although school doesn’t begin officially until September 8th, I’ve already been back a few days. This week, I have a 4 day writing workshop with the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project. Staff have to be back on August 30th for Inservice week and I will probably go in to unpack boxes and begin setting up my new classroom the week in between.

So, is my current Morris status.

I have read 50 books. Each eligible book needs two readers, so I haven’t read everything on out master list. My piles have become even more organized!

Here are the stacks of books we have yet to discuss. The tallest pile on the left are the books I have read. The other two piles are books other people have read, or have committed to reading.

 

Th two out from are still in need of at least one more reader. That pile used to be bigger, but we are all hunkering down to get as much read as we can.

In addition to the books on the list, all committee members must read all books, that have been nominated. I have read a number of these but still have a few more to go.

The pile on the left is actually 2 stacks: nominees I’ve read are behind, nominees I still need to read are in front. (I deliberately tried to keep the titles in this photo illegible) The pile to the right are books I’ve signed up to read but haven’t yet. That is down to six. Our next online meeting is scheduled for August 31st and I hope to have most of these six read, especially the ones for which I am the second reader. That will give us more titles to discuss.

The master list is a work in progress. New titles get added as we become aware of them, so my stacks and piles are also in a continuous state of flux. All in all it is rather exciting.

A Morris update

In four short weeks,I will be in San Francisco at the ALA Annual Conference.

I am excited beyond words because I’ve never been to a huge conference like this before, aside from an NCTM conference in St. Louis. but Math and Library conferences are two different kettles of fish. But, before I get there, I have a lot of work to do.

My colleagues and I on the Morris committee have been very busy. We’ve been meeting monthly in Google Hangouts to discuss the books we’ve read. We also have a private chat room on the ALA website where we can have discussions about the book before our monthly meetings where we decide to nominate or set a book aside. Our most recent meeting was Sunday and I  really got a sense theta everyone else is as excited as I am about actually meeting each other face to face next month.

But, as I said, I have a lot to do in the meantime. Here is a sample of the piles of books I’m working with.

I have labels on each: read, to read, pending discussion, need readers, rejected, undetermined. Elsewhere in the house I have a stack of books that we have nominated and a box of books that were sent to me that do not meet the criteria of the award. It is probably good I live alone.

2015 Hub Reading Challenge Check-In #11

So far, I have read 29 books for the Challenge, although I have actually read 47 books on the list.

It has become rather hard to read for the 2015 HUB Challenge and the 2016 Morris Award, so I have decided that this will be my last post on that topic, even through the Challenge continues through June 21st. I will officially consider myself finished after listening to the audiobook recording of Skink – No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen.

Carl Hiaasen is one of those authors I rarely seek out, but when I read one of his books, I wonder why I don’t read more that he’s written. I have never read any of his books for adults, which always seem to get good reviews and his fans love him.  I’m a little that way with Neil Gaiman, too.

I did finish listening to The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry this week. It was Ok, but I didn’t love it. We have an exciting author visit this week and I am trying to finish the third book in her most current series before she comes with the  co-author of their new book. I will keep you guessing about who it might be, but I am trying to control myself and not go completely gaga over her when she comes. Look for details on that in about a week.