Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? I tried not to, simply because it takes less time to break them than it does to make them. However, I’m always planning my next book to read and challenging myself to read more.
This is the 4th year I’ve signed up for the reading challenge on Goodreads. I have pledged to read (and finish!) at least 70 books in 2014. That number includes what I read for work, book clubs, and for fun. I don’t usually count the picture books I read with my husband and preschool-age son, unless they are so great I want to share them with everyone I know. If I counted each of them, my number would creep closer to 200.
I’m always interested in knowing what people are reading, loving, and wanting to read, so I asked each of our book reviewers to share just ONE book they are looking forward to reading this year. I’ve added my own as well. What are you looking forward to reading this year?
Serina, college student
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (The Shining #2)
Catalog summary: The now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) must save a very special twelve-year-old girl from a tribe of murderous paranormals.
(Jenn’s commentary: Serina reads and reviews a lot of horror and manga, and she devours everything Stephen King, so no surprises here! I read Doctor Sleep last fall and really enjoyed it. It was actually my very first King book and now I want to read them all! )
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Kaitlin, 12th grade student
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Catalog summary: Presents a story inspired by human love, how people take care of one another, and how choices resonate through subsequent generations. Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and step-mother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters. To Adbullah, Pari, as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named, is everything. What happens to them-and the large and small manners in which it echoes through the lives of so many other people-is proof of the moral complexity of life.
(Jenn’s commentary: Kaitlin loved The Kite Runner so I’m not surprised with her choice either!)
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Michelle, college student
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent Trilogy #2)
Catalog summary: As war surges in the dystopian society around her, sixteen-year-old Divergent Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves–and herself–while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
(Jenn’s commentary: I didn’t realize Michelle was reading this series, so I’ll be interested to read her review! Divergent is our selection for One Community One Book: High School, which kicks off Jan 22. So I’m sure a lot of teens will be adding this to their list! I will be re-reading both Divergent and Insurgent so that I can tackle Allegiant.)
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Leslee, 12th grade student
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Catalog summary: Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.
(Jenn’s commentary: Leslee has read The Fault In Our Stars and Looking For Alaska, so I’ll be curious to hear her opinion on this one. Every John Green book has something unique to offer and of course, intellectual teenagers who are funny.)
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Jenn, YA Librarian
My to-read pile is so enormous, if I breath wrong it falls over. If I have to pick just one, it would be:
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Catalog summary: Sage Singer becomes friends with an old man who’s particularly beloved in her community after they strike up a conversation at the bakery where she works. Josef Weber is everyone’s favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him. Shocked, Sage refuses, but then he tells her he deserves to die. Once he reveals his secret, Sage wonders if he’s right. What do you do when evil lives next door? Can someone who’s committed a truly heinous act ever redeem themselves with good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you aren’t the party who was wronged? And most of all–if Sage even considers his request–is it murder, or justice?
(My additional commentary: I *LOVE* Jodi Picoult. I actually started reading this in 2013 right after it came out but I had to return it to the library before I finished. I tried several times to pick it back up but never actually did. My niece read it in the fall and said she loved it and stayed up all night to finish it. I received my very own copy for Christmas and plan to take it on our family vacation in the spring!)
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!