Nessa D

Hey y’all!

I cannot believe the year is almost over! Like where the hell did the year go? Anyway, as you may or may not know, for the past three years I have been doing the Goodreads book challenge in which I challenge myself to read a certain amount of books. If you’ve never heard of Goodreads, it’s basically a site (and app) that you can put status updates and have groups…basically it’s like Facebook but for just books. Sometimes they’ll hold giveaways or maybe even have author interviews and book talks. It’s really interesting. I found out about the site from Emma Watson (yes, Hermoine from the Harry Potter movie franchise, she really is true to her character) and so I joined the site and I’m so glad I did!

The first time I did the challenge, I said that I would read 13 books and I did not reach that goal (I was so sad). The following year I said that I’d read 14 books, which I did (yay me!). This year, my initial goal was 25 but then I started to doubt my capabilities and said that I’d read 15 books instead. By the summer I read 15 books. Karina then encouraged me to push that number to 20 or 25 (which, if you got friends pushing you like that, feel good because they really see your potential) and so I did and….I’m reading my 25th book. Hopefully by Thursday I finish the book (which if I push myself, I know I can).

I’m actually pretty proud of the progress that I’ve done. First of all one of the things that helped me along is join an online book club via Goodreads. It’s a group of English teachers from Instagram that I follow and I admire them so it’s been great reading along with them and discussing books with them. I get exposed to all types of books and I enjoy getting others to join as well! If you like reading and you’re not on Goodreads, I suggest you join as well. Anyway, I looked at other people’s challenges and I kinda started to get down on myself. Some people had a goal of reading 50 plus books and I started to feel inadequate. I snapped myself out of it and reminded myself that reading even 20 books is a lot and not many people have time to read that many so I should be proud of what I’ve done (good job Lola!).

If you are interested in what books I read, you’re in luck. I’ll list them below. This list is in no particular order and I’ll put my rating next to it. Maybe you’ll see something that you’ll like:

Personal Development

• Not Sorry: Living Your Most Confident, Vibrant, & Unapologetic Life – Sarah Ordo 5/5
• You Were Always Enough – Sarah Ordo 5/5

Dating and Relationships

• All The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right – Ellen Fein & Sherrie Schneider 3/5
• Swirling: How to Date, Mate, and Relate Mixing Race, Culture, and Creed – Christelyn D. Karazin & Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn 4.5/5
• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find-and Keep-Love – Amir Levine & Rachel S.F. Heller 4.5/5

Biography

• Open Book – Jessica Simpson & Kevin Carr O’Leary 5/5
• A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story – Linda Sue Park 4/5 (I included this in this genre because one of the stories is the true story of one of the “characters”)

Young Adult Fiction

• All the Bright Places – Jennifer Niven 5/5
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling 4/5
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling 4/5
• Adorkable – Cookie O’Gorman 4/5
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling 5/5
• Holes – Louis Sachar 4/5
• Wild Blue Wonder – Carlie Sorosiak 4/5
• Girl in Pieces – Kathleen Glasgow 4/5
• I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver 3.5/5
• The Okay Witch – Emma Steinkellner 4/5
• Fresh Ink: An Anthology – Various Authors 4.5/5

History

• Stamped: Racism, AntiRacism, and You – Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi 4/5

Fiction

• Darling Rose Gold – Stephanie Wrobel 3/5
• My Dark Vanessa – Kate Elizabeth Russell 4/5
• Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng 4/5
• A Good Neighborhood – Therese Anne Fowler 3.5/5

Professional Development

• Captured Fireflies: Truths, Mistakes, and Other Gifts of Being an English Teacher 3/5

As you can see, I had a pretty good year in books. I think next year I’ll push myself to do 30 books! It’ll take hard work and dedication but I think I can manage.

What are some books you’ve read or wanted to read? Did you read any of the books on my list? If so, which one? If not, which do you think you’ll be interested in? I’d love to hear about it.

XOXO,

LolaDasher