The Librarian's Journey: Goodreads

Maybe this is why we read,

and in moments of darkness we return to books:

to find words for what we already know.

~ Alberto Manguel

This past year I tracked my reading using GoodReads for the first time. It's not the first time I've ever tried to keep a list of the books I've read but it is the first time I used this app and that I was consistent for the whole year.

I set a reading goal at the start of the year, not because I wanted to reach a certain number but because I was interested in knowing how many books I would read over the course of the year. I've noticed in the last two years as my daughters have gotten to an age where they can be trusted to play and entertain themselves that I have been able to read more again. In the early years when they were babies, I was either too exhausted to focus on reading or every time I tried to read they would want my attention.

Now that they are older, I can read as much as I want ... but

I also miss those little baby arms always reaching up to me.

I started out the year blogging about my reading with the intention of keeping it up all year. Isn't the saying that "the path to Hell is paved with good intentions..."? Well, as the year got busier and other things took my attention I dropped that endeavor but I think I'd like to pick it back up this year.

Maybe focusing on just 1-2 books each month? Maybe completing a FOLD Reading Challenge? Perhaps this is the year I read the Canada Reads long list as I did a few years ago?

I'd definitely like to find time for more PD books during the school year.

A wonderful educator, Alanna King, that I met at previous OLASC's and who I follow on Twitter recently blogged about her reading journey and it really stuck with me.

Alanna shared this video on Jacques Derrida from Youtube (and I swear I haven't heard anyone mention Derrida since my days in undergrad...) and it was super interesting.

My husband and I often talk (or have a fierce discussion... however, you want to call it!) about the state of the world, people's reactions to things, and our own opinions. For two people who pledged to spend their lives together, it's rather amazing how little we often agree on.

One thing that usually comes from our chats is the belief that most people are too stuck in their own thoughts and beliefs. That they haven't attempted to learn enough about the "other" around them. That we need to go outside of ourselves, to ask questions and to learn more, and to understand that we know less than we think we do.

So what did I read last year?

Well, GoodReads just happens to create a visual display of the books logged over the course of the year.

I have also been reading articles related to reading. What reading is and could be.
The books that should be available to children and the books that need to be available to children.

I started with Diverse Literature in School Libraries: Reflected Realities by Matthew Courtney (School Librarian, Vol. 67, Issue 3, The School Library Association) and then moved on to Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors by Rudine Sims Bishop (Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, Vol 6, no. 3, Summer 1990.)

I was sad, disappointed and a little ashamed that neither had crossed my path during any of my teacher-librarian courses or qualifications.

Then the amazing article by Rabia Khokhar came out in the ETFO Voice Magazine entitled- The Power of Stories: Learning from Complex Characters to Counter Islamophobia (Winter 2019). This led me to A Black Character Does Not a Good Book Make: Choosing Black-Focused Books to Support Culturally Relevant Teaching by Natasha Henry (ETFO Voice, Spring 2018). And finally, as I had already started writing this blog post the latest edition of The Teaching Librarian magazine arrived with the article Silent Message in the Stacks by Holly Dickson (January 2020, Vol. 27, Issue 2).

So after a year (and more) of intentionally diversifying my reading-

...reading books with #OwnVoices, from backgrounds and cultures different than my own, trying new genres and formats, reading more non-fiction and memoirs, reading Canadian books, etc-

Do I have less questions?

No.

But I'm happy with that. I'm happy to have more questions.
More wonderings. More confusion.
Less certainty. More openness.
Less silo.

More books to read. Always more books.

And isn't that the magic of reading?

I have been a voracious reader my whole life. Almost every childhood memory can be tied back to book that I was reading as in coincides with other important memories.

I remember reading a Richard Scary book at the cottage at a very young age and sounding out the word "prefer" and my mom and her friends being so shocked and excited that I could read it.

I remember the many, many, many visits to the public library in my hometown with my mom. She would get these HUGE stacks of big books. I'm talking 500+ pages and there would be 10 of them. I couldn't wait to read the same books as her.

I remember starting the Harry Potter series. I remember being at camp when the newest one would be released and everyone would be clamouring to get to the tuck shop to see if their copy had arrived from the city in a care package yet. I remember reading in the dark after everyone else had fallen asleep and Dumbledore dying. I remember trying so hard not to cry too loudly but feeling like I had lost a friend.

When my first daughter was born eight years ago and then my second daughter three years later my reading time took a serious hit. A serious hit. It's only been in the past year and a bit that I've really felt like I've been able to delve back into books and read as much and as often as I want to. It's so wonderful.

So this year I decided to track my reading using Goodreads. I set a goal of 50 books for the year and am on track so far to make it for sure. I also thought it might be interesting to look back at my reading every now and then and talk about the books I've read, loved and learned from as the year progresses.

So here are the first eleven books of 2019.

1. Becoming- Michelle Obama

2. Awkward- Svetlana Chmakova

3. Britt-Marie Was Here- Fredrik Backman

4. Women Talking- Miriam Toews

5. We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World- Malala Yousafzai

6. The Sisters of the Winter Wood- Rena Rossner

7. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood- Trevor Noah

8. Girl of the Southern Sea- Michelle Kadarusman

9. The Library Book- Susan Orlean

10. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality- Bob Joseph

11. On the Come Up- Angie Thomas

Thoughts on these books? Well to be honest I don't like giving book reviews and I don't like reading them. I want to decide for myself if a book sounds interesting. And yes, I do judge a book based on the cover! And the title. A good title and cover art will get me almost every time.

But here are some brief thoughts on some of the books for what it's worth....

I read Becoming over the winter break because my husband gave it to me for Christmas (so technically I started it in 2018...) and I felt like I had travelled back in time the Obama White House when intelligence and the pursuit of learning was celebrated. When moving forward to improve the lives of all people was the aim of society and I really didn't want to finish the book. I have tickets to see Michelle Obama speak in May and I'm over the moon excited.

Women Talking was recommended to me by several people and had been on my TBR list for quite awhile. I was very interested to read it and delve into such a troubling topic but I did not enjoy the ending. I felt it came too fast and left me wanting more.

I read We Are Displaced in a single day after a colleague read it and recommended it. LOVE.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood had everything I love in a guilty pleasure read- magic, mystery, set in the past and it was nice thick book! (I read very fast so I like my books big and juicy.) I also loved that the author and main characters (the sisters) in this story were Jewish and it was based on historical events. I'm hoping Rena Rossner has more books to come.

I am a huge fan of Trevor Noah and The Daily Show. This book did not disappoint and I've heard from multiple sources that the audiobook version is outstanding. It was an interesting look into apartheid and trying to learn more about why and how people treat each other in such horrible ways around the world.

The Library Book is a book that will stick with me for a long time to come. I could not put this book down. It's a look into the history of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Public Library, the place of libraries in our society and our fascination with stories. This is a book I will re-read at some point.

What have you read so far this year? What should I add to my TBR list?