Reading Challenge for MHS

So I've started a reading challenge at my high school....we have 44 teachers/staff participating in 10 groups. Each week, the groups total up the number of pages they read and take an average for the group. The group with the most pages read by May 25th will get a free lunch at the restaurant of their choice....

Today was the first week to turn in their totals. I was so proud of our groups, so many pages read! Of course, I'm going to have to tie up a couple of teachers....one read 1600 pages last week and the other one on her team read 1400. The GROUP AVERAGE for that team was 1065 pages (the other two members of the team read 1000 pages between them)! Good Grief! I thought I was doing well reading 900+. We've got our work cut out for us. Somebody give them something else to do so the rest of us can get caught up!

# 14 -- Worth Dying For

Jack Reacher is one of the BEST characters out there! Lee Child's brainchild is a former military MP who now drifts around the country righting wrongs. He is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I'm a little in love with him!

Though you could pick up these books and read them on their own, I would start at the beginning (Killing Floor) and read them in order. Not because you couldn't enjoy them alone, but because you learn so much about Reacher in each story that you wouldn't want to come in at the end of the story and not understand the path he's been on to get to where he is. Truly outstanding!

# 13 -- Bloody Valentine

I love the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz! This title, Bloody Valentine, is the latest addition to the series and is actually three short stories that tell you more about some of the characters from the main storyline.

What I like about this series is that it is so different from other vampire novels because the vampires are in a war between good and evil, Heaven and Hell, and a fight between the angels and Lucifer. Very interesting!

# 12 -- Nowhere to Run

C. J. Box is one of my favorite authors! I love his Joe Pickett character (a Wyoming fish and game warden). He gets himself into so much "trouble" and has such a great sense of justice. This one kept me on the edge of my seat!

I've read all these (except it looks like I skipped the one right before this) and I suggest you start at the beginning with Open Season. It will make more sense if you read them in order and you'll get more out of the other characters that way, I think.

I've been reading, but....

I've also been sick this week and BUSY, BUSY, BUSY with school obligations. I've actually got three or four books to post here and will do so as soon as I can! Wait until I tell you about the Reading Challenge we are doing at my school! Check back soon!

# 11 -- The Butcher's Boy

I listened to The Butcher's Boy by Thomas Perry on my iPod. It's an older book (published in 1982) and has mafia hit men and the Justice Dept. involved. The forward talks about what a great story it is and the characters, but honestly, I had a difficult time keeping up. I think if I had been reading it instead of listening to it, it would have been easier. However, the plot moved from two main characters, on two different storylines, and there was no transition between the two when you listen. I got lost several times and had to just bluff my way through until I could pick the storyline back up again.

# 10 -- Streams of Babel

The quote on the front of this YA novel by Carol Plum-Ucci says, "Don't drink the water -- bioterrorists fuel a suburban nightmare." This story so permeated my thoughts as I read it that I found myself not drinking out of my faucets at home. I have a 5 gallon jug on a dispenser in my office and every time I took a drink, I had second thoughts. It was creepy.

Full of interesting characters and much deeper than I thought it would be at the beginning, I really enjoyed the story.

# 9 -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

This book is a small biography about FDR. I really enjoyed reading it, and learned a lot about the man and his ideas. Though I was a history teacher and love learning about history, I was unaware of some of the background that surrounded FDR and his many programs. The book offers wonderful illustrations and images of the time period and also provides good connections for younger readers. It even helped me put some some items into better focus and understand how Roosevelt's four terms worked for the American people.

# 7 & #8 -- Death Flight & Num8ers

I used to read a lot of Ed McBain. In fact, there was a time when I read ALL the 87th Precinct books he'd written. This is the first thing I've read by him in close to 19 years. What happened? I got burned out.

That was about the time, I really got "turned on" to books, but was still immature in my reading selections. I didn't know how to choose good books for myself and when I found an author I liked, that was all I would read. The problem with that, is you sometimes get burned out by the characters or the storylines. McBain had already written a huge amount of titles by the time I was reading them, so I didn't have to "wait" for the next one to come out in a year.

Back then, I did that with several authors and have not picked up anything else they've written. I guess I'm going to have to go back and test the waters with them and see if I can read them now. I forgot how much I liked McBain's style.


Num8ers, by Rachel Ward was an interesting read. It's about a young girl in London who sees a number when she looks into people's eyes. The number is the day of their death. She struggles against this knowledge she has of strangers and people she loves and tries to find a way to live with the numbers.

The language is different because it is written in a British setting, but it only adds to the story. And the story has a fast pace, twists and turn and a surprise ending I loved!

# 6 -- Nevermore

This photobiography of Edgar Allan Poe is an interesting read for any Poe fan. I found out all kinds of "stuff" about the tormented writer, and I loved the photos.

# 5 -- Kill Me

This book was so good! The twists and turns, the whole premise of the story, makes for very exciting reading! I've read other Stephen White books before, but haven't picked up any in a while. This book makes me want to go out and get everything he's written.

If you need a good thriller that will make you think, pick up a copy of Kill Me!

# 4 -- Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

It makes me so happy when an adult author writes good books for Young Adults! I've enjoyed John Grisham's court room dramas and I've loved his other fiction stories probably more, but I didn't know if he could pull off an interesting YA book. Theodore Boone was a pleasant surprise. I would love to see him write more of these. I really enjoyed it! The characters are interesting and "Teddy" is quite a kid!