Krista Mathews's Blog: Making It Up Along The Way - Posts Tagged "a-to-z-challenge"
A to Z -- 52 Day Challenge
Hello Goodreads!
Today I am challenging myself to read 26 books in 52 days. The rules are below, and you may feel free to join along on this journey or belittle it as you please. I will be posting the results here and on tumblr at kristamathews.tumblr.com
The Challenge:
- read 52 young adult novels in 52 days
- End Date: November 21st, a Friday when I will most likely begin sleeping for multiple days from eye exhaustion
The Rules:
- I will read a book on average every other day
- Each book will start with a subsequent letter of the alphabet (example: day 1: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Day 2: the Black Pearl
- Definite and indefinite articles don't count toward the letter. #scattergoryrules
- All books must be either the first in a series or stand alines
- No author will be read more than once
- All books will be chosen from Target.com because… I like Target. I just do.
My Goal:
- Read them
- Write about them on here and on tumblr
What I Shall Write About:
- The image I associate with the book
- The sentence I wish I would have written
- What I'll remember most
- Love level out of 1000, because 10's kind boring
- Main character's mojo: best thing
Feel free to join in. Or suggest a book for a letter day. A book is October 2nd: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe which can be found here for $7.99
Let's start reading
Today I am challenging myself to read 26 books in 52 days. The rules are below, and you may feel free to join along on this journey or belittle it as you please. I will be posting the results here and on tumblr at kristamathews.tumblr.com
The Challenge:
- read 52 young adult novels in 52 days
- End Date: November 21st, a Friday when I will most likely begin sleeping for multiple days from eye exhaustion
The Rules:
- I will read a book on average every other day
- Each book will start with a subsequent letter of the alphabet (example: day 1: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Day 2: the Black Pearl
- Definite and indefinite articles don't count toward the letter. #scattergoryrules
- All books must be either the first in a series or stand alines
- No author will be read more than once
- All books will be chosen from Target.com because… I like Target. I just do.
My Goal:
- Read them
- Write about them on here and on tumblr
What I Shall Write About:
- The image I associate with the book
- The sentence I wish I would have written
- What I'll remember most
- Love level out of 1000, because 10's kind boring
- Main character's mojo: best thing
Feel free to join in. Or suggest a book for a letter day. A book is October 2nd: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe which can be found here for $7.99
Let's start reading
A to Z Challenge: A/A
Finished the first book in by 26 book A to Z challenge, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and it was glorious.
What I Knew Going In: Nothing. I needed a book that started with an A to kick off my A to Z challenge, and this was one I stumbled upon on Target.com. I am not a planner.
What You Should Know: Aristotle is a lonely boy living in the eighties. He’s thoughtful and introspective and utterly, uniquely Aristotle. He gets lost in his thoughts and doesn’t like to talk. He’s a second generation mexican kid (maybe first generation) and he meets his first friend the summer he’s fifteen. You will love him. And his best friend. And the cover of this book.
Best Thing: Aristotle, aka. Ari. Ari’s lack of communication extends to his role as narrator. There are entire chapters with only dialogue and no look into Ari’s thoughts or opinions on that dialogue. You as a reader are sometimes as much in the dark as everyone else in the kid’s life. (BUT YOU LOVE HIM. BECAUSE HE IS BEST)
Image I associate with the book: a boy in a red truck staring up at the sky and wishing he understood it more. SIGH. The dessert!!!
The sentence I wish I would have written: “I laughed. I got to thinking that one of my jobs in the world was to laugh at Dante’s jokes. Only Dante didn’t really say things to be funny. He was just being himself.” Because that’s the tone of the entire book, and I love the flow of "I got to thinking." I just love it.
What I’ll remember most: the quiet, bold confidence of the main character who is neither arrogant nor… anything definable. And the way it sucker punched me when I realized that he understood himself better than he let on. The way I felt so proud that this book was written. So happy for the kids who'll read it who'll need it most.
Love level out of 1000: 9995. Yep. That’s right. First book in the challenge kind of set a ridiculous bar. I lowered it to leave room for future improvement but…
What my 14 year old self would have learned from the book: I literally have no idea, and that HAUNTS ME. Hopefully ALL THE THINGS but… I don't know.
Main character’s mojo: being reticent
What I Knew Going In: Nothing. I needed a book that started with an A to kick off my A to Z challenge, and this was one I stumbled upon on Target.com. I am not a planner.
What You Should Know: Aristotle is a lonely boy living in the eighties. He’s thoughtful and introspective and utterly, uniquely Aristotle. He gets lost in his thoughts and doesn’t like to talk. He’s a second generation mexican kid (maybe first generation) and he meets his first friend the summer he’s fifteen. You will love him. And his best friend. And the cover of this book.
Best Thing: Aristotle, aka. Ari. Ari’s lack of communication extends to his role as narrator. There are entire chapters with only dialogue and no look into Ari’s thoughts or opinions on that dialogue. You as a reader are sometimes as much in the dark as everyone else in the kid’s life. (BUT YOU LOVE HIM. BECAUSE HE IS BEST)
Image I associate with the book: a boy in a red truck staring up at the sky and wishing he understood it more. SIGH. The dessert!!!
The sentence I wish I would have written: “I laughed. I got to thinking that one of my jobs in the world was to laugh at Dante’s jokes. Only Dante didn’t really say things to be funny. He was just being himself.” Because that’s the tone of the entire book, and I love the flow of "I got to thinking." I just love it.
What I’ll remember most: the quiet, bold confidence of the main character who is neither arrogant nor… anything definable. And the way it sucker punched me when I realized that he understood himself better than he let on. The way I felt so proud that this book was written. So happy for the kids who'll read it who'll need it most.
Love level out of 1000: 9995. Yep. That’s right. First book in the challenge kind of set a ridiculous bar. I lowered it to leave room for future improvement but…
What my 14 year old self would have learned from the book: I literally have no idea, and that HAUNTS ME. Hopefully ALL THE THINGS but… I don't know.
Main character’s mojo: being reticent
Making It Up Along The Way
A blog from an adult who still reads young adult books without shame, standing in the aisle of Barnes and Noble's beside teenagers and explaining why exactly THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER is so good, but wi
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