Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Hello! I'm Sarah! I'm excited to join this group and chat with others, I've tried a bunch of different reading goals over the years but often have trouble meeting them. I'm hoping seeing others' progress towards similar goals will be a huge help =) Not sure if I'll make it to 50 books, but I want to at least try!

1) I Think Our Son is Gay, Vol. 2 by Okura
Read: 1/13/22 - 1/15/22
4/5 stars
Mini review: This is such a sweet manga series, following a loving mother supporting her son as he learns more about who he is

2) Moonsilver (The Unicorn's Secret, #1) by Kathleen Duey
Read: 1/21/22 - 1/21/22
4/5 stars
Mini review: I decided to pick up this book when I was feeling nostalgic for early-2000s horse-themed books, and even as an adult I found myself enjoying this story. I read it in one sitting which gave me some momentum to pick up another book the same day!

3) Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs by Henry Carroll
Read: 6/29/16 - 1/21/22
4/5 stars
Mini review: I received this book from my brother years ago and finally finished it the other day! We both really like photography and this book was a great choice because it was concise, stayed away from overly-technical details, and gave great examples while encouraging the reader to go out and practice. I appreciated the focus on the art of photography, rather than trying to achieve "perfection" in a photo.

TheLibraryOfSarah wrote: "Hello! I'm Sarah! I'm excited to join this group and chat with others, I've tried a bunch of different reading goals over the years but often have trouble meeting them. I'm hoping seeing others' pr..."

Good luck! You're off to a great start already!

Tiffany wrote: "TheLibraryOfSarah wrote: "Hello! I'm Sarah! I'm excited to join this group and chat with others, I've tried a bunch of different reading goals over the years but often have trouble meeting them. I'..."

Thank you Tiffany! I'm hoping to keep up the momentum =)

4) New Names for Lost Things by Noor Unnahar
Read: 1/17/22 - 1/26/22
3/5 stars
Mini review: The language and imagery of this poetry is beautiful, but I feel a lot of the underlying meanings went over my head unfortunately.

5) Sunstone Vol. 4 by Stjepan Sejic
Read: 2/26/22 - 5/15/22
4/5 stars

6) A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book edited Frank Warren
Read: 6/11/22 - 6/11/22
4/5 stars
Mini review: I love this look into the rawness of the human experience

7) The Road to After by Rebekah Lowell
Read: 6/20/22 - 7/1/22
5/5 stars
Mini review: This novel-in-verse from the perspective of a child rebuilding her life with her mom and sister after escaping domestic violence, was perfection.

8) I Think Our Son is Gay, Vol. 3 by Okura
Read: 7/20/22 - 7/20/22
4/5 stars
Mini review: I can't wait to see how this series wraps up in the next volume! The mother is so genuinely sweet and caring, and respectful of her son's privacy as he figures out who he is.

9) Flower Fairies for the Autumn: A Celebration by Cicely Mary Barker
Read: 9/2/22 - 9/3/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: Loved this lovely little book of illustrations and poetry- it really made me sink into imagination and fantasy and turn off the overly-logical side of my brain.

10) The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara
Read: 9/3/22 - 9/3/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: I want to go to a midnight library!

11) Moose's Book Bus by Inga Moore
Read: 9/5/22 - 9/5/22
3/5 stars
Mini Review: I loved all the animals coming together to share books together

12) Catwings (#1) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Read: 9/5/22 - 9/5/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: A lovely little book with some interesting symbolism about injustice

13) Book Love by Debbie Tung
Read: 9/6/22 - 9/6/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: I can tell I'm falling back in love with reading because I really connected with this book of beautiful bookish comics more so than when I read it a few years ago!

14) Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
Read: 9/6/22 - 9/6/22
3/5 stars
Mini Review: this was a re-read for me, and although I typically love these relatable comics, they didn't have as big of an impact on me as the first time- still good though!

15) The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Read: 9/8/22 - 9/8/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: perfect depiction of how to really help someone- listen, instead of just jumping in and fixing without asking!

16) Meet Kaya (#1) by Janet Beeler Shaw
Read: 9/8/22 - 9/8/22
4/5 stars

TheLibraryOfSarah wrote: "11) Moose's Book Bus by Inga Moore
Read: 9/5/22 - 9/5/22
3/5 stars
Mini Review: I loved all the animals coming together to share books together
"

I thought that was fun, too.

17) Meet Kirsten by Janet Beeler Shaw
Read: 9/9/22 - 9/9/22
3/5 stars

18) Help Wanted: Must Love Books by Janet Sumner Johnson
Read: 9/12/22 - 9/12/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: This was such a cute and important book about a little girl who loves when her dad reads her bedtime stories- until he gets too busy with a new job! She interviews her favorite fairytale characters but none of them are as good as her dad! This had a good ending too.

19) Library Mouse (#1) by Daniel Kirk
Read: 9/13/22 - 9/13/22
4/5 stars
Mini Review: This was super bookish and cute, I loved how it encouraged the patrons of the library to write their own stories and that everyone can write! Some of the illustrations were a bit creepy-looking though?

20) Sunstone Vol. 5 by Stjepan Sejic
Read: 10/5/22 - 10/5/22
4/5 stars

21) Garlic & the Vampire by Bree Paulsen
Read: 10/8/22 - 1/8/22
3/5 stars

22) The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, #1) by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
Read: 9/1/22 - 10/9/22
3/5 stars

23) Library Mouse: A Friend's Tale (#2)
by Daniel Kirk
Read: 11/13/22 - 11/13/22
3/5 stars

24) Sapphic Songs: Eighteen to Eighty
by Elsa Gidlow
Read: 8/27/19 - 11/20/22
4/5 stars

25) Ride On
by Faith Erin Hicks
Read: 11/21/22 - 11/23/22
4/5 stars

26) Kaya's Escape! (Kaya, #2)
by Janet Beeler Shaw
Read: 11/20/22 - 11/25/22
4/5 stars

27) Love in the Library
By Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Read: 11/26/22 - 11/26/22
4/5 stars

28) Big Mushy Happy Lump
By Sarah Andersen
Read: 12/4/22 - 12/4/22
3/5 stars

29) Herding Cats
By Sarah Andersen
Read: 12/10/22 - 12/10/22
4/5 stars

30) The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
By Joseph Bruchac
Read: 12/11/22 - 12/11/22
4/5 stars

31) The Silver Thread (The Unicorn's Secret, #2)
By Kathleen Duey
Read: 11/27/22 - 12/11/22
3/5 stars

32) Oddball
By Sarah Andersen
Read: 12/15/22 - 12/15/22
4/5 stars

33) Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of)
By Kathleen Gros
Read: 12/18/22 - 12/23/22
5/5 stars

34) Cat's Cafe: A Comics Collection
By Matt Tarpley
Read: 12/24/22 - 12/24/22
4/5 stars

35) Sunstone Vol. 6
By Stjepan Sejic
Read: 11/24/22 - 12/24/22
5/5 stars

36) I Think Our Son is Gay, Vol. 4
By Okura
Read: 12/25/22 - 12/30/22
3/5 stars

Looks like I finished out the year with 36 books! Which is the most I've read in a year ever! I'm super grateful to this group for motivating me, and even though I didn't reach the 50 books goal, I made it further than I would have otherwise and read a ton of books I loved. I'll be aiming for the 50 again in 2023! =)

TheLibraryOfSarah wrote: "Looks like I finished out the year with 36 books! Which is the most I've read in a year ever! I'm super grateful to this group for motivating me, and even though I didn't reach the 50 books goal, I..."

Congratulations on that new milestone, and a "Woo-hoo!" for finding books you enjoyed so much!

Tiffany wrote: "TheLibraryOfSarah wrote: "Looks like I finished out the year with 36 books! Which is the most I've read in a year ever! I'm super grateful to this group for motivating me, and even though I didn't ..."

Thank you Tiffany!!