Last year I participated in #Read15in15 and was so inspired to keep a record of all that I read, I ended up reading more and remembering more! My final 2015 reading list is here.  I plan to keep a running list again this year to remember what I’ve read and to contribue to #Read16in16!

Carrie Gelson  recently shared her experiences with reading each book on her list in 2015 and I love that idea so much more than a summary!  Here are the reading experiences I’ve had in January.

1. The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros – I’ve been wanting to read this book since the day I knew it was coming out. The book came from a good friend, with her stamp of approval, which means a lot in my world. I appreciated George’s message.  He quotes a number of experts from a variety of fields, but his message is simple.  We can all innovate, and we should, on behalf of our students.  I spent a lot of time nodding as I read this book, and I would love to discuss it with colleagues.
   

   http://georgecouros.ca/blog/the-innovators-mindset-book

2. Defending Jacob by William Landay – I loved reading this book!  It was a great mystery that kept my interest through various twists and turns.  I enjoyed getting to know, and dislike, many of the characters!  In the e-book I purchased, there was an interview with the author at the end.  I loved reading about this author’s writing process; reading this book made me dream of writing a mystery!       
3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery – This was one of my childhood favorites.  I ended up listening to the audio version of this book after buying the second volume in the series (when the first was unavailable in the bookstore at the time of purchase).  I loved hearing the old, familiar story, but wish I had read it in print again to highlight all the beautiful, descriptive language that weave the story together. Listening to this reminded me of how much I wanted to be a writer as a child, especially of beautifully written works of fiction.                
4. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff – This was an interesting reading experience for me. This book was recommended by The Skimm, my favorite shot of daily news! I think I was expecting to love it, but it took me about 200 pages (eek!) to do more than tolerate it.  When I got to the second part, which is narrated by the wife, I realized that I had not enjoyed the first part because it was narrated by the husband.  I was so much more intrigued about the wife, who we saw only through her husband’s eyes in part one.  The second part was much easier to read and more entertaining as a story for me.  This book will not make my top ten this year (I’m sure!), but it was fun to read outside of my comfort zone.                                       
5. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein – This was such a fun YA book to listen to on Audible!  I liked the mystery aspect, but I LOVED all of the book references throughout the entire story!  I wonder how many young readers would get all those references, but I enjoyed them!                                                                    
6. Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell- I know that when I get a text from Melanie that reads something like, “I just started this book and I’m ready hooked,” I must read the book as soon as possible.  This was a great mystery that kept me hooked throughout the entire twisted story.  I liked the main character and enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes.                                                           

It is my goal to publish my reading lists each month this year and then do a year-long wrap up like I did for 2015.