2015 Top Ten Books

In no particular order, here are my top ten favorite books from 2015:

1. The Martian by Andy Weir
2. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley
3. Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall
4. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
5. Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu
6. Love Monster by Rachel Bright
7. Book Scavenger by Jennifer Bertman
8. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
9. Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter
10. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Picture Books: 3

Middle Grade: 3

Young Adult: 3

Adult: 1

Fiction: 10

Non-fiction: 0

There have been years when most of my choices are non-fiction or most of my choices are young adult, etc. etc.  This year I was pretty balanced across the age ranges, but didn't find any non-fiction books that I really loved. It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

What were your favorite books of this year?

Follow-Up: 2015 Reading Goals

At the beginning of this year, I stated that I would not be participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge by making a goal of a certain number of books I had to read. I did this for many reasons, but the biggest one was so that I could read for enjoyment instead of reading for numbers. Last year I was too focused before on getting a large number of books read instead of savoring the ones I was reading.

Now that we are at the end of the year, this is how my reading habits look:

There it is. In 2014 I read over 800 books. This past year I read about 600. Granted, many of these books are picture books that I am using for storytime, so it doesn't exactly take that long to read them. It's true that I read more than 200 more books in 2014 than in 2015, but I still read a lot in 2015. And the best part is that I can actually talk to you about what I read, because I was reading for a purpose, whether for pleasure or programming or to review a new book, but I didn't read a single book just to boost my Goodreads numbers.

I am glad that I chose not to participate in the reading challenge, and I was still able to read a lot and enjoy the books. For some people, setting a goal on Goodreads or elsewhere is a way to ensure they will read a lot. In my case I don't think that's necessary. As a librarian, I definitely do not spend my whole day "sitting around reading books," as some might think, but I do have to read/peruse/review quite a few books as a part of my job.

What are your reading goals for 2016?

Storytime: Turkeys

Confession: I did this storytime back in November, but I allowed the dinosaurs to take over my blog for that entire month, so only now am I posting details from storytimes and other events that took place in November.

Opening Rhyme: Open them, Shut them

Book: Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler

Rhyme: Ten Fat Turkeys
Ten fat turkeys standing in a row,
They spread their wings and tails just so.
They strut to the left.
They strut to the right.
They stand outside in the bright sunlight.
Along comes the cooking looking for something to eat.
Run, little turkeys! Use your feet!

Book: Over the River: A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson

Song: "If You're Happy and You Know It"

Book: Sometimes It's Turkey, Sometimes It's Feathers by Lorna Balian

Rhyme: My Turkey
I have a turkey, big and fat.
He spreads his wings and walks like that.
His daily corn he would not miss,
And when he talks he sounds like this,
"Gobble, gobble, gobble."

Book: Too Many Turkeys by Linda White

Song: "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"

Book: Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano

Goodbye Rhyme

Our craft was simple. I gave each child a pre-cut turkey body. They cut out feathers of various colors and glued them to the back of the turkey body. The most popular turkey feather colors were orange, green, blue, and purple.

The Inn Between

Cohen, Marina. The Inn Between. Roaring Brook, 2015.

Quinn is taking one last trip with her best friend Kara. She is traveling with Kara's family as they move to California. Quinn is glad to get away from her parents and the memories of her sister Emma, who has been missing now for a long time. The group stops at a hotel to stay overnight, but Quinn and Kara wake up to discover they're the only ones left at the hotel. What's going on, and how can they be reunited with their family?

Goodreads describes this book as "supremely creepy." I disagree. It's mostly mysterious and mildly creepy. It would be an easy book to give to a tween who enjoys mysteries or who likes stories that are spooky but not completely scary.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: The people at the Inn Between are waiting to see if they live or die, which might be bothersome to some readers.
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Greenglass House, The Night Gardener, The Graveyard Book

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.

You Can't See the Elephants

Kreller, Susan. You Can't See the Elephants. G.P. Putnam BFYR, 2015.

Mascha is languishing during her annual visit to her grandparents' small town. She is an outsider and has no one to play with during the summers she spends there. Then she meets two kids who have some strange bruises. She tries to tell, but no one believes her, until she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Child abuse is a very real issue, and I found Julia and Max's family to be completely believable. Of course they were able to put on a front, and of course the sleepy little town chose to ignore it rather than make waves. Mascha definitely made some, ahem, unusual choices regarding how to help Julia and Max, but in the end, she really was the one who helped them. I liked that this book was told from a bystander's point of view, and while it is obvious what is happening with Julie and Max, it isn't graphic.

Recommended for: middle grade, tween
Red Flags: Julie and Max both show signs of abuse, including mentioning that their father threatened to kill their mother if they told anyone
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Rain Reign, Nightingale's Nest, The War that Saved My Life