Sunday Salon: May 20, 2018

My life in books: 
Last weekend, I participated in the Dewey 24-hour readathon for the first time in a long time and boy did that feel good!

• In a Perfect World--really good YA
• The Moment Before by Jason Makansi--Adult "mystery" (sort of)
• Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly--Newbery Award winner

• Don't Tell Me You Are Afraid by Giuseppe Catozzella--wonderful adult fiction
• Small Country by Gael Faye--Adult fiction that is intense
• How to Walk Away by Katherine Center--Fun adult fiction

Challenges progress:

• Non-fiction--My goal is 20 books and I've read 24. I finished it and it's only May!
• Literary Voyage around the world--Read books set in as many countries as possible. I have read in 20 countries so far, recently adding Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, Brussels, Somalia, Ethiopia, China, and Libya.
• Literary Escapes--Track the US states. I have read books set in 19 states so far and in the past weeks added Indianna and Illinois.
• Read all of the ALA YA Award Winners--I have already read 6 of these winners.
• Motif Reading Challenge--I have done this each month so far. For May the motif is Book to Screen and I am not sure what I am going to read for this one.

My life outside books:

Working:

Work feels like it's coming to the end of the school year, which is good. 

One thing I am really excited about is a program I just pitched to our superintendent and he said yes! Elena Aguilar (academic coaching guru) just published a book called Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators. I recruited a friend and we are going to run a book club that is open to all teachers and administrators in our district with monthly meetings that correspond to each chapter in the book. It also comes with a workbook that has optional daily activities. After the super tough year we've had, a year of resilience sounds just perfect.

Personal:
Well, I have the house to myself for a couple weeks as my parents are off in the United Kingdom visiting family. I am so used to having people around that the house seems quiet with just me and the dog. But, it's also nice for a change. And I am sick (again) so it's good for me to just be able to lounge around.

I am vice president of the alumni board of my high school here in town and we had our end of the year BBQ yesterday where we give out the scholarships that we're awarding. This year we are giving over $220,000 in scholarships, which feels amazing! It's so uplifting to see how happy the graduates are and how proud their parents are.