How does the Newbery committee decide which book should win the award, and which should be the "runner-up"s? The number of Honor books has varied over the years, from none (for a few years at the beginning) to as many as eight (in 1931 and 1934 - now that is difficulty making a decision). It's obviously hard enough to decide which (and how many) books should be recognized in the first place. But then how do they decide which of those books is the winner of the actual Newbery Award?

I'm asking because I've actually read three of the four Newbery books for this year - The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (the Newbery Award winner); The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz and Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (both Newbery Honor books). And in my humble opinion, the two Honor books blew the winner out of the water.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon was a wonderful fantasy story, but it didn't stand out to me as different or better than many of the other fantasy stories published today. But The Inquisitor's Tale provided a unique storytelling method (reminiscent of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), a unique format ("illuminated" text), and a great way to learn about life in medieval times. Wolf Hollow has been compared by many to To Kill a Mockingbird, and the comparisons really do hold up, in its tone, atmosphere, and coming of age story that will touch your heart - and potentially have a profound effect on its readers, especially if that reader is a middle schooler. In my opinion, either of those books deserved to win the award.

I've rediscovered the wonder of audiobooks for getting a lot of reading done during the week. I used to listen to a lot of audiobooks while I nursed my little guy - but that doesn't happen so much anymore. And then I discovered podcasts, so I've been listening to a lot of those. But I participated in Bout of Books last week, and I knew I wanted to up my reading time with an audiobook. I made it through two and a half, and beat any previous Bout of Books record I had all to pieces. Audiobooks for the win!

The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky (Very enjoyable Downton Abbey-esque Christian fiction.)
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (My first audiobook of the week - only two and a half hours, so I finished it in a day. Newbery Award winner by a Michigan author!)
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (My second audiobook. Ten hours, and I finished it in three days. I'm beginning to see why everyone raves about this series.)
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier (Fabulous middle grade fiction! I loved this one!)

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (Trying to chip away at my Classics Club list. I have less than a year and a half left. I'm running out of time!)
​Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (Current audiobook. Any comparisons you've heard to To Kill a Mockingbird are pretty accurate, tone-wise!)

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (I don't know how I haven't read this one yet. I'll be fixing that this week!)

It's time for another round of Bout of Books! I'm going into this with no demands of myself - I'm just going to read however much I read. I did download an audiobook (or three), so that should help boost my numbers as well. Time to read!

Time spent reading/listening: One hour and 7 minutes
Total time spent reading/listening: Twenty-six hours and 1 minute
Number of pages read: 74
Total number of pages read: 850
Book I read from: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
Book I listened to: Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Number of books finished: Four

Saturday brought the first garage saleing (saling? How do you spell that?) of the season. I headed to a nearby subdivision sale, and came away with lots of toys and clothes for my little guy - including a Thomas train set which my husband has spent hours playing with already. :​)

Books I Read Because of Podcasts
​Bout of Books 19 Sign-Up

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (We had our book club on Friday. We all were very impressed, both by McCullough's scholarship and writing and the Wright brothers' tenacity and innovation.)
Still Life by Louise Penny (The first audiobook I've listened to in quite a while. I enjoyed it, and I'm sure I'll try the next one in the series sometime.)
Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (Frank is an amazing character.)

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (I'm just about done with this one, and loving it as always!)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (I am enjoying this one, but I'd like it even more if Hugo could stay on topic.)

The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky (I'm in the mood for some Christian fiction as a palate cleanser of a sort.)

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Okay, I just couldn't resist. I wasn't planning to do Bout of Books this time around, because I just don't have extra time in my life right now to devote to reading. I'm happy if I get through thirty pages a day. But then I decided that Bout of Books is low pressure, and I don't have to read any extra to participate. It's just fun to be part of the community reading together. So here I am, signing up!

Henry York arrives in the town of Henry, Kansas, to live with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins after his parents have disappeared. His bedroom is the attic, and one night, two knobs from a cupboard poke through the plaster. After chipping away at the plaster, Henry discovers that the whole wall is filled with cupboards, and each leads to a different place. Some of them are safe, and some of them are not. And all of them hold secrets about Henry and his family.

I was completely pulled into this book from page one by the writing. N.D. Wilson has a style that's just full of perfectly worded phrases that create such an image in your brain (what I like to call "shiver language"). I can't resist sharing two examples - "In the same summer, a bottle rocket brought the gift of fire to the bus station's restrooms." and "He was used to milk with transparent edges, milk that looked a little blue. This milk looked more like cream. . . In his mouth, he could feel it clinging to his tongue. His tongue didn't mind."  The writing brings both Henry the boy and Henry the town to life and sends them on breath-taking adventures. 100 Cupboards is the first book in a trilogy, and I am impatiently waiting to get back to the library to read the rest of the series. This is definitely a book that I will be buying and sharing with my little boy when he's old enough.

I first heard about this book on the Read Aloud Revival podcast (both episodes 44 and a bonus episode called "Some of the Best Books by Living Authors"). 

Alice Whitley is assigned to help literary recluse M.M. Banning produce her first book in many years. It turns out that "helping" her mostly entails taking care of her nine-year-old son Frank, who dresses like someone out of a 1930s film and marches to his own drum.

Frank is the best character I have met in a long time. Unique doesn't begin to describe him. Frank is the heart and soul of this book. While some of Alice's decisions drove me crazy, I was never disappointed in any scene in which Frank appeared. When I read the last page, I was so sad that I was done spending time with Frank. He's one of those characters who you feel is surely continuing to live their life, even though the book is over, and I only wish I could be part of that life.

I first heard about this book on the What Should I Read Next? podcast, episode 38.​

Penelope Lumley arrives at Ashton Place, determined to be the best governess she can be for her three new charges - only to discover that they are locked in the barn and can only howl instead of talk. They were raised by wolves in the woods surrounding Ashton Place, and Penelope suddenly has a rather different job than she expected.

Penelope Lumley has one of those voices that you just savor as you read a book. She is down-to-earth yet optimistic, determined to do her best even though she really doesn't have any idea how to go about doing that. The children are delightful, and the whole premise of the book is so well executed. This is the first book in a six-book series called The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, and I can guarantee that these are books I will be collecting and rereading.

I first heard about this book on the Read Aloud Revival podcast, episode 59 where the author, Maryrose Wood, was interviewed. (she even reads a snippet of this book, complete with howling!)​

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon was on Saturday! Did you participate? I had a great time! My husband did his best to give me the day off from taking care of my little guy, which mostly worked (he was a little clingy - working on those one-year-old molars). It was so wonderful to be able to sit and read without having to feel guilty about the myriad of things that weren't getting done. Can we do it again next weekend?

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (This was a book to read slowly and savor. It's beautiful!)
The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (This is the first book in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, and I loved it. I will be checking the next book out on my next visit to the library!)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Perfect read for a readathon. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.)

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (My husband is finally done reading this, so I now have access to it all day, which should speed up the process of finishing it!)
Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (I got halfway through this one during the readathon. Frank is quite the character.)
Still Life by Louise Penny (There is so much love for this series in the blogosphere that I decided to try the first book on audio during the readathon, even though murder mysteries are not really my thing. I'm enjoying it so far.)

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (This was supposed to be my April Fforde reread, but I seem to have run out of days. I guess I'll just have to read two in May!)

Good morning! Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon is finally here! My husband has graciously agreed to take sole charge of my little guy today, so I'm free to readathon the day away!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I'm in Michigan, where the daffodils and tulips are in full bloom. But because it's Michigan, yesterday's nice, warm weather has turned into gray ickiness today. I'm hoping the sun comes out so I can read outside this afternoon!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
This answer keeps changing, but I think the first book of the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series is the one I'm most looking forward to. It's also the one I'm starting with, so we'll start things off right!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I actually bought snacks for myself this year, which I don't normally do. But I'm most looking forward to going out to lunch by myself to a new restaurant in town. I never get to go out by myself anymore!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I'm a mom of a one-year-old, which means my life has changed a lot in the past year. I taught for ten years, but I'm now a stay-at-home mom with my little guy. That also means I'm really looking forward to a "day off" for this readathon.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
I've lost count of how many 24 hour readathons I've participated in, but it's quite a few. My favorite way to read is with a real, paper book, but I've got an audiobook all ready to go for those times when I have to be away from my physical books (like folding laundry).

Time spent reading: One hour and 46 minutes
Number of pages read so far: 150
Book I'm reading from: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
Book I'm listening to:​ Still Life by Louise Penny

Time spent reading: Six hours and 28 minutes
Number of pages read so far: 423
Book I'm reading from: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Book I'm listening to:​ Still Life by Louise Penny
Number of books finished:​ One (The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood)

Time spent reading: Nine hours and 3 minutes
Time my husband spent reading after our little guy was in bed: One hour and 14 minutes
Number of pages read so far: 603
Book I'm reading from: Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson
Book I'm listening to:​ Still Life by Louise Penny
Number of books finished: Two (The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood; The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith)

Time spent reading: Ten hours and 2 minutes
Time my son woke up so that I could get more reading in: 6:32 a.m.
Number of pages read so far: 627
Book I'm reading from: Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson;​ The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Book I'm listening to:​ Still Life by Louise Penny
Number of books finished: Two (The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood; The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith)

Every time I finish reading a book, I rate it on Goodreads. I like to look back over books I've read, and rating them is an easy way to see which books were stand-out reads for me. It takes a lot for a book to be given a five-star rating, but there's a fair amount of leeway between three stars and four stars for me. This is often the hardest decision - I liked the book, but did I like it enough to give it a four-star rating?

There are two books recently where I realized I was thinking about my rating while I was reading the book, and that thought process was the same for both books. When I got to the middle, I figured they were each solid three-star reads for me so far. But I knew that whatever the ending was could bump it up to four stars for me. (The two books, in case you're curious were Moloka'i by Alan Brennert and Uprooted​ by Naomi Novik. Moloka'i ended up with three stars; Uprooted with four.)

The very fact that I was having this thought process while reading surprised me. I hadn't realized I thought so much about the ratings. And then it made me curious. At what point in your reading process do you decide what rating to give a book? Do you wait until you're completely finished (which is what I thought I did, but apparently not always)? Can you tell by the middle what rating it will be? Have there been any books that you thought you knew how you were going to rate it, and then the ending changed your opinion completely?

​Please add your thoughts in the comments. I'm really curious to know how other readers approach this!

Another trip to the big library on Friday! I got three books for myself this time, but I have the excuse of Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon coming up. I'll get through lots of reading that day, so I need more books, right? The lure of the library books is drawing me back in. Must resist! Sad books on my own shelves need some love!

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Slow start, but it gradually drew me in until I couldn't put it down.)
Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel (An intriguing philosophy of parenting, but not a lot of practical tips.)

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (My book club book for the month. Except my husband is also reading it, so I'm only allowed to read it during the day when he's not home.)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (And this is what I'm reading in the evenings when I can't have The Wright Brothers. I'm loving it!)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (I thought I was at least vaguely familiar with this story, but apparently I had no idea what it was about. Journey of discovery!)

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (My Fforde reread for April. Although this isn't on my Readathon TBR. It's only my next read for before and after Saturday.)