'Tis the season for finishing up reading challenges. I participated in 6 challenges this year, which is way less than usual but slightly more than I originally planned. I'm pleased to say that I have completed all of them! Three of them, I'm even still making progress on, so I'll put those "challenge complete" posts up later in the month. Here are the three I've completed so far​.

​Books Bought in 2016
1.  Cress by Marissa Meyer (read in February)
2. All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani (read in February)
3. In Scotland Again by H.V. Morton
4. The Greater Journey by David McCullough
5. Glitter & Glue by Kelly Corrigan (read in April)
6. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein (read in July)
​7. Winter by Marissa Meyer (read in April)
8. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
9. Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin
10. A Hilltop in Tuscany by Stephanie Grace Whitson (read in October)
11.  Cross Country by Robert Sullivan
12. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
13. On Looking by Alexandra Horowitz
14. Irresistible North by Andrea Di Robilant (read in November)
15. The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde
16. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne (read in August)
17. Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
18. Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
19. A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman
​20. A Heart Revealed by Julie Lessman
21. City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling
22. Sylvester by Georgette Heyer
​23. The Highlander's Last Song by George MacDonald

Percentage Read:​ 35%

This is the most effective thing I've found yet to curb my book buying. I bought 23 books in 2016?? That's a third of what I bought in 2015, and a fifth of what I bought in 2014. Apparently my solution to keeping my percentage within the goal range was not to read more books, but to buy less. Hey, whatever works, right?

1.  Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (3 points)
2. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (2 points)
​3. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (2 points)
4. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (2 points)
5. The High King by Lloyd Alexander (3 points)
​6. The Giver by Lois Lowry (3 points)
​7. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (2 points)
8. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (3 points)
​9. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (2 points)
10. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (2 points)
11.  Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (3 points)
12. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (3 points)
​13. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (3 points)
​
Point Total:​ ​33

​Welcome to the fourth year of the Newbery Reading Challenge! Newbery and Caldecott books are fun to read - whether it's our first time experiencing them, or we're revisiting them from our childhood. If you want to challenge yourself to read more Newbery and Caldecott books this year, then you have found the right place!

Here are the rules:​
Each book you read is worth points. You get:

• 3 points for a Newbery Medal Winner
• 2 points for a Newbery Honor Book
• 1 point for a Caldecott Book (Both Medal winners and Honor books are worth a point this year!)

In addition to that, you pick a level to aim for:

• L'Engle: 15 - 29 points
• Spinelli: 30 - 44 points
• Avi: 45 - 59 points
• Lowry: 60 - 74 points
• Konigsburg: 75+ points

You can get to this level with any combination of points you want. You can read all Newbery Medal winners. You can throw in a few Honor Books. If you want, you can even read 75 Caldecott Medal winners! How you get to your point level is totally up to you. 

Also, anywhere in the point range for your level counts as completing that level. So for example, if you signed up for the Avi level and read 46 points' worth of books, then you have completed that level!

Challenge Guidelines:

• Rereads count (because you were probably a kid when you read it last, and your perspective on the story just might have changed since then).
• Audiobooks and ebooks count.
• And paper books count, too. :)
• All books must be read between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. Books begun before January 1 don’t count.
• Books can be used for other challenges as well.
• You don’t have to have a blog to participate. You can link up reviews from Amazon, Goodreads, etc., or just hang out with us in the comments!
• Reviews are encouraged, but not necessary. There will be a headquarters page for you to link up your reviews if you want to share your thoughts.
• Choose your point level. You can always aim for a higher point level, but you can't move to a lower one.

To join the Newbery Reading Challenge:

• Write a post (or a comment) stating your intention to join. Choose your point level. You can find the challenge image above to use in your post.
• Add your link to the Linky at the bottom of this post. Make sure you include the link to your sign-up post, not just your homepage.

I never got a chance in April to share my thoughts about On the Banks of Plum Creek, which was the April read for the Little House Read-Along. So I thought I would write up my thoughts for both books this month.

• This is my first experience reading the Little House series. In each one of these books, it always amazes me how simple yet complicated life is for the Ingalls family. Simple because they don't have many of the issues that face us in the 21st century. Complicated because you couldn't just run to the grocery store if you forgot an ingredient. Now that they're settled in South Dakota in a growing town it will surely be easier, but it's still hard to imagine living that life.
• All of the books in the series are basically the same. They tell the story of a year in a new place and everything they needed to do to survive. Sure, there are variations based on what new place they are living in, but the basics don't change. That's probably part of what makes this series so beloved, especially for those who read it as children. You can escape to life on the prairie over and over.
• As Laura gets older, she's showing a lot more personality, which is fun to see. She's a tomboy, always ready to head outside and explore. It's nice to get to know her.
• Why don't they talk about anything sad? In between these two books, Mary went blind and, according to the family tree in the front, they had a little brother that was born and died - yet is never mentioned. I'm guessing skipping over the details of these events (or the event entirely) was a conscious decision Laura Ingalls Wilder made as she was writing. Perhaps she thought people read these books for their feel-good nature, not for reality. I guess I'd rather know the truth of what happened to their family, but maybe that's just because I'm reading the books as an adult.

Farmer Boy is the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder's future husband, Almanzo, as a child. It was interesting to see the similarities between the two. There is still a lot of time spent describing the food they ate (it made me hungry), as well as all the work they did to survive. The differences were pretty interesting also. Since Almanzo's family lived near a town, they weren't in pure survival mode. There were stores that were still a bit of a trip away, but decently convenient. And they had neighbors to visit with - even a parlor in which to receive them!

What struck me most, though, was the innocence of Almanzo. He was a nine-year-old boy. I teach fourth grade, so I'm fairly familiar with nine-year-old boys. They're not like that anymore. It was refreshing to see Almanzo treat his parents with such respect and obedience, even when he got up to some boyish shenanigans. I think this is one of the reasons why the Little House books are still so beloved. They not only give us a picture of a lost time;​ they give us a picture of a lost childhood innocence.

I told myself that I would limit my reading challenges this year. With a baby arriving next month, I really didn't want to over-commit because that would just make me stress myself out. So I was really good in January and only signed up for 4 reading challenges. (Compared to last year's 15, that's pretty good.)

But I just can't take it. It's not enough. Surely there are other reading challenges out there that I can fulfill without driving myself crazy. So I found two more. . .​

The European Reading Challenge is hosted by Rose City Reader. This is one I've participated in every year since I started blogging. I'm signing up for the Five Star level, which means I need to read 5 books set in 5 different European countries. Looking at the books I've read so far in 2016, I've got a great start. Surely I can find time to squeeze in a couple more books to finish this one up!

The Nonfiction Reading Challenge is hosted by The Introverted Reader. This is another challenge that I've participated in frequently, and it's usually been really easy for me to blow it out of the water. Nonfiction is a typical part of my reading diet. Looking at what I've read so far in 2016, it's a part of my reading diet that has been lacking this year. And I find myself gazing longingly at the nonfiction books on my shelves. I'm signing up for the Explorer level, which means I need to read 6-10 nonfiction books this year. I'm hoping for more, but I'm still trying to set my sights realistically.

Okay, I promise I'm done. Six challenges. That's it. (I think.)

Julie of the Wolves is the February book for the Reading Together book club. I hadn't read this one in many, many years, so I didn't remember much about it. (The only reason that I know I must have read it as a kid is that it has my name in the title!) Julie is her English name; Miyax is her Eskimo name. In order to escape a bad arranged marriage, she sets off on a journey across the Arctic tundra. Becoming lost along the way, she befriends a wolf pack who help her survive.

I loved the glimpses of Eskimo culture and life scattered throughout the book. I was impressed with Miyax's resourcefulness as she fought to survive. I don't think I could bring myself to eat some of the things that she not only ate, but savored as a delicacy. I loved the way the wolf pack adopted her as one of their own, although I'm guessing it's not very likely to happen in real life. Surely wolves are smart enough to tell that you are only a human pretending to be a wolf, as you whine and grovel on all fours. But once Miyax was adopted by the pack, I enjoyed their protective and playful relationship. Wolves are fascinating creatures, and this book clearly portrays a way of life and a love of nature that is all too rapidly vanishing in today's day and age.

Little House on the Prairie will be my one and only reread for the Little House Read-Along. I read it back in 2014 and shared my thoughts on it then, so I won't write too much more this time around. When I read it the first time, I didn't even realize that it wasn't the first book in the series. I appreciated it much more this time around because I had actually read Little House in the Big Woods. I had already gotten to know the main characters, and I had some perspective on the Ingalls family and their background. When I read it this time, what stuck out to me was their willingness to get up and move. They had spent only one year on the prairie, and had just planted a garden. But Pa had no problem moving onto somewhere new (of course, the reason he decides to move is really his own fault, since he wasn't supposed to be living on that land in the first place). Would I be that willing to pack up the few things I could take with me, and leave my house and everything else behind? That would be hard enough nowadays, but they had to build an entirely new house wherever they decided to move to! I guess I'm too much of a homebody to have that sort of adventuresome, hard-working spirit. Just another reason to be impressed with the pioneers of that time!

I read The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill for the Reading Together book club. The book club is designed to be family-oriented, so sharing the books with your children is encouraged. Well, my child (while he does get a bedtime story every night) won't be able to show me his reactions until April (unless a few good kicks count). So I have no kid thoughts about The Year of Miss Agnes to share, but I'll share a few of my own!

I'm a teacher, so this story really resonated with me. Miss Agnes is exactly the sort of teacher I dream of being - she constantly has creative activities which make the learning come alive (and stick) and she does everything she can to help her students and their families. As a result of this, her students are inspired to go beyond what they dreamed was possible. I need to read a book like this every once in awhile to remind myself why I spend hours working on lesson plans and grading papers. The Year of Miss Agnes​ was just the sort of book I need to encourage me to head back into the classroom tomorrow morning refreshed and ready to teach!

I somehow missed out on reading the Little House books when I was a kid. I tried them and they just didn't interest me. I've always felt that I was missing something by never having read these books, so I'm glad the Little House Read-along has encouraged me to try them all!

I really enjoyed Little House in the Big Woods. The story was sweet and innocent, and I loved being welcomed into the Ingalls family. I'm also exceedingly glad that I live in a day and age where I have modern conveniences. I'm not sure I could survive doing all the work that Ma has to do to feed and clothe her family. We are truly blessed in the 21st century! Still, there are some parts of days gone by that we are lacking today - such as respect for elders and the willingness to work hard. Things like that should never go out of style. Fortunately, we can return to the little house and the Ingalls family to remind us how we should live our lives surrounded by the love of our family.

It's time for another Bloggiesta! I'm really not going to have much time at all this weekend, between church commitments and lunch with a friend. But my blog is in desperate need of some TLC, and Bloggiesta gives me a shove to get something done.

Here's my overly ambitious to-do list:​

I'll be updating this list throughout the weekend. Check back to see if I've been able to accomplish anything! Anything that's blue has been completed! Yay!

As I mentioned in my post last Saturday, I am extremely limiting myself when it comes to reading challenges this year. In 2015, I signed up for (and somehow actually completed) 15 challenges. That's just not going to be feasible this year, especially once baby shows up in April! So here are the challenges I'm allowing myself to participate in this year:​

This challenge is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, and the title is pretty self-explanatory. I am terrible about buying books and then letting them sit on my shelves for years before I read them. I'm working on reversing that trend, and this challenge seems the perfect way to do that. Ideally, I would love to read all the books I buy in 2016, but that might not be possible. So I'm signing up for the Making Inroads level, which is 20-40%. I can always aim for higher if I feel inspired!

This challenge is hosted by Chapter Break. In addition to reading the books I buy this year, I need to start tackling the piles of dusty books on my shelves. For this challenge, reading any book I owned before January 1, 2016 counts. I have plenty of options. . . I'm signing up for the Give Your Shelves a Warm, Friendly Hug level, which means I need to read 21-30 books from my own shelves.

This is technically a read-along, not a challenge. It's hosted by Bex at An Armchair By the Sea and Lynn at Smoke and MIrrors. I have never read the entire Little House series. I tried it as a kid and just wasn't intrigued. But I know these books are classics, and I always planned to read them someday. And it's more fun to do so with other people, right? This read-along focuses on one book a month, so it should be doable to read the whole series by the end of the year.

I thought I should probably sign up for this challenge, since I'm hosting this one! This is my third year now of hosting the Newbery Reading Challenge, and it's done wonders for my personal goal of reading all the Newbery winners. I couldn't let this one slide in 2016! I'm signing up for the Spinelli level, which means I need to accumulate 30-44 points by the end of the year.

These are all of the challenge commitments I am making right now. There are many more calling my name, but I'm really trying to be realistic with my time this year. Hopefully I can complete these four (and possible add a few as the year goes on, if I'm doing well. . .​) !

It has been a goal of mine for a very long time to read War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I first attempted it in eighth grade, where I somehow thought carrying around that huge volume would impress my classmates. Unsurprisingly, that didn't work, and I pretty quickly gave up on both lugging it around and reading it. My second attempt came in high school, and it was no more successful than the first try.

But I want to be able to say I have read War & Peace​. So I recently put it on my 31 in 31 list to give me some motivation. That means it has to happen before September. I figured it was a good idea to start now, to give myself plenty of time.

I'm planning on reading it little by little so that I can fit in plenty of other reading, too. The copy I have is 1,361 pages long. I am making it my goal to read 15 pages a day​ (or an average of 105 pages a week). That will let me finish in about three months.

I'm posting this so I can have some accountability to help me accomplish this goal. I'll post a weekly update as part of my It's Monday! post. If I'm not keeping on track, please call me on it!

​Now I just need to open the cover and begin!