More Reading Challenges

Or “Lists of Great Books I Can Read In Order To Complete the Many Reading Challenges I Set for 2013”

Clutch Reading Challenge

This list would have been great last year when I was doing the POC Reading Challenge. I’m not going to try to read all 100 books but I there are many, many gems on this list and I think I’ll use it as a resource when I’m looking for Heritage reads. (I could, of course, just add all the books to my Goodreads to-read list but then it would NEVER END!) 

Here are the titles I’ve already read:

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery by bell hooks

One Hundred Plus YA Book Covers of Color

Unfortunately I don’t remember where I found this link but I’m glad I bookmarked it! Few of the books on my shelf are for YA and none of those are POC books. This (gorgeous) Pinterest board will help me add more children’s books to my Heritage Reads.

Diverse Covers Diverse Books

I love that this Pinterest board by Gabrielle Prendergast includes middle grade books!

Armchair BEA: Networking—Leonicka does Festival of Trees

Bonus post! Networking is fun for me (under the right circumstances), so I’m happy to share another fabulous industry experience I had last month. Because she is an amazing human being, children’s literary agent Ali McDonald took me to the Forest of Reading Festival of Trees in May.

Oh. Em. Gee. Thousands of kids running around along the harbour screaming out of excitement for books. It was a beautiful sight. 

It was a little rainy in the morning so Ali and I had to huddle under umbrellas and awnings to stay dry as kids introduced the authors of their favorite books and explained why they wanted that book to win. I could always tell which book would win by how ear-splitting the cheers were. “Is that book good?” I asked the little girl behind me. “Yeah! You should read it. Even if you’re a grown up.” A glowing endorsement if I ever heard one. 

Between award presentations, Ali and I had lunch. Strengthening old relationships is as critical as forming new ones, y’all. I don’t even remember what we talked about but after several of these one-on-one chats, I totally feel comfortable asking her for professional advice. It’s great to have a mentor. It’s better to have several.  

Other highlights of the day included a lovely talk with Kari-Lynn Winters, a prolific children’s book author; a visit with Angela Wood, one of the founding members of Kids Can Press; and the best party ever at Groundwood Books.

Overall  it not only a fantastic day for making contacts but an eye-opening one in terms of my career path. I had always considered children’s publishing  a completely different realm that I could never understand. I was wrong. It is a different world but I could see myself thriving in it! I am now 100% sure that my career will include children’s books one way or another. Not bad for one day of networking, am I right?

Armchair BEA: Introductions

While most of my co-workers are having fun at Book Expo America in New York City, I’ll be sitting at home. Most likely in bed, wearing pajamas  and surrounded by my computer, my Blackberry, and lots of books. 

I’m at Armchair BEA.

All this week, book bloggers from across the interwebs will have their own virtual convention. And it starts with introductions:

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

I’m not a book blogger. This isn’t even a book blog! I’m a young publishing professional in Toronto. I want to enable the dreams of writers. Right now I do that by editing. One day I’ll do that by agenting. (Or publishing… who knows?!) This blog is about 4 years old but its current purpose is to be a hub for my thoughts, adventures, and advice regarding the publishing industry.  Welcome!

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

I’ve read some fabulous books so far but my top three would be Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam, and Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older. I’m currently reading manuscripts! But next on my pile is The Beauty of the Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb.

Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?

The re-launched version of this site is still very new but check out this post about my (current) favorite children’s book! 

If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

This answer changes depending on which books I have read recently but I am always drawn to strong women. I’d love to break bread with Janie Crawford (Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston) and Aminata Diallo (The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill). Both of these women are remarkable in different ways and it would be a joy to learn from them.

What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?

So many choices! I think I’d visit Hogwarts in the springtime. It’d be gorgeous with everything in bloom and the air just a little crisp. I’d spend hours in the library and then bring as many books as I could carry out to the lawn.  I would definitely get lost (my sense of direction is bad enough without shifting staircases) but then I could just take wander and take in all the history and beauty of the castle. Yup. I’d go to Hogwarts.

POC Reading Challenge—June update

I have many reasons for wanting to diversify the book industry but first I have to diversify my own reading. I was not conscious of how few of the books I read include people of color until I decided to participate in the POC Reading Challenge.

Inspired by this blog, I committed to go above and beyond the Level 5 challenge. Instead of reading 16 – 25 POC books for the year, I wanted to read only POC books. For my purposes, a POC book is a book in which at least two main characters are people of color.

That didn’t work out so well. There are many good books out there that don’t include people of color, and restricting myself was draining. But, by making the extra effort to seek them out, I have read 20 POC books in the last five months!

Here is my list (not including unpublished manuscripts) : 

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Obamas by Jodi Kantor

Half-BloodBlues by Esi Edugyan

Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Ru by Kim Thuy

WicketSeason by Gabrielle Prendergast

The Headmaster’sWager by Vincent Lam

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older

I would love to more read books with Native characters. Any suggestions? I want to hit 40 POC books by the end of the year!

Want me to review a book on the list? Just ask. I’ll be happy to whip one up :)

We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems

My favorite kinds of children’s books are those that incorporate the physical book into the storytelling. It’s no surprise then, that when I picked up We Are in a Book!  by Mo Willems I could not put it down.

 

My youngest brother is eleven and no one in my immediate circle has small children. But I bought it anyway. And why not? The text is hilarious and Gerald and Piggie are adorable. I read it twice in the bookstore and once on the subway ride to work. I collapsed into a fit of giggles every time.

This is a great read-aloud book and I recommend it to everyone. Even if you are not between ages 4 – 8. ;)