The Summer Sun and a Good Book

It’s here, the summer sun at the end of another very full school year of teaching and learning!  Now, as you push through the last stack of paperwork, take care of end of the year tasks and check items off your to do list, grab the list of books you been meaning to read when you have more time and sprint with your full book bag to the end of the 2016 – 2017 tunnel!

My reading diet has been pretty light the past two weeks.  The demands of family, work, concerts, graduations, and other priorities (training for races, binge watching Netflix) will take me away from my stack of reading materials for periods of time.  The past two summers, I have taken advantage of the slower pace and the break from full time work to catch up on my reading, participate in book studies, read great books recommended by Pernille Ripp and Donalyn Miller, and set my own book a day reading goals.

Donalyn Miller @donalynbooks started the #bookadaychallenge in 2009 because she realized that she and her family read less during the last six weeks of the school year than any other time. Announcing the first annual Book-a-Day Challenge was a public declaration of Donalyn’s commitment to read one a book a day for every day of summer break. She wanted to kick start her reading life and push myself to read more than I ever had.

The Book-a-Day challeng has grown and changed over the years.   Particpants began using the hashtag #bookaday to connect and share books on Twitter. The Nerdy Book Club community grew from the conversations #bookaday participants were having online every day. The #bookaday has grown into a community that shares books and celebrates reading all year.

The #bookaday guidelines are simple:

You set your own start date and end date.

Read one book per day for each day of summer vacation. This is an average, so if you read three books in one day and none the next two, it still counts.

Any book qualifies including picture books, nonfiction, professional books, audio books, graphic novels, poetry anthologies, or fiction—children’s, youth, or adult titles.

Keep a list of the books you read and share them often via a social networking site like goodreads or Twitter (#bookaday), a blog, or Facebook page.

You do not have to post reviews, but you can if you wish. Titles will do.

If you want to join a book club, consider joining Penny Kittle’s @pennykittle: The Book Love Foundation SummerBook Club '17: Enjoy a summer of Book Love. Also, keep an eye out for possible book studies with your colleagues!

Maybe, take time to volunteer and read to children or bring your own child to the GFPS Little Red Reading Bus @GFRedReadingBus this summer!  Check out their twitter page for more information and schedule. 

Need book ideas?

Check out the Nerdy Book Club 

Pernille Ripp @pernilleripp has great book suggestions.  You can follow her blog, click here for her lastest post. I really enjoyed Pernille’s post on free verse texts, and have enjoyed many of the titles she recommends. 

Consider picking up a book everyday this summer. Read to your children, read for you students, join a book club or a book study, and read for yourself !  Finally, enjoy a wonderful summer!