Battle Newbery

I have always been an avid reader. I don't know, I guess I've just always liked reading, being read to as a kid and reading as an adult. There was at least one birthday, (maybe more), where all my friends got me books, becasue no one knew what else to do. And I remember the first two words that I learned to read in kindergarten: I and go. I was so proud of myself when I learned to read. I think I knew even then that reading was going to lead me to something bigger.

Though it wasn't until middle school I realized that I didn't have to like every book that I read (though I fully understood once I read The Grapes Of Wrath). And I also didn't fully grasp until recently the concept that if I didn't like a book, I didn't have to finish it either. (This is all reading for fun. Books for class you do have to finish no matter how much you dislike the book. Seriously, I hated The Grapes of Wrath and I had to finish it becasue it was for English class junior year of high school)

So working in the public library is awesome for me. I have tons of reading material at my fingertips, from the classics to the new releases, not to mention all of the non fiction too. I work in the kids department and I admit I thought I wouldn't be reading a lot of the material in my department at first. But there are so many books that I remember reading as a kid and so many that I saw and thought, "oh I wish I had read that." And it occurred to me, umm, why can't I read it now?

Especially all the Newbery Winners. "The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year." In my mind that means: the best book of the year. So I set a goal for myself: in my lifetime, I would at some point read all the winners.

I have 5 checked out right now, including the most recent and the very first one. The first winner looks really boring though. So boring I don't even want to start it. So I amended my goal slightly. I will at least make an honest effort to read the Newbery Winners, but if I don't like it, I'm not going to feel bad about not finishing it. And I can read an honoree book in it's place if I so choose.

Battle Newbery has begun!

Well, it's not really a battle, this is more of a quest type thing. But I don't know, I like Battle Newberry better then Newberry Quest.