#BookADayMay

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Daily! I’ve used many strategies over the past few years in order to accomplish reading a book every day in May. Picking lower middle-grade titles (which are short) certainly helps. For instance, one year I read through the Junie B. Jones series. Most years, I lean into my graphic novel collection. I can usually finish one in a sitting, so I save up a pile especially for May consumption.

This year? I’m going to mix some of my challenge reads (I’m doing the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan for the Series Challenge over on Great Middle Grade Reads) with graphic novels. Notably, I’m going to be doing a full reread of the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, which saw a final volume published earlier this year, and I’ve been waiting to see how the story wraps up!

Watch for updates on my progress throughout the month. And grab your calendar! Join the fun!

BINGO!

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Wrapping Up March/April BINGO. Building a new habit can be hard. I always *want* to read more books, but making time for it …? I mean, hey. I have writing to do, too. On the flipside, I needed to increase how much exercise I was getting, but making time for it …? It takes time, too.

This year’s bumper crop of finished books is largely due to an increase in my daily step count. I can read while I walk because I listen to my e-books. And I sneak in more reading time whenever I have housework (or other busywork) that needs doing. So my March/April BINGO board is an all-cover!

May at #MGCarousel always takes a break from BINGO so we can do #BookADayMay. Make sure to grab your calendar sheet over on our middle-grade blog & dive in today!

Reading Challenges

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I Love a Challenge! As it happens, I run a couple of the reading challenges over at Great Middle Grade Reads, a Goodreads group that Elza and I run together. As per usual, I’m participating in the A to Z Reading Challenge, which means finding a MG book to read for every letter of the alphabet. And we also have a Series Challenge, which gives a gentle push to readers who’ve been *meaning* to finish that trilogy, quartet, quintet, or epic series.

This year, Elza has added a Read the Rainbow Challenge (ROYGBIV & Extended versions available), which has me eyeballing cover art more closely. I’ve picked a red book, and my next read fits the cobalt slot. Want to join in on the fun? Join the Goodreads group: Great Middle Grade Reads. And while you’re at it, follow the Middle Grade Carousel blog, where Elza and I post book quotes & recommendations, themes & games.

Here’s the graphic Elza made for the rainbow challenge: