2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #4

Hub Reading Challenge logoNot signed up for YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. Anything you’ve read since February 3 counts, so sign up now!

It’s week five of the Hub Reading Challenge and the check marks on my list of books are finally starting add up, though it’s slow going.  Like so many of you, there’s pressure to read so many books for so many reasons (work, pleasure, committee, or, in my case, interview prep) that it’s sometimes difficult to push challenge titles to the top of the pile.  Luckily the list of eligible titles includes a whole bunch of books that tick more than one box for me, as well as a many, many books I’m happy to make time for.  So far Printz winner Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick is my favorite eligible read.

There’s some great discussion happening over on Goodreads so if you haven’t joined the 2014 Hub Challenge Group check it out!  And don’t forget about the #hubchallenge hashtag where you can find and contribute to even more lit-centric conversations.  Check out what your fellow participants have to say about their reading:

So how are you doing?  Are you reading through specific lists or dipping in as titles catch your fancy?  Have you read anything wildly outside your comfort zone?  What book has challenged you the most so far?  Let us know in the comments!

If you’ve completed the challenge by reading or listening to 25 titles from the list of eligible books, be sure to fill out the form below so we can send you your Challenge Finisher badge, get in touch to coordinate your reader’s response and, perhaps best of all, to notify you if you win our exciting grand prize drawing! Be sure to use an email you check frequently and do not fill out this form until you have completed the challenge by reading 25 titles.  Continue reading 2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #4

2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #3

Hub Reading Challenge logoNot signed up for YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. Anything you’ve read since February 3 counts, so sign up now!

Welcome to the fourth week of the 2014 Hub Reading Challenge! We have some good news for you: YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels top ten list has been altered to list each volume of Strobe Edge and Gene Yang’s Boxers & Saints as separate entities, so we’re following suit. If you’ve read any or all of these volumes, they can now be counted separately, making it that much easier for you to reach your goal of 25 titles. These changes are now reflected in the finisher form, and the PDF of eligible titles will also be updated shortly.

How is the challenge going for you all? What book has surprised you? What has been your favorite? Has anyone finished? Tell me in the comments.

I’m not participating in the challenge this year. I know, I know, but I have a good reason! I’m on a selection committee and all the reading I am doing is in support of that; but I am following along on social media by checking the   Goodreads 2014 Hub Challenge Group and  the #hubchallenge hashtag. We’ve collected some tweets from your fellow participants– join the conversation if you haven’t already!

Keep reading, and remember, you have plenty of time to get through this challenge; it ends at 11:59PM EST on June 22nd. Please keep reading and tracking your progress and check back here each Sunday to let us know how you are doing and to see how other folks are doing.

If you are have already completed the challenge by reading or listening to 25 titles from the list of eligible books, be sure to fill out the form below so we can send you your Challenge Finisher badge, get in touch to coordinate your reader’s response and, perhaps best of all, to notify you if you win our exciting grand prize drawing! Be sure to use an email you check frequently and do not fill out this form until you have completed the challenge by reading 25 titles. Continue reading 2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #3

2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #2

Hub Reading Challenge logoNot signed up for YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. Anything you’ve read since February 3 counts, so sign up now!

The 2014 Hub Reading Challenge is now in its third week. How are you getting along? Were you as pleased as I was after realizing that by working on the Morris/Nonfiction Challenge, you had gotten a head start on this bigger challenge?  Woo, four books down, 21 to go! And with all this lovely snow outside my door (thanks, winter storm Easton!) this weekend’s been a perfect time to read a couple more titles.

If you have finished some books, please leave a comment below. We’d love to read how you’re doing and what you thought of the books you’ve finished. And if you are feeling social (media) about things, please share your thoughts, photos, videos etc, using the #hubchallenge hashtag.  Are you a Goodreads person? Why not join the 2014 Hub Challenge Group there?

You have plenty of time to get through this challenge; it ends at 11:59PM EST on June 22nd.  Please keep reading and tracking your progress and check back here each Sunday to let us know how you are doing and to see how other folks are doing.

If you are a particularly fast reader and have already completed the challenge by reading or listening to 25 titles from the list of eligible books, be sure to fill out the form below so we can send you your Challenge Finisher badge, get in touch to coordinate your reader’s response and, perhaps best of all, to notify you if you win our exciting grand prize drawing! Be sure to use an email you check frequently and do not fill out this form until you have completed the challenge by reading 25 titles. Continue reading 2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #2

2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #1

Hub Reading Challenge logoNot signed up for YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. Anything you’ve read since February 3 counts, so sign up now!

So, it is officially week 2 of the 2014 Hub Reading Challenge! How are you doing with your new stack of (at least) 25 books? Which book did you read first? Was it one that you have been meaning to read/listen to for a long time or a new discovery that you unearthed after watching the Youth Media Awards? How are you sharing your thoughts on the books you read?

We want to hear all about the books as you finish them, so leave a comment below, share pictures or thoughts on the books on social media using the #hubchallenge hashtag, or join the 2014 Hub Challenge group on Goodreads.

If you haven’t started yet, don’t worry; there is still plenty of time! You have until 11:59PM EST on June 22nd to finish all 25 books. Just be sure to keep track of your progress! We’ll be posting these check-in posts each week so you can talk about the book(s) you read/listen to that week and share links to your reviews online. We can’t wait to hear what you think of all our award winners!

If you are a particularly fast reader and have already completed the challenge by reading or listening to 25 titles from the list of eligible books, be sure to fill out the form below so we can send you your Challenge Finisher badge, get in touch to coordinate your reader’s response and, perhaps best of all, to notify you if you win our exciting grand prize drawing! Be sure to use an email you check frequently and do not fill out this form until you have completed the challenge by reading 25 titles. Continue reading 2014 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #1

YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge Begins!

Hub Reading Challenge logoIt’s now February 3rd, so we are kicking off YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge! We hope this challenge will encourage you to read/listen to more great books than you might have otherwise — and to discover something new in a genre or category you might not have tried.

Challenge objective Read/listen to 25 of the titles on our list of eligible titles [pdf] to finish the challenge. The list includes YA novels, audiobooks, graphic novels, and books for adults, so there’s plenty to choose from. Bonus objective: read/listen to all eligible titles to conquer the challenge!

Challenge rewards Beyond experiencing the best of the best that YA lit has to offer, everyone who finishes the challenge will be invited to submit a response to a book they read for the challenge. The response can be text, graphics, audio, video and will be published on The Hub. Furthermore, everyone who finishes the challenge will be entered into a random drawing for our grand prize: a YALSA tote bag full of 2013 and 2014 YA lit! (If the winner is a teacher or librarian or something similar, we’ll also include a few professional development titles.)

Challenge conquerors will receive an elite digital badge to show off how well-read they are. (And don’t forget major bragging rights and the undying awe and respect of everyone, everywhere.)

Continue reading YALSA’s 2014 Hub Reading Challenge Begins!

Coming Soon: The 2014 Hub Reading Challenge

Hub Reading Challenge logo Get excited, YA lit enthusiasts! Now that the Youth Media Awards have been announced and the selected list committees are wrapping up their work, we are pleased to officially announce our 2014 Hub Reading Challenge!

When? The 2014 Hub Reading Challenge will begin at 12:01AM EST on Monday, February 3. Once the challenge starts, you’ll have about four months (until 11:59pm on Sunday, June 22) to read as many of the following as you possibly can:

If you participated in our Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge– even if you didn’t finish- you can count that reading toward your progress in The Hub Reading Challenge. Otherwise, only books that you both begin and finish within the challenge period count, so if you’ve read any of these titles before, you’ll have to re-read them to count them.

Continue reading Coming Soon: The 2014 Hub Reading Challenge