Tag: 2015 morris/nonfiction reading challenge

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Final Check-In

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsThis is it, readers– we’re closing in on the final hours of the 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge. ALA’s Youth Media Awards will be announced tomorrow morning, and our reading challenge wraps up officially at 7:45 am CST on Monday, February 2.

We hope you’ve had fun participating in this year’s challenge. How many books did you end up reading? Did any titles surprise you? Do you have any predictions for the titles that will take away the gold medals?

Remember, if you finished the Morris/Nonfiction Challenge, you have a head start on with the 2015 Hub Reading Challenge that will start the week after the Youth Media Awards. Thanks for participating, and be sure to fill out the finisher form at the end of this post if you’re all done!

-Allison Tran, currently reading Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan Continue reading YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Final Check-In

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #7

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

Hello Readers!

How many of you have finished? What was your favorite on each list?  I’ve read some of the books before the lists were announced for my selection committee.  Any of the reads have you puzzled?  Let me know in the comments!

If you haven’t signed up for the challenge you have about a week left! This will also help with the annual Hub Reading Challenge that will start in February after the Youth Media Awards. If you have finished be sure to brag about it in the comments and fill our the form. I’ve read some of theses books and they are great! Don’t miss out!

-Faythe Arredondo, currently in the middle of too many books to list

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #6

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

How are you all doing with your reading for the Hub’s Morris/Nonfiction reading challenge? We are approaching the final weeks of the challenge, so, I am sure many readers are nearing completion. But, if you haven’t gotten started yet, you still have time before the February 2nd deadline! The challenge is a perfect way to discover new young adult authors to love or to find fantastic new nonfiction for yourself or the teens at your library. Sign up on the original post and get started with your reading!

If you have finished your reading, be sure to fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know and also tell us all about your challenge experience in the comments. Did you find a new favorite book? Or favorite author? Did you have any great conversations about your reading with friends or colleagues? Learn anything new from the books? What book were you most excited for and did it live up to your expectations? Let us know all of this and more in the comments!

And, for those of you who will be attending ALA Midwinter next weekend, don’t forget to submit your form before you leave so you don’t have to do it during the conference and let us know in the comments which authors and events you are most excited for while in Chicago. I hope to see lots of you there!

– Carli Spina, currently reading The Property by Rutu Modan

Continue reading YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #6

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #4

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

Happy New Year!

How many of you lucky souls found time to read–maybe even extra time!–over the holidays?  I emphatically did not, but I snuck in couple chapters here and there and came away with a stack of new books, so I’m calling it a win.  I did read The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton which I found kind of amazing and wonderful.

Luckily, the challenge doesn’t end until 7:45AM Central Time February 2nd (when the Youth Media Awards are announced live at the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Chicago) so those of us who haven’t started yet still have almost a whole month to tackle either the 2015 finalists for the William C. Morris Award for debut YA authors or the 2015 finalists for YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, or both.  If you got a head start over winter break, I’m jealous.  High five!

Remember, any reading you do as part of this challenge counts towards your total in the Hub Reading Challenge, which starts in February, so crack open a book and get a head start!  We’d love to hear about what you’re reading and hope you’ll leave us a comment below and let us know how the challenge is going so far.  What book has you most excited?  What book are you finding it hard to get your hands on?  (That would be Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero for me–word of mouth on this book is crazy!)  And if you’ve completed the challenge, make sure you fill out the form at the end of this post to let us know and share your favorite title!  As always, if you have any questions or problems, let us know in the comments or via email. And if you want to talk about the challenge on Twitter, use the hashtag #hubchallenge.

 

– Julie Bartel, currently reading and loving Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire and trying to get my hands on Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor before February because I can’t wait that long! Continue reading YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #4

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #3

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

With the new year fast approaching, I’m sure many of you are still busy with holiday commitments and travel, but even if you haven’t yet had an opportunity to get started with the Hub’s Morris/Nonfiction reading challenge, I hope that you will consider it! Given that the challenge doesn’t end until February 2nd, there is still plenty of time to join us. In fact, this would make a perfect New Year’s Resolution! So, get started now to find some awesome new nonfiction or some amazing new young adult authors. Who knows? You might find a new favorite author or finally get to read a book that you have been meaning to read all year! And, as an added bonus, reading you do as part of the challenge will count towards the upcoming Hub Reading Challenge, which starts in February! So, what are you waiting for?!? Start reading now and don’t get left behind by your friends!

Whether you are still reading or have already finished the challenge, leave us a comment about what you have liked so far or which books you can’t wait to read. Personally, I’m most excited to start reading Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw which I’ve been wanting to read since I first hear about it. How about you? And, if you’ve already completed the challenge, please fill out the form at the end of this post to tell us about your accomplishment and to share your favorite!

– Carli Spina, currently reading Grandville Noel by Bryan Talbot Continue reading YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #3

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #2

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

Hello Readers!

How is your reading challenge going?  Any early favorites?  I am not participating in the challenge, but have read some of the titles in my selection committee. Interesting to see some overlap on both the YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction and the William C. Morris YA Debut Award.

If you haven’t signed up for the challenge there is still plenty of time! This will also help with the annual Hub Reading Challenge that will start in February after the Youth Media Awards. If you have finished be sure to brag about it in the comments and fill our the form. I’ve read some of theses books and they are great! Don’t miss out!

-Faythe Arredondo, currently in the middle of too many books to list

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #1

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

Greetings!

Are you busy with holidays or end-of-the-year activities? It can be an intense time of year, and you may be debating about jumping into the Hub’s Morris/Nonfiction reading challenge but I am here to encourage you to DO IT!

There are two very good reasons to take part by reading as many of the 2015 finalists for the William C. Morris Award for debut YA authors, and/or the 2015 finalists for YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, or both between now and the Youth Media Awards on February 2:

  1. You will have a head start on the Hub Reading Challenge that starts in February and that includes PRIZES!
  2. By reading some great, informative nonfiction, and some books by hot, new authors, you will become the smartest person in the room at any holiday party you attend.

Now get started! Or, if you have miraculously already completed the challenge, won’t you please fill out the form at the bottom of this post so we can all be amazed by you?

The rest of us will leave comments talking about which titles we are most looking forward to reading. I’ll start – for the Morris, I’m excited to read Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, and Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw is the Nonfiction title I am most curious about. You?

~ Geri Diorio, currently reading The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Begins!

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsIt’s official: there are now eight weeks until ALA’s Youth Media Awards, where the winners of the William C. Morris Award, the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, and all of YALSA’s other book awards will be announced– so it’s time to start our annual Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge here on The Hub! We’re hoping the challenge will encourage you to read as many of these outstanding titles as possible.

Challenge objective Read all of the 2015 finalists for the William C. Morris Award for debut YA authors, all of the 2015 finalists for YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, or both between now and the Youth Media Awards on February 2.

Challenge rewards Beyond experiencing the best of the best that new YA authors and YA nonfiction have to offer, everyone who finishes the challenge may use what they read toward our 2015 Hub Reading Challenge. The Hub Reading Challenge includes prizes (!!!), so by participating in the Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge, you’re getting a head start on reading some of the best books published this year and you’re giving yourself an advantage in trying to win those prizes.  Continue reading YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Begins!