May 2024 Reading Recap

AKA: The month that happened so fast it almost killed me?

This month FLEW by and not in the good way, right? I did a lot of reading, not as much reading as I needed to, and somehow still read 60+ books (and that doesn’t include books I read for the Caldecott).

Some successes this month: I finished all the Heidi Heckelbeck chapter books, finally read a 2023 graphic novel that had been on my must-read list for too long, and organized my new bookshelves.

Failures: I’m still very behind on my professional development reading and I have not read any of the “I’ve had these books for too long” books

Of those 65 books I read in May (minus Caldecott books), the breakdown went something like this:

• 13 Heidi Heckelbeck chapter books plus the new middle grade one
• 3 WhoHQ Audiobooks
• 1 BOTM club book I’d had for like a year
• 2 novels in verse
• 4 graphic novels
• 3.5 books that I am currently halfway through all of
• 2 MG titles I reviewed for booklist
• 25 picture books
• And a lot i’m sure I forgot to log because I got behind a bit this month.

I’m not ASHAMED of this month of reading, but I’m not proud. I definitely focused–rightfully so–on Caldecott reading, but now I feel like i have to catch up on my other reading. There were many, many days where I just kept cycling through the same book, reading 20 pages at a time, instead of sitting down and powering through. Many nights I fell asleep instead of doing one more chapter. Not an excuse, just an observation. Maybe this month, with the pool open, I’ll get some more poolside reading done. I’m always so productive on the side of a pool…until I am sunburnt and can’t lift my shoulders for a week.