#bookgapchallenge

So, in a conversation on Twitter the other day (started by the Nerdy Book Club post that Katherine Sokolowski and I wrote to help Colby find great YA books-EVEN if there is some kissing...), we all started to share our "book gaps" -those books we kind of avoid reading.  Donalyn Miller challenges us all to think about our book gaps and to make a goal to read more of those. She gave a hashtag to the idea--#bookgapchallenge. I tend to avoid lots of historical fiction.  I am not a fan of the lives of women before recent times--not only because their rights were limited, but because they seem to wear pretty uncomfortable clothes. Oh, I love fairy tales and Philippa Gregory's historical fiction where women are wearing puffy fancy dresses, but the thought of itchy high-collared dresses makes me gag. And I don't like the cold--so those books set in "Little House on the Prairie" times are not my faves (even though I did love Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was younger.)  Anyway, I tend to avoid historical fiction.  BUT, I do read some historical fiction and if the characters are good, I can get past the itchy clothing and the cold weather.

As our #bookgapchallenge conversation continued, I realized that I have several book gaps--not just one. Lots of conversations with Tony Keefer (who agrees with Colby about the kissing books) over the years have reminded me of this. I often go to Tony when looking for adventures and books with action. It isn't that I don't like adventure, but I tend to read books that are character-based.  Plot is secondary to me. Setting means almost nothing.  This need for characters I love, means I don't read many plot-based books. I tend to skip over the action-packed adventures that many of my kids have fallen in love with.

So, Tony Keefer, Katherine Sokolowski and I made a pact.  Katherine and I will read H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden, an action-packed book that Tony chose for us. And Tony will read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, a YA romance that Katherine recommended. (I will read this one too as Katherine highly recommends it and we have very similar tastes in books.)

H.I.V.E. arrived today.  I have been thinking about this book.  I have read other action/adventure books but I usually read them because I feel like I have to. I read them because I know I have kids who will like them and I don't do much beyond getting through them. But I am going to try to approach this one differently--to see if I am missing something in these books that will help me enjoy them more. I have faith in Tony's decision on book title and I am going in with an open mind. I am excited to try something new.

I love this idea of the #bookgapchallenge and I plan to talk to my kids about it. I think to make it work, you need to connect with other readers. I am not the best person to choose an adventure, so I needed to find a reader friend who could recommend one for me.  I want this for my kids--find some books that are different from what you usually read, stretch yourself a bit and see what happens. A great challenge for 2013, I think. What are your book gaps?