Monday, November 3, 2014

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning...or Not

    I have a confession to make:  I skip ahead and read the endings of books.  I can hear the gasps now, as I have officially broken one of the reading “rules”.   But give me a chance to explain, and I might even persuade you to break the rules next time and sneak a peak at those last few pages!  
    One of my favorite genres is cozy mysteries; stories that do not involve the guts and gore of a gruesome murder, but rather an amateur sleuth trying to figure out “who done it” while running a business in a small town.  With these stories there is the great suspense of figuring out who the murderer is, because it is usually someone right under the reader’s nose!  I can’t handle the suspense! I have to know!  So I usually read the first 15-20 pages of the book, and by this point the main characters have been introduced and the body has been found...and I jump ahead to read the last 15-20 pages.  I find reading the ending first very freeing, because it allows me to focus on all the characters and various plot points, rather than obsessing over solving the case.  I still experience the “ah-ha” of finding out who the murder suspect is, just earlier than most readers.  
    Another genre I enjoy is romance.  Not sickening-sweet love stories, but realistic stories about characters I can relate to and have real-life struggles similar to mine.  Since “happily ever after” is usually reserved for fairy tales, I have to find out if the characters are going to end up together before I get invested in them.  For most readers the unknown is what inspires them to keep turning pages, but for me the unknown just causes stress.  As I read I can imagine the characters in my mind, and feel a growing connection to them. Reading the ending does not deter me from going back to read the book in its entirety, I just like to have my expectations set from the beginning.    

    This habit of reading the end of a book has grown.  I used to not “cheat” until about halfway through a book, and only on certain types of books.  Slowly the habit has spread to earlier in the reading of all books.  I don’t know if this habit can be broken, and honestly I don’t know that I even want to break the habit.  It is part of my reading inclination.  So as I pick up the next book in my stack of summer reading I’m starting at the end, I just can’t help myself.  

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Why Read?

My husband describes me as an "avid reader"....and it's true!  I love to read...and I take a book nearly everywhere I go.  Each evening I end the day by reading before I go to bed.  And it's been this way as long as I can remember.  Growing up I remember my book bag being filled with Ramona books, Baby-Sitters Club, and Little House series. 

I like to set reading goals for myself.  For 2014, I challenged myself to read 100 books.  That's 8-9 a month!  So far I've been doing good...but I may be having a reading marathon New Years Eve!

I have recently joined another challenge...the Knollwood Elementary 5th Grade "Stack the Spines" challenge.  I am excited to read titles along with our KES students; (and beat all the teachers!).  To even the playing field, I will not be counting books with 300+ pages as two books, they will still just be one spine for me. 

So many times I am asked, "Why do you like to read?"  For me, reading is an escape.  I love to get lost in a story, connect with the characters, and guess what comes next in the plot. 

So I hope you will try out reading, and join in on a reading challenge of your own!

Monday, July 7, 2014

What's In A Name?

Welcome! I wanted to start a blog to share my passion about transforming media centers into the hub of learning in a school!  While there are many wonderful library blogs out there, I am hoping to add another prospective and more ideas to our network.  I chose the name "PageTurner" for two reasons.  First, because I love to read, and feel it is imperative to instill this love of reading in our students to make them want to turn the pages on lots of books!  Second, as we live in a digital age where information is transferring at a lightening pace, it is important that we continue to turn the page on our media centers...rethink the space and the teaching that is going on there to match our students learning.  It is my hope that this will be a place for conversation, and that those that visit will glean something to help students.  Thanks!