48 HOUR BOOK CHALLENGE (Part II)

Oh what an awesome Saturday! There is so much I love about this day. For me, it is day #2 of Mother Reader's amazing event 48 Hour Book Challenge.  So to kick off this day, the Central Ohio bloggers got together for our annual Breakfast at Northstar and then a group trip to the one and only Cover to Cover Bookstore. Seeing all these amazing bloggers is just always a treat. Such a great time. Plus we get to witness Bill (from Literate Lives) enjoy his granola like no one. Traditions. It is all about traditions.
So today after our great get together, I got all comfortable to continue reading The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. What a great up-lifting, positive yet humorous book. Like I mentioned yesterday, it is not the cheesy, oh too-much sunshine kind of book. The author (and may I just say male's sense of humor is always amusing!) keeps it entertaining yet realistic. In a world that moves so fast every day, it is just AWESOME to slow down once in a while and start noticing the things that make us smile. I truly enjoyed it.
 Next in my pile was Fatty Legs: A True Story written by Christy Jordan Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton.  I must admit not having any background knowledge on the Inuvialuit, the aboriginal people of the western Arctic. There condition of living, their struggles for survival was all new to me as I read the story of this girl: Olemaun Pokiak. In the area called Aklavik, there were the only schools that the children could attend. Every time Olemaun would mention to her father her wish of learning how to read and get an education, the conversation ended abruptly. However, she was a determined little girl, and she kept on insisting. In those schools, they had the key to the future: reading and she wanted more than anything else to receive that possibility. Even though she know that going to that school meant a five day trip to that place and not seeing her parents for a whole year. Still, Olemaun was determined to go. What no one knew was that the nuns running that school had other business in mind. During those two years she spent there, she learned the meaning of struggle, cold, abuse, bully, and humiliation. A compelling story that the author decided to finally share with a bigger audience after many years of silence.
The next book in my pile was an ARC I received this morning at Cover to Cover. Dear Bully 70 Authors Tell Their Stories will be available in August, 2011. What an amazing and intense book! In this book you'll find famous authors like  Jon Scieszka, Lauren Oliver, Lisa Yee, Amy Reed, Mo Willems, among so many others. The book is divided into sections: Dear Bully, Just Kidding, Survival, Regret, Thank you, Friends, Insight, Speak, Write It and It Gets Better. Each writer chose his own format to talk about a personal experience with bullying or bullies. Some of them chose to write a letter to them, others choose a free verse poems, and even illustrations. The stories are not easy to read because they are personal stories. These kinds of things happen to people, young adults, children all the time. Each author reflects on their journey some providing insight, others words of encouragement, and others advocating for victims to speak up. What a valuable resource for middle school and high school since so many students go through situations like this and would be able to relate, and gain perspective on things.
One of the lines that I've read in the book stick with me. They are from Heather Brewer who at one point in high school considered suicide due to bullying. But soon realizes that it is NOT the solution. She reflects, "Bullying is a horrible thing. It sticks with you forever. It poisons you. But only if you let it. See, there's a secret that no one ever tells you when they're filling your head that this" will build character" or just completely go away  when you're an adult. You have the power to decide what hurts you and what doesn't, what sticks with you, and you use as a fuel to pull yourself out of the muck."

Beautifully said. Kept it real!

I started my 48 hour book challenge on Friday at 7:00am which means my time ends tomorrow at 7am. However, we all know that the passionate readers we all are, we will continue our journey of discovering books, learning from each other and sharing our knowledge with the world. Mother Reader, thanks for bringing all of us a bit closer through this challenge. Even though there are so many bloggers I have not personally met (yet), there is a strong community in this blogging world. We are all very supportive. Thank you to everyone that visit my blog and left words of encouragement and kept the cheering going.
I'll keep on reading but I need some picture books and poetry in my life. But I'll share with you my findings on that next week. For all the ones that still have another adventurous reading day tomorrow, I say...Enjoy the journey!