My Reading Evaluation

1. My reading goal was to read 15 books, but I didn’t reach my goal. As of today I have read 12 books, I didn’t reach my reading goal because I lost steam as the year progressed and I found myself losing interest often when it came to consistently reading, it was a struggle every week to meet my reading rate.
2. I have completed a total of 11 books this year: Exactly As I Am by Shaun Robinson, A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard, The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr, Jamaica Kincaid by Annie John, The Dictionary of High School B.S. by Lois Beckwith, Sula by Toni Morrison, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. On my journey to finding books I actually enjoy, I abandoned The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I am currently reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.
3. My favorite two books that I have read this year were A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I truly enjoyed reading these books because I have learned that I love reading about other people’s lives and finding out what moments shaped them. Who know having a dysfunctional family made for a good read?
4. The hardest book I have read this year was Sula by Toni Morrison, I originally read this book for summer reading and didn’t understand a lot of the book so I decided to re-read it with the hopes of understanding more the second time around. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive as much clarity as I thought I would.
5. My greatest area of strength as a reader is my ability to really understand characters and dive in to experience the events in their shoes.
6. As a reader, I need to improve my reading stamina. If I am not head over heels for a book, I find it very hard for me to hold interest for a long period of time.
7. Participating in the reading conferences has helped me read and see my writing pieces threw my audience’s eyes. If I had done more conferences I would have a better sense of direction when writing.
8. Being apart of a reading community has benefitted me this year by giving me the opportunity to connect with other students on an intellectual level. Having a group of people to talk to about a book we were all reading was helpful, when I didn’t understand or I interpreted something incorrectly I had a way to get clarification. Seeing and hearing the thoughts and interpretations of other’s helped me expanding my perception when reading.