Seen on Team Green

Rarely a day goes by without a text/email/whatever from a friend saying, "OMG this is so Jerbear!" Usually this friend is Jenn, ha, but she's not the only offender. If I had all of the monies in the world, I would dress in green 98% of the time instead of my standard 90%. I thought I'd share some of the green (not the money, sorry I'm poor!) goods on here in a somewhat regular manner so at least someone can enjoy the green beauty!

$19.95 via Piperlime

I need another green bag like I need a hole in my head, but I don't have a green beach bag persay, sooooooo.......

$98 via Piperlime

I've been coveting this dress for months, but haven't had a special enough occasion to spend $100 on a dress. It also hasn't come down in price in all those months I've been watching. It will be mine someday, mark my words.

$95 via Modcloth

I'm currently obsessed with all things skirts and dresses and I adore this skirt.

$35 via Modcloth

BRB hiding my monies....

Running Nutrition

I have always had issues with my stomach when it comes to running. In high school I'd get so nervous for track meets that I wouldn't eat all day. It should come as no surprise that my 800 meter split in the 3200 m. relay at the beginning of the meet was always significantly faster than my open 800 meter run at the end of the 6-8 hour meet. Derp. When I first started distance running in college, I was running to lose weight and burn calories, so of course the last thing I would do would be to eat any sort of nutrition on my runs. That would just eat in to my dominoes cheesy bread calories for later! (mmmm cheesy bread!)

When I started my blog 4ish years ago, I also started reading a ton of blogs and seeing that almost every plain Jane runner was using gels/chews/etc. to help fuel them on their runs and races. I wanted to be a faster/better runner myself, so I gave it a try, and it helped dramatically. I initially started out using GUs, and that has been the main standby fuel for me throughout countless training cycles.

When I started training for marathons, and my long runs got longer and longer, my GU consumption on a run would hit 3 on 20 miler days, and this past fall, as I've slowed down, would be near 4-5. Blech. My first marathon my stomach was so wonky that I stopped taking any nutrition at mile 20, and ended up slowing to almost a crawl throughout the last 6.2 miles. Uff.

I've always wanted to experiment with different types of nutrition, but in the past few years I've either been in the heart of marathon training or not running long enough to need any nutrition. But with this spring half training cycle I'm finding some wiggle room to experiment. Most of my long runs are in the 2 hour range, so if my stomach decides to revolt, I don't have too long to suffer through.

When I was in Madison, I grabbed some Honey Stinger chews and on my last long run, and they were great. I've tried the waffle thingy before and I had to toss it. I'm super weird when it comes to food textures, so the GU chomps were a no-go too.

So while I'm experimenting, what other fuel would you recommend? I just placed an order for GUs and Honey Stinger chews, so I'll probably be set for the spring (hopefully, I spent $80 for crimmenlly's sake!) but still would like to do my experimenting this spring while I can. Marathon training starts in June. Gulp.

Edited to add: Saturday's hourly race forecast indicates that the windchill will be -15 at race time. Lol NOPE. Sorry jaseface.

Weekly Reads: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Mix together one part Willy Wonka and one part library book nerdery and another part awesome trivia and gaming and you'll have Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. I picked up this book because there was some buzz about it being a candidate for the Newbery award. I absolutely LOVED it. I flew through the book (I think I finished it in one sitting, two at the very most) and wanted to dive in to the book to participate instead of reading. While I don't think this will win the Newbery, I think kids will devour it! I know that 8-10 year old Jerbear would've absolutely loved it. What's even cooler is that the author Chris Grabenstein has created a game based on the game played out in the book for schools and libraries to utilize, so I'll be planning a tween program based on it. I also showed the book trailer to my kids last week and they thought it looked awesome.

My rating: 5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.

Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.

In this cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Night in the Museum, Agatha Award winner Chris Grabenstein uses rib-tickling humor to create the perfect tale for his quirky characters. Old fans and new readers will become enthralled with the crafty twists and turns of this ultimate library experience.

Winter Race Weather

Every year I intend on running the Frostbite 4, a 4 mile race about 30 minutes from where I live. This race is pretty cool because they have 3 different race course, and choose which one to use the morning of based on the wind direction (they obviously *get* how miserable our weather is). I have a six mile run with 4 at tempo scheduled during the week and thought a 4 mile race would be a great kick off to my 2014 racing schedule.

In looking at the weather forecast, the high for the day is 16, real fee 5, with a low of 3. Which means, the windchill will probably be well under zero at the race start. The explanation of weather for the day, according to accuweather is: Cold with a thick cloud cover.

Hmm...

How cold do you race in? I'm on the fence about doing this. On one had, I know I'll push harder in a race than I will on a treadmill training run, and it'll be nice to get a guideline of where my fitness is right now. But on the other hand it seems silly to drive 60ish miles round trip for a ~36 minute race that might be miserable and may be too cold to push hard enough to even get an idea of my fitness level.

Do I need to suck it up? Would you race? Will you come with me so I can have a race buddy? K thanks.

Sincerely,

Freezing up north

Mock Newbery Discussion

For the past five months I've been reading any children's chapter book published in 2013 that has any hint of winning the Newbery Award. I marked my winner months ago, but just recently read a book that is challenging my thinking.

Any book published in 2013, aimed at children from birth to 14 is eligible for the Newbery provided the author resides in the United States. The following are the books my co-workers and I read that had Newbery potential. I've bolded the selections that I've read:

• Counting by 7s
• Lincoln's Grave Robbers
• Paperboy
• Navigating Early
• Every Day After
• Hokey Pokey
• A Tangle of Knots
• Beholding Bee
• Zebra Forest
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
• Flora and Ulysses
• The Center of Everything
• The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
• Doll Bones
• Far Far Away
• One Came Home
• The Real Boy
• Hold Fast
• Rump

My original pick for the Newbery award was Counting by 7s. I adore that book. After reading Navigating Early, I have changed my vote. Clearly Counting by 7s should get an honor award, as should Paperboy, Zebra Forest, and Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library, although it's more likely that True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp will get the honor nod.

A few co-workers and I have been reading and discussing some of these titles for the past few months, and decided to meet up for dinner and host our own Mock Newbery discussion. The results of our voting are:

Personal Picks
Emily picked Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Alesha picked Counting by 7s
and I picked Navigating Early

Then we chose who we think the Newbery committee will select and we had a three way tie:
True Blue Scouts
Navigating Early
Counting by 7s

By this point, the margaritas were kicking in, so we didn't have any further debate to try to sway the other "voters" to side with us, but we all agreed that all three of these books will likely get an award or the top honor.

Additionally, Alesha thought Beholding Bee would get an honor, Emily thought Lemoncello should get an honor, and I had a tie between Paperboy and Zebra Forest.

The actual awards are January 27th at 8am EST and I'll be up early to watch them live! Children's librarian nerdery FTW!

Weekly Reads: Far Far Away

Far Far Away is another book on my Mock Printz award reading list and has quite a buzz surrounding it. The cover has green smoke on it, so clearly I was drawn to it! I started reading it, and honestly was not getting in to it. I hit page 100 and I asked a co-worker when it started to get good, she responded that if I wasn't already in to it, I might not like it. Well crap.

I took a break and read a few other books. Then picked it back up. Once I got to the halfway point it was amazing. I couldn't put it down. There aren't any chapters in the book, just little page breaks in the story, and I think the disjointedness of that affected my enjoyment of the book. I would just be getting in to the story and there'd be another break. Overall it was a really great read, but not the normal "OMG MUST READ MUST READ" right from the get go, as most books I adore are. And while I don't think this will be a Printz award winning book, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Printz honor selection.

My rating: 4 stars.


Summary from goodreads:

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. 

After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. 

Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion.

And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings...

Week 3 of Spring Training

This week was low on "sticking to the training program" but high on "running inspiration" so it wasn't a total wash. I was sick early in the week, and when I was finally feeling good enough to go for a run, life smacked us in the face and running was the last thing on my mind. I was able to get out for a gorgeous 10 miles on Sunday and frolicked around town with a giant smile on my face. Week 4 is a scheduled cutback week, so I'm flipflopping week 3 and week 4, so I can redo my week 3 quality workouts. I did manage to get in a few core work sessions, so it wasn't a total wash!

On the running inspiration front, I have tentative race bestie weekend plans for next year to possibly run the Houston half or full (likely the full) after it was gorgeous and magical etc. etc. and our bestie lives there, so yeah, duh. Where do we sign up?? The guaranteed entry for qualified times for half and 10k requirements are slower than my PRs which has given me extra motivation for spring races to get back to my old speed. I'll be running 3 halfs and 1 10k before the cutoff, so consider a fire as having been lit under my hiney!

Additionally, I have been doing some planning regarding the fall marathon plans/ideas/shenanigans. Sorry, Danielle, it doesn't look like Chicago or Philly is in the cards.... this year. The more I look at the Bemidji Marathon the more I think it'll be the perfect race selection for me. It's about 5 hours north of here, so it should be nice and crisp mid-October. It's pretty darn flat, but not pancake flat like Fargo (which is actually hard because your muscles don't get any variation for 26.2 miles) but more like the flatness I'm used to running with mini tiny rollers to keep it interesting. My 18 week training program would start the day after my last planned race of this upcoming season, and my only race on the schedule--Sioux Falls half (my 10th consecutive SF half!!)--falls on a day where I'm scheduled to run 18 miles with 14 at GMP. Even if it's a hot day for the half, I should be able to knock out 14 miles at GMP. WHOOP! Most importantly, I've got Kyle on board to come along, because opening pheasant hunting season isn't until the following week (great planning there!) and my parents are planning to come and spectate barring any major issues in the next year. My parents have never got to see me run a marathon, so I'm pretty psyched. The race goes around the lake, so Kyle and my dad can get their fishing game on while they wait for me at the various spots. :)

I basically spent the afternoon on Sunday working on my training program to start in June. It's been awhile since I've had this sort of excitement for running. I sure hope it sticks around.

And my fastest mile of my long run on Sunday was the last one. Running the last 5 miles in o 35mph winds was less than fun, but it was still a way stronger run than last week's 10 miler! AND it was also in capris. WHOOP.

Library Anniversary

Today marks my one year anniversary at my library, or my libraversary if you will. The last year has been the best year in my professional career, so since I can't shout it from the rooftops (I live in an apartment on the first floor, thus don't have a rooftop to call my own) I'm doing the next best thing: blogging about it.

Over the past year I have learned the ins and outs of all things circulation, the department that I started in, and got to be a part of a major conversion where the entire library system changed from barcode scanning to RFID tags. And I got to help convert many MANY of those items personally. I wish that I had an odometer of sorts to determine how many of our collection I tagged on my own. I like stats, what can I say.

As I was getting close to finishing my Masters degree I found out I was selected to transfer to our brand new, yet to open library branch and I was beyond excited. Along with my new co-workers, I got to help get the library ready to open by unpacking thousands and thousands of books, putting them in order, shelving shelving shelving until the cows come home.

We had our grand opening and I have never seen so many people in a library at one time. Also I have never had a day of work fly by that quickly before.

Since we have opened, I have lead two story time sessions, and am just starting two more sessions. I have co-lead our teen programming events with my friend and co-worker Emily, and I have started a book club for adults who read YA books, that is almost already at capacity.

We all dressed up as Harry Potter characters for Halloween!





And I get to make some fun displays.  Here are two I've made for the teen section.

Banned Book Week Display

Murder Mystery display

If the first year was this great, I can't wait to see what year number 2 will bring.

Guest Post: A Day in the LIfe of the Pug

Hi my name is Ollie, aka Tootie and/or Tooter Butt, and I'm Jerbear's pug. I wanted to help my mom out with a blog post and thought a glimpse into my glamorous life would be the best post. It's either that or just listing off all the delicious foods I would like to eat in a day but don't get to.

Ok here goes.

I wake up around 5:30-6am and am snuggled up with my mom. I don't like when she spoons me, but if I decide it's okay, or I'm REALLY sleeping, than I'll allow it. To trick her in to sleeping longer, I'll snuggle in the cutest possible way after her alarm goes off. This will buy me an additional 15 minutes of sleep.


As soon as she reaches for her glasses I *know* that it's minutes from my favorite time of day--breakfast!

I start running around the bed (or hopping, I basically look like a bunny there's so many blankets on the bed), and whining to be put down. Mom sets me down on the floor and gives me a pat on my hiney, my morning jump start! And I'm sprinting down the hallway like Allyson Felix (what? I like following running too.... even if I'm not much of a runner myself).

I push around my food bowl so my mom knows I mean business. I'M STARVING HERE. I quickly inhale my food. Burp because I ate way too fast and swallowed a bunch of air, and realize I'm getting verrrrry sleeeeeeeepy again.



If mom is going running I get put back in bed with dad and tucked back in. Otherwise I curl up next to mom on the couch and get ready for my early-early morning nap. A full belly means I'm snoooooooring to high heaven, so mom has to shake me many times to get me to stop. Apparently this is disruptive when she's trying to read.



I *have* to go outside in the morning before they leave for work, but I'd prefer to just pee in the hallway because it's freakin' cold out there, ya know? When I decide on my own terms that I'd like to go out, I sit and drink out of my water bowl for 5-7 minutes. I figure if I'm going I might as well get hydrated first, right?

As soon as mom grabs my harness I sit on my behind and wait for her. She asks me to lift my left and then right paws, and I do, and then I spin around doing as many spins as I can while I wait for her to get ready. I like to be inspired when I'm doing my business, so I look for other dog's spots and then destroy their masterpieces. If it's really cold out, I'll stop walking, sit on my back hip and hold three of my paws in the air and demand to be carried back inside. Don't call me a diva, I'm just smart.



Once we're back inside I know it's time for my most of the day nap so I head inside my kennel and snuggle in to my favorite Packers pillow for a snooze. If I don't go in the kennel on my own, mom and dad have me trained to go in when they squeak my little hot dog chew toy. And by hot dog "chew toy" I actually mean a little piece of plastic that I let lay next to me. That thing doesn't smell or taste like a hot dog AT ALL so I'm not remotely interested.



I nap for the next four hours until dad comes home for lunch. Most days I don't even wake up to beg from his plate. This nap continues until after work when mom comes home. Occasionally I'm still sawing logs, but for the most part I'm counting down the minutes until she comes home.



As soon as I'm out of the kennel we play a quick game of chase/tag/craziness before it's time to head back outside.

Once that song and dance is over it's time for my favorite time of day AGAIN, dinner time! I scarf down my food and then head for the couch for my early evening nap.



If mom is reading or watching TV I'll curl up on her feet because they're usually freezing.



More napping will occur in the evening until it's finally time for bed. What an exhausting day! I have my dad trained to carry me in to bed, and I usually like to disrupt their snuggle time by squeezing myself in the middle of them. If that doesn't work, my next bet is to let out a nice smelly tooter to break up their party. Heh.



I fall asleep dreaming about breakfast......

101 in 1001 Take Deux

I attempted 101 in 1001 previously with it ending on my 30th birthday. I did an okay job of completing the tasks, but I had a lot of fun trying. On weekends that I didn't have any plans, I'd often reference the list to see if there was anything I could knock off the list. I also loved the challenge of watching the Oscar best picture nominees each year because I'm not normally a big movie goer. I decided to attempt another list with some repeat items that I failed at, and some repeat items that I completed but want to do again. 

Who's coming with me?!??

(The permanent link for this challenge where I'll update my progress is here: http://jerbear8.blogspot.com/p/101-in-1001-take-2_27.html) 

_________________

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

in progress: italic / completed: bold
Goal Start Date: January 17, 2014
Goal End Date: October 14, 2016

Life

• Take a photography class
• Go to a Packers game at Lambeau
• Grow an herb garden
• Go on a brewery tour
• Earn a promotion

Connect

• Meet 5 new people
• Make 3 new friends
• Meet 3 bloggy friends
• Make a new running buddy
• Send Christmas card/letter
• Send a random care package to 3 friends
• Have a running weekend with Jenn and Megan

Travel

• Get my passport
• Take a trip and leave the country
• Go on a cruise
• Go to NYC
• Go on a vacation that doesn’t revolve around running/racing
• Take a random road trip
• Visit 3 states I've never been to
• Visit a famous landmark I've never seen before
• Visit a random/wacky landmark I've never seen before

Running and Fitness

• Run 180 miles in one month
• Run 190 miles in one month
• Run 200 miles in one month
• Run 50 miles in a week
• Run 55 miles in a week
• Run 60 miles in one week
• Run 70 miles in one week
• Bike a half century
• Bike a century race
• Learn how to change a bike tire
• PR in a marathon
• Run Sub 4 hour marathon
• Sub 3:55 marathon
• Sub 3:50 marathon
• Sub 1:55 half marathon
• Sub 1:50 half marathon
• Sub 1:45 half marathon
• Sub 50 minute 10k
• Sub 49 minute 10k
• Sub 24 5k
• Sub 23 5k
• Run a sub 7 minute mile
• Run the Goofy Challenge
• Run an International race
• Run an Ultra marathon
• Do 100 pushups
• Stay injury free for one year
• Get back to peak race weight when in peak training
• Maintain peak weight +5-10 when in off-season
• Attend a group fitness class (non-yoga related)

Crafty and Creative

• Paint bookshelf
• Begin Cross-stitching again
• Learn to knit
• Start t-shirt quilt
• Complete t-shirt quilt
• Sew an outfit for Ollie
• Sew a skirt for myself (possibly matching Ollie's)
• Complete Project 365
• Make a photo book of completed Project 365

Book Worm

• Read a book in a day 
• Participate in NaNoWriMo
• Win NaNoWriMo (complete the 50k words)
• Read Printz Award winning book 2014
• Read Printz Award winning book 2015
• Read Printz Award winning book 2016
• Read Newbery Award winning book 2014
• Read Newbery Award winning book 2015
• Read Newbery Award winning book 2016

House and Home

• Donate Clothes 2x/year (fall/spring) (0/5)
• Decorate dining room
• Purge wardrobe of anything I haven't worn in the past two years
• Purchase a home (!)
• Try five new dinner recipes
• Try five new baking recipes

Finances

• Pay off car
• Go one week without spending any money at all (not including direct debits for bills etc.)
• Pay off grad school student loans

Entertainment

• Kiss in the rain
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Go ice skating
• Go ice fishing
• Watch all 2014 Oscar nominated movies (Her, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Nebraska, Philomena, The Wolf of Wall Street)
• Watch all 2015 Oscar nominated movies
• Watch all 2016 Oscar nominated movies
• See a 3D movie
• See a psychic and get my fortune told
• Go to a roller derby match
• Go to a wine tasting
• Go to the Harry Potter theme park
• Make sushi rolls at home
• Go to a Drive in movie
• Watch a meteor shower 
• Participate in a fishing tourney
• Attend a ballet performance

Random

• Rescue another pug
• Buy a lottery ticket
• Get professional pictures taken
• Learn how to change a car tire
• Get wisdom teeth removed

Weekly Reads: Navigating Early

 Obsessed. That is the easiest way to describe my feelings toward Navigating Early. It's one of the last Newbery potential books I picked up before the Newbery Award selection by the ALA committee. Clare Vanderpool won the Newbery award for her debut novel Moon Over Manifest two years ago, and after finishing this one, I can't wait to get my hands on that one. I wanted to devour this in one reading, yet also wanted to savor it. I only held out 24 hours total. So amazing.

The story follows Jack who is uprooted from Kansas to attend boarding school in Maine. He meets Early, an odd classmate obsessed with pi. As their relationship develops, Jack learns that Early is able to see things in numbers that other people can't, and reveals that the digits in pi are actually a story of Pi's life. They embark on an adventure and find their route similar to Pi's experiences.

I would not be surprised if this title walks away with the Newbery Award for 2014, it is my pick hands down.

My rating: 5 stars

Summary from goodreads:

At the end of World War II, Jack Baker, a landlocked Kansas boy, is suddenly uprooted after his mother’s death and placed in a boy’s boarding school in Maine. There, Jack encounters Early Auden, the strangest of boys, who reads the number pi as a story and collects clippings about the sightings of a great black bear in the nearby mountains.

Newcomer Jack feels lost yet can’t help being drawn to Early, who won’t believe what everyone accepts to be the truth about the Great Appalachian Bear, Timber Rattlesnakes, and the legendary school hero known as The Fish, who never returned from the war. When the boys find themselves unexpectedly alone at school, they embark on a quest on the Appalachian Trail in search of the great black bear.

But what they are searching for is sometimes different from what they find. They will meet truly strange characters, each of whom figures into the pi story Early weaves as they travel, while discovering things they never realized about themselves and others in their lives.

Week Two of Spring Training

That blog post title makes me think this post has something to do with baseball season, but alas, it's just about me running. This week I hit all four of my prescribed workouts at approximately the correct recommended paces.  Whoop. I got back in to the habit of early to bed and early to rise, to teach the treadmill who's boss before work. I also learned that VH1 plays the same music videos back to back from one morning to the next. I also learned that I can still read while running on the treadmill, so hopefully I'll get in a few extra books if I have to log treadmill miles sporadically this winter.

Wednesday I hit the treadmill in the gym for a GA run. I got caught up on Runner's World reading and spent a lot of time staring at this photo pretending I was running somewhere snow-covered but not -40 below zero. I also learned that our apartment gym isn't a trillion degrees if you go early in the morning.

Just kidding on the apartment gym heat detail. Turns out yesterday someone just left the fan on to move around the sweltering heat. It was its usually 80 degrees in there. (I think the heating is shared with the pool area, so I guess I'll just plan on FINALLY becoming acclimated to the heat....) I knocked out 3 mile repeats and didn't die, so I consider that a win.

I attempted my long run on Saturday because the temps said 20 degrees. Unfortunately the wind chill was 4, and with 25 mph winds in those sorts of temps it feels WAY colder on your face. I couldn't find my balaclava, so I ended up doing my 3 mile recovery run and pushing my LR to Sunday. Good news: balaclava found. Also this recovery pace was faster than my GA pace earlier in the week further proving that 4 degrees is much easier for me to perform than 80 degrees is. Neat.

I met up with my friend Jenn (non-purpleshoe running friend Jenn, to clarify) as she agreed to join me for some of my long run. This was my first double digit run since Madison! I told her I'd meet her at my 1.25 mile marker and gave her an approximate time of 15 minutes for my arrival (I have to stop at quite a few stop lights en route to our meet up spot). When I hit the one mile marker of the run I realized I was actually meeting her at the 2.25 spot and had to throw down the hammer so she wasn't stuck waiting for me in the cold. Bad running partner, Jerbear. The good news was that I saw 9:20-9:20s paces in that mile and a quarter to find her. The bad news is that starting off a long run with paces that are too fast pretty much ensures you will crash and burn. And I did. I didn't bring water or nutrition, oops. The last 2.5 miles weren't pretty and had a few walk breaks, but a long run with a lackluster finish is still better than no long run!

24 miles ran for the week. Whoop.

Mock Printz

At my library, I've started a book club for adults who like to read Young Adult books. It's been a lot of fun so far, and I was even in the paper to promote it! YAY books!

For our January meet up, I had the idea to do a Mock Printz Award discussion. The Printz Award is akin to the Newbery Award given for quality children's literature, only it is geared specifically for Young Adult books (books geared toward 13-18 year olds).

In case you want to play along from afar, here are the titles we have on our list. I encouraged people to read as many or as few as they'd like. The Printz Award committee looks at all the Young Adult books published in the U.S. during the year to determine one Printz Award winner and five Printz honor books.

The books on our list are:

• Eleanor & Park
• Two Boys Kissing 
• Midwinterblood 
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown 
• Maggot Moon
• Counting by 7s 
• Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock 
• More Than This 
• Far Far Away 
• Winger 
• The 5th Wave 
• The Lucy Variations 
• Out of The Easy

I've highlighted the books that I got a chance to read.

We discussed the books one by one, discussing the merits that the Printz committee looks at when deciding. Then we voted on our top 3 books with the 1st place book garnering 5 points, 2nd 3 points and 3rd 1 point.

My personal votes were

1.  Eleanor and Park

2.  More Than This

3.  Two Boys Kissing

I really really hope E&P will win the Printz, but I could also see More Than This taking the honors.

Our group came up with:

1.  Eleanor and Park (27)

2.  Forgive Me Leonard Peacock (16)
3.  Two Boys Kissing (9)
4T.  More Than This (8)
4T.  Winger (8)
6.  Far Far Away (5)
7.  5th Wave (4)
8.  Counting by 7s (3)
9.  Coldest Girl in Coldtown (1)

The actual Printz award will be on January 27th. I can't wait to see who wins!

**The links are all amazon affiliate links, so if you click on them and buy the book, I get a tiny portion of the sale. FYI**

Best Young Adult Books Read in 2013

The following are my favorite young adult books that I've read in 2013. A lot of them were published in 2013, but not all of them were. The book covers and links will take you to amazon where you can purchase the books and I'll get a few pennies for the purchase. Otherwise you can get them from your local library. :)

Young adult books

5 stars


  Fangirl


The 5th Wave


Eleanor & Park


  Pushing the Limits 


  The Disenchantments


Counting by 7s


Two Boys Kissing


More Than This


4 stars


 Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock



Far Far Away


The Coldest Girl in Coldtown


Wintergirls


Okay for Now


How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True


Every Day


Requiem


Allegiant


Ruby Red


Will Grayson, Will Grayson


Anna and the French Kiss



Winger

What young adult books did I miss this year, so I can add them to my monster to be read pile????