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My faves!

2014  has already come and gone and I have yet to share with you my favorite reads of the year. For those who don’t follow me on social media, the answer as to why is simple: I was dying of the plague. Okay, not really. I REALLY had the flu. And not just one. I had TWO different strands. So for my Christmas vacation, I spent 16 days in bed. Sleeping. Barely moving. Barely reading—which is the real tragedy. But now that we have enjoyed a full two weeks of 2015, let me share with you my favorite reads of 2014. First, I met my Goodreads goal of 115 books. As a matter of fact, I didn’t meet it—I spanked it. By year’s end I read 144 books (mostly YA and mysteries). I really like rounded up numbers, so I am bummed I didn’t reach 145, but hey, since I spanked my original goal, I will take it. Of those 144 boys, below I am sharing with you 15 of my favorite tween/YA reads in no particular order. Enjoy! ‘The Impossible Knife of Memory’ – Laurie Halse Anderson      I did...

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Happenings in Hodgensville - Summer Reading...so far


Happenings in Hodgensville is me sharing myself with you - not reviewing a book or discussing what I am reading, but sharing what I am doing in my classroom and/or in my life.

I decided I wanted to spend a good portion of my summer time reading. I usually spend a good portion of it training and preparing for the upcoming school year. This year I still have training and will teach a group of teachers in August, but I also have flexibility in my training schedule for the first summer in five years.

The school year is always go, go, go, and pleasure reading is usually saved for my time on the elliptical/treadmill/bike.

My goal this summer was to read 35 books. This morning I was writing in my journal to prepare for this blog entry and learned that I have already read 30 books. Yep, that’s right—30!

I am shocked—and also excited because it has been a long time since I have been able to sit back and just read, all day if I want. And it has been glorious. I still have other things to do, and have been doing them, but I love that I have been able to read a book a day with a day off here and there.

I’ve been setting up my reading with a tween/YA novel followed by a mystery. This has worked well for me because it gives me a chance to let my brain rest, especially if I read a heart-wrenching novel.

I have loved all of my reads (two were audio but they still count, right?), but the one I enjoyed the least was ‘The Spindlers’ by Lauren Oliver. I was a bit disappointed with it—I don’t know what I was expecting, and I still enjoyed it, but of the 30 reads, it was my least favorite.


·         ‘Going Vintage’ (Leavitt)
·         ‘Tempest in the Tea Leaves’ (Townsend)
·         ‘The 5th Wave’ (Yancey)
·         ‘Books Can Be Deceiving’ (McKinlay)
·         ‘Shadow of Night’ (Harkness) (audio)
·         ‘Ashes, Ashes’ (Treggiari)
·         ‘Call Me Zelda’ (Robuck)
·         ‘Perfect Scoundrels’ (Carter)
·         ‘Trouble in Paradise’ (Parker)
·         ‘The Year of the Book’ (Cheng)
·         ‘Burning’ (Arnold)
·         ‘Bookmarked for Death’ (Barrett)
·         ‘Eleanor & Park’ (Rowell)
·         ‘Bookplate Special’ (Barrett)
·         ‘The Dancing Pancake’ (Spinelli)
·         ‘Witch Twins’ (Griffin)
·         ‘Trouble in the Tarot’ (Townsend)
·         ‘The School for Good and Evil’ (Chainani)
·         ‘Death in Paradise’ (Parker)
·         ‘Ask the Passengers’ (King)
·         ‘Due or Die’ (McKinlay)
·         ‘The Boyfriend App’ (Sise)
·         ‘Shadow and Bone’ (Bardugo) (audio)
·         ‘What’s a Witch to Do?’ (Harlow)
·         ‘Witch’s Sister’ (Naylor)
·         ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’ (Saenz)
·         ‘Book, Line, and Sinker’ (McKinlay)
·         ‘Private Peaceful’ (Morpurgo)
·         ‘The Spindlers’ (Oliver)
·         ‘Corpse in the Crystal Ball’ (Townsend)

What have you read this summer? Do you have a favorite/least favorite?

Comment below and join the conversation.

Happy Reading!

-      The Hodgenator


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