I know what you read last summer

Pretty sure I've mentioned before my obsession with People magazine, and one of my favorite things they do are those "books you should read for [insert whatever season it is]" features. It isn't so much reading the reviews of the books, but I love the picture that accompanies the whole thing...it will have all the books stacked. For some reason I just love looking at all those book spines in a row; love getting a glimpse about what the actual books themselves look like.

So here is my version, except instead of "books you should read for summer," mine is really a "books I did read this summer" stack. I've talked about all of them except the last 3, so let me just briefly say that The History of Love was creative and endearing and definitely worth reading (if not somewhat confusing to keep track of all the different story lines), Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me was absolutely hilarious and I liked it way more than Tina Fey's, and The Fault in Our Stars was a good effort on what turns out to be very intense subject matter, but I just can't get into YA anymore.

My total for the family summer reading competition was 2024 pages, (earning me $20.24). I beat my sister but not my Mom, but I don't know if anyone's ever beaten Mom. In any case, there were some good reads in that pile. And now it's fall, which means I'll have to see what People magazine says I should be reading. Those book spines are calling my name.
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The Judges

My very talented book designer entered Schooled into a competition a while back, for the design and cover categories, and I decided to throw my hat in the ring for the writing and content categories as well. We didn't win anything, but I'm so glad we tried. It's always nice to have some "possibilities" out there, plus a lot of the feedback that came back from the judges was extremely positive. Here are a few excerpts:

"Cover got my attention. Loved the chapter pictures and the author's photo. Liked the chapter typeface. Well Done!"

"Very clean, in every way! Well written, great editing, interesting story-telling, easy to engage in, professional cover. I would buy this book and pass along to friends. Great job. A diamond in the rough."

"What a delightful book! You are able to tell school tales with a wonderful voice, which prompts the reader to want more! By the title and knowing this was non-fiction, I was expecting to read about assessment, policy , or other academic topics. Much to my surprise, you offered a pleasant and humorous distraction in the process. I look forward to reading your future projects. Best regards!"

"Very nicely done. The cover photo does an excellent job of portraying that the book is about a girl at school, and it gives us a clue about the time period, too. The typeface, which I generally dislike, is well-used here."
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