February
Books
From favorite to least favorite
Biology 20/30 textbook (for fun not for class): Dr. Bob Ritter, K.L. Burley
Douglas Fraser, Lorraine Lastiwka, Jennifer Halia MacLean
page 174/844 5/5
Night: Elie Wiesel
pages 115 5/5
The Deadlands: Benjamin Percy
pages 496 2/5
Reading Rate
74+115+496= 785 pages/ 28 days= 28 pages per day
Reflection
I am disappointed by my reading rate this month with all the time that I was given to read it should have been higher. This month I only read 2 actual books which are even more disappointing. I wish that I would have stopped reading Deadlands and chosen a different book as I disliked the book and had no interest in reading it which made it so that it took me forever to read the book even though it was not all that challenging.
Deadlands
As I mentioned earlier I did not enjoy reading Deadlands, I did not connect with the characters, the plot was lacking in my eyes, and overall I did not enjoy this book. After my recent readings of The Alchemist, Night, Fahrenheit 451 this book was just lacking in depth and meaning-making it uninteresting. The book was a relatively easy read and was not all that challenging.
The Biology 20/30 textbook
Yes, I did read this book for fun, for me, this is an amazing book and I look forward to, hopefully, learning more about the topics next year in class. All the topics so far have been intriguing and interesting adding to my knowledge of how the world works. I look forward to reading the rest of the book and learning more.
Night
This book hit me hard, it was an emotional rollercoaster that made me question myself. This was a well-written book and has now left me with a new perspective on the world. I am really glad that I got the chance to read this book and I look forward to reading others like it in the future.
Looking to the Future
Next month I would like to up my reading rate and read more than 2 books.
I want to reread Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy as well as read 1 challenging book not quite sure which one, and 3 just right novels again not quite sure which ones.
March
Books
Alphabetical
Blue Horses: Mary Oliver
Pages 97 4/5
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency #1: Douglas Adams
Pages 279 5/5
Dog Songs: Mary Oliver
Pages 114 4/5
Earth Poems: Ivo Mosley
Pages 430 2/5
Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy: Douglas Adams
Pages 193 5/5
Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury
Pages 194 5/5
To Kill A Mockingbird: Harper Lee
Pages 105/ 281 4/5
Reading Rate
279+193+194+144+97+105+430= 1442 pages/ 31 days= 47 pages per day
Reflection
Although I did not exactly follow the plan that I had placed for this month I am happy with my reading rate and with the books that I read. All of the books that I read this month I enjoyed. I reread some books but I also tried something new reading a lot of poetry. I started to read some of Mary Oliver’s works and really enjoyed them.
Dog Songs
There was a lot of feeling in the book and I enjoyed it a lot. The relationship between dogs and people is well established through the words that she uses.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy
This is one of my favorite books the quirky humor and overall weirdness creates a wonderful style. I enjoyed exploring the new universe and all the new people. I have also found out that it is a series and I look forward to reading the rest of the books. No matter how many times I read this book it is still fun and fascinating every time.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency #1
This was a great new find after reading Hitchhiker’s I found out about this series and decided to give it a try. It has the same quirkiness of the Hitchhiker series but is far weirder and more confusing but interesting at the same time. I enjoyed how the characters experienced the interconnectedness of all things and how all the weird coincidences all lined up in the end, even if it was in the weirdest way.
Looking to the Future
In April I look forward to continuing to read To Kill A Mockingbird and hopefully reading Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency #2, the rest of the Hitchhikers Series, and I would like to continue reading poetry and try reading a play.
April
Books
Alphabetical
A Thousand Mornings: Mary Oliver
Pages 97 4/5
Dirk Gently’s #2 The Long Dark Tea-Time of The Soul: Douglas Adams
Pages 307 5/5
Harry Potter And The Philosopher Stone: J.K. Rowling
Pages 223 5/5
Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy The Complete Edition: 
Douglas Adams
Pages 217/775 6/5
Why I Wake Early: Mary Oliver
Pages 71 5/5
To Kill A Mockingbird: Harper Lee
Pages 281 4/5
Reading Rate
307+71+281+217+97+223= 1119 pages/ 30 days= 39.97 pages per day
Reflection
So I tried to follow the plan but I wasn’t able to get the hitchhiker book until later in the month. Although I was able to get a relativity high reading rate it was mostly due to the fact that I read a lot of candy and poetry books so I did not do so well this month.
Why I Wake Early
I started to read some of Mary Oliver and I really like her style. Though this is not my favorite poetry book I still really enjoyed it. Her poems were just as focused on nature with a few other recurring themes.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy the next one
The first book of the Hitchhikers Guide is one of my favorite books the quirky humor and overall weirdness creates a wonderful book that enjoyed reading the whole way through. So when I learned that there were more books in the series I was ecstatic and my excitement was well used. The rest of the series so far has been just as amazing as the first maybe a bit more. The charters in the book are wonderful because they are so weird and overly displayed their archetype. The books don’t make the most sense but that is just part of the amazing experience. I love this book and I am really looking forward to continuing to read the books.
Dirk Gently’s #2 The Long Dark Tea-Time of The Soul
Truth be told it is not as great as the first book but is still good in its own right. It still had the quirky humor and overall weirdness that the first book had but this time it was slightly darker. I still really enjoyed it though and wish that Douglas had finished the third one.
Looking to the Future
In May I look forward to continuing to read the rest of the Hitchhikers Series, and I would like to find more Mary Oliver and again try reading a play this time. I am also trying to find a difficult book so that I can challenge myself.
May/June
Books 
Harry Potter Series: J.K. Rowling
Pages 4114 5/5
Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy Complete Edition: Douglas Adams
Pages 533 /776 5/5
The Merchant Of Venice: William Shakespeare
Pages 240 2/5
Reading Rate
240+533+4114= 4887 pages/ 45 days= 108.6 pages per day
Refection
The only reason that it looks like I read anything is that I read the entirety of the Harry Potter in a week. I have read nothing that was incredibly helpful to my learning, overall doing nothing useful. As soon as English started I began to read less challenging books than before trying more to focus on my writing, which in retrospect was not the smartest thing to do. I wish that I had read books that had been deeper and better written as well as more challenging.
Book Review
Harry Potter Series
Love it, read it one too many times. Probably should have read a more challenging book.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy Complete Edition
I am so glad that I found out that there are more books than just the first one. The first book is one of my favorite books the sense of adventure and weirdness creates both a humorous and amazing story. The other books in the series are just as great, getting even better. I am excited to finish the rest of the series.
Merchant of Venice
When you look at this book deeper every character is a horrible person that only wants something for themselves. I felt bad for Shylock. Did not like Portia. There are better Shakespeare plays.
Looking To the Future
Over the summer I am looking forward to reading the assigned reading from AP they look like interesting books to read and even more interesting to study.
Dear Katie,
I was browsing through different blogs and stumbled upon your reading ladder. It is surprising that you have already read the Biology 20/30 book, which shows how you are ahead of the game. Unfortunately, I have not read any of the books that you mentioned but based around some of your descriptions, I may give them a try in the future. What I found absolutely amazing was how you turned your entire reading rate upside down by going up to 1442 pages after being stuck at your previous reading rate.
A recommendation I had was that, later as the year progresses, you should gradually increase the number of challenging books you read but also have some space for other books you may like. I can already see you doing this, but I needed some feedback to give to you. Another minor suggestion is that you should go through your total pages read to confirm that it is all accurate. I, only, saw this once where you accidentally put the wrong total number of pages, which may give you an inaccurate representation.
All in all, your reading ladder is amazing and it leaves the number of pages I read to shame. I hope to see that you complete your goals for April.
Sincerely,
Abhay
Dear Katie,
Nice reading! You managed to get a lot in, good job. I really love the wide variety of genres covered in this months reading – from science fiction to poetry. Also good on you for trying some new things!
I would’ve loved if you went into further depth with your reviews. I felt that I didn’t really get an essence of the book itself which makes it harder for me as a reader to feel compelled to read the novel. I mean that might just be me and my need to not waste my time on a book I don’t like.
Anyways, keep it up even when life gets overwhelming!
Sincerely,
Nimrat