KO's I Dig Reading Challenge Update

Last year, I posted this mid-year post about how many books I'd read.

This year, I'm doing things a little differently.

Some of you may remember that in March, after the disaster in Japan, I blogged about KO's I Dig Reading Challenge.   It's never too late to join.  There's no pressure. 

After you sign up on her blog,

         1. Just keep a list of how many books you read each month 

              AND

          2. Pledge to give a certain amount per book to charity 

The beauty of it is that YOU decide how much to give per book.  A penny per book, a dollar per book,  two dollars, whatever you can afford.  And if you're uncomfortable talking about money, you don't have to tell us how much you gave. You can keep that to yourself.

To recap the year in books and donations so far:

In January, I read:

1. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate -- Jacqueline Kelly
2. Words in the Dust -- Trent Reedy
3. Darkest Mercy -- Melissa Marr
4. Ship Breaker -- Paolo Bacigalupi
5. Cliff Hanger: Mysteries in Our National Parks -- Gloria Skurzynski
6. Season of Secrets -- Sally Nichols
7. The Great Wall of Lucy Wu -- Wendy Wan-Long Shang
8. An Abundance of Katherines -- John Green
9. All You Get is Me -- Yvonne Prinz
10. Drought -- Pam Bachorz
11. See What I See -- Gloria Whelan

I didn't actually join KO's challenge until February, but I'd already given money to my local fire company, and it was enough to cover those 11 books.

In February, I read:
12. Cloaked -- Alex Flinn
13.The Wonder of Charlie Anne -- Kimberly Newton Fusco
14. Tending to Grace -- Kimberly Newton Fusco
15. The Last Sacrifice -- Richelle Mead
16. What Happened to Goodbye -- Sarah Dessen
17. Awaken -- Katie Kacvinsky
18. Strings Attached -- Judy Blundell
19. Like Mandarin -- Kirsten Hubbard
20. Small as an Elephant -- Jennifer Richard Jacobson
21. Wither -- Lauren DeStefano
22. Turtle in Paradise -- Jennifer Holm

For those eleven books, I gave to the Alondra Hernandez fund (victim of a brain aneurysm rupture).

In March, I read:
23. The Trouble with Chickens -- Doreen Cronin
24. That Girl Lucy Moon -- Timberlake
25. Warp Speed -- Lisa Yee
26. Desires of the Dead -- Kimberly Derting
27. Out of the Dust -- Karen Hesse
28. Flip -- Martyn Bedford
29. The Great Hamster Massacre -- Katie Davies
30. The Last Little Blue Envelope -- Maureen Johnson
31. Sparrow Road -- Sheila O'Connor
32. Divergent -- Veronica Roth
33. Flutter -- Erin Moulton
34. The Resisters -- Eric Nylund

For those twelve books, I gave to Shelterbox for Japan.

In April, I read:
35. My Not-So-Still Life -- Liz Gallagher
36. You'll Like it Here (Everybody Does) -- Ruth White
37. Beauty Queens -- Libba Bray
38. Tighter -- Adele Griffin
39. A Tale of Two Castles -- Gail Carson Levine
40. Daddy Long Legs -- Jean Webster
41. The Lemonade Crime -- Jacqueline Davies
42. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette -- Jeanne Birdsall
43. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda -- Tom Angleberger

So I only read 9 books in April (I was, um, kinda busy getting my parents moved).  But I gave to one of my favorite charities, Smile Train.  Since I have a relative who was born with a cleft palate, I understand how life-changing this operation can be.

In short, I'm still keeping a list (as I've done since 2002) of what books I read.  But now I'm doing some good with that list. If you haven't followed KO at The Insect Collector yet, get on over there.  And join the I Dig Reading Challenge.

How many books have you read so far this year?  Which one was the most compelling?  (I'd have to say Divergent!)