8/22/25
Hey Readers!
I have a lot of news for you today!
First, I have finished the quizzes for all the middle school 2026 Oregon Battle of the Books titles. The elementary level quizzes are already done too, so now I’m working on the high school quizzes. Two of those are already done, so I’ve just got ten to go.
I’ve read all the high school level 2026 Oregon Battle of the Books titles except for one, The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, one of my favorite authors. He also wrote the other 2026 Oregon Battle of the Books title, Cemetery Boys. Since I haven’t read it yet, I had an idea… Usually I read on my ipad Kindle app, but this time, I ordered the hardback book and as soon as it comes, I’ll start reading it aloud in videos that I’ll put on my YouTube channel @BoBQC. Not only will I read the book aloud, I’ll highlight as I go along, letting you know which parts I’ll be turning into questions and answers, and telling you what page number they’re on. When I’m done, you’re going to have a great study tool in the videos with all my questions identified.
Finally, I have decided to semi-retire from writing quizzes. What I mean is, I will continue to read books and write quizzes because it’s something that I really enjoy doing and I know from emails and messages that a lot of people find my quizzes helpful. The one thing that’s wearing me out, though, is being under the gun to finish all the books and get the quizzes created for the titles chosen each year for the Battle of the Books.
I’m finding myself sitting in front of my computer for 7 or 8 hours a day working like crazy to get the quizzes done in time, and I’m starting to feel stressed out and burned out and overwhelmed. I retired from teaching after 36 years two years ago, and when I talked to my sister about how I was feeling, she said something that really hit home: Lisa, you’re doing retirement wrong!
There are also so many things I want to do, especially because I’m a grandma…Playing with my grandkids is #1 on my list of things I love to do.
Here are the other things I enjoy doing and want to do:
- Canning fruit and vegetables
- Making homemade pasta
- Baking sourdough bread
- Playing my guitar and banjo
- Writing songs and poems
- Hiking on trails or walking on the beach
- Crotcheting hats and scarves and sewing
- Working out using my VR Headset where I travel virtually to magical worlds
- Working on my garden
- Raising chickens
- Traveling
- Being an extra in a TV show or movie
- Learning German (Ich liebe es, Sprachen zu lernen!)
- Going fishing, clamming, crabbing
I had this list on a whiteboard in our kitchen, and my funny husband added a few things to the list, including
- Looking for Chupacabra
- Singing at the whitehouse
- Having coffee with Bigfoot
- And surfing
So, my plan is that after finishing the quizzes for the 2026 Oregon Battle of the Books, I’m just going to start taking my time, reading the books I already own because another thing I love to do is going to Goodwill every week when the half-price tag color changes and buy books, and making quizzes for them.
I’ll probably start making a lot more videos when I’m not madly trying to get quizzes finished by a deadline date. I’ll start uploading videos of The Sunbearer Trials as soon as the book arrives.
I’ll keep you posted on everything! I hope you have an excellent 2025-2026 school year.
Keep reading!