My "books to be read" list just keeps getting longer and longer.

Weekly Book Chat {Themes and Awards}

From TGIF Reads
Q. 2012 Must Reads: Name a few at the top of your list to be read this year.
A. I like the idea of choosing a few books a month according to a certain theme. Since February 14 is Valentine's Day, and February is Black History Month in the US, I want to make sure to read a few books with a romantic theme, plus some written by African American authors. 2 of my choices are below:

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan. The nameless narrator of here, has constructed the story of his relationship as dictionary-like entries.

What Color Is My World?: The Lost History Of African American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld, A.G. Ford (Illustrator), Ben Boos (Illustrator).
A handyman named R.E. Mital teaches a pair of twins about great African-American inventors and scientists as they explore their new house. The authors interweave the story of the brother and sister and their unusual house guide with facts about people whose achievements have become part of our everyday lives. Each room they explore provides Mr. Mital with an opportunity for a biographical presentation. Thus, turning on a light bulb opens a discussion about Lewis Latimer, while cleaning the bathroom cabinet leads to information about Drs. Percy Julian, Daniel Hale Williams and Charles Drew. Time in the kitchen segues into facts about George Crum and the potato chip. A cell phone leads to details about Dr. Mark Dean and computer graphics, Dr. Valerie L. Thomas and 3-D and James West and microphones.

I've also already discussed 10 Books I Hope Santa Brings {My Winter 2011/2012 Reading List} and 10 Books Coming Out in the First Half of 2012 That I'm Excited About Reading.

The Shortlist for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards was announced on Jan 7, 2012, and I hope to read more of the books on the Speculative Fiction list.

Finalists for Speculative Fiction
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (loved it - see Weekly Reads About Monsters, Vampires and Peculiar Children)
• The Magician King by Lev Grossman (didn't love it - see Weekly Reading with The Magician King)
• 11/22/1963 by Stephen King
• Among Others by Jo Walton
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

More => Finalists for the 2011 The Philip K. Dick Award (for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States) - announced on Jan. 10. I'm going to try and read After the Apocalypse by Maureen F. McHugh before the winner is announced (on Apr 6, 2012) - since it's the only short story collection on the list. The other finalists can be seen at their website.

Plus => The Short Story Prize announced the 2011 Finalists. I'm already half-way through one of the books, We Others by Steven Millhauser and loving it. The other 2 finalists are The Angel Esmeralda by Don DeLillo and Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman.

And => Finalists for the 2011 Man Asia prize were also announced on Jan 10, 2012. Interesting list including Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin - actually the only book Ive heard of; and The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad - who is an 80 year old debut author. Check out their website to see the other 5 finalists (you will not find Murakami); and the winner will be announced on March 15, 2012.

Plus => Don't forget the 2011 CYBILIS - Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Award - Finalists was announced Jan 1, 2012. The winners in various categories, will be announced in February.

Finally => The Morning Tournament of Books has announced the 2012 line-up.

16 books will do battle in March - I've only read 2 ... The Tiger's Wife, Tea Obreht (which is on a crazy amount of "best of" lists - and which I didn't particularly care-for), and The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides - which I enjoyed more than The Tiger's Wife - but I think it will be especially enjoyed by the English Lit elitist crowd and make them wet themselves with smug self-satisfaction ... not to say others won't like it as well ... just not as much. I still want to read a few of the other books on the list though.

Do you ever check out book awards when selecting books to read?