Summer Reading

OK. So since the school year is quickly winding down and everyone is already thinking about summer and NOT about the time between now and exams, I want to get some summer reading ideas out there.

I have a coupon in my purse waiting for a free moment when I can get to the Scholastic Warehouse sale. Hopefully, I can get there before it is over. I want to get new must-read books for the summer and to put on my shelf next year.

Here are a few I may try to read between now and September, and I will continue to add to this list based on your suggestions and on other books I see or hear about:

Notice and Note (Teacher Book)
Book Love (Teacher Book)
Chasing Lincoln's Killer (Interesting title and I believe it's non-fiction)
The final Divergent series book (I don't remember what it's called, but I know my nephew loaned me the first 2 but had lost the 3rd one so I couldn't read it)


What else should I read?

Should similar story lines matter?

My latest book got me thinking, probably more than I should, but it did. I even had to ask some of my students about it.

I was reading this book that was interesting to me. I read a sample on my Kindle several weeks ago and liked it enough that I bought the book and the sequel. When my books arrived and I continued to read it, I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. It was a good enough story, don't get me wrong, but here was my problem: this story had a lot of similarities to two other questing type stories (that are/were wildly popular) that it kind of bothered me.

Have you ever heard a song on the radio that you liked, then later you found out it was a remake? You listen to the original and decide that the first version you heard was the version you preferred.

I feel like this is where I'm at with this book. It was a good book that drew me in and I finished it in less than a week. I am even 1/3 of the way through the sequel. I just can't decide how it compares to the other books and it is clouding my judgement of the book.

It bothered me so much that I checked the copyright dates of the books to see who had the ideas first to try to ease my mind. One of the similar books was printed starting in 1954 and the final books printed in 1955, the other was in 2001 through 2011, the book I just read was printed in 1991 and the second is 1998.

I still like the author and she wrote one of my favorite books, I just can't decide how I feel about these books. Should this bother me like it does? Should I like these books because they came before the other popular books?

Have you ever had this problem of similar story lines distracting you?

Recommendations

This school year I have become so much more vocal about books and reading. I love talking about books and hearing about books all of you have been reading. I hope you have heard me talk about books I have struggled with reading as well as books I have really enjoyed. I have tried to be honest with you about all of them, and I have been motivated to read more. Talking with all of you about books has motivated me to read MORE. During previous school years, I have been guilty of not reading very many choice books.

The great thing about the last few months, though, is that some of you are starting to talk back! I had one student recommendation for Song of the Sparrow, I wasn't really excited about it at first, but it was based off of an Arthurian poem, so it couldn't be too bad. I enjoyed reading that book. It had been a long time since I had a book stir my emotions so much.

After finishing that I had to find another book to read, I picked one from a favorite author, read it for a few days and it is currently abandoned. I'm nervous about it. It's a little too intense for my typical tastes. One of my seniors has picked it up, and said it's pretty interesting and pretty accurate so far. I'll let him tell me if my fears are correct when he gets to the end of the book.

A few days ago I had one student ask me if I have read any good books lately. I was in the middle of a book, but it was just OK for me. I in turn asked him if he had any recommendations for me. He didn't but said that he would let me know when he does have a suggestion.

I love getting recommendations from all around me. I love being able to talk about these books with my students.

I guess I'm just asking you to "Tell me more, tell me more" I can't wait to read what you recommend. With just a few weeks left, this has been a great year for reading.

Talking about Reading

I've had the by in from 2 other English teachers at school. I have a challenge for all of you who are reading The Sparks. If you read and comment below about what you are reading, what you think about the book, and write to each other on here about the book some of your English teachers will be willing to give you extra credit!

WooHoo! Let's get talking!

A little indecisive?

I stopped at the library on the way home yesterday to return some items I checked out and a couple items I had on hold were ready to pick up. I am now going to change the book I'm reading once again, but I WILL stick with it this time.

Am I the only one who will choose a book based on a movie or a reference from a movie?

Over the weekend, I watched Saving Mr. Banks. It is a movie about Walt Disney trying to get P.L. Travers to give him the movie rights to Mary Poppins so he could make the movie. The movie offered some insight into what Travers's life used to be like. I found it very interesting.

Several years ago I read the book Mary Poppins and I didn't really like it. I thought Mary Poppins was mean and selfish and not Julie Andrews. After watching Saving Mr. Banks I decided I needed to reread Mary Poppins and I wanted to see if there is a biography about P.L. Travers. The life described in Saving Mr. Banks, really explains why Travers's Mary Poppins is so different from Julie Andrews's Mary Poppins. I found a biography, Mary Poppins, She Wrote by Valerie Lawson.

Now I am excited to read this book and learn some more about Travers's life and Mary Poppins. When I am done reading the biography I wil reread Mary Poppins with new eyes, then I may even rewatch both movies.

I think I will be busy for a while. The nice thing is that in 1.5 weeks my 12th grade students will be choosing non-fiction independent reading books for their 2nd semester Independent Reading Project and now I can join them in their non-fiction discussions with my real-time reading.

Finally!

It's happened. The book that I have been complaining about since the Break, the one that was slow and I was having a hard time getting into, well I reached 50% today with it. Now, I am having a hard time putting it down and am currently over 75%. It took me one day to go this last 25% and almost 2 weeks to go the first 50%! I have finally become invested and interested in the characters. My perception and impression of the book has changed. I have finally been drawn into this book. I want to know what happens to the main characters. Will they find happiness? Will their questions get answered?

I wish it didn't take so long, but here's what I'm thinking, and you may not like it, some times you have to just slog through a book that should hold your interest and see if your thoughts change. You may be surprised or you may be horribly disappointed. If you keep going, though, you will have an answer and you will have knowledge to back up your opinion.

Dragging

Over the holiday break, I read a couple books and I started a new one, The Centurion's Wife. The last few books I read I had no problem getting to the end. I read them in just a couple days, granted I had more time, but they were interesting reads that made me want to sit down and sneak in a couple minutes of reading as much as I could. When I chose to read The Centurion's Wife, I picked it because it sounded more interesting than the other books I have right now and I wanted a break from the Sci-Fi/Fantasy books. I just wanted to read something a little different. I am struggling, though.

The Centurion's Wife is has an interesting premise and was co-written by an author that I used to really enjoy reading. It is the story of a young woman who is a servant in Pontius Pilate's house, she is also his niece. Pilate was the Roman governor that Jesus was brought before for trial and ultimately his crucifixion. The story is set soon after the Crucifixion. The woman, Leah, finds out that a centurion has asked to marry her, and she doesn't want to marry. Pilate has promised Leah's hand in marriage to the centurion for a price. What happens in this story against this particular backdrop is why I have kept reading so far.

It kind of draws my attention, but I am struggling to get through this book. I fall asleep on the couch, I get distracted in class, and I am just dragging through this book. I need to finish it; someone I know read this book and really liked it, but I feel like setting it aside and finding a different book that I know will be a quick read.

Have you ever felt this way? What book did you struggle with? Why was this book a struggle? What did you do, did you quit it or did you force yourself to finish?

What should I do?

What to read? The trouble with time...

Two things:

1. I'm going through my memory trying to update my Goodreads account for all the books I have read and I realize that is never going to happen. Maybe I can just add to my list slowly as I think of the books I've read over the years and try to remember if I like them or not. I think for now I will just add the ones I really like a lot and add the most recent books I've read and own.

2. In the mean time, what do I read next? I have no paper and ink books that I'm excited to read right now, and it's not the same to read from the old school Kindle. Last week, as I was packing for the holiday break I wondered what book to bring home with me since I will have SO much time to read. Well, I forgot about a few things, there is house cleaning to be done, snowflakes to make to turn this into a white Christmas (even if it means only in the house), cookies to bake, and gifts to wrap. So how am I going to get any reading done?

Ah, ha! Audio books! There is nothing like sitting down or lounging on the couch with a book in hand smelling the glue, paper, and ink and feeling my hand fall asleep as I get deeper and deeper into the story. However, I'm at the point that I feel like I don't have the luxury to do that right now. There is so much to do to get ready for Wednesday, when my celebrations start! I will get on my library website and download an audio book in my Overdrive, then my whole house can listen to the latest adventure.

Hmm... Can you make a snowflake in the shape of a ship? What do you think English 10, should we journey Around the World in January? English 12, what about you? Should we join Gulliver on his travels?

Christmas Book Flood

I found this on Facebook tonight. If this is true, it is my kind of holiday!

I have always had at least one book on my Christmas list. I'll admit, I have a book problem. This year I asked for a hard copy of The Curse of the Capistrano (aka The Mark of Zorro). I read the e-version, and the movie is a family favorite. Is there a book on your Christmas list?

Where do you get book recommendations from?

You can get recommendations for your next book to read from just about anywhere.

Have you ever recommended a book to someone? If they read it how did you feel about it?

My guess, you really liked having someone read a book you said they should read.

What do you do if you don't like the recommendation they gave you?

I haven't been shy about where I get my book recommendations. My students, fellow teachers, husband, family, Amazon account, library, and my children have all offered me suggestions. I've also gotten suggestions from a neighboring family at a campground while on vacation. I wouldn't have discovered The Penderwicks series if it hadn't been for them. I have also found my next read by just reading titles on a bookshelf, hearing about hit movies based on books, or looking for titles that I've heard about but haven't taken the time to read yet.

I know how excited I get when someone is reading a book I recommended. I see the look in my daughter's eyes when she sees me reading one of her recommendations. I notice the smile when I read a book that a student recommends and talk to them about it.

Isn't it funny, one of the best things about reading books, is the sharing and discussing. People get excited about books.

Spread the excitement, read a book and share a book.

What are you reading?

What are you reading right now?

OK, not literally right now, because we all know you are reading this blog, but what book have you been reading. Tell us about it. Do you like it? What were your initial thoughts about it? Why did you pick it up?

I just started reading Gilded by Christina Farley. I picked it off my classroom shelf yesterday for our independent reading time. I didn't want to read the latest educational books I got yet. I wanted something "fun" to read. So I picked an interesting cover.

I'm three chapters into it and I'm curious about what is going to happen. It took me a few pages to get into reading it, but it did start off with me asking a lot of questions about what was going on. It also started with a lot of action (maybe a little too fast into the action?). Today, during independent reading time 1st hour, I was disappointed when the timer went off. I'll be ready to read more from it later.

I'm hooked.

Now, what about you?