Books I've Read in the Past Four Years that Need to be Reviewed ASAP

This is just a place for me to keep track of the books that I've read and need to be reviewed...it's good to

[Source]

have goals!

2013

*Did I review any books at all this year? Lord knows I didn't really read very many!

1. The Cay
2. Kindred
3. The Prophet
4. Things Fall Apart
5. Nantucket Blue
6. Life As We Knew It
7. Dancing at the Harvest Moon
8. Fahrenheit 451
9. Allegiant
10. Quantum of Solace
11. The Painted Veil
12. Hard Sell
13. The Last Little Blue Envelope
14. Losing It
15. The Key to College Success
16. A Modern Girls' Guide to Bible Study
17. 13 Little Blue Envelopes
18. Workshops that Work
19. So, What Do They Really Know?
20. The Great Gatsby
21. Eleanor and Park
22. Image Grammar
23. Class of '88: Senior

2012

*Wow, only three! That's awesome!

1. Flapper
2. Infinite Jest
3. The Vincent Boys #1

2011

*It would seem I give up reviewing once the school year starts...hmmm...?

1. Midnight Cowboy
2. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
3. 22 Things...
4. A Repair Kit for Grading
5. Readicide
6. Vanity Fair
7. Horns
8. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
9. Maisie Dobbs
10. Ragtime
11. Vanity Fair

55 Books in a Year: Book #57 Antigone and #58 The Woman in Black

Two Classic Novels

I read both of the books below for school. We were doing a new unit using Antigone and Persepolis and I read The Woman in Black for to complete the projects for our second independent read.

A Classic Greek Play
Antigone

• First heroine in literature
• Classic display of hubris

Projects used:
Adapted from Novel Units: Antigone Teaching Guide
The Oedipus Story
Persepolis Movie Questions
Irony in Antigone
Foils in Antigone
Antigone Structure-Summary Diagram
Persepolis/Antigone Pardon Essay
Allusions in Antigone

Why I love this book: 
I've always enjoyed the many aspects of this play as they are the first time ever to be seen. I like that when I read it the first time I really thought that Antigone was a strong, proud woman who stood up for her beliefs. I liked that upon reading it again I recognized that both Antigone and Creon could have changed their fates by listening to one another and I realized that while I didn't want to be Ismene, Antigone really isn't someone to emulate. She just seems stubborn and bull-headed. I wasn't really impressed by Haemon either.

A Modern Classic in the Gothic Style
The Woman in Black

• Includes several popular Gothic elements
• Classic ghost story

Projects used:
One-Pager and Single Page book

Why I love this book:
I like that I didn't even know that this book was published in the 80s, until I began reading it. I thought it was just a Gothic novel that I didn't know about. The build up to the end of this book was pretty gosh darned awesome. I kept on wondering what was going to happen and well, the ending does not disappoint in the sheer creepiness department.

55 Books in 2012 Recap

OK, so I actually read 65 books in 2012...hence the new goal of 65 for 2013...Goodreads thinks I read 67 books, but really. I cannot count "The Little Mermaid" and "The Strange Case of Finley Jayne" as whole books. Thanks Goodreads for helping me rediscover my love of reading in 2011 and for helping me come to terms with the fact that not all good books have to be literature in 2012!

Books in order of how much I like them in relation to each other:

1. 2] Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman  Sam Wasson 
2. 65] Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern Joshua Zeitz 
3. 35] Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell Susanna Clarke
4. 14] The Moonstone Wilkie Collins
5. 15] Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling
6. 49] The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight Jennifer E. Smith
7. 17] Anna and the French Kiss Stephanie Perkins
8. 50] The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern
9. 20] Divergent Veronica Roth
10. 4] Around the World in 80 Days Jules Verne
11. 40] Lost in a River of Grass Ginny Rorby
12. 63] Let it Snow John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
13. 3] Geek Girls Unite Leslie Simon
14. 1] Bittersweet Sarah Ockler
15. 59] Dark Water Lauren McNeal
16. 42] The Garner Files James Garner
17. 7] Mary Poppins PL Travers
18. 64] Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace 
19. 46] On the Island Tracey Garvis-Graves
20. 38] Catching Jordan Miranda Kenneally
21. 60] The List Siobhan Vivian
22. 48] The Amazing and Death-Defying Diary of Eugene Dingman Paul Zindel
23. 44] The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle
24. 58] The Woman in Black Susan Hill
25. 19] Anna Dressed in Blood Kendare Blake
26. 30] Cycles Lois D. Brown
27. 24] Tangeled Tides Karen Amanda Hooper
28. 21] The Girl in the Steel Corset Kady Cross
29. 25] I Just Want My Pants Back David J. Rosen
30. 18] Bet Me Jennifer Crusie
31. 16] The Lucky One Nicholas Sparks
32. 31] Soulless Gail Carriger
33. 5] Paranormalcy Kiersten White
34. 9] The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher Kate Summerscale
35. 10] Kissing Kate Lauren Myracle
36. 8] The Fox DH Lawrence
37. 32] Slumber Party Christopher Pike
38. 29] Insurgent Veronica Roth
39. 56] Mare’s War Tanita S. Davis
40. 54] 50 Shades Darker EL James
41. 52] 50 Shades of Grey EL James
42. 6] Between the Land and the Sea Derrolyn Anderson
43. 27] Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings  Helene Boudreau
44. 22] OyMG  Amy Fellner Dominy
45. 53] Just for Fins Tera Lynn Child
46. 41] The Lure of Shapinsay Kristin Holle
47. 33] Changeless Gail Carriger
48. 34] Kiss Me I’m Irish Bella Street
49. 47] The Blood Spur Charles Einstein
50. 43] Formative Assessments and Standard-Based Grading Robert Marzano
51. 28] Albert Nobbs George Moore
52. 51] The Lincoln Lawyer Michael Connelly
53. 45] Hands On Grammar Katherine S. McKnight
54. 12] Fins Are Forever Tera Lynn Child
55. 39] Warrior’s Rise LJ DeLeon
56. 36] Sea Change Aimee Friedman
57. 57] Antigone Sophocles
58. 26] Pinch Hit Tim Green
59. 61] The Vincent Boys Abbi Glines
60. 13] A to Z Stories of Life and Death D. Biswas
61. 23] Robinson Crusoe Daniel DeFoe
62. 11] For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women Shaunti Feldhahn 
63. 55] 50 Shades Freed EL James
64. 62] In Over Her Head Judi Fennell
65. 37] Everblue Brenda Pandos

And, if you like reading lists...here's my list from 2011!

55 Books in a Year: Book #53 Just for Fins and #62 In Over Her Head

Just for Fins

Reason for reading:

It's the third book in the series and I was a little worried I wasn't going to like it as I was not impressed with book 2, but I wanted/needed to finish the series.

Read this if you like:

Tera Lynn Childs, mermaids, Forgive My Fins (the first book in the series), stories about family, royalty, the ocean without being too technical

My thoughts:

What a lovely ending to the series. At least I hope it's the ending...I know how writers are nowadays. I also like that Lily kind of redeems her not so academic self by having such a passion for the ocean. I like how she is willing to learn from others and I like how she is quite the brave communicator.Quince must complete three challenges to win over Lily and everybody including Doe is rooting for him. This is such a fun, light series and I appreciate that!

In Over Her Head

Reason for reading:

I was curious about what an 'adult' mermaid book might be.

Read this if you like:

Romance novels, books about buried treasure, Splash, the sea and the ocean as it goes into great detail about both

My thoughts:

Gah! There's wayyyy to much ocean description. I don't need to know the name of every creature present. Heck, as a Midwestern I found myself looking up or Googling images just to get an idea of what the flip was going on. Also, I'm beginning to hate this new (?) trend that romance novels have of waiting until about 200 pages in before there's any 'action' and then the 'action' is so prevalent that it is distracting. Parts of this book were really cute, but most of it required too much from me to make it work.

2012 Mermaid books read in order of how much I like them

1. Tangled Tides *****
2. Between the Land and the Sea ****
3. Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings ****
4. Just for Fins ****
5. The Lure of Shapinsay ****
6. Fins are Forever ***
7. The Little Mermaid ***
8. Sea Change ***
9. In Over Her Head ***
10. Everblue **

55 Books in a Year: Book #52, #54, #55 The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy

So, I've got 12 books to review in, um, 3 days...so I'll be chunking them up. If you want to see full reviews of the young adult books check out Teen Text Talk...for the others, well that's all she wrote.

For this post, I'll be doing the three 50 Shades books...

I find that when I'm overly stressed out and busy I read books that entertain, but do not challenge...enter this trilogy. I'm not going to lie I found these books fun and entertaining and a bit more like Twilight than I thought they would be, even though I knew they were fanfiction. I also didn't really find them all that dirty (not really sure what that says about me...), but I've read loads of romance novels and you can only talk about having sex so much before it becomes bland, and, frankly, I found the sex scenes so similar that after the first book I breezed through the sex to read the story. And, just as I did with the Twilight Saga (everytime I call it the Twilight Saga I cannot help, but chortle...saga, really?), I really liked the first book and eventually got bored with the story and with the love story and just wanted some action...real action by the end.

Fifty Shades of Grey
Story line
From Goodreads:
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
 
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
Plusses

• Christian Grey...I really tried not to like him as I felt he would be an affront to the virtues of men and women everywhere, but alas he had his good qualities.
• Ana seems to be a bit more powerful in this book than the other two.
• There were some laugh out loud moments...hmm...I hope they were meant to be funny, at least they were to me.

Minuses

• the phrase 'inner Goddess'...who edited these books, they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing that phrase to appear at all, let alone in the amount that it does.
• no matter what i tried, i could stop Ana from being Bella...why is that you ask? because this book is the Twilight book...you can change the location and you can muddle up the names, but still...
• the use of the word 'baby'...ugh.
• Ana...double ugh.

Fifty Shades Darker

Not that I want to admit this, but I probably found this book to be the best one. I like the story line and the locations. I don't really know if that's because I got used to the horrible writing. I feel like the first book is all about how sensational Christian and Ana are and this book actually has more dialogue, less 'baby's' and less of that friggin' inner goddess bull-crap. We also get to meet Ana's family and Christian's family and so there's less of that awful romantic conversation crap.

Story line
From Goodreads:
Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. 

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades. 

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Plusses

• I really do like Christian Grey...I loath myself.
• The setting...I've never thought of Seattle as a place I'd want to visit. I guess it's more than the 90s Grunge scene and coffee houses.
• I also like Christian's house-keeper, well, actually, I like all the people that work for him on a personal level--the office bimbos I could do without.

Minuses

• OK, so I always imagined Rochester from Jane Eyre as talking like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. About half-way through this book, I realized that Christian was taking on some of these traits...who wants to fantasize about Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.
• Oh, Bella, er, I mean Ana get over yourself...you are the worst character ever written...I still don't quite grasp what you conflict is and you make me want to punch you in the kidney.
• Christian is a bit, ok more than a bit of a STALKER, and, since when is this an attractive quality in a man.

Fifty Shades Freed
I don't know why this book exist...the first 100 pages are so dull.
Not that I know a lot about S&M and I had to Google often to understand what was going on, but I really don't like the story arc of the lady (I don't the flip remember her name) who 'helped' Christian and then turned psycho and I don't like the treatment of the all the reasons Christian is the way he is. Why can't he just like doing it because he likes to? And, I really thought that woman would become a friend, not a jealous old lady with nothing except her money and boy toys.

Story line
From Goodreads:
Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.

Plusses:

• Um...er...there's that house that sounds just amazing.

Minuses:

• What the heck was that honeymoon about???
• What the heck was that ending about???
• Ana is the most static character ever!
• And, I am done with the Britishisms...why are people from America living in Seattle talking like they live in the West End!!!???

OK, so for all my dislike of what these books have done to mainstream America, I couldn't help, but read them and like them and like talking about them. The characters aren't roll models, the sex is pretty much used to propel the plot, but, if you told me you were going to read them I wouldn't stop you.

And, I'd want to dish about it.

55 Books in a Year: Book #51 The Lincoln Lawyer

Ok, ok...I may have watched the movie before reading this book. It could be my old age or the fact that I've been working my butt off lately, but I may have watched the movie twice BEFORE even thinking about reading this book.

What can I say I like lawyer movies, and I like movies starring Matthew McConaughey, and I like movies starring Mr. McConaughey as a lawyer. I enjoyed the twists and turns the story took and wasn't sure they'd be as interesting in a book.

The thing is that while the book doesn't move as fast as the movie...and, the movie doesn't move fast at all...there are so many pluses to reading this book.

#1 Characterization
I like how Connelly writes Mickey Haller just as much as I like how McConaughey plays him. This guy is a truly flawed character who has his ex working for him and a tiny list of true friends to contrast his large Christmas list. I like that the book goes into detail about how guilty Haller feels about his failed marriage, failed relationships, failed relationship with his daughter and his guilt about being a lawyer who gets his money from living in the gray.

#2 Setting 
From the car to the court house Connelly sets the scene so well that I understand how a Lincoln can be an office, I felt the Los Angele heat and I was there in the courtroom and in the jail cells.

#3 Believable Story
In the end of this book not everything is tied up and Haller must struggle with the fact that doing good weighs more on his conscious than pretending good.

I liked this book and am glad that I have found another serial novelist to sink my teeth into on those nights when I should be grading or writing lesson plans.

The Lincoln Lawyer was my first Michael Connelly book, I look forward to reading more.I suppose I should start with the first one.

I like when I read a book after watching the movie and the book, while it has a different feel than the movie, is just as enjoyable. This is definitely one of those books. I'll be reading more Connelly in the near future.

55 Books in a Year: Book #50 The Night Circus

I started this book last Fall...yes, last Fall. And, if my status updates are any indication this book was gosh darned slow to start. Slow as H-E-C-K!

Reading Progress

09/09	page 280		73.0%	"I suppose you get to a point where this book moves fast enough."
09/09	page 181		47.0%	"'Second verse same as the first.' I feel like I should wear more black, white and red. I have students who will love this book."
09/08	page 121		31.0%	"if I may be quite honest I started this like, um, last fall and got to page 31 and then stopped...wow, it was so boring and then I put it on a reading challenge and must have it read by the end of the month...the beauty of the language keeps me going. not really sure why it can't be told in sequential order. books that go out of time without a reason make me want to punch puppies."

This book was probably at a "2" until about half way, and, then, frankly, by the end it was a delicious and solid "5"...hence, the "4". It's one of those books where you can tell the author loves the world that has been created and this is the first book that I've ever read where the world that has been created is so magical and beautiful (like made for a movie that I'm sure is going to be created soon) that it distracts from the plot and from the characters. I couldn't tell if I wanted the two main characters to get together in the end and I wasn't sorry when any characters died...I didn't get to know them that well, I loved the ending so much I forgot about the beginning. And, gah, any character development happened in relation to that darned circus. It takes about 100 pages to go anywhere and that's a lot of darned circus talk.  Although I just didn't love all that rising action in the beginning, I do love me some circus action. And, really, who doesn't love a circus?

Yeah, that darned circus with it's beautiful maze and wishing tree and bonfire and delicious cider. Uh, uh, that circus with its contortionist and fortune teller and wide-eyed red-headed, mystical twins. Of course, there's a love triangle, of sorts and an aged old magicians bet. I wish I could have seen more of that...the bet, the mysterious characters, the love story. Read this and you'll want to grab your black and white dress or tux, throw on your red scarf and find some wonderful place to skulk about at night hoping for your dreams to come true, just don't plan on finding any characters to fall in love with on your journey, well, that is until the circus is about ready to close.

55 Books in a Year: Book #49 The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight

OK, so we've already established that I love romance and schmoopiness and chick-lit...I'd like to share with you one more very important point.

I am an over-the-top, dorkopatamus, hopeless Romantic. This book by Jennifer E. Smith, The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight, totally encapsulates this sentiment.

I could gush on and on about the cover alone with it's perfect hand-writing font and it's adorable drawn-on heart doodle and the black and the white and the red and the airport PDA, but I'd much rather talk about Oliver and Hadley and my favorite place in the world, London, and, you know, my romantic view of airports and my teenage girl dream of meeting a lovely British boy on a plane.

I believe that airports and airplanes are two of the most romantic places in the world. They are brimming over with possibilities and full of stories...hearts being broken and courted and hopes being crushed and dreams being answered. And, I cannot count the amount of times I have sat in my seat hoping that someone would sit next to me and this someone would change my whole life. Of course, that's not how it went at all...but, I still have that dream in my soul. Passionate airport kisses and over-whelming desires to have them were just an added bonus to this dream.

Smith writes her characters in such a way that I totally believe that a girl could meet and fall for a guy in 8 hours. I totally believe that said guy would not feel totally weird about meeting said girl at an awkward time, and would put himself on the line just as much as she would to make sure that they saw one another again.

To add to the layers, Hadley's going to England to be in her father's wedding to a woman she has never met and doesn't want to meet. As Hadley gets to know Oliver more, we, in turn, begin to understand that she isn't very different from her father. And, we begin to understand that there are different types of love and not all of them end in happily ever after. We begin to understand that we have to be true to ourselves and accept the consequences of our actions.

I believe in love at first sight and, I love thinking about the idea that all of this happens because Hadley was running four minutes late. Because what would love at first sight be without fate playing the biggest role of all.

55 Books in a Year: Book #48 The Bloody Spur

"But when they should endure the bloody spur, 
They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades, 
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on?"
~Julius Caesar Act IV; Scene 2

I love film noir and I love classic pulp fiction. There's just something about an underpaid under-appreciated guy looking for the truth, trench-coat flapping, cigarette burning. Cleaning my classroom this summer I found a bunch of old books and in that pile was this lovely book The Bloody Spur (1st edition, opposite of mint condition). I cataloged the book and looked to see if they had it on the Nook, as I knew I wanted to read it, but didn't want to hurt the spine or break the cover any more than it already was.

Just, so you know last month they began to offer this classic pulp novel as an ebook and it's only $.99. It's got a few typos, but still it's a fun read.

The story opens with the funeral of a prominent newspaper man. At the grave-site and across the way there's a procession for a murdered secretary, the second, they believe, in a row of ghastly murders committed by the same evil man.

And, like any good piece of pulp this book goes off on many devious and bawdy tangents. There are four men vying for the spot left vacant by the newsman's death. These men are sleeping with their secretaries, one hires his mistress to seduce and blackmail someone else, there's lying and thieving and conniving and in the middle of it all there's these grisly murders. Based on real life events:

In 1952, he wrote a successful book called the "Bloody Spur," which was based on the crimes of William Heirens, the "Lipstick Killer," who terrorized Chicago in the mid-1940s. Movie director Fritz Lang later made the book into a celebrated 1956 film noir called "While the City Sleeps," which was set in New York.

Now, I've got to just find that movie...although, I'm sure it's taken out all the juicy bits. 

55 Books in a Year: Book #47 The Amazing and Death-Defying Diary of Eugene Dingman

When it comes to coming of age novels I enjoy an good story about an angsty, awkward teenage boy. I especially enjoy this kind of book when our male protagonist narrates. It's no wonder why I am in deep love with the blonde, uncomfortable male lead in the novel The Amazing and Death-Defying Diary of Eugene Dingman by Paul Zindel. Eugene Dingman reminds me a lot of Holden Caulfield, both are angsty and self-absorb, but when I was younger I felt they hung the moon.

I didn't realize how much this book is a foundation of my being until I re-read it. My favorite quote and philosophy of living comes from this novel.

"It doesn't make any difference what you do in the bedroom as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses." ~Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Although I thought it was my idea to read Madame Bovary, I think it started here with Eugene.

I also didn't realize how many references, pop and political, lit and theatrical, exist in this book and you can't tell me that the Kauffman's (think Friends') and the Palladino's (think The Gilmore Girls) weren't subtly influenced by this book and Zindel as well.

One can not argue that this novel is a classic, a classic YA novel that I just had to nominate for the classic YA read for the month of August, (Nobody's commented on my comments if you want to join, read and do so that would be awesome). It follows the basic classic literature tenets.

From About.com and a conversation had at YA Reads...
1] is an expression of life truth or beauty this is a coming of age novel that has a male protagonist that deals with many of the things (family relationships or lack thereof, thoughts of suicide, friendships, running away) that teens deal with, and we read about his life 1st hand in his journal...whether the authors know it or not, this book is a foundation for books such as The Perks of Being a Wall-flower, An Abundance of Katherines's and  Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, as they have conflicted male voices as protagonists.

2] stands the test of time it's on many booklist, especially when looking for classic male coming of age books...and, i found several reading list, here are three of note:

Paul Zindel's Classic Novels
Various school districts including this one
Reading Suggestions for Advanced Readers

 It's also 'an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

3] has universal appeal Zindel's books are much like SE Hinton's books in the sense that they appeal to a certain kind of kid, usually reluctant reader types or fringe kids as his characters exhibit some of these traits...Eugene Dingman is no exception.

4] makes connections From the back: "On his fifteenth birthday, precocious Eugene Dingman begins the amazing and death-defying diary of his summer spent as a waiter at a ritzy Adirondack resort." Here's a review from 1988 that I think hits the nail on the head. Any person who has doubted, wonder, puzzled and struggled will find something to relate to in the character Eugene Dingman. I know I did! Hope this helps! :D

Seriously, go grab yourself that mix-tape I know you've been itching to play since you found your tape player, pop it in and read this lovely homage to the 80s, brilliant teenagers full of ennu and summertime. Afterwards you might want to watch Dirty Dancing or any movie involving John Cusack as a teenager. You've been warned.

55 Books in a Year: Book #46 On the Island

The following is full of spoilers...I thought I'd tell you just in case you were totally expecting the unexpected you will not find it in this book. Surely, I'm not giving ANYTHING away here. Does that cover look like the kind of book that would kill off its characters in the end?

Great Summer read...glad I wasn't reading it on a plane...wish I could have read it on a beach!

OK, maybe not a beach exactly...

I think I may be a romantic of the sappy variety.

Here are some of the signs:

1. I can watch the Lifetime channel all. day. long.
2. I like my 'Happily Ever Afters'.
3. I like the Hallmark Channel
4. I prefer Sandra Bullock to be in movies where she lives in Chicago and likes men who 'lean'
5. The shows that I love the most are shows that have a hard-core 'shipper' factor...The X-Files, Bones, Castle, sure these seem like murder mystery alien shows, but that's all a guise for the sexual tension.
6. I like sexual tension.
7. I love chick-lit. I don't think chick-lit is a derogatory word. I like my chick-lit in various forms and sizes.
8. When I grow up I want to be Bridget Jones.
9. My reading list this year has so many pinky, reddish, schmoopie colors it almost makes me embarrassed. Almost.

This book, On the Island, should be a sign unto itself. 30 year old woman meets 16, almost 17, year old boy recovering cancer patient. She's his tutor. They crash on an island. He matures. She *cough* matures. They um, well, you know it is an island and they are stranded there together for a long time.

And, the thing is nothing about the above story is creepy, at least Tracey Garvis Graves goes out of her way to make sure that we understand enough about their relationship that we don't find it creepy and she gives us just enough about the two characters that we do buy that he grows into a man and she grows to love him. TJ is probably more ideal than a lot of main male characters out there and he isn't just a puppy following Anna around until she decides to love him. They both learn to accept each other and they learn that they can survive no matter what. I mean there's this scene with a shark that's just wow.

I like that the climax is that they get off the island 3 1/2 years after crash landing and about 2 1/2 days (only slight exaggeration) after they decide to have a relationship. They have to learn to love each other in the real world. Each of them have to decide if the love is real. And, I love that TJ gets it first.

Anyway, every single part of this book is predictable and I loved every single minute of it. I really kinda a lot want to read it again...especially the last 40 pages or so *hubba, hubba*.

It's like Robinson Crusoe meets The Blue Lagoon...yeah, I just did that.

55 Books in a Year: Book #45 Hands on Grammar

This is one of those books that you read more than one time and then you modify the lessons and you share the lessons. There are so many lessons that I will be using in my classroom. I can't wait to try these out and share them. Teaching grammar through mini-lessons in relation to a unit all year long seems like a better idea than the old-fashioned way of teaching grammar in isolation and this book is the ideal book to do that.

40 interactive lessons.

40.

And, I got them all for free. 

Over the summer I attended a differentiated instruction conference in Chicago. My first session was about common-core and DI. We talked about all sorts of things, but spent a long time talking about how the common-core standards will change the way we look at grammar. Something that people have being saying in my AP (advanced placement) conferences for years. The reason is simple: we teach grammar mostly in isolation without critical thinking and critical thinking is a heavy component in the common core. Common Core will ask students to 'show' what they have learned not memorize and spit back.

It will be tough.

It will be hard...mostly for those of us who have a traditional approach to teaching. This book and it's author are definitely there to help.

She also sent me a couple of other lovely books and a t-shirt I'm wearing as I type this. If she's presenting at a conference near you, I highly suggest attending.

Dr. Katherine McKnight can be found at:

K-12 In-Service PD for Teachers
katherinemcknight.com
Katherine McKnight Literacy on Facebook
@LiteracyWorld

and here's an article: "What Teachers Need to Know About the Common Core State Standards"

Thanks! Dr. McKnight!!!

And, no, I didn't check this post for grammar errors...it's a blog!!! *hahaha*

55 Books in a Year: book #44 The Last Unicorn

My first memory of The Last Unicorn is from 1982. My grandfather had taken the three of us to watch the movie. I was 5 years old. I remember that he bought us popcorn and a soda and candy each, so we didn't have to share. I remember sitting on one side of him, my sister Marissa on the other, my sister Kim beside me. Eventually Kim moved into the seat with me (there are parts of that movie that really are scary to a 4 year old).

I was mesmerized by the unicorn "the color of snow falling on a moonlit night", I fell in the love the singing and I was enchanted by the story of a lone unicorn searching for her brothers and sisters. A unicorn who sacrificed herself to save those she didn't even know she loved.

I remember reading the book not long after and I realize, now that I've read it again, I didn't get a lot of it and the parts that I remember most vividly are the parts that are included in the movie; a movie I have seen at least 100 times. This book, like other fairy tales, is perfect in the sense that it has the fantastic story of a unicorn, a prince, a castle, the sea, adventure and love. As an adult I still had all of these themes floating around in my head and heart, but as an adult I could see all that the unicorn lost and I could see all that she gained. When I was a kid the story didn't seem so bittersweet. I just liked all the unicorns. I knew she couldn't be the last.

You can read the sequel...I guess one can call it a sequel here. It's even more bittersweet and, well, sad.

55 Books in a Year: Book #43 Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading

Over the summer I went to Las Vegas for a JEA Advisers Institute. It was pretty awesome. Chris and I went a couple of days early and we played around and then when he left it was time for some learning.

One of the best sessions I attended was one about Systematic Grading presented by Sandra Coyer. If you are a teacher or know a teacher or read the news to learn about education you know that standards-based grading, common-core standards, holistic scoring, grading for learning, essential learning outcomes (ELOs), formative and summative assessments are just a few of the buzz words that have the education world in a tizzy. We're all (well save a few states, I hear) trying to move towards common-core as our common language and we're all trying to figure out how that will look in our classrooms. People seem to think that standards-based grading is the answer.

Hoping on this band-wagon is yours truly. I like that the ELOs that we've spent years, literally, perfecting become how and what we teach and we use this knowledge to grade our students, but I really didn't see how this would look in the classroom. Coyer's Prezi talks about several ideas that were swimming around in my head:

• that holistic scoring and standard-grading focus learning and make the goals for everyone easier to attain
• journalism classes are differentiated and prepare students for the 21st century better than most classes.

And, I wondered how that would look in my classroom.

There were so many thoughts and ideas and questions floating around that I had to find a way to focus. Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading is the perfect book for this.

Here's what his website says about the book

Benefits
This comprehensive guide:

• Identifies three types of formative classroom assessments that should be used in a comprehensive system and explains how to design them
• Explains the difference between “standards-based” and “standards-referenced” systems
• Explains why it is usually inappropriate to use the 100-point scale in conjunction with formative assessment
• Describes a systematic approach to the design and use of rubrics
• Presents four basic approaches to tracking student progress and provides reproducible grade sheets
• Discusses the use of technology in tracking progress and generating reports
• Addresses the issue of grades for teachers using formative approaches
• Includes an appendix that clearly explains the concept of effect size
• Provides exercises to help readers assess and reinforce their understanding of the new strategies

And, it has hand-outs that address all the mathy stuff! It's fantastic!

Here are the hand-outs we created for the students, and so far it's working like a dream!

Standards Based Grading Info
Standards Based Grading Scoring Guides

If you want more information about how we're doing standards-based grading in a school that does not feel free to email me for the details.

Links for more information:
21st Century Skills
Common Core Standards
Formative Assessments
Holistic Scoring
Standards-based Grading
Summative Assessments

55 Books in a Year: Book #42 The Garner Files

I have a wee bit of a confession (I love this blog for that reason) I love James Garner. I have loved James Garner for as long as I can remember. The Rockford Files used to come on after school, right before Scooby-Doo and I would walk home really fast so I wouldn't miss it. My first memory of him is in Rockford. He's lying on the grass with some chick (I don't really care who) and he's wearing a cream-colored cable-knit sweater. At the tender age of about 7, even I knew that not every man could pull off a cream colored cable-knit sweater.

I received The Garner Files for Christmas. Chris knew I wanted it...at least I hope he did. Every time we went to the bookstore I touched it or held it, I may have even said I wanted it...maybe. Anyway, I received it for Christmas, but I also received my Nook Tablet for Christmas--it was a miracle Christmas.

I read it a little and then, well, I read my Nook...it wasn't James Garner's fault by any means. His book is filled with all the wonderfulness of the stories of a gentleman who has lived a pretty glorious and awesome life. It was me. It was the darned light up screen and ease of travel. It was the fact that I didn't want to buy the book on my Nook.

And, then something marvelous happened, in hind-sight anyway, my Nook's cord broke and while waiting for a replacement I had to go on a trip to Chicago for a conference. On the way there I read a little James, in between sessions I read a little James and the 2nd night in I finished it.

Really, it's just that good.

It's hard for me to separate James Garner from Thomas Evans, my grandfather. Garner has a no nonsense approach to living. He sued the movie industry not to make money, but because it was the right thing to do. He punches liars and cheaters. He works just as hard as he plays. He loves cars and racing and golf and the out of doors. He loves his daughters and his wife and women. He values hard-work, honesty and ownership. And, he owns a lot in this book...he isn't perfect, but he is moral.

I love that he mentions Rob Lowe in this book because I couldn't help feeling that they both have a lot in common and, just like when I read Rob's book, I couldn't help but think about how cool it would be to meet James Garner and how awesome it would be just to talk with him about pretty much anything.

In his book we see a man that truly as lived life with no regrets. Many people talk about how this book has been narrated by a gentle curmudgeon. I don't disagree, however, James Garner's no nonsense attitude about his fame, his family, and his lot in life is something to be emulated and revered.

He would hate the praise, but he'd take it.

Sidenote: Several years ago James Garner and entourage came through our town. A student met him and the conversation about it went a little something like this.

Student: "There was some old guy who came in to get a cup of coffee at the store last night, my manager says he's famous."
Me: "Oh, really what has he been in?"
Student: "I dunno some show where he was a cowboy and another where he drove this really cool car. My manager was showing me pictures. He's names like Gardner or something."
Me: "Oh my gosh! You met James Garner and you don't even understand how awesome that is!?"
Student: "What, oh, I have his autograph on a receipt...that's cool, right!?"
Me: "What did he say to you?"
Student: "He just some plain coffee."
Me: "And...?"
Student: "That's it. I don't know. He was talking to my manager."
Me: "Gah, that's so unfair!"

I'm still whining about my not getting to meet James Garner. Sad day.

Link to a pretty cool review...I must say I'm a little jealous of her fan club card.

55 Books in a Year: Book #41 Lost in the River of Grass

I've been lost three times in my life. Once was with my friend when I was in 6th grade. We were riding our bikes and took one too many unknown turns and ended up in a field on a gravel path. It wasn't really that scary we'd packed a lunch, had planned on having an adventure and, in my small home town, all we had to do was pedaled to the top of the hill (hard on gravel, but not impossible) to see in what direction we needed to pedal to get back to town.

The second time involved my sisters and my grandparents house in the country. It was a little dicer, but still not that bad. We'd been walking in the fields and ended up walking to a creek out of sight of the house. We sat under a shady tree to cool down and tried to walk back the way we came, but ended up at the bottom of an, I swear, 90 degree hill. At the top of the hill we could see the house. Without food or water it was kind of hard to get up the hill and about half-way up we sat down...bad idea if you are trying to climb a vertical hill in the summer heat. but, we crawled up encouraging each other to get to the flat surface where the fence and yard were. Right when we thought we couldn't go any farther we heard our aunt calling us. She could see us and lifted the barbed wire to let us in. We were scolded with kisses and kool-aid and cold baths. She hadn't thought we were lost at all as she could see us from the dining room window the whole time.

The third time was something else entirely as it involved hiking in the dark unknown. It was my second year of teaching and a group of us had gone hiking. We left early and got to the natural bridge and creek at a wonderful time of day. The only problem was the seed ticks in our socks. We tried to follow the same path back, but it started getting dark and we lost our way. We were in a national park, but hadn't signed the post to say we were going to be in there. It grew pitch black and we didn't have any flashlights. We were not prepared for a night hike. It felt like we were going in circles and the seed ticks didn't help either. We ended up hiking up a hill in the dark straight into someone's back yard. These people were kind enough to take us to our cars.

After reading the book Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby I realize I've never been lost at all, and I'm not sure I could survive if I were left to my own devices in some sort of wilderness.

Sarah is a misfit at her preppy school. The girls make fun of her clothes, her mom works in the cafeteria and her dad isn't really in construction, he's a construction worker. She goes on the class field trip to the Everglades to hopefully get to know the students in her class better. Her hand-me down clothes and old camera just make her more out of place and when it's only her teacher giving her the time of day. She decides to take the scary advice of a local boy; she decides to go in an airboat into the Everglades. 

There are so many aspects of this book that are just beautiful, will do an excellent job of reeling in reluctant readers and are honest and real. Ginny makes a point to give us clues into Sarah's life but not everything comes to light until the end. Each chapter is divided up into how many days the kids are in The Glades. In Andy, we find a character who's life seems to mirror Sarah's own, however, Andy doesn't have the kind of parental support and therefore doesn't have the same opportunities. However, Andy is more than just your typical boy and Sarah isn't that 'fraidy cat girl she seems to be at the beginning. Finally, we have the Everglades. In this forest of water and trees we find all that is wonderful about nature and all that is deadly. There are gators and gator-crushing pythons, poisonous snakes, fire ants, Palmetto bugs (which I guess is a fancy Florida word for large roaches) and a baby duck named Teapot. 

In the end, I forgot all about how a stupid mistake got them into this mess and I forgot to think of the wilderness as scary instead I focused on the social and emotional issues of being a teenager and of being true to who you are. Rorby doesn't fail in giving us much to talk about at the end and over at YA Reads, we've talked about everything from the baby duck, to believable characteristics, to the wilderness, to what it means to be a teenager, to the cover of the latest edition. Yes, this book is that good and has that much going on. I loved every breathless minute!