Sunday, January 31, 2010

Ugh!!!

A few errors in that last post. Sorry!!!

I'm too tired to be blogging this late (8:30 !!! ) at night.

Front and Center!

This week I finished the "Dairy Queen" series with "Front and Center". I liked the series. I didn't think the writing was strong through each the three books, but I enjoyed how the author concluded the series with DJ making strong decisions based on her own needs and not the needs of others.

I've encouraged several students to read "Dairy Queen". It's making the rounds :)

What I LOVE about my job -- I love getting kids to read a book just convincing they will ENJOY the story!!! "Dairy Queen" is one that I can recommnend and get that effect with the kids.

I also finished "The Lightning Thief". Rick Riordan has written a great series. I was very impressed with his first book and asked my dear husband to pick up the others for me which he did on Friday night. Now, I just have to read 'em. :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Lightning Thief continues

"The Lightning Thief" is good. While it is not the type of book that I normally would want to read, it is keeping my attention. At this point, the author's hints of the book's resolution have seemed obvious to me and I am hoping I wrong, that I haven't figured out who betrays Percy.

(The book is geared toward middle school readers. Too many years of guiding students toward finding these types of things ruins a lot of books for me. LOL )

Beginning "Romeo and Juliet" Monday... R and J times 19 years, several years 6x a day, 1x in my own hs class, 1x in my college Shakespeare class = a LOT of R and J. :)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I have loved my Nook so much!!!

They are again available from Barnes and Noble.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/support/?cds2Pid=30195

Monday, January 25, 2010

Reading "The Lightning Thief"

I am currently reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

I wish we had a copy of this book for each kid!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Finished "The Off Season"

I finished "The Off Season".

My students (who have read the book) didn't like it... they thought it was "boring" and "slow".

I read it with a different perspective (of course!). A large portion of the book focuses on DJ's brother's rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury. There is a lot of discussion about the process of rehab and her brother's resistance/later, acceptance of his situation.

I remember going with my mom to the St. Lukes' rehab when she had her hip replaced. There was a young woman in rehab who had been in a car accident and suffered a broken neck (like DJ's brother). I watched her for several days while she and my mom were assigned stations beside each other. Each day they were working on her ability to return a balloon to the therapist by swinging her entire arm and trying to hit the balloon. She had been there for several weeks and it struck me (13-year-old me) that it had to be maddening to advance in such "baby steps" in her attempts to regain her functions. I remembered her and her accident when I began to drive. I wish I knew if she ever regained full movement of her limbs.

I enjoyed the book and I can't wait to read the third/final installment of the series!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Off Season

I'm reading "The Off Season" by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. (Her sister is Elizabeth Gilbert... "Eat, Pray, Love").

"The Off Season" is the sequel to "Dairy Queen". I'm enjoying reading about DJ again... :)

The school routine doesn't allow as much reading time (phooey!). Between curriculum changes, eMINTS /website deadlines, and the targeted tutoring beginning, I'm thinking the job is going to get a little crazy!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Romeo, Juliet and me x 70

We read "The Odyssey" before Christmas Break. When we returned from Christmas (we actually went 3 days!!!), we watched "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and had the kids write out the comparisons they could determine. They did a great job!!!

When we finish the upcoming 3 week grammar unit (not my favorite thing to teach :P) , we will start "Romeo and Juliet". If you count high school, college Shakespeare class, and 19 years of teaching it, some years 6x a day, I think I will be reading it for the 70th or so time. Sigh... it's a good thing I really like it :)

The seniors/juniors in 3A are working on "The Prairie" from James Fenimore Cooper's "The Leatherstocking Tales". Natty Bumppo passes again... :P I don't think they were too thrilled with the selection our textbook offers.

Tyler's section of Eng. 3 read a portion of "Moby Dick" during the 3 days... I don't think they were too impressed! I think it's again time we cut out the whale and have the kids walk over/around/on the whale to get a sense of its enormity. No fishing pole for that catch ;)

Does anyone remember reading those in high school? I didn't read either until American Literature class with Dr. Morgan at MSSC.

Snow Vacation reading

During the Snow Vacation, I managed to read several books!

1. Dairy Queen (Catherine Gilbert Murdock) - excellent! I could relate in a few ways with the main character. I didn't have to imagine bringing in the hay with machinery from the 1950's era. :) I also had no idea I would be reading another football book!!!

(During first semester, I challenged my 5th hour boys to some "football reading". We read "Our Boys... A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen" by Joe Drape, Jim Dent's "Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites who ruled Texas Football" and "The Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis. I read them ALL and got more than my dosage of football reading!!! :) )

2. The Book of Joe (Jonathan Tropper) (adults)

3. How to Talk to A Widower (Jonathan Tropper) (adults)

4. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons ( Lorna Landvik) (adults) I read this on the Nook

5. Very Special Delivery (Linda Goodnight) Also on the Nook...

6. Homespun Bride (Jillian Hart) Also Nook...

7. The Christmas Cookie Club (Ann Pearlman) (adults) Nook...

8. Anyone But You (Jennifer Crusie) (adults) Nook....

I bought #2 and 3 sight unseen. "The Book of Joe" has the main character returning to his hometown of Bush Falls when his father has a stroke. I was thinking that someone was definitely stealing my father's own story line :) I was even more intrigued when I got into the book and found many more parallels between my own past and the story of "Joe".

#5 and 6 were freebie downloads on the Nook... romance/historical romance fiction
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My new motto created while I was discussing his lack of reading time with a 7th hour student...

"If you have time to breathe, you've got time to read!" - Cooper

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Reading on the Nook

I have enjoyed reading on the Nook! I thought I would be bothered by the screen, turning pages electronically, finding my last reading spot, etc...

I have been annoyed by my lack of capability to run the software. I wish that was a little more user-friendly :)

I love having a book "delivered" to me in minutes! I hate paying for it!

My favorite book that I've read on the nook so far is "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons". In the book, several neighbors form a book club. In the beginning of the story, set in the 1960s, they gather to discuss books, but by the end, the 1990s, their lives have become completely intwined with divorce, death, deception and even attempted murder.

I tried to determine my favorite character and decided I could not... I loved them all.

I wondered why I liked this book so well. When I investigated the author's other books, I realized that she had written another favorite book - "Patty Jane's House of Curl".
Wow!!! been a loooonnnnggg time since I blogged!

I've been reading on my Nook... details later...