My Summer Reading List 2016

Along with writing in my blog regularly again, I want to start really reading again. My goal is to finish 10 books this summer. I just went through my to-read list (I have over 200 books on this list. It will never end.) and picked out the ones I want to read this summer. Thought I'd share them here. I tried to blend in both nonfiction and fantasy. Two of the books, Gone and A Long Walk to Water, were recommended by my students this year. If you have read any of these, let me know what you thought. If you have any other recommendations, I always accept them.

1. Columbine by Dave Cullen (I'm already half-way through this one and it is AMAZING so far. Great storytelling)

 What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors. (less)

2. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changed forever—-when Caitlin Somers chose her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomed Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, a magical, wind-blown island where two friends became summer sisters...

Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin has begged Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—for the friend whose casual betrayals she remembers all too well. Because Vix wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart...

3. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk is a razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq. It explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad.

Ben Fountain’s remarkable debut novel follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders.

4. Half of the Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

With effortless grace, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a thirteen-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene. Half of a Yellow Sun is a tremendously evocative novel of the promise, hope, and disappointment of the Biafran war.

5. Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds.

6. Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so. 

7. Gone by Michael Grant

In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.

There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.
Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else... 

8. This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl

A collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Photographs and essays by family and friends will help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her.

9. Feed by Mira Grant

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. 

The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them. 

10. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park 

The New York Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

12 Things I Learned in My First Year of Teaching

It has been a LONG time since I posted one of these. This is mostly because 2nd semester of the school year kicked my butt. I have never been more exhausted in my life (and I thought finals week couldn't be beat). Hopefully, all of this year has made me a better teacher going into next year. I have certainly learned a lot.

1. Some lessons just have to be improvised. That's the way it works. I always wanted to be ahead of the game and write out detailed lesson plans for the week, but when the printer isn't working or the video won't play or you see a room full of blank faces, the whole week changes. It must. Trying to make a lesson work or wasting 15 minutes on technology malfunctions isn't serving the kids.

2. Middle school mean girls are still alive and well. I vividly remember the reminders about my appearance by other girls in my early teenage years. And they aren't exclusive to kids. If my hair was a mess, my clothes not "in style", or my makeup not done, they were the first to let me know. The big difference now is my self worth isn't tied to my appearance. And I tried my best to show my students that theirs shouldn't be either. I told them they were thoughtful or a good leader or hard-working. But every once in a while I just couldn't resist telling a 7th grader that I loved their shirt/hair/shoes to see their face brighten.

3. You have to pick your battles. Students often would say or do something just to get me off track or make me react. I played into it way more than I would like to admit. I learned that it is so important to shrug some things off in order to do the best for the most kids at that time. Often times a personal conversation later on does a whole lot more good than reprimanded that kid in front of the class anyway. Sometimes ignoring is enough too.

4. Make friends with the custodians. I spent way too many hours at my school, but the biggest benefit of this was the evening conversations I had with the custodians. Once I formed relationships with them, they were much more likely to take time to do extra tasks in my classroom or bring extra supplies.

5. Create routines. And follow through with them. I was terrible at this. One of my top priorities for next year and to really have a system for putting books away and handing papers out and borrowing pencils and using the pencil sharpener and signing out for the restroom and going to the library. These seems mundane, but without a clear, established system, chaos ensues.

6. Reflect. Some lessons succeed. Some fail. But I take note of both. What was it that triggered the success or the failure? How can I use this in my next lesson. Every day is connected to the last and I learned to take a moment to really think or even write these reflections down.

7. Laugh at yourself. I try to show my kids I am human too. When I misspell something on the board or say something ridiculous and would always stop and admit the mistake. I like that they saw I wasn't perfect. Sometimes I would use vocab words and write a silly story about me or the class and I swear they always did better on those tests.

8. I need to ask my students questions. At the end of the year, I asked students to write down one piece of advice for me. Of course, many said we should listen to music more or write less, but some had great ideas about new projects to do or extra puzzles to work on if they finished an assignment early. I also let my reading kids pick their own books based on genres they liked my last semester and I think they opened up a lot more when they had some choice.

9. I need to ask for help. I hate asking for help. I want to do it all myself. I feel like using others is a weakness. But others have more experience, materials, etc. and really helped my sanity whenever I took a chance and asked.

10. Organization is key. I always felt pretty organized when I was in school myself, but with over 100 kids every day, I misplaced piles of papers frequently. It is so important to have designated spots for everything. So, so important.

11. Parents are a great resource. I was terrified of parents coming into the year. I didn't know how to interact with them or what in the heck to say at conferences. I dreaded calling home. But I learned to the connections I made with parents served my students so well. I was able to get assistance for those students who couldn't manage to hand in homework assignments and got insight into how best to deal with disruptive behaviors. I was able to schedule more after school work time that students actually showed up to. Sometimes just the suggestion of a call home was enough to make a student think twice.

12. Celebrate the successes. I went to a workshop mid-school year with a teacher I worked with in a practicum last year. He asked how I was doing and it had been a long day. I sighed and said, "I'm learning." I'm sure he could see the exasperation and defeat on my face. He asked me to tell him one success I had had in the classroom. I honestly couldn't think of anything. I felt like such a failure. We were interrupted and I never answered the question, but in the weeks following, I kept asking myself the same question. What success did I have today/this week/this quarter? Even a minor thing like one student improving or one creative lesson helped me feel better.