Treat Tuesday Time!

Image from Ms. Houghton's blog

Who doesn't need a little inspiration to blog? I'm totally elbowing my way into the Treat Tuesday act, started by @nikiohsbarnes. You simply share what you're reading and what you're snacking on!

Laffy Taffy is the perfect snack to go with Neal Shusterman's The Schwa Was Here. My kids LOL when I read this favorite aloud. The Schwa is our One Book One School selection for 2013, and I couldn't be happier. Love Shusterman, love the Schwa, love lit that gets my kids laughing. I can't wait for Shusterman's visit to our building this Spring. It will be SWEET! (See what I did there?)

Happy Reading (with treats!) this week!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/21/13

 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...
Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson. I have been reading this book bit by bit over the past few months, and each time I get into it, I find something helpful, something that helps answer a question I've been mulling over in the back of my mind. I love this book. I love its practicality. I love the peek inside another classroom where students look at grammar and editing in an interesting way. If you've ever asked yourself, (and who hasn't) "How do I teach grammar?" find a copy of Everyday Editing and its predecessor, Mechanically Inclined, and let the revelations begin!

This Week I'm Diving Into...

I'm still getting into The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. It's a fast-paced Sherlock Holmes novel from a gifted writer. The writing seems effortless, yet it captures Conan Doyle's style in a way that only deep study could procure. After The House of Silk, I look forward to getting into Being Henry David by Cal Armistead. Our librarian recently took a group of students to have dinner and meet Cal Armistead after receiving and reading ARCs of Being Henry David. That's them on her webpage! I had come across this title on another blog and was drawn to it because one of my students researched Thoreau earlier this year, and I thought I would recommend it to him. I was lucky to get a copy of the ARC from our librarian, so that has moved to the top of my towering TBR pile! It sounds like a great read! And, by the look of the kids' faces...it is!

My book club meets today to talk about Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin. We will discuss it over amazing food at our local tapas restaurant, Meson Sabika. (It doesn't hurt that the owners love teachers, and we receive a 40% discount!) Regardless of the discount, it's a beautiful, old house where wedding receptions are held, and where I had my own bridal shower.

We have already selected our next selection, Monday Mornings by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It is the fictional account of surgeons and the triumphs and failures they face when life and death lay in their hands. I'm looking forward to branching out with this read.

 

Professionally, I am reading Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins. I just ordered several new PD books: Book Love by Penny Kittle, Notebook Connections by Aimee Buckner, and Choice Words by Peter Johnston. I must finish Pathways so I can get to these great reads this week!

 

 

Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

This Week I'm Diving Into...

I'm still getting into The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. I got lost in 19th century London for over an hour on Saturday, even though I was in a crowded Starbucks downtown Naperville. Horowitz is spot-on with his writing, and I have to keep reminding myself this isn't an Arthur Conan Doyle original. I can't wait to finish this one!
 

Professionally, I am reading Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins. I am also continuing to work my way through Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson.

Happy Reading!

Treat Tuesday Time!

Image from Ms. Houghton's blog

Who doesn't need a little inspiration to blog? I'm totally elbowing my way into the Treat Tuesday act, started by @nikiohsbarnes. You simply share what you're reading and what you're snacking on!

 

I love a good kiwi, and I love a good mystery! Today I'm getting into The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, the only approved Holmes mystery backed by the Conan Doyle Estate. I'm only about 40 pages in, but Horowitz is dead-on in his interpretation. I can't wait to dive back in...to the story AND the kiwi. As Holmes likes to say, "The game's afoot..."

 

 

 

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/7/13

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin for our staff book club. It was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. It was told from the viewpoint of the daughter, husband, and son of a mother who disappears one day in Seoul, South Korea. It left my heart very heavy after reading it. I'm not sure I will soon forget it.

Phantom by Jo Nesbo, which was a much-wished for gift for Christmas. You can see my review of it to see just how much I love Jo Nesbo and his main character, Harry Hole.

This Week I'm Diving Into...

The only Conan Doyle Estate approved Sherlock Holmes mystery The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. I recently discovered the existence of this book, and it pairs two fabulous British men, Horowitz and Holmes, so I couldn't resist!

I also borrowed an ARC of Being Henry David by Cal Armistead, and I can't wait to get into that as well.

Professionally, I am reading Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins. I am also continuing to work my way through Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson.

Happy Reading!