Febuary Update

So, clearly I'm having a hard time keeping up with both the reading and the writing. I've not thrown in the towel yet though. Realistically, it's been a very busy month. six week grades happened and I've been doing a lot of work out in the yard. So, let's restart and see how it goes.

February's Total Page Count: 2,217 pages

YA Literature

1. Tangerine by Edward Bloor (2/8/2017) - 303 pages
2. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Don Brown* (GN) (2/13/2017) - 93 pages
3. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (2/19/2017) -485 pages
4. The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs (2/18/2017) - 188 pages

Adult Literature

1. Sabriel by Garth Nix (2/12/2017) - 491 pages
2. Lirael by Garth Nix (2/27/2017) - 488 pages

Poetry

1. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (2/13/2017) - 169 pages

Culture Shock

Went to an alumni event for a different school from the one I teach at. Some of the things they talked about really made me think.

I love the population I work with. Mostly. I really do, but I have to wonder about some of the school's approaches. I feel like we spend a lot of time really spinning our wheels in ways that aren't productive. During the last teacher work day, I actually had to go home early to get work done. That shouldn't be true.

All teachers lead incredibly busy lives. That's in the nature of the job, but I begin to think that our school exacerbates this. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this feeling yet...but I feel like I need to do something. And soon.

Creatively Bankrupt

That's it. No ideas. This is what happens when I let myself get behind and have to play catch up. Ok, so new resolution. Once I get caught up, that's it....no letting myself get behind short of massive power failures

.

I *broken heart emoticon* Teacher Work Days

I hate teacher work days. Really. If they really were what they purport to be, it would be awesome. A whole day to get caught up on those pesky little clerical tasks...like you know...grading. That would be awesome.

However, for some reason, at my school we have staff development meetings. Some teacher work days these have lasted up to four hours. I'm actually for the idea of staff development, however we have a two hour joint staff every month and two 45 minute meetings every week. I believe in open lines of communication, but I think maybe we have some spare meeting time there to wedge in the staff development.

I don't know. I could be crazy.

Teacher work days, are supposed to be for work. News flash, but the regular school day doesn't afford us much time for grading, parent phone calls, planning, and all the other incidental tasks that it takes to do our jobs. So, why carve two hours of that out for a presentation on something most of us knew already.

*whine* *whine* *complain* *whinge* *moan*

I'm just saying, there's a better time for these things.

Lentil Soup

I love soup. I really think that the first thing people learn to cook is soup. It's such a forgiving medium. I never make lentil soup the same way twice, but the last batch turned out particularly good.

1 Tbs olive oil
1/3 pound bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups lentils
6 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute bacon in the olive oil in a large pot over medium low heat. As bacon cooks chop and add the rest of the veggies.

When the veggies begin to soften and the bacon is mostly cooked through add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 20-40 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Serve

Parent-Teacher Conferencing

In the realm of parent-teacher communication, I'm accustomed to being on the teacher side of the conversation. Usually, because of how my school works, I'm the one calling the parent rather than the other way around. We are big on communication with my school.

It's been a bit of an experience being the parent in these conversations with Thomas's daycare. It's not that I assume that they are screwing up, I just have no idea what's going on and have to infer from scribbly handouts and the rather unspecific toddler conversations I have each night with my son.

So, when something goes wrong or just isn't right, I have to call the daycare. I've found myself running the gambit from frustrated to outraged to angry. And then I get annoyed because I really don't know what's going on or even if there is something to get angry about.

I've gotten some pretty heated phone calls from parents in the past. Usually, it all turns out to be nothing or something the kid misrepresented. I used to be incredulous that the parent would get so heated without finding out what's going on first.

I get it now. Teachers are people, and they do screw up from time to time, but generally it's a good idea to get the full story before getting angry. I'm trying to keep that in mind too now.

I had to meet with the daycare's director to address my concerns. Some things I was just wrong about, but some were proven to be an actual issue. Since my conversation with her, they've announced a curriculum night. It could have nothing to do with our conversation, but the timing seems a little too coincidental.

I'm still not sure if I should be angry or not, but at least I feel like they are working on my concerns.

A Light In the Attic by S. Silverstein

I admit it, this is a pure nostalgia based reread. I have a co-worker that absolutely hates Silverstein and I can acknowledge his point. Much of it is not great poetry. Silverstein plays fast and loose with metrical construction and many lines are awkward. However, I love how he plays with language.

When I was younger I read and reread Silverstein's books. I loved the pictures and the rhymes. I get obsessive easily. Now that I'm an adult, I see other things. It's clear to me that Silverstein was either a parent or a teacher (or both). Too many of his poems reveal that experience.

In any case, this book deserves to be a modern classic. I was trying to read the poems to Thomas, in fact. It didn't go well. But then he's in a phase where he just doesn't want to sit still. He'll get there.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Published in 1996, this is one of those books that seeped into my awareness, and I'm not sure exactly how. Partly, I'm sure it's due to the cover art which is more than just striking. I immediately recognized it in the pile of books that Wilfrid gifted my classroom library. So, I finally made time to read it..

Sabriel is a about Sabriel, a young girl whose father is the Abhorsen of the magic ridden Old Kingdom. She, however, has spent most of her life in a boarding school in Ancelstierre where they've mostly isolated themselves from magic. So when an undead creature invades the school, Sabriel isn't exactly helpless, but she's at the start of a journey where she discovers just how ignorant she really is.

She's soon through the wall that divides the two lands and in search of answers. Things go from bad to worse for her though, as she discovers that her father was some sort of magical undead hunter that protects the kingdom. With him dead or missing, she's the new Abhorsen.

This is confusing to say the least. However, she keeps learning and putting the pieces together.

Nix's great skill here is putting together believable characters. He manages a confused panicked teenage girl without making her irritating or unbelievably capable. He describes a guilt-wracked young man who wants only to make good without being whiney. Nix even manages to put together an ineffable magical creature that acts consistently without being too human.

It all comes together in the end, that actually had me half-believing the protagonist was going to die at the end.

Sabriel features a good strong female protagonist. While there are romantic elements here, that is not at all the feature of the story. The plot is linear, but references the world's history enough that it could be confusing to an unpracticed reader in the genre. I particularly liked the magic system in this world. While it was complex, it was also easy enough to absorb the rules. All around good fanstasy.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

It was an odd moment for me when I realized that most of my current students are too young at this point to remember Hurricane Katrina. At the time, I was working full time at the library. The year before, Hurricane Ivan made landfall on the coast, the storms pushed ahead of it drenched the library in driving, almost horizontal, rain. Gallons of water flooded into our 100 year old building. We spend a week mopping floors, rescuing books, and mending damage. When Hurricane Katrina came a year later, we were all on high alert. Luckily for the library, Katrina zipped along the southern tip of Florida and swung up the gulf to make landfall further west in Louisiana.

Our good fortune, however, felt a little selfish though as we watched the news coming in about New Orleans. It was a mess. The national government was at a loss and directionless. Local governments were either paralyzed by the destruction or arguing over logistics. News casters reported the horrors of corpses floating in the streets and thousands of stranded people while the government was telling the nation that all was well. I'd never lived through such a surreal experience.

Emory, like many schools, took in several dozen displaced New Orleans students - mostly from Tulaine.

Drowned City gives an overview of the events. The tone of the text is clinical and distant, but combined with the art it succeeds and being both chilling and sobering. We take so many things for granted and it seemed like in New Orleans, many things were taken for granted. They took it for granted that the levees would hold. The National Government took it for granted that it would be handled. Everyone took it for granted that it just couldn't be that bad in this day and age. It was bad. It could have been worse, but it was pretty darn bad and it should just how sadly lacking the government's large scale emergency response preparation was.

I'm a fan of graphic novels. It's a persuasive medium. For a strong reader, a graphic novel is a quick read and feels like a treat. For a struggling reader, the visual medium helps to draw them in and the graphics assist with comprehension.

Garden Planning #3

Today was a big day in set up. I spent about 8 hours moving dirt and resetting the old boxes back where they were, more or less. I also put in landscaping fabric around the boxes and Ryan helped me put in wood chips making paths around the two boxes.

I'm exhausted. I can already feel muscles stiffening up.

I also talked to almost every neighbor I have. There's something about seeing someone working in a yard that brings people out. I chatted about plans for the yard and even got some offers of help.

Tomorrow, if I'm not completely frozen in place and if it is not raining, I will compost the two boxes and put in beanpole teepees. If I get that far, I'll go ahead a plant some peas. If not, it'll be next weekend.

No matter what...good progress was made.

Sick Days

Today is a sick day. I have a cold, a bad one. There was a time when I dragged myself into school with the flu (the real kind), but not anymore. And here's why. When you send your kid into school sick:

• If they are contagious they can infect between 30 and 200 people depending on class sizes and how many student & staff overlaps there are
• Exertion while sick often prolongs the illness taking a two day cold and prolonging it over a week
• The old adage about showing symptoms meaning that you are no longer contagious is a myth. Or rather it's true for some things, but many more remain contagious past the point of  showing symptoms.
• A sick child does not learn well, most kids would be better off making up a couple days of work than spending the time sitting in a class like a zombie and infecting the rest of the room

So, I'm staying home. All the reasons that apply to the students apply to me too. Parents, keep your kids home if they are really sick. It's in their best interest as well as everyone else's.

Every Once in a While. . .

Teaching is hard work. Sometimes, it's a slog. The only people out there that know better than the students exactly when school ends (by number of days, hours, and even number of minutes) are teachers. No matter how much you love your job, hard work is hard work.

However, every once in a while there's a day that reminds me why I teach. Today was such a day.

I'm currently juggling three Shakespeare plays. My freshmen are working on "Romeo and Juliet," my seniors are tackling "Macbeth," and the drama group took on "Midsummer Night's Dream." I'm actually a weird lit teacher in that I am not over-awed by Shakespeare. Don't get me wrong, I love his plays. I'm just not sure why we make kids slog through one of his plays every year except whenever they have American Lit. I think it's disproportionate and that there are better things we could be doing...but hey it's no real hardship to do them. So, I teach Shakespeare.

The problem with teaching Shakespeare in general, and to LD kids specifically, is that its a struggle for a solid four weeks minimum. While I find Shakespeare very readable, I have to admit that I have an intimidatingly voluminous vocabulary. It's hard when you have to look up every third word.

Ok, so how do we make it fun.

At the NTCE conference this year, I went to one of the Folger Shakespeare Library sessions and picked up the idea of "Shakespeare Tag." It's a brilliant idea. The idea is to get kids up acting and interacting with the text.

So, pick a monologue, one that we've already covered in general reading. Get a brave student to be the actor. The actor reads the monologue to the class. Most kids naturally read pretty flat. The rest of students are directors. So, when they spot a point in the text where the actor should change his or her delivery, they tag the actor and explain what they want them to do and why. The actor then starts over from the top incorporating the suggestions.

This achieves several goals.

• First of all, it's a lot of fun and the kids get into it.
• Second, they read, reread, and really get the big monologues without really noticing how many times they just read it.
• Third, they start to really scour the text for clues on how the actors should perform.

I ran it in all four of my classes today. It was amazing. I had kids commenting as they walked out the door, how much fun it was.

It's a great feeling as a teacher when kids say they enjoy your class. Especially when they don't know I can hear them.

Tangerine by Edward Bloor

This one's a student recommendation. I have a student, Dalton, who started the year telling me he didn't like reading. So, when he spotted Tangerine and got really excited about me reading it, I knew I had to bump it up the list. After reading it, I can see why Dalton liked it so much.

The main character, Paul Fisher, is a pretty normal 7th grader. However, he has some vision issues. They don't seem to bother him much and he sees well enough to be a decent goaltender in soccer. He also, mysteriously, can't remember what happened to his vision and he's terrified of his brother Erik.

Erik is the family star. He can kick a field goal from 50 yards out and their dad pours all time, hopes, and efforts into supporting his eventual football career.

The whole family moves to Tangerine, Florida where things take a turn for the bizarre. Tangerine is the lightning capitol of the country and part of the middle school gets swallowed in a giant sinkhole. Paul just wants to play soccer, but soon gets involved in intrigue.

What I liked about this book is that I was never sure what the story was about. At first it seemed like uprooted kid adjusts to new school. Then it seemed like kid follows middle school soccer dream. Then a multicultural story about kids from different backgrounds finding their commonality. It keeps going. There's a lot going on in this story, and while I predicted the eventual outcome, it was a great ride getting there.

Good for middle and high school readers. Set up as an epistolary novel written in journal entries. Strong themes in culture relations, ethical dilemma, and sports. Should appeal to a broad audience but clearly aimed at boys.

The Thing About Teaching...

Here's the thing about teaching that no one talks about. Many people don't respect teachers. Oh, they say they do, but they do it at the same time that they quip about people do and people who end up teaching. Education in this country is dysfunctional. Kids must succeed to go to college, but teachers are often viewed as barriers instead of allies. All of it's tied up in politics and people out of the classroom trying to tell us what works in the classroom.

Respected or dismissed.

Barrier or Ally.

Loved and Hated.

It's all very mixed up and weird. Now there really are people out there that love and respect what we do. I'm not trying to paint the whole world with the same brush. Really. But even the people who respect us don't really get what it is we do. Which is why we find ourselves embroiled in the educational nightmare that this country lives in.

Of course, I work with one of the more stressful populations. Most of them are great kids, but the parents have often been through a tough fight before they ever get to us and they come out swinging. I get that. I can't imagine what they do every day. They've been fighting a system  that puts kids into boxes, and pastes on a new layer of bureaucracy every time they are legally challenged.

So, it's no wonder.

But the hard facts of life is that not everyone is born with the same native ability. Some kids can aspire to be brain surgeons and some just can't. That should be ok.  But it's not. I truly and passionately believe that success for a child means that they work and achieve to the best of their abilities. Success for me means I helped them get there (where ever there happens to be). That's what it should mean to be a teacher.

It's not about standardized test scores.

It's not about college enrollment statistics.

It is about helping a kid meet their potential. That's teaching. That's what I try to do. In the process I teach a lot of literature. I start my day at 4 AM and I'm often still going after 6 PM. I spend 9 hours of every day working with my kids. Mostly it's active teaching. Sometimes it's tutoring. Sometimes it's just listening.  That's what good teachers do.

That's what I do. And that's what's happening in all the classrooms in the countries that are beating us out in standardized testing.

Education shouldn't be about the test, it should be about the kid.

Garden Planning #2 - The Seduction of Seeds

I put in my seed order today. I'm not exactly a beginner at this stage, but I'm definitely an amatuer. Seed catalogs are evil things. There's no way that anyone with a kitchen garden could grow everything in the catalog, but the pictures are so seductive and a pack of individual seeds is pretty cheap. The tendency is to vastly over buy.

I figured this year I would avoid this trap. So, I started with a complete inventory of left-over seeds and the seeds gifted to me from my dad after his move. The list was surprisingly long and included things that I hadn't planned to try, like cucumbers and peas. From there I looked for varieties to fill in the gaps: beets, spinach, lettuce, mustard greens, cherry tomato, okra, runner beans, winter and summer squash. I had a plan.

However, for some reason that I can't quite fathom, apparently the super bowl is an excellent reason for a seed sale. So when I went into buy my seeds they were all 20% off and there was a 10 for $10 mix and match special on select packets.

I'm human, my willpower only extends so far.

So ended up with packets of hollyhock, snapdragons, chives, garlic chives, pollinator herbs, love lies bleeding, sorrel, arugula, dinosaur kale, mother of thyme, calendula, chamomile, and st. john's wort. All things, at least, that I had earlier considered growing, yet that's a lot of seeds that I now have to find places for in my carefully considered plan.

Animal Man by Grant Morrison

Animal Man has got to be one of the hokiest super heroes, which is a bit tragic given that he's got one of the coolest powers. Animal Man can absorb abilities from the animals around him and use them in a super human way. Cool, right? When I was a kid, I used to imagine having that power. But Animal Man was one of those naive all american types which made him a little unsatisfying.

Grant Morrison took the hero and gave him an update.  Actually, he seems to be part of a modern trend of giving writers a trial run on revitalizing old comic book properties. Neil Gaiman completely reinvented Sandman and Alan Moore gave Swamp Thing a face lift.

Morrison's Animal Man is a more human figure. He struggles with being a good husband and father while balancing the responsibility of having super powers. At least in the beginning. It's a nice update on the basic character and makes him more relatable.  Ellen, the wife, added a good counterpoint or anchor to the non-super world.

At least in the start. As the story progresses, it veers sharply away from the standard super hero fare.

As it goes on, it's clear that Morrison is playing with narrative structure and convention. He completely obliterates the fourth wall and culminates with writing himself in as a character in a sort or interstitial quasi space which is neither the comic world nor the real one.

It's weird.

Really weird.

But good.

Missed Day #3

Spent most of the day hauling dirt from one end of the yard to the other. It was a good day, but rather sapped me of doing anything much else.

Garden Planning #1 - the idiocy of corn

I love the idea of a garden. I like producing food. I even like the digging and hauling of dirt. I tend to fail at regular habits involved, but in all honesty I'm getting better at that too year by year. So this year I decided to look at growing corn.

I've avoided growing corn for years:

• They are heavy feeders and suck fast amount of nutrients out of the soil
• I hate cleaning off corn silks... they stick to just everything and get under my nails.
• Hornworms are one of the few insects that give me the heebie jeebies. I mean look at them....super creepy.

The reason for growing it, is that I really like trying at traditional foodways and I want to try a real three-sisters planting of corn, beans, and squash. In the past when I've tried it, I've used sunflowers in place of the corn. The problem is that the sunflowers never seem to get going fast enough to carry the bean vines.

However, looking into corn, I found out that each corn stalk only produces one or two edible ears in most cases. Which is ridiculous given what they take out of the soil. I'm a home gardener, it might be annoying but I can easily, and naturally, amend the soil. Think what those vast fields of corn that we pass on the highway are doing to the land. What are they taking out of the soil, and where do the nutrients come from to fix it? The answer is not comforting. The nutrients come from a loss heavy system relying on petroleum.

What gets me about it though is that whats the point of corn? Really? Sure, we've found plenty of ways to use it, but that's because the governments agriculture bills have created a corn surplus that has existed for decades and actually leads to quite a bit of waste as there's no silage for the surplus produce.

Why not focus on staple crops that produce more and take less from the land.  Why so corn obsessed?

Master List Update

The master list has expanded some, it was always going to of course.

YA Lit

1. He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander (UF)
2. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (UF)
3. Booked by Kwame Alexander (UF)
4. Solo by Kwame Alexander (UF)
5. The Playbook by Kwame Alexander (UF)
6. The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs (Ryan Recommendations)
7. Tangerine by Edward Bloor (Dalton Recommends)
8. Masterpiece by Elise Broach
9. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Done Brown* (GN)
10. Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den by Aimee Carter* (UF)
11. Simon Thorn and the Viper's Pit by Aimee Carter*
12. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (CL)
13. The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (CL)
14. The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (UF)
15. The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (UF)
16. The Sorcerer Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (UF)
17. The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco*
18. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (L)
19. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (UF)
20. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (L)
21. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (L)
22. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (L)
23. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (L)
24. The Pants Project by Cat Clarke*
25. The Maze Runner by James Dashner (L)
26. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (UF)
27. The Death Cure  by James Dashner (UF)
28. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner*
29. The Rule of Thoughts by James Dashner* (UF)
30. The Game of Lives by James Dashner* (UF) 
31. 13 to Life by Shannon Delany (L)
32. Secrets and Shadows by Shannon Delany (L)
33. Bargains and Betrayals by Shannon Delany (L)
34. Destiny and Deception by Shannon Delany (L)
35. Rivals and Retribution  by Shannon Delany (UF)
36. A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
37. City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
38. Life Is Funny E. R. Frank
39. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (L)
40. One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn*
41. The Someday Suitcase by Corey Ann Haydu*
42. I Am David by Anne Holm
43. The Water Seeker by Kimberly WIllis Holt
44. Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck (CL)
45. Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck (UF)
46. Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck (UF)
47. Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck (UF)
48. Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes (L)
49. Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson (L)
50. The Right Track by Harmony Jones* (UF)
51. The High Note by Harmony Jones* (UF)
52. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
53. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (UF)
54. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore (UF)
55. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore (UF)
56. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore (UF)
57. The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore (UF)
58. United as One by Pittacus Lore (UF)
59. Sold by Patricia McCormick (L)
60. Wildwood by Colin Meloy (L)
61. Under Wildwood  by Colin Meloy (UF)
62. Wildwood Imperium  by Colin Meloy (UF)
63. Autobiography of my Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers (L)
64. Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers (CL)
65. The Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers (CL)
66. I'll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson (L)
67. The Seance by Joan Lowery Nixon
68. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
69. The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (UF)
70. Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker (UF)
71. Clementine, Friend of the Week  by Sara Pennypacker (UF)
72. Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker (UF)
73. Clementine and the Spring Trip by Sara Pennypacker (UF)
74. Completely Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (UF)
75. The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (UF)
76. The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (UF)
77. The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman (UF)
78. The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
79. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Ryan Recommendation)
80. The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda
81. The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda (UF)
82. The Battle for Rondo by Emily Rodda (UF)
83. A List of Cages by Robin Roe*
84. So B. It by Sarah Weeks (L)
85. Window Boy by Andrea White (L)
86. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin (L)

Short Story Collections

1. Wizards edited by Jack Danin and Gardner Dozois
2. Thrilling Tales edited by Michael Chabon
3. The Sci-Fi Factor edited by Perfection Learning
4. The Case Against Tomorrow by Frederik Pohl

Adult Literature

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
2. Company by Max Barry (RR, Ryan Recommendation)
3. Machine Man by Max Barry (Ryan Recommendation)
4. King Rat by James Clavell (Ryan Recommendation)
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (L)
6. Circuit of Heaven by Dennis Danvers (Ryan Recommendation)
7. The Magicians by Lev Grossman (RR, UF I think I own this, must open more boxes)
8. The Magician King by Lev Grossman (UF)
9. The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman (UF)
10. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (Ryan Recommendation)
11. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
12. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (Ryan Recommendation)
13. Swan Song by Robert McCammon (Ryan Recommendation)
14. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (L)
15. Animal Man by Grant Morrison (GN, Ryan Recommendation)
16. Sabriel by Garth Nix
17. Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett (B)
18. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (B)
19. Soul Music by Terry Pratchett (B)
20. Interesting TImes by Terry Pratchett (B)
21. Maskerade by Terry Pratchett (B)
22. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (B)
23. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (B)
24. Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff (Ryan Recommendation)
25. Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
26. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (CL)
27. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (RR, Ryan Recommendation)

Poetry

1. Birthday Letters by Ted Hughs (Nathan Recommends)
2. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (RR)
3. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (RR)

Professional Reading & NonFiction

1. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (NF)
2. Turbulent Mirror by John Briggs and F. David Peat (NF, Ryan Recommendation)
3. L.A. Noir by John Buntin  (NF)
4. The Science of Star Wars by Jeanne Cavelos (NF)
5. Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels (P)
6. Mini-Lessons For Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels & Nancy Steineke (P)
7. Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman (NF)
8. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean (NF)
9. Book Love by Penny Kittle (RR) (P)
10. Choice Cuts by Mark Kurlansky (NF)
11. The Eastern Stars by Mark Kurlansky (NF)
12. Reading Ladders by Teri S. Lesesne (RR) (P)
13. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (NF)
14. Good-Bye Round Robin by Michael F. Opitz (P)
15. The Writer's Workout Book by Art Peterson (P)
16. Cooked by Michael Pollan (NF)
17. Stiff by Mary Roach (NF)
18. Black Beard and Other Pirates of the Atlantic Coast by Nancy Roberts (NF)
19. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks (NF)
20. Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (P)
21. A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (NF)
22. An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage (NF)
23. Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf  (NF)

(L) = from a Library    (B) = borrowed     (RR) = ReReads    (UF) = unfound/don't have access yet
(GN) = Graphic Novel    (NF) = NonFiction    (P) = Professional

Missed day #2

Laziness. Unwarranted repose of manner in a person of low degree.

      ~Ambrose Bierce


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