Friday, January 28, 2011

An E-Reader Balance Sheet

e-reader joy:
  1. An entire collection, everywhere I go
  2. Easy to hold and to turn pages with one hand
  3. Free sample chapters
  4. Font size choices (I can even read while on the treadmill now!)
  5. Easel-style cover (for reading while eating or cooking)
  6. Book marking and highlighting is simple
  7. Easy retrieval of library book files (especially convenient for reserve material)
  8. My book has a clock on it!
  9. If I finish one book, I can pick out a new one...wherever I happen to be 
  10. Automatically opens to the page where I stopped reading


e-reader gloom:
  1. The library's collection of e-books is still relatively small at this point
  2. It needs charging (really only a problem when tent-camping)
  3. Can't lend books as easily (even with the "lend me" option)
  4. Technology updates so quickly that I may want/require a new reader sooner than I'd like.
 Everyone says this, and everyone is right: the adjustment to reading on an e-reader is only briefly awkward. Now that I've switched, I find hardback books clunky and awkward, especially when it comes to turning pages.  I never expected to feel this way, but I'm in love with my Nook.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

I've run into a formatting dillemma.  Not sure if I should keep copying and pasting the entire list, or simply post the new books. 


So far in 2011, I've read the following books:




1. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman -- Intriguingly inventive perspective for narration. Moving.



2. Real Live Boyfriends, by E. Lockhart--The fourth and final book. Ruby's all grown up now.



3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larson --About 15% of the book is interesting.



4. The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson-- Fantastic setting, characters, emotional spectrum.



5. Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro -- The most subtle dystopian sci-fi ever written.



6. Jumpstart the World, by Catherine Ryan Hyde -- I like the concept of a kid living in her own apartment.



7. Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen-- Wonderful, but very sad.



8. Crooked Letter Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin-- Quality voices and fleshed-out characters, well-oriented setting, builds gradually toward its climax.


9. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett--This author has moxie. My belly was a knot of nerves for these women, and the book serves as a reminder that sometimes furtive activity is quite bold and courageous, and integrity matters more than most any attributes I can call to mind.



10. Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen--A compassionate he (ordinary and lacking confidence) said - she (un-self-consciously free-sprited) said for the tween set. Reminds me of Bridge to Terabithia, somehow.



11. Kaplan ACT Strategies for Super Busy Students (non-fiction)-- This book helped me to revise my methods for teaching kids how to approach the reading and English sections of the ACT. Repetitive, yet accessible and helpful--if put to use.

12.  New England (Lonely Planet)--I'm increasingly eager for our summer trip, and overwhelmed by the quantity of recreational choices we'll encounter.  The museums, and especially the literary tour stops beckon as well.  I was able to complete my vacation budget with information from this book.

13.  Wealth Watchers, by Alice Wood--Nothing new here, except for the support group concept, borrowed from Weight Watchers.

14.  Don't Get Caught with Your Skirt Down: A Practical Girl's Recession Guide, by Jill Keto-- A super-quick synopsis of current economic events, plus chapters of pragmatic advice.  Politically, she's all over the map.  Offers myriad additional resources.  I like the charts, graphs, and stats, and I loved the first-person stories about the Great Depression.

15.  Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer--I'm excited about re-reading this book, and then reading it again with my students.  It's fascinating to see their take.  They're thinking critically!

Next up:  Lake of Dreams, by Kim Edwards (author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter)

Two books I read late December 2010 that I wish to recommend are Tawni O'Dell's latest, Fragile Beasts, and Sara Gruen's newest, Ape House.


My most frequently recommended (and best loved) books of 2010: My Name is Memory, by Anne Brashares, The Nobodies Album, by Carolyn Parkhurst, and Fragile Beasts, as referenced above.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Updated List

So far in 2011, I've read the following books:

1.  If I Stay, by Gayle Forman -- Intriguingly inventive perspective for narration.  Moving.
2.  Real  Live Boyfriends, by E. Lockhart--The fourth and final book.  Ruby's all grown up now.
3.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larson --About 15%  of the book is interesting.
4.  The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson-- Fantastic setting, characters, emotional spectrum.
5.  Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro -- The most subtle dystopian sci-fi ever written.
6.  Jumpstart the World, by Catherine Ryan Hyde -- I like the concept of a kid living in her own apartment.
7.  Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen-- Wonderful, but very sad.
8.  Crooked Letter Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin-- Quality voices and fleshed-out characters, well-oriented setting, builds gradually toward its climax.
NEW TO MY LIST:
9.  The Help, by Kathryn Stockett--This author has moxie.  My belly was a knot of nerves for these women, and the book serves as a reminder that sometimes furtive activity is quite bold and courageous, and integrity matters more than most any attributes I can call to mind.

10.  Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen--A compassionate he (ordinary and lacking confidence) said - she (un-self-consciously free-sprited) said for the tween set.  Reminds me of Bridge to Terabithia, somehow.
11.  Kaplan ACT Strategies for Super Busy Students (non-fiction)-- This book helped me to revise my methods for teaching kids how to approach the reading and English sections of the ACT.  Repetitive, yet accessible and helpful--if put to use.

Friday, January 7, 2011

2011 Reading

A growing list of what I've read so far this year.

1.  If I Stay, by Gayle Forman -- Intriguingly inventive perspective for narration.  Moving.
2.  Real  Live Boyfriends, by E. Lockhart--The fourth and final book.  Ruby's all grown up now.
3.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larson --About 15%  of the book is interesting.
4.  The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson-- Fantastic setting, characters, emotional spectrum.
5.  Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro -- The most subtle dystopian sci-fi ever written.
6.  Jumpstart the World, by Catherine Ryan Hyde -- I like the concept of a kid living in her own apartment.
7.  Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen-- Wonderful, but very sad.
8.  Crooked Letter Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin-- Quality voices and fleshed-out characters, well-oriented setting, builds gradually toward its climax.
9.  The Help, by Kathryn Stockett--This author has moxie.  My belly was a knot of nerves for these women, and the book serves as a reminder that sometimes furtive activity is quite bold and courageous, and integrity matters more than most any attributes I can call to mind.
10.  Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen--A compassionate he (ordinary and lacking confidence) said - she (un-self-consciously free-sprited) said for the tween set.  Reminds me of Bridge to Terabithia, somehow.