Book Ends

My book club will celebrate it’s third birthday in November. We are a group of middle school teachers and the books we read range from young adult novels to your normal “book club books” you see on the best sellers list. If you are in the market for a good read, I’d recommend most of the following (there were a couple that I abandoned after giving them my very best try!)…. I bolded the crowd favorites.

Nov. 2004 Big Stone Gap By Adriana Trigiani
Dec. 2004 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim By David Sedaris
Jan. 2005 Winterdance By Gary Paulsen
Feb. 2005 The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini
April 2005 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon
May 2005 My Sister’s Keeper By Jodi Picoult
June 2005 The Mermaid Chair By Sue Monk Kidd
Sept. 2005 The Life of Pi By Yann Martel
Oct. 2005 Speak By Lauri Halse Anderson
Nov. 2005 Good Grief By Lolly Winston
Jan. 2006 Wicked By Gregory Maguire
(This book inspired our FANTASTIC FIELD TRIP to Chicago to see Wicked, the Broadway Musical!!)
Feb. 2006 Brief Intervals of Horrible Sanity By Elizabeth Gold
Mar. 2006 Night By Elie Weisel
April 2006 The Pact By Jodi Picoult
May 2006 Are Men Necessary? By Maureen Dowd
June 2006 Queen Bees and Wannabees By Rosalind Wiseman
July 2006 Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog By John Grogan
Aug. 2006 The Ruins By Scott Smith
Oct. 2006 The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver
Nov. 2006 Al Capone Does My Shirts By Gennifer Choldenk & The Old Willis Place By Mary Downing Hahn
Dec. 2006 The Devil in the White City By Erik Larson
Jan. 2007 The Time Traveler’s Wife By Audrey Niffenegger
Feb. 2007 The Catcher in the Rye By J. D. Salinger
April 2007 Nineteen Minutes By Jodi Picoult  (The group attended a talk by the author)
May 2007 The Book Thief By Markus Zusak
June 2007 To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee
July 2007 Angels and Demons By Dan Brown
Aug. 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By J. K. Rowling
 

Coming up next are:

September- A Thousand Splendid Suns ( by the author of The Kite Runner)

October- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

November- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (plus a trip to see The Kite Runner movie!)

 

 

Dog Days of Summer

We’ve got a steamy week going on around here, folks. The temp hovered around 100 today and there doesn’t seem to be a let-up in sight. Looking for a definition of what the dog days really means? Look no further.

It’s back to school time (que Adam Sandler singing here). I was at my school today working in my classroom- teachers officially start Friday, but today was orientation for the kiddies and there was work to be done in the room prep arena. I may be the biggest nerd ever, but I just love the first day of school. I do. I adore it, actually. New folders, freshly sharpened pencils, squeeky sneakers. Plus, all of the kids are really well behaved, be it temporarily. Somewhere around the second week that honeymoon ends.

Speaking of dog days, I do know someone who will be none too happy for me to return to school. 

This little buddy will go into system shock when I’m not there to play with and all he’s left with is the sound of NPR to keep him company. Yes, that’s right. We leave good old NPR on for the doggy. That was the husband’s idea, but I like the idea that at least someone’s talking to him when we’re out. Ha!

I’m also excited to continue adding to my book-o-student-quotes. A friend gave it to me when I graduated college and told me to jot down funny things that kids say over the years. Here’s a highlight from last year to tide you over until I hear a new one. [Setting: during a class academic competition, covering all content areas]

Me: “Round one bonus question. Health class. Name the three layers of the tooth.”

Team of students discusses

Student A, in her most sincere voice ever: “We have our answer. The three layers are the enamel, the root and the grill.”

Other students in the room giggle, as do I. Eventually hilarious laughter ensued. What’s funny is that they really thought that was the answer. If you are unsure as to why this is funny, let me direct you.