Blogging Break

After a long blogging break, I'm finally back to writing.  Why the absence?  I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with my thinking that posts need to be perfect, and so I put it off, and off, and off... However, I have recently been reminded that “It is not necessary to commit to perfection, but to progress." (A Higher Standard of Leadership:  Lessons from the Life of Gandhi by Kashavan Nair p. 103).  So here I am, sharing my learning again. 


I've decided to try a new format for my blog.  Hopefully, this will help me stay on track.  It will be short and simple, and updates will be more manageable for me.  

What I learned today:  Thanks to Donalyn Miller, I learned a new vocabulary word, epistolary.  She recently tweeted, "#bookaday Deadly by Julie Chibbaro. Epistolary novel about the 1906 NY typhoid epidemic and the search for Typhoid Mary."  I had no idea what this was so, of course, I Googled it.  I discovered that an epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents.  This immediately brought to mind a couple of examples in my own collection, Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock and The Jolly Postman: Or Other People's Letters by Janet and allen Ahlberg. Griffin and Sabine is a love story written as a series of hand painted postcards and letters.   The Jolly Postman invites readers into a wondrous world with a variety of correspondence between classic fairy tale characters.   Honestly, I had forgotten about this genre, so I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Deadly.   Are there any other epistolary novels I should add to my TBR pile?

Summer of 100 Books

Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer, issued a challenge to her followers in June. She challenged us to read a book a day during summer vacation.  Being a huge fan, I was excited to join her in what she called the "ultimate staycation."

I began the challenge on June 7th reading two books, If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.   I finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater today, and it was my 100th book.

Throughout the summer, I read 33 fiction and non-fiction picture books.  Two of my favorites were Mom and Dad are Palindromes by Mark Shulman and Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. 

I Heart You, You Haunt Me was my first verse novel, and by reading it, I rediscovered my love of poetry.  It led me to choose 4 others:  Carver: A Life in Poems, Crank, Out of the Dust, and Who Killed Mr. Chippendale: A Mystery in Poems.

10 fantasy and science fiction titles made my summer list.  I adored Shiver and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  Life As We Knew It is still keeping me up at night.  

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and The Outsiders were my favorites out of the 14 realistic fiction books I finished, and Countdown, Flygirl, and The Book Thief stood out as the best of the 15 historical fiction titles. 

When I looked at my list of books, I was surprised that 17 were biographies, because I'm usually not drawn to non-fiction. However, Driven, A Photobiography of Henry Ford, Up In the Air: The Story of Bessie Coleman, and The Boy Who Invented TV:  The Story of Philo Farnsworth were all fascinating, and I learned something new from each one. 

2 more books, Writing About Reading and The Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools: Creating a Culture of Thinking made their way onto my professional bookshelf. 

Although I tried to read mostly middle grade and young adult fiction, I did manage to squeeze in a 4 adult titles.   The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was beautiful, and I can't wait to discuss it at book club this year.   I stayed up all night reading Confessions of A Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim.  

So there you have it!  100 books in 66 days.  (My complete Book-A-Day list can be found on Goodreads.)   

I want to thank Donalyn and all the other book-a-day readers for their enthusiasm and encouragement.   I appreciated your comments and suggestions.  You have all inspired me to take my passion for reading and learning back to school.   It was a great summer staycation, and it will be a great year in my learning life.