Random books from emaestra's library
The Odyssey - Literary Touchstone edition by Homer
I Cannot Get You Close Enough: Three Novellas by Ellen Gilchrist
ReMix: Reading and Composing Culture by Catherine G. Latterell
Culinaria Spain by Marios Trutter
Mating by Norman Rush
Trattoria: The Best of Casual Italian Cooking by Mary Beth Clark
Lasher by Anne Rice
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Friends: amanaceerdh, callmejacx, mtnmamma, Pummzie, RachelfromSarasota, Smethers
Interesting libraries: AllieW, aluvalibri, alyx_booklists, amancine, angrystarlyt, cestovatela, cestovatela, chantywa, chrisharpe, citygirl, ellevee, ErnestHemingway, eromsted, flashflood42, flashflood42, ForrestFamily, FScottFitzgerald, grelobe, hasprintwillread, HelloAnnie, hemlokgang, inkdrinker, JeremyCShipp, Jesse_wiedinmyer, lisaunger, LouisBranning, mariaretz, Medellia, msf59, nannybebette, Pummzie, rubberstamper, SeanLong, serigo, sollocks, soylentgreen23, teelgee, the_red_shoes, TLCrawford, trinah, virgingloves, wordygirl39, wordygirl39
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CollectionsYour library (1,666), Wishlist (103), Read but unowned (82), To read (823), Currently reading (2), Favorites (20), All collections (1,849)
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Tagsfiction (941), 1001 (263), USA (225), English (180), education (151), England (119), Nobel (92), short stories (90), art (75), France (62) — see all tags
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Groups1001 Books to read before you die, 40-Something Library Thingers, Easton Press Collectors, Group Reads - Literature, Literary Snobs, Reading Globally, Teachers who LibraryThing, The English Department, What Are You Reading Now?
Favorite authorsRussell Banks, Hermann Hesse, Gabriel García Márquez, W. Somerset Maugham, Carson McCullers, Haruki Murakami, Dorothy Parker, David Sedaris, John Steinbeck, Leo Tolstoy, John Kennedy Toole, Voltaire (Shared favorites)
Favorite bookstoresHalf Price Books - East Northwest Highway, Shakespeare & Company
About meI teach high school English, sophomores and juniors. I have four children ranging from high school age to toddler.
About my libraryMy library is primarily fiction. I love historical smut. I love psychological thrillers as well as rambling, wistful tales. I wish my library was as varied as it is extensive. I have books from one end of my house to the other. I have books in every corner of my classroom. At any given moment, I probably have half a dozen books in my car. I always carry a book in my purse.
I have recently been introduced to Boxall's 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. I am using this list as suggestions; I am not worried about being unfulfilled without all that Dickens or whatever. Most of what I have read on the list I read during college, but I am still working on it. I am considering both the new and old editions, bringing the total to 1284 - until they publish again.
I am currently reading:
2009 Reads - so far:
Love and Summer by William Trevor
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
The Way through Doors by Jesse Ball
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Guernica by Dave Boling
A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
The Believers by Zoe Heller
Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano
Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
What Happened to Anna K by Irina Reyn
The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
Breath by Tim Winton
The Sorrows of an American by Siri Hustvedt
2008 Reads:
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender
Cheating at Canasta by William Trevor
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Reserve by Russell Banks
Soul Thief by Charles Baxter
Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland
Up at the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham
White Noise by Don DeLillo
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Beautiful Children by Charles Bock
The Match by Romesh Gunesekera
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
Beginner's Greek by James Collins
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
An Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
A Father's Law by Richard Wright
Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
Johnny One-Eye by Jerome Charyn
Darkmans by Nicola Barker
The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger
Last Evenings on Earth by Roberto Bolano
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science by Mary Roach
Maus - A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
Signed, Mata Hari by Yannick Murphy
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
Maus - A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Speigelman
Trespass by Valerie Martin
A Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
Alfred and Emily by Doris Lessing
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
To Siberia by Per Petterson
The Implacable Order of Things by Jose Luis Peixoto
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Indignation by Philip Roth
Whiskey Rebels by David Liss
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Real nameBeth
LocationArlington, TX USA
Account typepublic, lifetime
Connection NewsConnection News
URLs
http://www.librarything.com/profile/emaestra (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/emaestra (library)
Common KnowledgeSeries (174), Awards (453), Characters (5888), Places (1117)
Member sinceOct 10, 2006
Currently readingSwann's Way: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For by Thomas Newkirk
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posted by CliffBurns at 9:06 pm (EST) on Oct 5, 2009
Mark and I have been discussing the possibility of another group read in November and want your input. We have narrowed it down to two books at this point. "The People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks and "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. So chat it up with friends or us and let us know if you are up for it and what you think. Probably the same plan as with "Pillars of the Earth" which seemed to work out perfectly for almost all of us.
Think it over and give one of us a shout.
hugs and looking forward to hearing from you,
belva
posted by nannybebette at 11:03 am (EST) on Sep 9, 2009
karenmarie
posted by karenmarie at 4:21 am (EST) on Jul 16, 2009
Mark
posted by msf59 at 8:53 pm (EST) on Jul 8, 2009
I'm also still busy with my volunteer work. I'm serving on a mayoral commission about race relations, and still doing public outreach for CERT, not to mention being on the ERV team for the Red Cross (I get to respond to fires! So far no one's been hurt, so I can enjoy the excitement guilt-free, not to mention the scenery -- Sarasota has some darned good looking firefighters!) Next week I start training to become a hospice volunteer.
The latest books I've read are WAR CHILD, the story of one of the lost boys of Sudan who was sold by one of the elders of his tribe and forced to become a child soldier (he's now a pop artist in England), and THE WEIGHT OF A MUSTARD SEED, which is the "biography" of one of Saddam Hussein's generals during the 30 years of Saddam's reign. That was an awesome and informative book -- frightening in that it shows how ordinary people can become sucked in to both ignoring evil and then perpetrating it themselves. A truly fascinating book and one I highly recommend.
I stumbled on a series of books (only 3 or 4 written so far, alas) by a terrific author -- Michael Gruber. They're wonderfully fun, about a Miami detective whose mother is a Santeria priestess and whose wife is a scientist. Very well-written and engaging.
I'm also devouring a young adult author I just encountered -- Tamora Pierce. Her Immortals series and her books on lady knights in the fantasy kingdom of Tortall (?) are a delight.
On the serious side I'm reading Michael Shermer's WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE WEIRD THINGS -- he's one of the world's leading skeptics and does a lot of debunking of pseudo-science and psychic "phenomena". I love it! I've read a couple of books on economics too, but nothing I can heartily recommend at this point. I'm working my way through Susan Faludi's BACKLASH: THE UNDECLARED WAR AGAINST AMERICAN WOMEN and Gail Collins' AMERICA'S WOMEN: 400 YEARS OF DOLLS, DRUDGES, HELPMATES, AND HEROINES. The latter is terrific fun, the former a bit depressing. For pure fun I've just reread Barbara Holland's delightful romp called THE JOY OF DRINKING. Oh, and a bit late I picked up (for $1.00!) A YEAR IN PROVENCE, which I loved! I also just finished TOUJOURS PROVENCE, the sequel to the first book. Both were great fun.
And that's what I've read for the last month.
So. . .what's up with you these days?
posted by RachelfromSarasota at 9:58 pm (EST) on Jul 4, 2009
Thank you for adding me to your group of interesting libraries. I am flattered and appreciative when someone finds my reading choices interesting enough to read through my titles.
I have been observing yours for quite some time and find the variety within very fascinating. I have enjoyed your profile and I love your profile picture. It makes me feel like a voyeur and like I am looking at two people in love in the city. Just like in the movies.
Happy 4th to you.
belva
posted by nannybebette at 9:47 pm (EST) on Jul 4, 2009
Have you read "The Pillars of the Earth"? I'm hosting a group read on the 15th,it seems there are a bunch of us that have still not read it. I could go on and on, but I'll let you go and you have a great holiday!!
Mark
posted by msf59 at 8:35 pm (EST) on Jul 2, 2009
posted by Steven_VI at 1:09 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2009
As for college, unfortunately, the silly kids aren't weeded out. Just look at Stanford (a prestigious, well-known college in the area near me, though perhaps not so recognizable where you are); the kids were playing their musical instruments in a pool. Why, I ask, oh, dear God, why? Do you like damaging perfectly good instruments without reason? Do you really? Worst of all, the newspaper I saw that in was talking about them like they were wonderful. I'm flabbergasted, and, frankly, appalled.
I'm fine with uninteresting school days. I'm not much for excitement anyway. So long as things are calm, I'm good. ;-)
Thank you for commenting. It is heartening, though my reply may make it seem otherwise.
posted by Irieisa at 4:52 pm (EST) on Jun 13, 2009
posted by Esta1923 at 2:37 pm (EST) on Jun 2, 2009
Hope you don't mind that I added your library to my "interesting list."
Good reading and hope to see you round LT.
Slainte!
Sean
posted by SeanLong at 10:18 pm (EST) on May 27, 2009
As it's become something of a literary as well as a SF classic, you might be able to get away w/ LeGuin's "The left hand of darkness" or "the word for the world is forest" though HS kids would probably like LHoD better.
Another long shot - Naomi Shihab Nye's anthology of poetry, "This Same Sky", relatively modern, from everywhere in the world BUT the USA. It is an excellent anthology, containing works by some v. well known as well as pretty obscure poets. Poems are loosely grouped thematically.
sorry to go on for so long - both children's and "YA" lit have been favorites of mine - since childhood, when my mom had to send off to Blackwells, in England to get a lot of books that were unavailable in the US in the 50s
posted by bobmcconnaughey at 8:44 am (EST) on Apr 17, 2009
[Summerland] is long, but an easy book to read and chock full of "Americana" (albeit somewhat twisted). Chabon has turned into a major modern writer and while HS kids could easily enjoy other books of his [the Yiddish policeman's union] in particular, they would be harder sells to a conservative board. As would the other books i mentioned, although they're all v. good.
Feel free to go into our library and search on YA - we were pretty broad in what we included - but there are a couple hundred books labeled as such i think, and none are crp. We've kept them though our son graduated from college 3 yrs ago.
cheers,
bob -
Shakespeare and Antigone are great, and fine for HS (though does the board really know the whole story behind Antigone???) but those dog eared 50s-60s- "classics" didn't cut it then and certainly don't cut it now. We also read Lord of the Flies which is v. good, of course, but pretty nihilistic and not "fun" at all.
posted by bobmcconnaughey at 8:33 am (EST) on Apr 17, 2009
I really hope you get your curriculum settled. My girlfriend (the other half of the sollocks account) suggests Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler (though that may be a bit advanced) or something by Sherman Alexie.
posted by sollocks at 11:25 pm (EST) on Apr 16, 2009
Saw you liked Trainspotting, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in reading my new novel and posting your comments here (as well as on a few other book-related sites). Thought you might like my novel since it's also about a group of disturbed kids and a bit dark. I could e-mail you the novel in an e-book format if you'd like. Let me know if you're interested. Here's a link to a summary in case you're interested:
http://christophertusa.com/
Thanks,
Chris
posted by cmtusa at 11:40 am (EST) on Apr 8, 2009
"It is not flour of a bag of mine"
You can replace flour with thougts and bag with brain or mind.
We also say, "It is not a "fruit" of his mind"; it is not something , she/he produced.
For instance, it can happen , a student of your, who usually is really bad at writing essaies, he normaly has poor ideas and most of the time barely manage to take C, one day he makes a wonderful work, no spelling mistakes, brilliant concepts. What would you think? I would think "for sure it can't be flour of a bag of his" ultimately he cheated.
I used this expression because I didn't want to take credit of something I didn't elaborate on my own.
The first one who asked himself , why we are so empathetic to a certain characters or stories and so on, was Sigmund Freud. You can find what he thought about this topic in this book: "The Uncanny" the chapter relating to these matters, twenty pages more or less I seem to remember, is titled "Daydreaming and creative writing"
Perusing at your library, I couldn't help noticing, you've got a good deal of novels which stories are set in (for you) foreigner countries.
If I may suggest to you two Italian authors worth reading, here you go: Beppe Fenoglio and Elio Vittorini
posted by grelobe at 8:03 pm (EST) on Dec 18, 2008
Let me know how you like it, as you'll probably get through it quicker than I will! I go alot slower than you guys! lol
Have a good weekend.....
~ "Porchy"
posted by porchsitter55 at 9:27 pm (EST) on Nov 1, 2008
Glad to help, if I think of more I will share.
Cheers from some weird little town in Virginia
RMD
posted by richardderus at 8:36 pm (EST) on Oct 31, 2008
I read murder mysteries a lot. But I love any book well written. I fell completely in love with John Dunning (Denver author) and Arturo Perez-Reverte.
No snow here yet...and too hot for me period.
mtnmamma
posted by mtnmamma at 6:32 am (EST) on Oct 31, 2008
Jenny
posted by mumoftheanimals at 8:03 am (EST) on Oct 15, 2008
Thanks for writing!
Have a great weekend.
posted by porchsitter55 at 8:06 pm (EST) on Oct 10, 2008
I'm also taking some seminars on Economics at USF (the University of South Florida) this term, at night, which is about 2 hours away from my home, so I'm probably NOT going to be posting on LT much this fall. Not to mention that we're hitting the peak of hurricane season here, and both the Red Cross and CERT are gearing up into battle mode! So right now I'm kind of rushed off my feet.
Thanks for asking about me! I hope your year is going great!
posted by RachelfromSarasota at 11:10 am (EST) on Sep 7, 2008
posted by Esta1923 at 10:59 am (EST) on Aug 22, 2008
posted by msf59 at 8:40 am (EST) on Aug 20, 2008
Tracy
posted by Talbin at 1:57 pm (EST) on Aug 7, 2008
There are tons of great sites for evaluating web information. Cornell has a very concise guide: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/....
And here's a list I check out a bit, especially for incoming freshmen and our education students:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sch...
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me :) My email is kvandertulip@txwes.edu. Good luck with your lessons!
posted by kaelirenee at 4:09 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed the love story piece in the book..he has unusual insight into women..his characters are quite
believeable.
DO try it and let me know what you think....
Peggy in Denver CO
posted by mtnmamma at 7:57 am (EST) on Jul 25, 2008
have you--or any of your pals....heard of
The Book of Counted Sorrows?
I don't know if it is real, a book, a book of poems,
it is quoted in a murder series I read---
fantastic quotes....but I've never been able to find out if it is an actual book.
Thanks
posted by mtnmamma at 9:15 am (EST) on Jul 19, 2008
I also love movies and I thought that was one of the strangest ones I have seen...........
Do tell....
posted by mtnmamma at 8:12 am (EST) on Jul 19, 2008
posted by mtnmamma at 7:22 am (EST) on Jul 18, 2008
Okay - here goes. No promises, but hopefully between these instructions, Noisy and GreyHead, you'll get it figured out!
On your Profile page, open the Edit Profile link. Go to either About Me or About My Library and copy the almost-working-link below into a blank area. Once copied, delete the (spaceMMMspace) - that is, delete the three MMM's and the space directly in front and directly behind the M's (I added these so that the HTML shows up here as text). Then delete the two ()'s and the two ()'s (I added the bolds to show you what needs to be replaced). Unfortunately, LT now truncates links in comments, so the stuff that is blue bold doesn't show all the way here in the comment. However, I'm pretty sure that it will work when you copy in your full link (instructions below).
< MMM a href="/catalog.php?work=45161&book=20076527" MMM >< MMM img style="height:120px; border:1px solid black;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/034546..."/ MMM >
Now, open another window or tab and go to the LT book page for the book you want. In the URL for the book you want, copy the the stuff after "work=" (in my comment it's bolded and says "45151&book=20076527") and replace my text with the text you copied into the profile edit page.
Next, go back to the book page and right-click on the book image. Choose Copy Image Location. Then go back to the edit profile page and replace my text with the link you just copied (blue bold link in the example - should be between quotation marks - starts with http:// and ends with .jpg).
Now try saving your profile page edits to see if if worked. Try clicking on your image and hopefully it takes you to the book page (fingers crossed!).
If it worked, you can add more. If you want your covers to show horizontally on your profile page, then go back into Edit Your Profile Page, copy your brand new link, go to the end of the link and hit Space once, then paste the link in. Replace the two things that need to be replaced, save the page, and see if it worked.
If you want your covers to show vertically, then after your new link hit Enter then copy the link and make the edits.
Good luck - please let me know if it worked!!
posted by Talbin at 12:13 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2008
Anyway, have a happy 4th! I'm volunteering at our city's fireworks display all day -- since two of my kids are grown and out of the house, and my 3rd adult daughter (who still lives with me) is working that night, I figured I might as well do something useful with my day. I just hope I can get back home in time to be with my dogs when the fireworks start -- they get frightened of fireworks and thunderstorms, both of which we have in abundance in this area.
posted by RachelfromSarasota at 7:54 pm (EST) on Jul 2, 2008
I'm also taking another class in helping kids to read. This one is not on-line, but, thank goodness, face-to-face. Of course, the real problem is NOT in the teachers nor even in the curricular materials, but in our a-literate society (as both political historian/philosopher Susan Jacoby and reading specialist Sharon Kane have noted). I'm reading Jacoby's latest book THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON and it's making me as depressed as hell!
I'm glad you liked my remarks to geneg on education. Almost every caring teacher, as you've pointed out, knows WHAT the problem is -- but we are so strait-jacketed into a fairly rigid system that we are practically helpless to change it. I have absolutely decided that I'm going to work independent reading into my curriculum on a formal basis this year. But how I'll make kids truly accountable for their reading is a matter I haven't quite figured out. And of course, so much depends, not on a red wheelbarrow sitting in the rain, but on the kids themselves. I have had classes where even struggling readers were anxious to read; and classes where fairly fluent readers would do anything to get out of reading. I've been mulling things over in my mind -- but I have to hope that the class I'll be starting in 2 weeks can give me some practical advice.
We got our textbook for the course last week, and I've been skimming through it. So far, I'm not terribly impressed, b/c the author seems to feel that teachers should make sure they have accessible and attractive texts in their rooms, and she seems to place a heavy reliance on using fiction in the content-areas.
This is a problem for me. I have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the past ten years in buying both young adult fiction and "grabby" and exciting nonfiction in the areas of history, English, and science. But I don't have ANY class sets of interesting books, which Sharon Kane (the author of the textbook on Reading in the Content Areas) seems to feel is vital. And down here, our schools have taken an enormous budget hit this year -- none of us are even getting step increases, in an effort to keep everyone working. There's no way, unless I get a grant, that I'll be able to acquire new (or even used) classroom materials. So I'm going to dig up the teaching material I was introduced to over the winter, in the last reading class I took, and see how I can actually use it this year in my classroom.
I have one great advantage going into this term. Every classroom in my school got six new computers last spring -- hooked up to the Internet. So I will be able to have kids break up into groups to do hands-on research right in the classroom. And I do have three class sets of history textbooks -- so I can work out something with those. I've found that my kids at SMA do well working on their own or in small study groups, and then presenting their findings to the rest of the class. This year I'm adding a wrinkle to these groups. Each group will have to make up a term list, a study sheet, and a test. I'll have the kids turn these into me a week BEFORE they do their class presentations, and I'll check them for accuracy. That way, the other students will have a grade incentive to pay attention to the other group's presentations -- which can otherwise be all too easy to slough off.
Have you checked out my own website yet? I'd love to hear your opinion on it. It's still a work in progress, though -- just keep that in mind!
What are you doing with your summer?
posted by RachelfromSarasota at 7:45 pm (EST) on Jul 2, 2008
posted by amanaceerdh at 11:53 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2008
I'm still trying to figure out how I can lend out books to kids and not lose $$. I have kids & parents sign a borrower's agreement that they'll replace any lost or damaged book the student borrows; but neither of the schools I worked out has any way of enforcing this. One school, frankly, didn't even try to help me get back my books. And my current school, though wonderful in many ways, is not even legally allowed to withhold grades or new textbooks from kids even if they've lost every other book they were assigned (and some kids apparently owe over $100 just for lost textbooks).
Right now I have a policy that none of my books leave my classroom. But part of me feels I'm just being niggardly with my books -- and that's not a great feeling.
I'm having a problem accessing your web site. My computer is fairly new, but I'm having a dickens of a time installing the plug-ins I apparently need to read your stuff. Frustrating! My son might stop in tomorrow on his way home (he lives about 3 1/2 hours away from me) to see what he can do to help me with these downloads.
I get my best ideas from other teachers -- I've been known to prowl through the recycling bin in our copy room, just to see what ideas I can glean. And I'm just as open to letting other teachers use my stuff.
Speaking of which: my school's website is www.sarasotamilitaryacademy.com -- I'm sorry but I haven't figured out how to put the link right onto my posts. Anyway, once you get to the school's opening page, go to Departments (at the top of the Welcome page) and then Social Sciences, and then me -- Captain Wasserman (my title is purely honorary). I have a wealth of stuff on my pages (including a 3 year old pic of me which I'll have to update this year) -- feel free to take and tweak anything you like. I'd be interested in your comments on my pages.
Well, it's late, but I've missed my sleep window tonight. It's funny -- during the year I have to get up so darned early (up by 5:30 a.m. so I can feed the dogs & cat and make the l-o-n-g commute to SMA) and I stay at school usually until 4:00 -- so that I'm always ready for bed by 9 at the latest. But it's summer time, and the living is easy, so I've been doing very little this June (other than volunteering for CERT) and my schedule is really out of whack.
Oh, about the Tovani book -- if there's any way you can skim through it, I urge you to do so -- she has some really good ideas to help kids understand and remember what they read. I used her sticky note strategy a great deal with my struggling 9th graders. And if you are at all interested in other tips for helping low level (the new p.c. term is "emergent readers" -- bah!) readers with comprehension issues, I just took a 14 week class through the University of Central Florida on Foundations of Reading, and I did garner some really good ideas that high school and middle school teachers can use. Just let me know -- I actually have the tips on a Word document if you want me to send them to you. Just a thought.
Hope your summer is going well.
Rachel
posted by RachelfromSarasota at 12:32 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2008
What's your take on graphic novels? One of my best and brightest students loves them. Most of my students are more interested in nonfiction, which is fine with me -- as long as they're reading, I don't much care what they read. We need to build the addiction slowly. So I have some great books on war and weapons with terrific pictorials and shorter texts.
One more thing (you can tell how excited I am about chatting with another teacher, can't you?): do you allow kids to "borrow" your own books? I did that in when I taught 9th grade English, for a few years, and I really took a beating financially. While the school allowed me to send out a form for parents to sign requiring lost books to be replaced, the school refused to enforce the policy --and while I should be happy in assuming that my unreturned books were kept b/c kids love to read them, I'm afraid I'm not so sanguine.
So, unfortunately, I instituted a policy that Captain Wasserman's books remain in her room (which is open to kids, by the way, from 7:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, including our lunch period).
posted by RachelfromSarasota at 7:01 pm (EST) on Jun 20, 2008
Are there instructions anywhere that I didn't see?
Peggy
posted by mtnmamma at 8:03 am (EST) on May 13, 2008
posted by Medellia at 9:48 pm (EST) on May 5, 2008
posted by judylou at 9:43 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2008
I noticed you have almost 200 books tagged 1001. Some people are trying to add them all to their libraries. Are you doing the same? I know there are several that are next to impossible to find...
posted by perlle at 10:32 am (EST) on Apr 10, 2008
posted by jamclash at 7:10 pm (EST) on Apr 5, 2008
Sure, no problem. You can find the music map on:
http://www.music-map.com/
Have fun! ^^
posted by Vonini at 3:21 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008
posted by investory at 9:35 am (EST) on Mar 30, 2008
posted by margaretplays at 2:27 pm (EST) on Feb 28, 2008
I just want to go to my groups and talk(listen--read)about books. As usual, the web has too MUCH stuff...this site included.
It's too much to wade thru.
So if I can find you again, perhaps we can chat about books...
Thank you again.
AND it doesn't help that I have a new computer that I am learning.
posted by mtnmamma at 10:20 am (EST) on Jan 17, 2008
posted by jeanned at 1:46 am (EST) on Oct 26, 2007
Have you read Saturday? This is my first read with this novelist and I am finding that while I love his prose and descriptive talents, I am unable to put it all together with the "storyline". I just cannot wrap my brain around it. I wonder if he writes poetry. I think it would be a good match for him. Everyone else out there seems to love this book. I am going back to Shreve, Radish, Quindlen, and Kidd with a classic thrown in now and then for kicks.
Thanx for the suggestion.
posted by nannybebette at 12:47 pm (EST) on Sep 15, 2007
I will say that if haven’t read anything by Nick Hornsby I highly recommend him. I say this because I have read critics who compare the two writers and I would say that there definitely are some close ties to the Rachel Papers and several of Hornsby’s books. (Hornsby’s humor is about a 100 times funnier. At least I think so.)
posted by inkdrinker at 10:24 am (EST) on Sep 15, 2007
It must be great fun to teach; somewhere, I came across a web site that had recordings of Beowulf in the original that were really interesting, and gave a great idea of the sounds of the original poetry. I'll try to find that if you haven't come across it - I think it would be great for students studying the book.
posted by A_musing at 9:31 pm (EST) on Sep 3, 2007
posted by Kell_Smurthwaite at 5:25 pm (EST) on Aug 25, 2007
Honestly, I was mostly kidding when I went on that tirade. My friend suggested I 'engage' the readers. In retrospect, I think I came across as psychotic. I appreciate anyone reading my little ramblings!
posted by ellevee at 6:25 pm (EST) on Aug 14, 2007
I'm not big on ratings, sorry. There are a very small number of books that I think are awful to the point of unreadability, and everything else is kind of down to taste. If you have specific likes/dislikes then I can give general recommendations, or if you want to ask about specific books I would be happy to tell you what I thought, but I want to avoid ratings for the time being.
Cheers,
Andy
posted by depressaholic at 6:40 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2007
posted by soylentgreen23 at 2:48 pm (EST) on Jul 29, 2007
really, its pretty arbitrary, and based on my own feelings about a novel's literary value. the bookshelf in my bedroom is where i keep me "other fiction" stuff, and it's mostly comprised of science fiction and fantasy series, with a few other random books thrown in. because all my other bookshelves are out in the living room & dining room of my apartment, i guess the question i keep in mind is, "is it important to me that this book be one that is showcased in plain sight to guests?" of course, what i consider to be of "great literary value" and what others do is bound to vary, but it's my library, so my opinion matters most of all. *shrug*
posted by philosojerk at 10:28 am (EST) on Jul 26, 2007
posted by VisibleGhost at 4:45 pm (EST) on Jul 18, 2007