Columbine by Dave Cullen

why: I've been wanting to read this book for a while. After the Arapahoe shooting, I figured it was time.

when: January 2014 (took me about a week)

how: as an ebook on my iPad, purchased from my local independent bookseller

thoughts: The author says this book took him 10 years. And I believe it. It's exhaustive. It pours through the writings and videos that Klebold and Harris left behind to try to understand what drove them both to murder. In short, Harris was a psychopath. Kelbold was depressed and suicidal. Together they were a deadly pairing. I also learned that their plans were to kill far more people than they did that day. Their bombs failed to detonate. As a high school teacher, it's terrifying to read and learn about these events, but I'm more and more convinced that prevention is not about arming teachers, but doing everything you can to have a healthy community that seeks out and supports kids who struggle. There were plenty of opportunities to do just that with these two but it didn't happen as it needed to.

Click on the book image to go to the author's website.

review haiku:
terrifying simply
terrifying. That's all.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

why: book club

when: January 2014 (took me less than a week)

how: as an ebook on my iPad (purchased as always through my local independent bookseller)

thoughts: This was a suspenseful read. You get three different story arcs starting in the first three chapters, but you very quickly realize that all three story arcs will weave together and likely collide somehow (and they do, violently). The premise here--a woman finds a letter sealed in an envelope--addressed to her from her husband, to read on the event of his death. Should she read it? Would you?

Click on the book image to learn more about the book.

review haiku:
we carry secrets
but some are worse than others
and then there's karma

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

why: I got a strong recommendation from a teacher colleague for this one last summer and I'm finally getting around to it.

when: start 5/30/2013, end 1/5/2014

how: as an ebook on my ipad

thoughts: This is a tome, but it was well worth my time. I started reading it months ago--but I wasn't able to give it the brain space needed by reading it in the 20 sleepy minutes I had before falling asleep on many nights. I put it down after getting about a third into it. I wrote about that here. So once winter break started, I picked it back up again and started at page one. Wow. Loved this book. Chabon makes you work for it. The writing is gorgeous. The characters are wonderfully complex. The heartbreak is real. This is yet another book connected to the holocaust and that has a carney element. Not sure why I keep getting drawn by these kinds of books. But wow. This definitely explores what the devastation of the holocaust can mean to an individual who escapes. This explores the golden age of comic books in America. This explores love and devotion and magic. I definitely recommend it, but be ready to work. Chabon will not coddle you. You've got to pay attention.

Click on the book image to go to the wikipedia entry for this book.

review haiku:
heartbreak and heartbreak
how many ways to escape?
read this book to see

MIss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

why: Ms. Maytum (my student teacher) suggested this one

when: 12/2/13-12/4/13

how: I read the hard copy that Ms. Maytum let me borrow.

thoughts: I just discovered this will be a 2015 film directed by Tim Burton. Fun! One review I saw said that this was the next Harry Potter type adventure. I don't agree so much. This book can stand all by itself in its own class. What was cool is that it seemed everything was normal in the world of this book until it just wasn't normal anymore. Surprising. Mind bending in some ways. There is a sequel in the works but I'm not sure I'll read it. And I was somewhat surprised that yet again another book comes to me carrying with it WWII and the holocaust AND carnies. These topics keep coming up in books I pick up. Not sure what that's all about.

Click on the book image to learn more about the book.

review haiku:
peculiar children:
see the levitating girl
she's real I kid you not

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

why: I've been thinking a lot about how change actually happens in a place like a school, and the presentation I did at NCTE recently with some FHS colleagues was all about how we've seen change spread like a virus here, so I wanted to read this book. It's all about viral change. 

when: start 11/10, end 12/2

how: as an ebook on my iPad

thoughts: This really does help me to think about how change happens. The book has been spinning in my head all week. Definitely some frameworks here to think about how to make meaningful change for people. 

Click on the book image to get to the wikipedia entry about the book. 

review haiku: 

sticky ideas tip

spreading change like a virus

making things better

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Why: I've always wanted to read this book. I wondered if those who engage in extreme physical activities (like the cavers in the last book I read) might be outliers. Not sure if the connection will work or not...

When: start 10/18/13, end 11/8/13

How: as an ebook on my ipad (purchased as always through our local independent book seller)

Thoughts: This book didn't help me much with my thinking about extreme human activities and why people do them, but I'm really glad I read it. Interesting story about human success and how it happens.

Click on the book image to get to the author's website.

Review haiku:
ten thousand hours
what it takes to be expert
mine are in teaching

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Why: Yet again my SLCC class started out the year with this book.

When: start 8/23/13, end 9/20/13

How: I read my teacher's copy of this text, filled with my notes and thoughts in the margins and on sticky notes and complete with my index card book mark where I've written one-sentence chapter summaries to help me find what I need in this book.

Thoughts: This is such a great place to start the school year. Generally I've found my students enjoy reading this book, and it gives us a lot to talk about and think about, which is cool.

Click on the book image to get to the wikipedia entry for the book.

Review Haiku:

Wild potato seeds
watch out for them when you hike
or just bring a friend.

(This makes book # 31 for 2013 for me.)

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

why: I'm reviewing this for possible use with my CU students this fall, but I've also wanted to read it for a while. All of my students who have read it in the past have loved it.

when: start 7/23, end 7/29

how: as an ebook on my ipad.

thoughts: Whoa. I can see why the Fairview librarian says he cannot keep this book on the shelf in our library. Not only is it constantly checked out (even the multiple copies he has of it), but he says it often walks away from the library permanently. It's an intense read for sure--a view into a different world for me for sure as I was lucky to have a very stable childhood in terms of having a solid roof over my head and food on the table to eat always. I never had to worry about my head getting rained on in my bed or not having heat or whether or not there would be money for food. The parents here--the lifestyle they lived was truly a choice, even though it was a lifestyle that did not provide basic necessities for their children. That was very difficult for me to understand, and I've been thinking a lot about it since I read it. A good friend of mine who is a writer hates this book--she wishes there was some humor, that the writer would at times show us the humor in some of these situations. And of course there were moments of that, and I think there are even moments in the book that could have been relayed with humor but were not. The absence of humor maybe even more underscores the tragedy of this story. The choices these parents made about the life they provided for their children--really there's not much redeeming there in my opinion. But maybe I'm being a bit too judgmental.

Click on the book image to get to the wikipedia entry on this book.

review haiku:
In a glass castle
dream, it's easy to forget
to feed your children.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

why: recommendations from our librarian and from students

when: start 4/1/13 finish 5/4/13

how: as an ebook on my iPad (from the local bookseller of course!)

Click on the book image to see the Wikipedia entry for the book.

thoughts: I loved this book. The moment I finished it I immediately went back to page one and started reading again! (Didn't read the whole thing again, just the first few chapters). There's a bit of mystery to it, and there are several different characters on seemingly different paths who eventually come together (I always love that). And yes, it is essentially about love and what it means in our lives. Loved it.

review haiku:
The history of us
history of all of us is
The history of love