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.

Taking Action on Adolescent Literacy: An Implementation Guide for School Leaders

why: The BVSD literacy director asked me to read this to see what I thought about its suggestions for making change.

when: start 12/2/13, end 12/4/13

how: I read the hard copy I got from the literacy director for BVSD. It's full of sticky notes with my thoughts.

thoughts: There are some good suggestions in this book--things that confirm many of the strategies we are already undertaking. But it does somewhat contradict the viral model of change and seeks to work more top-down. Which doesn't work as well.

Click on the book image to learn more.

review haiku:
systematic change
is a fallacy. Change moves
in stealth, virally.

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

Beyond the Deep: The Deadly Descent into the World's Most Treacherous Cave by William Stone, Barbara am Ende, and Monte Paulsen

Why: When Mr. Lefebvre book talked this one last week, it actually terrified me. So I know I have to read it. And I just read the first few pages via the preview available on Amazon and I was pretty terrified, but couldn't look away. Also, my students are right now reading personal narrative writing, so I must as well.

When: start 10/7/13, end 10/17/13

How: as an ebook on my ipad, purchased through my local independent book seller. 

Thoughts: I've been thinking a lot about why people spend all kinds of money on extreme physical challenges. This seems to fit into that. These people explore caves and caverns and underground rivers, risking their lives to do it. Why? Why do people do this?

After having read this, I'm not sure I quite figured this out. The explorers in this world of exploration seek "booty"--what they call unexplored subterranean terrain. They will put themselves and others in great peril in order to achieve this. I just wonder, is it worth it? Is it worth to spend so much money and risk people's lives just to set foot somewhere where no other human has before? Maybe it is worth it. It's just difficult for me to justify the expense when there are people going without food in the world. 

Click on the book image to get to the Wikipedia entry on one of the authors, William Stone.

Review Haiku:
deeper and deeper
they go seeking the booty
beyond all the sumps

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.

About the Authors: Writing Workshop for our Youngest Authors by Katie Wood Ray and Lisa B. Cleaveland

why: I'll be training to become a teacher consultant for the Colorado Writing Project this month. I need to read up on writer's workshop in the elementary grades.

when: start 5/30 end 6/2

how: I have a hard copy of this one. I'm reading it at my dining room table, pen in hand to fill the margins with thoughts.

thoughts: I'm struck by how much of the ideas and approaches here for writers in grades K-2 are totally and completely relevant to writers in grades 9-12 and beyond even. I really loved reading this book. This reminded me of the essence of writer's workshop--it's about engaging students as writers who love to create, to imagine, to make things with words. It's about building a community of practice surrounding this. This book really shows how to do that, and I'm pretty sure I'll keep it within easy reach in my office at school to pull out ideas to use with my high school students.

Click on the book image to get to the page for this book on its publisher's website.

review haiku:
remember this please,
writer's workshop should be fun
inspire your authors

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

Why: book club

When: Start 1/10/13. End 1/19/13

Thoughts: Am I a psychopath? I don't think so, at least not according to what I learned in this book.

How: as an ebook on my ipad, purchased through The Boulder Bookstore

(click on the book image to read about it on wikipedia)

review haiku:

if I wonder if
I might be a psychopath
than I am not one