52 this year

My goal was to read 52 books this year... I'm a little behind pace. I did decide that I don't have to consider it a failure until February, though, since I didn't start keeping track here until February.

Letters to a Young Teacher by Jonathan Kozol
Genre: Education Rating: (out of 10): 8
I'm not such a young teacher anymore, and during parts of this I felt as though he were preaching to the choir... but that's what Kozol is about. He points out inequities and injustices in education for the larger population. There are several chapters in here that would be great to read as a staff at our school, and a few that I want Dave to read to understand the problem with why schools work the way they do. It is reaffirming to read things I know to be true about education in print- as if there is hope out there for turning things around.

Brisinger by Christopher Paolini
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
Dave pointed out that this was a "transitional" book, and I had to agree... but I loved it. This book bridges the gap between his 3rd and the final 5th book in the series. While it was huge, the book kept moving quickly enough that I read it in a week. There was a lot of character development, and even though it stayed away from the romance angle (which I was intrigued by), I still found it interesting. It also revealed how Galbatorix has so much power... I thought it was neat.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph. D.
Genre: Education, African American Studies Rating: (out of 10): 6.5
This was a book I started two years ago and put down. The book would be interesting and helpful had I not been involved in my masters' program at EMU. I feel like this would have been a good book to read during one of the classes, since I gained most of the knowledge and perspective of how racial identity forms in several of my classes.

A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, Adapted by Rebecca Stefoff
Genre: History, Textbook for Kids Rating: (out of 10): 7.5
Zinn writes revisionist history, in other words, history from the point of view of the losers. It is extremely interesting, but the format was not something I can use in my classroom. I was hoping for some primary source documents and writing from other perspective to use, but it was more narrative and a little harder than my fourth graders could handle. Still, interesting, and I finished this book quickly, unlike the adult version. I've been working on it for years.

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Genre: Realistic Fiction Rating: (out of 10): 7
This was not in his normal genre of law. The book was about a washed-up NFL quarterback who ended up playing semi-pro football in Italy. I loved the parts about Italy and food (great reminders of our trip in March). I made Dave read the book because some of the description of food was so realistic. Otherwise, the book was alright. It had a lot of football and was a bit of a "coming-of-age" story. A quick read.