I know exactly why I am a reader. Because of my mother. When I was growing up, she read to me every night before bed (even now when I reread Bedtime for Frances, possibly my very favorite childhood book, I hear her voice telling the story). She took me to the library every week. She…
I am still working on my #MustReadin2018 reading challenge as well as the reading challenge I created with my Children’s Literature students, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for just one more. My Children’s Literature students alerted me to a glaring book gap in my own reading life: mysteries. They kept asking for recommendations,…
In January, I joined Carrie Gelson and many other bloggers in creating #MustReadin2018 reading lists. To add a twist to the challenge, I crowdsource my list, selecting one title from each blogger’s list to add to my own. Crowdsourcing has proven to be a more effective way for me to get closer to completing a…
One of the joys of my reading life is making elaborate reading plans and long lists. I have never seen a reading challenge I don’t want to join or scanned a book list I don’t want to complete. But it is also a truth of my reading life that I hate assigned reading and…
I love making #MustRead lists, but I’ll be honest: that’s usually where it ends for me. If I manage to read three or four titles on the list, that’s a very successful reading experience for me. There’s something about putting a book on a list and deciding to read it that makes me lose interest…
My reading life over the past few months has been sad. I do have excuses. I taught a course overload in spring, and I’m teaching one now. I also have two completely new preps this semester. For most of the year, too, parenting has been really intense, and I’ve lost some of the guaranteed daily…
Ruth Ayres hosts a weekly celebration on her blog. I appreciate this invitation to reflect on the positives of my week. 1. We made it! I love my son so much, but seventeen days straight of 24/7 parenting with no school, no after-school club, no respite of any kind is daunting when your child comes…
