wow, lots and lots of rain…

“terrestria” – by some girl named reeves – i haven’t read the newly sent copy yet – tonight’s homework – i can only hope it’s better than draft one – otherwise, it would be a disappointment to read draft one and think “hey, that’s a great story b/c skylar dies” and then get draft two and be like “wow, that’s just not as good” 🙂 anyway, elves, curses, death, unicorns – really quality writing too – definitely needs to have some segments entered for the county literary competition this year – and all way better than…

“boys don’t knit” – having finished terrestria i went looking for something – and i, um, definitely got something – clever-ish book concept – boy lands in a knitting class – bit formulaic – like the bad guys went to the world championships of knitting to sabotage the kid – like why would bad guys do that – b/c they’re bad??? little off

“this book will make you sleep” – book’s basic premise is that our mental issues keep us from sleeping well – i could agree with that – fortunately, most every tip i was already doing – like sleeping 14 hours a day – ooh, nap time…

“duty” – this was my impressive read of the week – by our former secretary of defense – former president of texas a&m – robert gates – gates served under bush and obama – he was the first cabinet member to survive a change in party in like forever – really amazing story for many reasons – one, that he could enjoy working for both bush and obama – guys that lots of people like to make into total opposites – i’d love to see the department of education get $800 billion a year – and defense get what education does (nothing) – we’d have a different world

happy new year – early – maf

happy out of school (yes, sixth grade, you must blog all during Christmas or else you will fail winter break – and no college will ever accept you if you fail winter break…)

“a snicker of magic” – like another elem BOB last year – folksy southern book – the main characters are sixth grade – i would think sixth graders could enjoy the book – definitely elem kids – it was enjoyable – i actually contacted the publisher after reading it

“elvis and the underdogs” – not a great title/book match – the cover wasn’t either – but a decent read – the dog’s voice allowed the author to have a smart-ical character in the book – although, the fourth grader was really bright – i guess i’ve been out of school so long that i “forget” how cruel kids can be – b/c there were several times in this book when i stopped and thought that teachers/kids wouldn’t let the abuse go on that went on in the book – maybe i just live in a happy bubble world…

“organic creativity” – my happy bubble world includes lots of new creative ideas for the classroom thanks to this book – things like fantasy teams for Shakespeare, Celeb Duels

“nazi hunters” – closed high school BOB with a fascinating read – the true-life story of a group of men’s dedication to the prosecution of a nazi government official – who got to live 17 years later than the six million people he killed – the wheels of justice can be slow to turn, but they do turn

merry Christmas – of course

maf

so scholar’s bowl was a taste of awesome fun yesterday – big props to lil bri for hanging with the “cool kids” for a change

al michaels book – i think it’s like “you can’t make this stuff up” – maybe not – but michaels was a famous announcer for years with abc – for nbc – his book was a great recap of the significant moments of the last 30 years in sports – and in reality TV with OJ – definitely enjoyable read

“the westing game” – first time i’d ever read it – it comes with high acclaim – i’d always felt guilty for having not read it – as far as newbery winning, i get it – for 1979 – and it’s easy to see how many books have come from it – the psuedo mystery “play along at home” version thing – the underlying racism and sexism (really not underlying, just not noticeable to kids) gave the book more meat – that said, i honestly didn’t get the book – it may have been b/c i was reading fast – but the clues didn’t really solve anything – the plot was advanced by things happening – not b/c they were discovering anything – at least, i thought

“for the love of God” – by DA Carson – we’ve been reading through the Bible this year at church – i just haven’t mentioned it every week, but i’m done with the NT and 1/2 through the OT (that’s on purpose with the reading plan) – the devotional was through the church – and i read each one until i went ahead this month – to finish – it was certainly helpful for understanding passages – particularly 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles – and definitely my slowest read of the year at 11 months

i am curious, is there a Bible reading count amongst my bloggers? like, have you read books of the Bible this year, verses, anything like that? again, i just haven’t mentioned it – i figure there are others

happy finals studying

maf

yep, let’s just say that hello kitty stood out as a notebook up there – sort of a “which notebook doesn’t look like everyone else’s?” type deal:)

“fighting chance” – by elizabeth warren – most all autobiographies by successful women are good – the things they overcome in matters of sexism – family – warren’s story was no different – her takes on banks and lending was worthwhile as well – the stories about her parents and their poor health at the end reminded me of parts of my own life – but from juco student to harvard professor to US senator, she’s done a lot

“john muir” – founder of the sierra club – california conservation society – muir grew up with an impossible father – the detail that stood out was that at one point, muir knew all of the NT – memorized – and 3/4ths of the OT – amazing – but head knowledge doesn’t do you good unless you apply it – muir developed a heart for nature – and he fought to protect back when there were no regulations – when regulations got started – enjoyable read

“the nutcracker” – trying to catch up with the sixth grade reading – it was different than i expected – i would think the ballet focuses on the last part of the book – and not the battle in the beginning

game was fun last night – always is when your team wins big – happy last week of journals before break

maf