“a star is born” – supposedly judy garland’s best work – but you have to watch the original 181 film – not what warner brothers butchered and sent out in 1954 – so i’m going to find that version on dvd and do that – i do love a classic movie

“the man i never met” – sad book – but a good one – by espn’s lead nfl guy – how he fell in love and married a 9/11 widow – so basically, what life has been like after 9/11 – really well done

“how schools work” – by our last education secretary – great book – some good insight – i would’ve read much more had he written it – very accessible – of course, 1/2 the country would write it off b/c it’s not republican – and that’s sad

“God’s library” – not what i thought it would be – basically on the oldest NT texts and editions we have – it was well done but very much out of my league – i was hoping it would help me read the gospels better – nope:)

beating the heat with some summer reads…

“through the language glass” – i can now tell you how other cultures learn colors – definitely not a book i thought that it was when i got it – sometimes, books do that to you – but, got through

“seeing Jesus in East Harlem” – since i’m running the NYC marathon this fall, i count this book as preparation:) it was good – a pastor in that area talked about community building and relationships – the parts about race wouldn’t fly well in most suburban, white communities – but he was right in his critique

“fearless” – eagles head coach – doug peterson – it was funny b/c i’d read a book earlier – like less than a week earlier – saying that doug wasn’t a great coach – and in this book, doug took that guy to task as not being good either – so back and forth:)

“munson” – north shelby library book on yankees legend – i knew a lot about him b/c of other books – the last 100 pages were on his tragic death

“gilgamesh” – the book i read for class this week was good – and quick – learned a few things i can use with eighth grade this year (apologies to all those who have already passed through:)

“gridiron genius” – the book that knocked peterson – it did have some good stuff on saban – and practically worshipped the patriots coach

“green” – one of the best of the bunch – white sixth grader at a boston public school in the late 1980s grows up a bit and learns some lessons through a year

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSXyA3m9d3TlVbU-KjOyEqmEmzlvyM7DHqpp_AUAem2E47sb5vNphDCSDnZxiJaOLLmuO5mKeCkb3uq/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

books read this week as i prepare to return to the roads to race again this saturday – first since boston:)

“don’t let the penguin drive the batmobile” – great book – working on adopting it for SE and my sixth grade

“african dreams in alabama” – new book at columbiana public library – last slave ship landed in mobile – i never knew – and i lived in mobile for two years – the book doesn’t read easily, but i enjoyed reading about a history i didn’t know about

“i was mickey mantle” – reminded me of my dad’s hero

“run forever” – great book about keeping perspective as you age:) the wisdom the 1968 winner of boston has culled from his years running

“mosaic” – amy grant – was okay – needed something to read

any recommendations are appreciated and are currently being accepted:)

j

so i took the first week to actually read some of the books i’m assigning – none of them took me very long – so i guess i’m going to be bummed by how “tough” this becomes for everyone else:)

“treasure island” – i remembered a lot of it from 12 years ago when i taught it to sixth grade – or tried to teach it – i need to watch the muppet’s version now

“the diary of anne frank” – i’d actually never read this book – would’ve been good to read when i was in the play – however, it wasn’t like i wasn’t busy back then – anyway, good to have read – should’ve read it earlier – the additional notes about the diary helped me too

“wrinkle in time” – another one i probably should’ve read a long time ago – meh – it was okay – i think i was expecting to be awed – and i wasn’t

“the game” – harvard-yale 1968 – 29-29 tie – remarkable game – great book – those players are getting old now so preserving their voices is a good thing

“unmasked” – andrew lloyd webber’s biography – only got to phantom – it was really long – could’ve been shortened and been a whole lot better – i did watch “love never dies” b/c of it – didn’t know it existed until this week

“night” – again, another book i should’ve read a long time ago – really excellent – powerful book – i believe it’s required at SCHS – it should be

hope everyone’s summer is off to a great start

j