“The Best Man” – won from the library – good Cubs references – was interesting – I knew about the author – so the book surprised me for what it was about – enjoyable for middle grades

“Once Again We Saw Stars” – book about the loss of author’s two year old child – and the year that followed – book about grief – and loss – exceptionally well written – but a book I would think most parents wouldn’t read

“Dictionary for a Better World” – given to me by Coach Mac – from a county PD workshop – local author involved – well done

“Death By Shakespeare” – read at state FCCLA conference – book about how the characters in Shakespeare die – and oh, they do die in the tragedies:) for the premise, I wasn’t that impressed with the book

“Talking to Strangers” – new Malcolm Gladwell – good book – although, I wondered at times – took in a lot of current events – seemed to want to make them fit a grand theory he had – but I did like the book and would like to use it in the classroom

“Readings on Taming of the Shrew” – really enjoyed this book – this was the start of my COVID19 break reading – will help me teach the sixth grade book

“All He Knew” – good YA on mental illness at the time of WWII – based on a true story – the dismal state of mental health institutions during that time – book of poetry

“Pandemic 1918” – right before COVID19 cancelled everything, I started this book – good – and good for the times we are living in right now

“Lou Gehrig” – took a column Lou wrote in 1927 – well, that he supposedly wrote – you have to know that period to know that ghost writers were used all the time – so while the book was pitched as his voice, I’m not at all confident it was – so disappointing

“Twelfth Night” – good – better than “Shrew” – still, not as good as the one I had before – maybe I’ll get used to it

“Twelfth Night for kids” – good – entertaining – we’ll use it in the classroom

“An Affair of Poisons” – ugh, you can’t be free, but, well, it was a close call with this book – my favorite part was the guy describing the first kiss as like feeding the homeless

“A Woman of No Importance” – cool WWII history – and remarkable tale of a remarkable lady

“The Sun Does Shine” – great book to go with Just Mercy – sad book though

“Games of Deception” – book on the ’36 Olympics Hoops team – lots of history I didn’t know – was a great YA non-fiction read b/c it was teaching me as well

“American Royals” – interesting YA – I thought it would be more about the political ramifications of an American monarchy – nope, just about romance – so yeah, definitely not my type of book – but I’m sure my eighth grade girls would love it

“Thanks, Obama” – speechwriter for the president – recaps his years – I liked it – politics is always fascinating for me

“Almost, Maine” – YA book – but I’m not sure why – not traditional in that it was from the POV of young kids – but I guess people can call things what they want

“The Big Dark” – at our library – by Rodman Philbrick – in the vein of Last Book in the Universe – enjoyed it

“The Movie Musical” – 600 pages of fun – really enjoyed it – and I now have a list of movies to watch:)

“My Jasper June” – delightful YA book – enjoyed this one – thanks Helena Middle for the lend:)

“Look Both Ways” – new one at CMS – good POV for middle grades

“They Called Us Enemy” – graphic novel – recommendation from a friend in Tennessee – and a good recommendation – our library is going to get it now:)

“Keeping Hope Alive” – one of my book prizes from the library – good book – I thought it was YA non-fiction – it wasn’t – but a good read for adults

“All The Greys on Greene Street” – YA – it was good – came from a list I’d found at the end of the year

“The Incomplete Book of Running” – enjoyed it – although, a sad book too – makes me ready to run Chicago

“Like Father, Like Son” – great book about a central US figure in running in the 1970s – and good coaching tips that relate to teaching

“Fearless” – book on Bart Giamatti – enjoyed the history of Yale – wasn’t at all the book I thought it would be – but okay

“Me” – Elton John – surprisingly insightful and good

“The Hope of Glory” – excited to read this book – and then disappointed with it

“We will Rise” – book on Evansville basketball – good read

“Trust Exercise” – last time I read a book recommended by Entertainment Weekly

“Stolen Justice” – powerful book – recommended it to Ms. Blount for our library

“The Faithful Spy” – shared this one in class – thanks to Ms. Blount for lending it to me:)

“the end of youth ministry” – i like reading about approaches to youth ministry b/c i think there are parallels to teaching – the book was interesting – and had a great movie recommendation at the start – but wasn’t as radically new as i probably was expecting

“Michael Jordan: Bull on Parade” – graphic novel – took me back to the 1990s – probably a bit much for middle school – but i enjoyed it

“Storm-Wake” – based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” – s’okay – I enjoy the Tempest – although, I think modern people give Prospero a bum rap – control freaks are people too, right? 🙂

“the 47 people you’ll meet in middle school” – the title was more clever than the book – sadly…

“Lost in a Book” – companion to Beauty and the Beast – again, over-promised – but, if you have people in your life who love the movie, then I’m sure they’ll love this one

“New Kid” – really enjoyed this graphic novel – high recommendation

“Pop” – amazed me how much CTE and the risks of football have changed since this book was published in 2008 – no one else seems to be realizing this though from the reviews I read

“Anna Karenina” – this was my big read for the break – watched the movie too – was surprisingly true to the book – i definitely can’t recommend a normal person investing 950 pages in it, but it was okay – probably slightly better than I thought it would be

“Infinite Hope” – came from a recommendation from the mom of a friend – the momma selected good:) great book as a first person POV on WWII

“Surface Tension” – a YA freebie – not my favorite:)

“Castle of Concrete” – another YA freebie – was okay – not middle school though

Wow, this will be the lone December post – sniff…

“Mighty Moe” – great book – highly recommendable – about a 13-year-old who held the world record in the marathon 50 years ago – really well done book

“Bo the Brave” – great picture book with a great message

“The Splendid and the Vile” – WWII in London – how the British survived the German bombing – interesting book – lots of things I did not know

“The British are Coming” – got this book b/c it starts at Lexington – and that’s the reason I run on a Monday in April in Boston – really was too long for me – but I got through it and it wasn’t the worst on this list:)

“Bright Burning Stars” – read the book b/c one of the main characters is named Kate Sanders – and I know a Kate – this Kate was EXACTLY the same – I mean, wow – so that was cool

“Anger is a Gift” – free book from the library – did not enjoy it at all – but got through it

j

“a heart in a body in the world” – from our CMS library – great book – about running, of course:) actually, just about running tangentially – really, about overcoming a traumatic situation – and in this case, running helped – so i was sold:)

“never settle” – espn’s marty smith – great for the shelf of a middle school library for your sports fans – i enjoyed it – especially b/c smith is about my age – so most of his references were things i could get:)

“what kind of girl” – finished the book set ms. blount brought me over the summer – so i guess summer is over – great book – but a tough one – on relationship abuse – tough subject, but good for letting people know they aren’t alone in situations like that

“stand up and shout out” – book on women’s athletics and the media

“the topeka school” – from my own library – fiction set in the 1990s – and involved high school debate – so i enjoyed the debate part quite a bit

“the education of an idealist” – favorite book of this section – sam power – very good – and lots of lessons in there for educators – much less others

“100 Bible verses that made America” – interesting premise – the verses were tangential to the moment – tended to the hagiography – but i got through it:)

“The Wax Pack” – author chases down the men in a pack of 1986 Tops baseball cards – I really enjoyed this book – ’87 was the year I started – but I knew all the men he interviewed – fascinating book

“Hawk” – White Sox broadcaster – 400 pages – wow, did he have a lot to say about his career and baseball:)

“No Summit You Can’t Climb” – needed a library book for the weekend – so, meh, it worked:)

“Brave Enough” – great, great book on a brave Olympic medalist – very much enjoyed this book

“Tru and Nelle: A Christmas Memory” – the book my sixth grade students are taking FOREVER to read – I knocked out in a day:) That said, it was a fun read – again, second time through – I am looking forward to showing them that it’s fun

“Here for It” – was okay – came from a recommendation

“Basketball and Other Things” – sometimes you try a book – and I tried with this one – a cross between a graphic novel and text – but the author’s point of reference was very different from mine – even though we’re about the same age – so it wasn’t that great

“Chasing Space” – great biography about a NASA education director – they sort of stretched his NFL career – does it count if you just played preseason? I don’t really think so – but his story was impressive

“When Running Made History” – I liked this book better than I thought I would – Roger Robinson’s writing – and running – has been amazing – and his insights are always well-thought out

“Adorning the Dark” – Andrew Peterson – insightful Christian artists – wonderful book – very uplifting book