This month felt like a slow reading month. Below are my reading experiences from May.

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates- I chose to listen to this as an audiobook because I was in the middle of reading a few other books and I was feeling guilty about not having read this yet. So many people I know in person and online have recommended this book as a must-read, especially for educators, especially for educators who did not grow up in the black male experience in America. Knowing all of that, the book was not what I expected.  There were only four chapters, and it felt less focused and clear than I was anticipating.
2. Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner – After reading a number of heavier professional books and some lackluster fiction books, I wanted to back to an author with whom I was familiar. I’ve read many of Weiner’s other Chic Lit books and have always enjoyed her stories. The age of the characters at the beginning of the story surprised me, but I enjoyed traveling with them through their life.
3. Well Spoken: Teaching Speaking to All Students by Erik Palmer – The ELA TOSAs in my district offered this book to any teacher who wanted to read it, with an invitation to an evening book club to chat about the book.  I loved the way the author broke down the content into two parts: building a speech and performing a speech.  His examples were specific and clear and great advice for ALL teachers.  I truly believe that we don’t give students nearly enough instruction in how to speak academically, nor enough time to actually practice speaking. This is a great resource for all educators!
4. Untwine by Edwidge Danticat- This YA novel has been in my house for awhile, and I finally picked it up and read it over a weekend.  It was a bittersweet story about twin sisters and their interesting family, as they struggle through a difficult period in their lives. I enjoyed reading this, though I prefer faster-paced, upbeat stories.
5. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo- I was surprised to stumble upon an older DiCamillo book I hadn’t read, so I quickly added this to my Audible account and listened to the story. It was full of fun characters and a sweet storyline, though this is one I would have rather read in print than listen to in audio form.
6. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore- I have vague memories or buying this paperback in a bookstore a few years ago. At that time, the blurb on the back sounded interesting. As I read it, I found myself disliking the level of descriptive details the author used for EVERYTHING, and I really disliked all of the characters. However, I was interested enough to want to know how the various storylines would end. It was slow, but full of oddly created, flawed characters.

2016 Monthly Updates

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April