recent readings.

about a month ago, our charter school's headquarters (that sounds so secret agency, and it's so, so far from it...) sent us lucky middle school English teachers a huge shipment of fiction and non-fiction books for our classroom libraries.

needless to say, we were pretty stoked.

we got so many books that i haven't really had time to sift through most of them, so i've been relying on student recommendations.

on Tuesday, one of my 8th graders had this book lying on her desk:

A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd

one glance at the cover, and i was intrigued.

a look inside revealed to me that there were GORGEOUS illustrations on almost every other page. i immediately knew i had to read this book. i asked my student about it, and she assured me that even though she was only a little ways in, it was already fantastic. she had finished it up by Thursday morning, and turned it back in so that i could read it.

i devoured it in a day, and it was MAGNIFICENT.

i've never read anything by Patrick Ness before, but he's definitely on my radar now.

it's about a teenage boy whose mother is dying from cancer. the boy, Conor, has a recurring nightmare that he is afraid to admit, even to himself. he also has hallucinations where he talks to a giant monster made out of a yew tree. it's bizarre, but in the most wonderful way. it's also incredibly touching. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. at our in-service meeting last Friday, another book was brought to my attention:

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green

now, i have long been a fan of John Green.

it was a couple of years ago that i read An Abundance of Katherines, but i'll never forget how zany and brilliant the main character was. in fact, all of the characters were fantastically written. i couldn't put it down.

and then i read Looking for Alaska.

Looking for Alaska changed the way i think about Young Adult Fiction, because for the first time, i knew that YA fiction had the ability to be witty and exhilarating and devastating all at the same time. John Green was all of these things and so much more.

i'd been steeped in sappy YA novels for so long that Alaska was a breath of much needed fresh air. again, the main character was brilliant. again, the other characters were fantastic. but it was just so...raw. and i hate when people throw that word around...but there's really no other way to describe it. Alaska made me feel as though my heart had been ripped open and exposed to the world, and no realistic fiction YA book had made me feel that way in quite some time. not since Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, which is more historical fiction anyway.

so when i heard that John Green's NEW BOOK was stupendous, i made it a mission to read it immediately.

that same evening, it was purchased and sitting on my bedroom dresser.

i just started reading it today, but it's already making me laugh aloud (i'm sure the cashier at Jason's Deli thinks i'm a little insane, because i was reading and giggling hysterically while waiting for my sandwich...) and sigh with romantic notions.

i'm already anticipating a hurricane of tears to come.

reason #2:

today, while grading a student's reading response to To Kill a Mockingbird, i found this little gem:

"Everybody in this book is kinda racist. Actually, pretty much everybody today is racist.

My whole group told me that it would get better eventually if I keep reading. To be honest, I wasn't gonna read it; I was gonna sparknotes it. But no I didn't! I knew that doing that is cheating and that Ms. Salinas wouldn't be proud!

...Atticus is defending a black guy named Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. In the beginning of the court, everything wasn't too exciting or interesting.

Later on as I keep reading, Atticus was like PWNING Mayella by asking a series of questions."

that's right. that's why Atticus is my favorite literary character of ALL TIME.

because he PWNS.

and also, because i can't resist:

life lesson 2:

don't spoil the ending.

so, the kids are currently in the middle of a book club cycle.

this basically means that groups of 3 to 5 students are reading the same book. the kids read the book throughout the week and have a page schedule that they're required to keep up with. on Friday, the groups meet to talk about their book.

the most common occurring problem (and the most frustrating one, as far as i can tell), is that some kids insist on reading ahead.

i warned the students at the start of our book clubs that reading ahead would make their Friday meetings more difficult--they'd be tempted to tell the other students what happens next, and they wouldn't be able to participate in discussion as fully.

it just really helps when everyone is on the same page--figuratively AND literally.

anyway, i have groups in a couple different classes that are reading The Outsiders. as you may be aware, i STRONGLY advocate this book's use in middle school classrooms. i've never met a kid who didn't finish the book once starting it. they love the violence, the action, and especially the fact that these kids feel like outsiders--which is a pretty common feeling among middle schoolers.

in one of my 8th grade classes is one such group reading The Outsiders. this group is made up of ALL BOYS, which i was VERY worried about. but i said, "you know what? they all picked the same book. i told them i'd group them according to their book choice, and i'm going to stick with that."

i'm still not sure if this was a good idea.

but it IS highly amusing.

last Friday, we met as scheduled.

i was walking around the room, poking my nose into the other groups' conversations to see how they were faring. i took my eyes off that Outsiders group for ONE minute, and when i looked back, it was like i was seeing a flashback from my dysfunctional family's last Thanksgiving dinner. two of the boys were on the ground under the table, one was curled up in the corner of the room, and the other two were having a heated debate in the midst of it all.

i took a deep breath and made my way over to conquer the chaos.

i'm almost there when i get stopped by the To Kill a Mockingbird group. i'm trying to clear up some confusion when suddenly, one of the two boys who was just under the Outsiders table, Sam, crawls toward me on all four and continues crawling around my feet in counter-clockwise circles. i look up at the rest of the class, which has gone eerily silent. we're ALL trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

i look over at the other Outsiders boys and raise an eyebrow. "okay. what happened?"

Andrew (the other boy under the table) clears it up. he gestures toward the two having the heated discussion. "Chris and John finished the book. and they're talking about the ending. but we're not there yet!"

i looked from Andrew to Chris and John (who had stopped talking and had joined the rest of the class in watching Sam crawl around) and finally looked at Sam once more (he was on his third lap around my feet by this time...) before addressing the class.

"guys, let this be a lesson to us all. you DON'T SPOIL THE BOOK for your friends! look! they BROKE Sam!"

it took a little coaxing to get the group to agree not to spoil any more of the book for anybody. the conversation was put on hold until everyone could catch up, and the crisis was averted. but later, i laughed. a lot.

movie adapatations.

so, this past weekend was the weekend of movie adaptations.

on friday, i got home (from my halfpricebooks binge) and my sister mentioned that One for the Money had just come out that day.

now, if you don't know anything about One for the Money or the book series it's based on, here's a quick update: One for the Money is the title of the first Stephanie Plum novel, a series of which there are currently 18 novels, written by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum is a jersey chick who just can't get it together. she's been laid off, her car has been repo-ed, and since she has no other options, she goes to work for her cousin Vinnie. Vinnie is sexually depraved, but he also runs a bail bonds place. Stephanie Plum begins working for him as a bounty hunter, and hilarity ensues.

i adore these books.

i have been reading about Stephanie Plum's adventures in the art of bounty hunt since i was a freshman in high school, when i picked up my very first copy of One for the Money. since then, Evanovich has been pumping out Stephanie Plum novel after Stephanie Plum novel. i just bought the latest, #18:

Explosive Eighteen
by Janet Evanovich

needless to say, when i heard that they were making a Stephanie Plum MOVIE, i went berserk.

this was going to be great! Stephanie Plum???! a movie???! i couldn't even IMAGINE how funny it would be! the books are hysterical (i used to read them up in my bedroom when i lived back home with my mom, and Al would hear me laughing and knock on my door to make sure i wasn't having some kind of fit or something). i honestly couldn't wait to see it.

then i heard who would be playing Stephanie Plum. now, i don't have anything against Katherine Heigl, but i just didn't SEE IT. i simply could not picture this blonde Grey's Anatomy alum playing my favorite of comedic heroines. i just couldn't. but we gave it a try, me and Al (she's been a fan of the books for a few years now)...and our fears were confirmed.

it was a cute movie, don't get me wrong. but that's all it was. the books live in an atmosphere of hyper-reality where nothing is very realistic (even though it's realistic fiction) and everything is hyperbole.

the movie...was just a romantic comedy.

but i wanted SO MUCH MORE from it.

there's this last bit at the end, though. and man. that one MOMENT is gold. i don't want to give too much away, but the main male lead shows up at Katherine Heigl's (i refuse to call her Stephanie Plum, because she is NOT) door and says, "i saw this and thought of you." he then proceeds to hold up a cupcake.

i'll admit it. i melted. in the end, those damn cupcakes always get me. cupcakes and cheesy lines.

well, the NEXT night, i had plans to go see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

i'd read the novel this past june on my family's 27 hour drive from Houston to Gary, Indiana, and it had completely stolen my heart. i don't even think i can do justice to the book in a summary. you really just have to read it.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer

the main character is a young boy whose father died in the 9/11 tragedy. the boy, whose name is Oskar, feels that he is beginning to lose the connection he had with his father, whom he loved dearly, and while going through his father's belongings, finds a small key. Oskar embarks on a journey through New York City to find the lock that fits his father's key. the book is beautifully written, but it's so much more than just a novel. there are black and white pictures throughout the novel that tie in with the story. there are pages of black and white print with red circles around meaningful words. there is an old man in the story who no longer speaks, and instead writes all of his dialogue, which is represented by single pages with simple lines written in the middle of them.

quite honestly, i think the book is more a work of art than a novel.

and you know what? the movie was just as beautiful.

there are so few times when i see a movie that's been adapted from a book and think, "holy cow. that was GOOD." but it happened this time. and i'm so glad it did. because i can live with hollywood screwing up my Stephanie Plum novels. i can live with that. but you don't screw up a book like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

you just don't.

friday friday friday.

(btw, that song has officially been banned from my classroom. it is both catchy, and an abomination, and as such, i can have it nowhere near me.)

so, today was a crappy day.

things went pretty well. and then lunch came and went. after lunch on a friday? well, let's just say that the natives get pretty restless on a friday afternoon. and by "natives," i mean 7th and 8th graders.

second to last period, i had to spend 10 minutes lecturing my 8th graders on treating each other with respect. and as i was lecturing, aiming my words at a specific two students who'd just finished pushing each others' belongings off their desks, another student decides to trip one of his classmates. i kind of lost it at that point.

last period, i recited some words of wisdom from The Office. i was explaining to the class that sometimes, we need to think before we act. and then it hit me! you know who has said this better than i will ever be able to say it?

answer: Dwight Schrute.

now, before i imparted the following nugget of wisdom, i prefaced myself by saying, "just so we're clear, i am not calling any of you an idiot. i just think this will clearly explain what i am trying to say to you. Dwight Schrute once said:

'Before I do anything I ask myself “Would an idiot do that?”
And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing.'

i think these are words we should all live by in this class."

i thought i'd be able to leave it at that. the class was actually much better than they normally are last period on a warm, friday afternoon, and things were going well.

about ten minutes before class ended, i looked over at one of the tables, and noticed two boys with their hands covering their noses and mouths, making fake fart sounds.

so i said, "stop! what did we talk about earlier, guys?"

i saw the wheels turning in their heads. and then i saw the glimmer of recognition as they remembered Dwight's brilliant words and slowly attempted to apply them to their own lives. they both lowered their hands, and i suggested to the class that perhaps i should find a way to inscribe the words on my wall...to remind us all that we should think before making *cough! (idiotic) poor behavioral choices.

the two boys' classmates agreed wholeheartedly.

Top 20 Dwight Schrute Quotes

LATER.

happy hour.

having a good time, drinking some happy hour specials. finally, it's time to go. i'm about to head straight home, but i decide there's someplace special i want to go first.

that's right, ladies and gentlemen.

i went to HALF PRICE BOOKS.

i wandered around for a bit, picked out WAY more books than i should have, and purchased all of them without considering the consequences at all. in fact, all i could think as i hauled my stack of books out of the store and into my car was, "so many books for so little money! amazing!"

on my way home, i decided that maybe it's not such a good idea to go half-price book shopping when i have alcohol flowing through my veins. i seriously don't need more books. i've got so many, they're currently taking over my bedroom. i fear that soon there will be no place for me to sleep. i will have to make a bed from yellowing paperbacks.

anyway, i get home, push open the door and make my way inside where i find my sister on the couch watching Gossip Girl.

i clear my throat. "i have been drinking," i announce to her as she pauses her show. "also, i have made some bad decisions today."

she took one look at the stack of books in my hand and cocked an eyebrow at me. "half-price books, huh?"

"yep."

"more Buffy the Vampire Slayer books?"

"yep."

here's the thing: if buying cheesy paperbacks based on a campy 90s television show is the worst decision i've made all week, i think i will take my bad decisions and run with them.

my friend B-Rock shops online when drunk. apparently, i book shop.

i could get used to this.

the eleventh plague.

so, i am happy to say that i am totally on a roll with reading this year!

last year, i set a goodreads goal of 50 books (i set it halfway through the year, but it was still a goal!), and didn't even make it close.

but this is the year! this year of 2012 is MY YEAR!

not only am i going to the gym on a regular basis and eating healthier, but i am GOING to reach my goal of 50 BOOKS this year.

the most recent one i finished (and #4 book of the year) is a dystopian/science-fiction novel:

The Eleventh Plague
by Jeff Hirscsh

you can read more about the book at the official website HERE.

it's a pretty good read. it's in the same vein as some other young adult books i've been reading lately (e.g. The Hunger Games trilogy and Divergent), and i thought it was pretty decent. what made it such a great book is that it's scarily realistic. unlike some other science fiction books i've read, this one takes what we are right now, and follows it down the path we're creating for ourselves. it's not a pretty picture.

but this is one of the reasons i love science fiction, which is a pretty recent love, i have to admit. i avoided it for so long because i always felt there was some sort of stigma attached to it.

but you know what? i'm a nerd. and i embrace it wholeheartedly.

why we broke up.

H at work gave me the following book:

Why We Broke Up
by Daniel Handler
art by Maira Kalman

i finished reading it this afternoon during my lunch break. and let me just say...THIS IS THE BOOK I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE, BUT DIDN'T KNOW HOW. it's incredible how close to home it hits. it's about this high school girl's first love...and it's clear from the beginning that the relationship is doomed. but you feel for the girl, or at least i did, because you know how it is.

i told H this afternoon, after i'd finished reading it, that this book is like the last 6 years of my life, rolled into 345 pages and a shorter time frame (less than 2 months).

this blog is a project devoted to the book, where readers can write their own "why we broke up" stories:

whywebrokeupproject.

here is mine.

we broke up because
i realized we weren't forever,
and no amount of wishing or trying
would make it so.

new unit.

on the school front, we're tying up our unit on Animal Farm. i think the kids are pretty happy about that; only about 2 of them seemed to enjoy the book at all.

it really bites that they have to do all of their reading in the classroom, because it takes up a lot of time we don't have. and i feel terribly bad for the kids who read slower than the rest, because they're always behind. thankfully, the library had quite a few copies of the book, so i just sent them out as needed to get a copy, and we managed that way.

as a final project, i had the students create their own country. this turned out to be an incredible amount of fun. i'll try to take some pictures of their creations, because they were truly unique ideas. they all went above and beyond what i'd expected. we're finishing these up tomorrow, when we get back from spring break, and then we'll be doing presentations on tuesday.

after that, we start Elie Wiesel's NIGHT:

NOTE: it's also an Oprah's Book Club pick! who knew?

i'd never read this book before, and knew only that it was a memoir based around a Jewish man's experiences during the Holocaust.

i decided, since i would be teaching it fairly soon, that i should probably read the book.

and

it. was. beautiful.

absolutely beautiful. i don't say this about books very often, but it was like poetry in prose form. where Animal Farm is brusque and to the point, with very little description or figurative language, Night is rich in detail and emotion. it is simply gorgeous.

i want the kids to be able to really appreciate the novel, not just for what an accomplishment it is (Elie Wiesel went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his extensive autobiographical work), but for what an absolute work of ART it is.

i have so many ideas floating around my head right now.

what i'd really like to do, before we jump into a completely new unit, is to make a transition of sorts, because Animal Farm does have a great deal in common with the events that transpired during the Holocaust. both instances are about power, and the people at the bottom not being aware of what those people in power's true motives are. the beginning of Night focuses on Wiesel's family, and the other Jewish families, and their communal disbelief that the Nazi party could be doing anything all THAT BAD. their disbelief continues until they are actually taken to Auschwitz, adn then they understand. that's a very big theme that plays throughout Animal Farm as well. disbelief that the pigs are only out for themselves, and that conditions are becoming worse on the farm than they were under the leadership of Mr. Jones.

so that's what i'm working on right now.

i'd also like to bring in some other examples of memoir writing, and have the students work on a memoir of their own, because i really believe that personal writing is incredibly important.

we'll see.