Summer - Great time to read LOTS!

I have been taking advantage of time off from school to READ and READ and READ.
Professional books, young adult novels, and adult novels, too.

To grow professionally this summer, in additional to attending the TCRWP August Writing Institute, I am reading the NEW Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing, Grade 4 by Lucy Calkins with Colleagues from the Reading and Writing Project (Heinemann, 2013)

Click here to learn more:
http://college.heinemann.com/shared/products/E04712.asp

To broaden my knowledge of books kids are reading, I have read the following this summer:
1. Nothing But the Truth by Jackie French Koller
This historical fiction book is set in New York City in 1933 and shows vividly how a family deals with living during the Great Depression. As the mom prepares to have a baby in April, 1933, it dawned on me that my dad was borned in 1933. This year he would have turned 80 years old. My, how our worls has changed in the last 80 years. I love reading historical fiction because it really lets me walk in another character's shoes, in another time. I highlightly recommend this book!!

2. Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Blumenthal
I noticed this biography on the recommended Middle School Summer Reading shelf at the library so I thought I'd try it. I learned that he lacked social skills, had tantrums when he didn't get his way, used drugs, and was very demanding at work. Yet, he did have a vision that saw things different and he did change our world.
Some notable quotes:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Thet somehow already know what you truly want to become."

"Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clear enough to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end, because once you get there, you can move mountains."

To broaded my knowledge of adult novels, I have read the following this summer:
1. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
After reading Gone Girl and The Great Gatsby with BookClub, we decided to read this book next because it was recommended as beign funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I finished it quickly as I wanted to see what was doing to happen with these funny, eccentric characters. Plus, I enjoyed all I also learned about architecture, traveling to Antarctica, and drugs to take for seasickness. Very enjoyable and clever writing!!

2. The Silver Star by Jeanette Walls
I am a big fan of Jeanette Walls, having enjoyed both her memoirs - The Glass Castle and Half-Broke Horses. This book though is a historical fiction story set in Virginia in 1970. I loved ALL the characters - the narrator sister, as well as, all the secondary characters. It felt like the 1970s part felt a bit unresearched. But I still enjoyed it and recommend it!