Book Club

So students have been asking, and since I truly love to sit around and talk about books--here it is: The LCHS book club. We will start our first meeting in my room on Friday, December 4, at 7:15. I know how early that is so I will compensate you earlybirds that show up with coffee, hot chocolate, and a snack.

I haven't officially picked a book yet for several reasons. One, I want our first book to be perfect--a real hook to other students to get them to join. Also, I would like to pick something new to me as well, but I don't want to make you go buy some new book. I want this to be easily accessible to students. So, suggestions all??? Let me know what to pick. Or give me some advice.

So LCHS students, hopefully, I will see you the first Friday in December, with our first book selected and a snack that goes along with it. Can't wait to see you!

Time Traveler's Wife

My students are currently preparing for the last week of the term, where they will be doing genre presentations on the genre they chose to study all term. One of the groups is studying fantasy, and as I was reviewing their research paper for them, I noticed The Time Traveler's Wife as one. I had to stop and think about that for a minute.

What does it say about me that I never once thought of this story as a fantasy? Is it that total romantic side of me that just falls for the story, never questioning how completely unrealistic this story is? Or do I believe that this idea of time travel is possible, thus never thinking of this story as a fantasy? All I know is that I love this story--the concept of a love so strong that it truly exists throughout the span of time as we know it, and as we have never conceived of it.

In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth

Aah! Back to reading! My life has been a bit busy lately, and I have finally settled down to read an actual novel versus students' papers. The book I've picked up is about a sixteen year old girl named Erin, a young lady who lost her mother at a very young age and lives with her father and two older brothers. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin receives two presents from her father: her mother's journal from when she was sixteen and some news of his upcoming marriage. Armed with her favorite book, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (also her mother's favorite), a deck of cards, and her mother's journal, Erin sets out on a journey. Using a long bus ride from Minnesota to Alabama, Loretta Ellsworth has created a new coming-of-age story about a young girl searching for more than her favorite author.

Only about halfway into this short novel, this book has brought up several fascinating ideas for thought. One is hitting close to home for me right now. As Erin reads her mother's journal entries, I wonder about my own mother and what she was like at sixteen. She is very quiet and private about her life, refusing to talk about some subjects that women would love to talk about with their mothers. Would a journal help me get to know my mother better? If I could know anything about my mother and what she was thinking as a girl, what would it be?

Another thought--why didn't Harper Lee create any other works? What a great novel! And it is fun to read sections from this book that continually refer to Lee's famous book. It is neat to see the endurance of To Kill a Mockingbird. Erin, the protagonist of this novel, constantly refers to her desire to be an author. That leads me to my next deep question: Has the Internet made us all writers? Can anybody get work published now? Does blogging or writing an update on Facebook quench that desire to write for some of us?

Claws by Will Weaver

I just finished reading this wonderful book by Will Weaver. It is about a young boy who realizes that at one point, his enire life was pretty close to perfect. However, life quickly unravels when a punk girl with pink hair shows up at his door with a story that will completely rock his perfect world. The rest of the story is a result of her news and how he reacts to it. This is a nicely constructed story that contains a little mystery, outdoor literature, and some romance. Told from a guy's perspective, I can see male students really enjoying this novel. It shows what can happen when you realize your perfect world is not exactly what it once appeared.



In doing some Internet surfing on this book, I stumbled upon Will Weaver's blog--http://blog.willweaverbooks.com/, which is pretty great. I love what he has to say about writing novels for teenage boys--and in my book, as an English teacher, this makes Will Weaver pretty tops on my list right now. I can't wait to check out other novels from him.

I knew there had to be something for boys, so I asked a
clerk, "Where's the Gary Paulsen?" She took me away from the Teen Section,
back into the frilly, "Kids" section. There was a good-sized shelf of
middle level books and authors, including Avi, Christoper Paul Curtis, Paulsen,
Sachar--and big selection of Matt Christopher, prolific author of thin, simple
sports novels. But it was clear that Barnes & Noble had
given up on teenage boys

He goes on to discuss a meeting with his editor and how his editor discussed an idea call "regendering" where authors are encouraged to consider changing the gender of their main character from male to female. So here is a thought--has chick literature gone to far? Do we have too many novels for young females because that is what sells? Is this why, in the classroom, I have to steer boys away from Gary Paulsen, yet don't have many other options for them to consider that they would be interested in? This is an area I must continue to explore!

Books & Nero--a takeoff on my favorite book store

So here it is--Books & Nero, a blog designed for people to talk about books. I will comment on my latest read, and please feel free to respond. I would love to make this a site where we can all just sit and talk about books: what we're reading, what we've heard, what we like. Look foward to your thoughts!