Oh Boy!
It is Educator Appreciation Week at Barnes and Noble! That means teachers get a 25% discount on all of their purchases...oh...wonderful!

I met up with my fave collection of co teachers for shopping and lunch (KVD, DM, and CH, plus my own two captive children...who are also on break). We had a blast, and were very supportive about our purchases, but we are so similar in how we approach books, we all like to own our own copy! So even if I had a copy to lend or give of a particular title, others in the group still wanted to buy their own! It was quite a scene, piles of books and the fast happy patter of readers in lust with titles and covers. I am pretty well read, so it was fun to chat about books that others might enjoy, and it made me remember how wonderful it was to read some of those titles, fave authors, genres, etc. Delightful!

Here is what I purchased today:

The Writer's Toolbox by Jamie Cat Callan. This little box contains all sorts of cards and devices designed to end writer's block. It is a delightful toolbox that I cannot wait to put into practice in my own classroom.

Teaching Writing That Matters: Tools and Projects That Motivate Adolescent Writers by Chris W. Gallagher and Amy Lee. Here is a book designed by teachers for teachers all about the teaching and study of the craft of writing. Not prompts t get the kids to write, but ideas and tools and tips to have kids become better writers, writers who understand the process of writing, not just the product.

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. KVD recommended this title to all of us today, and all three of us, CH, DM and me bought our "own copy", and have turned it into our April Break read. This novel has a subtitle of "One grump's search for the happiest places in the world." Sounds wonderful, silly, and truly profound.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A shocking murder and the undoing of a great Victorian detective by Kate Summerscale. True crime just makes me shiver. I love to read about real people, and what they are capable of. This title refers to a brutal murder in 1860 in Victorian England. The Scotland Yard Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher is credited with being the creator of forensic science, and the character of Sgt. Cuff in Wilkie Collins' novel The Moonstone, the first of the detective genre novels, was based on him. I love nothing better to escape into than a brutal crime scene...as the crime has already been committed, I feel safe!

The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. I seek wisdom, comfort, reassurance in my chaotic and unbalanced life regularly. The Dalai Lama allows me a chance to reaffirm my feelings and faith, without committing to organised religious practice, something I am not interested in any longer. I am also attending his teaching seminar in NYC this May, so I don't want to enter into my learning space with a master, without having an understanding of his teachings. This is the second title of his that I have delved into in the last couple of months. I am building an understanding, one page at a time.

That's what has been added to the reading pile! I will report out on titles as I read them!
Keep reading!