Summer reading

Summer page turning

“Book worm” by Craig Sunter licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

This summer I’m spending time with family, resting and decompressing.  I’m also traveling quite a bit over the break, with a recent trip to Cincinnati to grade AP exams and time with French family in Normandy and in Barcelona.  The following is a list of summer reading that is going along with me.

Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess.  I actually started this one back in the fall thanks to my  Twitter PLN.  Garnet Hillman and others I follow pointed me in this direction.  Burgess proposes a very energetic, inspiring map to finding the treasure of great teaching.

Mindset by Carol Dweck.  At my school this past year we spent a lot of time in faculty meetings and in advisory with our students talking about Dweck’s “Growth Mindset” and how it transforms one’s view of success and failure.

L’Étranger by Albert Camus.  This is the second or third time I’ve read this one.  One of my students asked my opinion about a good summer read; she had selected a couple of titles.  I told her I’d read this one along with her and we could make it something of a two-person summer book club.  En français, bien sûr.

Creative Confidence by Tom and David Kelley.  This is a recent recommendation of our school dean, who has been a catalyst for much of my growth this past year.  According to Daniel H. Pink, in one of the Editorial Reviews, this is a “myth-busting, muscle-building gem of a book. It shatters the false belief that only some people are creative. Then it provides a smart, practical action plan for boosting your innovative capacities. If you want to be more creative, read the Kelley brothers’ words, follow their advice, and then—as they’d tell you—do something!”  That is enough for me!

Field of Prey by John Sandford.  Summer is, after all, a time of leisure.  I’ve read all of Sandford’s Prey series featuring BCA agent Lucas Davenport and his spinoff Virgil Flowers novels.  This is the most recent and makes for great pool-side or beach chair page turning.

I’d love to hear what others are reading this summer!

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