My Summer Reading List

Things are changing at work.  And next year I'll probably be working with a new curriculum...which means there will be different novels to read.  The thing is, I'll only need to know these novels if I'm teaching 9th grade English, because the upper grades don't have a novel project (like they do with the current curriculum).  But since I don't know what I'll be teaching, I've gone through it and I'm preparing myself.

...with a summer reading list.

I love reading young adult fiction, and I love reading classics.  So, what better than to combine these two and read books that I may need to know for work anyway?  Sounds like the best of both worlds, huh?

But it gets better.

I don't even know where to start, I'm so excited about this!!

There is a new website I've just discovered called Goodreads.  It's sort of like Netflix meets Pinterest meets Facebook, but for books.  You can save lists of books you've read, books you want to read, you can rate them, you can categorize them (like I have saved my summer reading list), and you can see what your friends are reading.  Oh, and you can record the progress you're making in the current book you're reading and update your status on how it's going.  Now I don't have to keep track of the little piece of paper I wrote down my summer reading list on!!

We're lucky in Phoenix.  We have a great library.  There are 17 branches to choose from all around the city and the website is very user-friendly.  But the best feature they have is that if you find a book you want to read online in their database, you can put a hold on it.  When you do this, you choose which branch is closest to you and they send that book to your branch for you to come pick it up.  This saves one from having to drive all over the place to get the books you want.  It also keeps you from being limited by the selection available at your closest branch.  As long as you plan ahead, and you know exactly what book you want, this method works really well!

So, I've got my summer reading list saved on Goodreads, and I've got the first book on hold at the library (I just held it this morning, so hopefully it'll be ready for pick-up next week).  And if you want to join me in reading this summer, or you need something to read with/to your tween or teen...here's my list!

How the Garcia Girls lost their Accents
by Julia Alvarez

Red Sky at Morning
by Richard Bradford

The Brothers K
by David James Duncan

Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd

The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison

Slam
by Walter Dean Myers

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith

Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Have a great summer!!