Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Savage Chickens
Have you heard of the website Savage Chickens? This daily web-comic features hilarious parodies of Shakespeare and references to other parts of English languages. The cartoonist, Doug Savage, draws his one-panel comics on a 3" x 3" yellow Post-It Notes! Today's comic is a nod to Mad Libs. Other comic subjects include zombies, psychology, and work apathy. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie is a stud. After I read his young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I knew that I had to read more of his writing. I read his collection of short stories called The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, and now I'm reading his novel, Flight. Additionally, Alexie writes poetry and has written two screenplays. From what I have read of his writing, Alexie writes exclusively of the Native American experience. However, the themes he addresses in his literature are so universal than anyone can appreciate him. Later this year, he will come to UCO's campus, and I plan to attend his lecture.
Another reason I like Sherman Alexie:
Another reason I like Sherman Alexie:
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Books on CD
My friend Sarah told me over a year ago to read Water for Elephants, a novel set during the Great Depression on a traveling circus. I just finished the book and greatly enjoyed it for both its plot and characters, some of which included the vilest and most annoying antagonists I have ever encountered in my reading.
Anyhow, I listened to most of this book on CD. Unfortunately, many of the ten discs had unpredictable skips and stutters because of poor handling and scratches. The stutters always seemed to come at the most inopportune times. I was left in suspense, my anger building, as I traveled down the road. Not a good combination. Most of the time, however, the discs hummed along nicely, and the narrator performed very well. He had all kinds of voices--including lots of Southern twang, which got very annoying after a while.
I finally got to the tenth and final CD today, and the disc began to skip again. I couldn't take it, so when I was at the library, I got a copy of the book. The librarian commented that I had two copies of the novel, and I assured her that I knew that. I read the final chapters from the actual book and discovered that black-and-white photographs from circuses of the 1930s were peppered throughout the book. Something I would have never known by simply listening to the audio CD. Still, I feel that listening to a book on CD is a good use of time in the car, but I would only recommend it if the CD are unscratched and if you have a long road before you. I always seemed to come to a good part of the book right when it was time to turn off my SUV.
Anyhow, I listened to most of this book on CD. Unfortunately, many of the ten discs had unpredictable skips and stutters because of poor handling and scratches. The stutters always seemed to come at the most inopportune times. I was left in suspense, my anger building, as I traveled down the road. Not a good combination. Most of the time, however, the discs hummed along nicely, and the narrator performed very well. He had all kinds of voices--including lots of Southern twang, which got very annoying after a while.
I finally got to the tenth and final CD today, and the disc began to skip again. I couldn't take it, so when I was at the library, I got a copy of the book. The librarian commented that I had two copies of the novel, and I assured her that I knew that. I read the final chapters from the actual book and discovered that black-and-white photographs from circuses of the 1930s were peppered throughout the book. Something I would have never known by simply listening to the audio CD. Still, I feel that listening to a book on CD is a good use of time in the car, but I would only recommend it if the CD are unscratched and if you have a long road before you. I always seemed to come to a good part of the book right when it was time to turn off my SUV.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Attachment
I am hopelessly attached to some of my students. For some, this school year marks our fourth year in education together. I had them as little seventh graders and now I have them as sophomores with driver's licenses. I have had the opportunity to watch them grow up, whether or not I had them every year as a student.
Today in class I couldn't help but beam with pride as I read some of my students' reflective essays. The prompt was from the annual essay contest for the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum. Students had to reflect on an occasion when they had to make an unpopular moral choice. I heard stories about saying no to drugs and alcohol. One girl described how she let an adult know about a rape that had happened--even though a friend had sworn her to secrecy. A simple story about turning in a lost wallet--with all its money still in tact--also moved me. And it wasn't just that these were good choices. It was that these were choices being made by my students. I was very, very proud of them.
Also, one of my favorite students told me today that he made a 30 on his ACT. Another reason for me to be proud. (I am definitely attached to him because he is one of two students who I have now had for four years in a row.) My first score on the ACT was also a 30, but that was when I was a junior in high school, but he is only a sophomore. I am excited to see what he does with his life.
Today in class I couldn't help but beam with pride as I read some of my students' reflective essays. The prompt was from the annual essay contest for the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum. Students had to reflect on an occasion when they had to make an unpopular moral choice. I heard stories about saying no to drugs and alcohol. One girl described how she let an adult know about a rape that had happened--even though a friend had sworn her to secrecy. A simple story about turning in a lost wallet--with all its money still in tact--also moved me. And it wasn't just that these were good choices. It was that these were choices being made by my students. I was very, very proud of them.
Also, one of my favorite students told me today that he made a 30 on his ACT. Another reason for me to be proud. (I am definitely attached to him because he is one of two students who I have now had for four years in a row.) My first score on the ACT was also a 30, but that was when I was a junior in high school, but he is only a sophomore. I am excited to see what he does with his life.
Friday, January 2, 2009
A Look Back in Books
In Fall 2005, I began recording every book that I read. I began by recording only the title of the book. A year later I added the genre of the book. Last year I began to include the author, year of publication, and number of pages. Below is my reading history for the year 2008. I have bolded and annotated some of my favorite titles.
SPRING 2008
McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. © 2005. 309 pages. Crime.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. © 2007. 230 pages. CRF/Multicultural. (This book is Alexie's first foray into young adult literature. Arnold Spirit leaves his Indian reservation to attend the local all-white high school after he is kicked out from the rez school. Junior is a hilarious narrator of all the troubles he experiences.)
Wallace, Rich. One Good Punch. © 2007. 114 pages. CRF/Sports.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. © 1972, 2006. 115 pages. Memoir.
Bechdel, Allison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. © 2006. 232 pages. Memoir: Graphic Novel.
Quindlen, Anna. Loud and Clear. © 2004. 288 pages. Essays.
Kilmer-Purcell, Josh. I Am Not Myself These Days. © 2006. 305 pages. Memoir.
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Memories of my Melancholy Whores. © 2005. 115 pages. Literature.
Giles, Gail. Right Behind You. © 2007. 292 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. © 2007. 218 pages. Memoir.
McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes. © 1996. 351 pages. Memoir. (Frank McCourt had a horrible life in Ireland. His parents lived in America, but they moved back to their homeland when things got rough. Things were worse in Ireland. Frank has to deal with living in poverty with his family. His father drinks away their money. His mother holds the family together as best she can. And Frank is forced to grow up at an all too early age. Join in his struggles and triumphs.)
DeGeneres, Ellen. My Point…and I do have one. ©1995. 224 pages. Nonfiction/Essays.
Rivera, Tomás. …And the Earth did not Devour Him. © 1992. 69 pages. Mulitcultural Vignettes.
Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. © 2007. 184 pages. CRF/Suspense.
Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. © 1952. 231 pages. Historical Fiction/Baseball.
Armstrong Kalesh, Mildred. Little Heathens: Hard Time and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm during the Great Depression. © 2007. 292 pages. Memoir. (Millie grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. If you like to learn about American history, why not try this memoir? The book is broken into small chapters, each about a different section of her life on the farm. Very fascinating.)
Cormier, Robert. I Am the Cheese. © 1977. 214 pages. CRF.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. © 1970. 164 pages/6 CDs. Literature: African American.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. © 2004. 341 pages. Memoir/Graphic novel.
Furey, Leo. The Long Run. © 2004. 374 pages. Historical Fiction.
Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. © 1955. 313 pages. Beat literature.
SUMMER 2008
Rothman, Rodney. Early Bird: a Memoir of Premature Retirement. © 2005. 237 pages. Memoir/Humor. (Rodney was a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman until he began writing for a sitcom on Fox called Undeclared. Then Undeclared got cancelled, and Rodney was without work. His solution? Retire early and move to a village in Florida. Rodney learns the ways of shuffleboard, illegal cats, and bingo. A hilarious romp with senior citizens narrated by a 20 something.)
Picoult, Jodi. Perfect Match. © 2002. 353 pages. Courtroom Drama.
Sedaris, David. When You Are Engulfed in Flames. © 2008. 323 pages. Nonfiction / Humorous Personal Essays.
Gallo, Donald, Ed. Join In: Multiethnic Short Stories. © 1993. 256 pages. YA Lit.
Allen, Janet. Tools for Teaching Content Literacy. © 2004. 32 pages. Nonfiction: Teaching.
Bradley, Alex / Jeremy Jackson. 24 Girls in 7 Days. © 2005. 265 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
McDaniel, Lurlene. Prey. © 2008. 196 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Kittle, Penny. Write Beside Them. © 2008. 236 pages. Nonfiction: Teaching. (If I had to pick the most important book I read in 2008, this would be it. I read this book for inspiration on how to teach writing differently in my high school English classroom. I came away from this book with great ideas. I learned that I should model an example essay of every essay that I assign my students. This strategy revolutionized the way I teach. I even began an e-mail correspondence with Penny Kittle, who encouraged me and wrote me back.)
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. © 2001. 288 pages. Nonfiction: Expose.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. © 1600s. 100+pages. Literature.
Picoult, Jodi. Salem Falls. © 2001. 434 pages. Courtroom Drama.
Young, William P. The Shack. © 2007. 248 pages. Christian Fiction/Theology.
Pausch, Randy. The Last Lecture. © 2008. 206 pages. Nonfiction: Life Lessons.
Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. © 2003. 343 pages. Memoir.
FALL 2008
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. © 2005. 550 pages. Historical Fiction / Holocaust Literature. (This is not just another Holocaust book. The narrator is Death. Yes, that's right. Death narrates the story of an orphan named Liesel whose family secretly hides a Jew. A top five book of 2008.)
Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. only about 50 pages. © 1965. (Sucky) Literature.
Ellis, Bret Easton. Less than Zero. © 1985. 208 pages. (Sucky) Literature.
Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. © 2003. 217 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Nava, Michael. Rag and Bone. © 2001. 289 pages. Mystery.
Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. © 2007. 335 pages. YA Lit: Science Fiction. (What would happen if parents could retroactively abort their children? As in, they're a worthless teenager, so we are going to donate all their parts to people who need them more. Come along for a wild ride with some teens who are being hunted down for their parts.)
Lee, Nelle Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. © 1963. 384 pages. Literary Excellence: Historical Fiction.
Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. © 2006. 218 pages. YA Lit: Historical Fiction. (This fable is another Holocast book. Bruno's father is in charge of Auschwitz, but young Bruno has no clue. He does know that he is lonely until he meets a boy of his age at the nearby fence. A very fast read.)
Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. © 2005. 498 pages. YA Lit: Vampires / Chick Lit.
Crosley, Sloane. I Was Told There’d Be Cake. © 2008. 228 pages. Humorous Essays.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. © 2003. 371 pages. Ethnic Literature. (I added this novel to the sophomore curicculum, thinking that students would actually read it. Boy, was I right. The students had great reactions to this novel, which is set in Afghanistan. Amir grew up living a privileged life in the 1970s, but he holds a dark secret. Years later after 9/11, he journeys back to Afghanistan to right his wrong. Is redemption possible?)
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona the Pest. © 1968. 192 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona the Brave. © 1975. 190 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and her Father. © 1975, 1977. 186 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and her Mother. © 1979. 208 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona Quimby, Age 8. © 1981. 190 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona’s World. © 1999. 192 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona Forever. © 1984. 191 pages. Kid Lit.
Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. © 2008. 288 pages. YA Lit: Contemporary Realistic Fiction.
Rowling, J.K. The Tales of Beedle the Bard. © 2008. 128 pages. YA Lit: Fantasy short stories.
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of Wimpy Kid: a novel in cartoons. © 2007. 217 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Hautman, Pete. Sweet-blood. © 2003. 242 pages. YA Lit: CRF/Vampires.
CHRISTMAS BREAK 2008
Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. © 1993, 2005. 242 pages. Literature: Native American. (I began and ended my year of reading with Sherman Alexie, one of my newest favorite authors. This collection of short stories features a wide cast of Indians on a reservation in the Northwest. The kicker: Alexie wrote almost all of these stories when he was in his twenties.)
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Notes from the Midnight Driver. © 2006. 265 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Vowell, Sarah. The Wordy Shipmates. © 2008. 248 pages. Nonfiction: American history. (Do the names Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, or John Winthrop ring a bell? They were some of the earliest settlers in America, but I never got a detailed look at their lives until I read this book. Their legacy of "helping those less fortunate" is still alive and well in America.)
SPRING 2008
McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. © 2005. 309 pages. Crime.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. © 2007. 230 pages. CRF/Multicultural. (This book is Alexie's first foray into young adult literature. Arnold Spirit leaves his Indian reservation to attend the local all-white high school after he is kicked out from the rez school. Junior is a hilarious narrator of all the troubles he experiences.)
Wallace, Rich. One Good Punch. © 2007. 114 pages. CRF/Sports.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. © 1972, 2006. 115 pages. Memoir.
Bechdel, Allison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. © 2006. 232 pages. Memoir: Graphic Novel.
Quindlen, Anna. Loud and Clear. © 2004. 288 pages. Essays.
Kilmer-Purcell, Josh. I Am Not Myself These Days. © 2006. 305 pages. Memoir.
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Memories of my Melancholy Whores. © 2005. 115 pages. Literature.
Giles, Gail. Right Behind You. © 2007. 292 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. © 2007. 218 pages. Memoir.
McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes. © 1996. 351 pages. Memoir. (Frank McCourt had a horrible life in Ireland. His parents lived in America, but they moved back to their homeland when things got rough. Things were worse in Ireland. Frank has to deal with living in poverty with his family. His father drinks away their money. His mother holds the family together as best she can. And Frank is forced to grow up at an all too early age. Join in his struggles and triumphs.)
DeGeneres, Ellen. My Point…and I do have one. ©1995. 224 pages. Nonfiction/Essays.
Rivera, Tomás. …And the Earth did not Devour Him. © 1992. 69 pages. Mulitcultural Vignettes.
Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. © 2007. 184 pages. CRF/Suspense.
Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. © 1952. 231 pages. Historical Fiction/Baseball.
Armstrong Kalesh, Mildred. Little Heathens: Hard Time and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm during the Great Depression. © 2007. 292 pages. Memoir. (Millie grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. If you like to learn about American history, why not try this memoir? The book is broken into small chapters, each about a different section of her life on the farm. Very fascinating.)
Cormier, Robert. I Am the Cheese. © 1977. 214 pages. CRF.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. © 1970. 164 pages/6 CDs. Literature: African American.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. © 2004. 341 pages. Memoir/Graphic novel.
Furey, Leo. The Long Run. © 2004. 374 pages. Historical Fiction.
Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. © 1955. 313 pages. Beat literature.
SUMMER 2008
Rothman, Rodney. Early Bird: a Memoir of Premature Retirement. © 2005. 237 pages. Memoir/Humor. (Rodney was a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman until he began writing for a sitcom on Fox called Undeclared. Then Undeclared got cancelled, and Rodney was without work. His solution? Retire early and move to a village in Florida. Rodney learns the ways of shuffleboard, illegal cats, and bingo. A hilarious romp with senior citizens narrated by a 20 something.)
Picoult, Jodi. Perfect Match. © 2002. 353 pages. Courtroom Drama.
Sedaris, David. When You Are Engulfed in Flames. © 2008. 323 pages. Nonfiction / Humorous Personal Essays.
Gallo, Donald, Ed. Join In: Multiethnic Short Stories. © 1993. 256 pages. YA Lit.
Allen, Janet. Tools for Teaching Content Literacy. © 2004. 32 pages. Nonfiction: Teaching.
Bradley, Alex / Jeremy Jackson. 24 Girls in 7 Days. © 2005. 265 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
McDaniel, Lurlene. Prey. © 2008. 196 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Kittle, Penny. Write Beside Them. © 2008. 236 pages. Nonfiction: Teaching. (If I had to pick the most important book I read in 2008, this would be it. I read this book for inspiration on how to teach writing differently in my high school English classroom. I came away from this book with great ideas. I learned that I should model an example essay of every essay that I assign my students. This strategy revolutionized the way I teach. I even began an e-mail correspondence with Penny Kittle, who encouraged me and wrote me back.)
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. © 2001. 288 pages. Nonfiction: Expose.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. © 1600s. 100+pages. Literature.
Picoult, Jodi. Salem Falls. © 2001. 434 pages. Courtroom Drama.
Young, William P. The Shack. © 2007. 248 pages. Christian Fiction/Theology.
Pausch, Randy. The Last Lecture. © 2008. 206 pages. Nonfiction: Life Lessons.
Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. © 2003. 343 pages. Memoir.
FALL 2008
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. © 2005. 550 pages. Historical Fiction / Holocaust Literature. (This is not just another Holocaust book. The narrator is Death. Yes, that's right. Death narrates the story of an orphan named Liesel whose family secretly hides a Jew. A top five book of 2008.)
Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. only about 50 pages. © 1965. (Sucky) Literature.
Ellis, Bret Easton. Less than Zero. © 1985. 208 pages. (Sucky) Literature.
Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. © 2003. 217 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Nava, Michael. Rag and Bone. © 2001. 289 pages. Mystery.
Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. © 2007. 335 pages. YA Lit: Science Fiction. (What would happen if parents could retroactively abort their children? As in, they're a worthless teenager, so we are going to donate all their parts to people who need them more. Come along for a wild ride with some teens who are being hunted down for their parts.)
Lee, Nelle Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. © 1963. 384 pages. Literary Excellence: Historical Fiction.
Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. © 2006. 218 pages. YA Lit: Historical Fiction. (This fable is another Holocast book. Bruno's father is in charge of Auschwitz, but young Bruno has no clue. He does know that he is lonely until he meets a boy of his age at the nearby fence. A very fast read.)
Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. © 2005. 498 pages. YA Lit: Vampires / Chick Lit.
Crosley, Sloane. I Was Told There’d Be Cake. © 2008. 228 pages. Humorous Essays.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. © 2003. 371 pages. Ethnic Literature. (I added this novel to the sophomore curicculum, thinking that students would actually read it. Boy, was I right. The students had great reactions to this novel, which is set in Afghanistan. Amir grew up living a privileged life in the 1970s, but he holds a dark secret. Years later after 9/11, he journeys back to Afghanistan to right his wrong. Is redemption possible?)
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona the Pest. © 1968. 192 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona the Brave. © 1975. 190 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and her Father. © 1975, 1977. 186 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and her Mother. © 1979. 208 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona Quimby, Age 8. © 1981. 190 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona’s World. © 1999. 192 pages. Kid Lit.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona Forever. © 1984. 191 pages. Kid Lit.
Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. © 2008. 288 pages. YA Lit: Contemporary Realistic Fiction.
Rowling, J.K. The Tales of Beedle the Bard. © 2008. 128 pages. YA Lit: Fantasy short stories.
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of Wimpy Kid: a novel in cartoons. © 2007. 217 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Hautman, Pete. Sweet-blood. © 2003. 242 pages. YA Lit: CRF/Vampires.
CHRISTMAS BREAK 2008
Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. © 1993, 2005. 242 pages. Literature: Native American. (I began and ended my year of reading with Sherman Alexie, one of my newest favorite authors. This collection of short stories features a wide cast of Indians on a reservation in the Northwest. The kicker: Alexie wrote almost all of these stories when he was in his twenties.)
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Notes from the Midnight Driver. © 2006. 265 pages. YA Lit: CRF.
Vowell, Sarah. The Wordy Shipmates. © 2008. 248 pages. Nonfiction: American history. (Do the names Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, or John Winthrop ring a bell? They were some of the earliest settlers in America, but I never got a detailed look at their lives until I read this book. Their legacy of "helping those less fortunate" is still alive and well in America.)
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