Monday, July 12, 2010

Summer Reading List

So, I'm one of those crazy people who decided, when they finally graduated from college, to head right back into a classroom as a teacher - an English teacher, no less. Whenever I tell people what subject I teach, I get the following response probably 80% of the time, "Oh wow. I hated my English teacher!"


I loved my English teachers, which might explain my subject choice. However, I love books more than anything. I actually have to impose "reading hours" upon myself so I make a conscious effort to not sit in my reading chair all day long and forget to eat or workout or spend time with my husband.


I also have a bit of a love affair with bookstores. When I studied in London, I would spend mornings wandering around bookstores while my classmates slept off their hangovers and afternoons underneath trees in Hyde Park Garden reading and dreaming. To this day, I love nothing more than walking into a bookstore without a reading list and just running my fingers along the spines of books.


After spending the last month reading and reviewing young adult novels, I decided to pick up a few new books today. I am super excited to dig into these tomorrow:
I only have about 45 books left on my Amazon Wishlist, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of books to keep me busy for the rest of the summer. :)


I did a quick run this morning. Here are the stats:
  • Total Mileage: 3.04mi
  • Total Time: 26:12
  • Average Pace: 8:35min/mi
Looking forward to a 5-miler tomorrow morning and girls' night for the Bachelorette tomorrow night!


  1. What was your favorite subject in high school?
  2. What are you reading this summer? Any other book recommendations for me?


10 comments:

  1. My favorite subject was probably government or history. I enjoyed and still do, historical fiction. I just finished The Help, which was nothing short of amazing and am now reading The Secret Life of Bees, which has sucked me in.

    I a big Kindle fan, because I hate clutter and after I read a book, its just something else to dust (I'm sure it pains you to read that). I curl up with my Kindle in bed every night and its something I look forward to each day.

    Keep us updated on which ones are good!

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  2. I loved Engish too! And you'll really enjoy Eat, Pray, Love. I just picked up Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand, which I'm hoping will be nice light, summer reading. My summer schedule at the theatre is a little intense though, and moving into the new house in Davis is sucking up my time. I'm still trudging through Lance Armstrong's memoir (looking for a little fitness inspiration).
    As a runner I feel that I need to recommend Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr.
    It's supposed to be the holy grail of running books. It's fiction but, the insight into running and the feelings we can't describe to other people are just spot on. And you'll fly through it..i't only 300 or so pages.

    Katie

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  3. I loooooooved English and writing as well :) Guess that would be why I majored in English and French lit in college haha.

    You should venture out to foreign, translated novels! Those are always so fun to me.

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  4. Oh, thanks for sharing your reads! Currently, I'm reading The Host (same author as the Twilight series). You also might try reading The Hunger Games. :)

    My favorite subject was probably English (alright more specifically yearbook).

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  5. Hey girl! I just saw your comment about teaching, so how fitting to comment on this post! :) I teach 5th grade, but did teach 7th & 8th grade English before. I loooove junior highers - some may call me crazy, but I don't even care. I loved English in high school - just like you, everyone hated our teachers, but I loved them.

    The only thing that keeps me running after school every day is the girls I work with. We lace up right at 3:10, go out for a run, and then come back and get to work if need be. I find this really helps to give me an energy boost and gives me time to relax after a stressful day!

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  6. Maria - Every student in one of my classes this year received a Sony eReader that we used for classroom novels. We were piloting a program to give eReaders to every student in our district! I liked the flexibility and functionality of the eReader (kids could take notes, "highlight", etc), but I really love having a BOOK, you know? :)

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  7. Katie - Thanks for the recommendation! Sounds like a Hawaii reading book to me :)

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  8. Monique - any translated novels in particular that you recommend?

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  9. Meg - I really enjoyed "The Host" and OMG I am obsessed with the Hunger Games series. I have several copies of the first and second book because my students can't read them fast enough! The third book comes out in August!!

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  10. Chelsea - you are lucky to have running buddies at school! I am moving to a new school/district in the fall, so hopefully I can find some ladies to run with! Like I said before, once I get home, I just want to RELAX. Running right after school gets out might be the motivation I need!

    My school is super close to the Stanford campus, which has some great running trails. Would be a shame to waste that!

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