What+I'm+Reading

AP Home, Creative Writing Home Every now and then somebody asks me, "What do English teachers read, anyway?" The answer is we read the same sorts of things other people read. I go for a combination of books that I'm considering teaching or that deepen my understanding of what I teach, along with a lot of nonfiction and mystery/thrillers. I also read lots of newspaper and magazine articles.

Here is my book list with what I've finished most recently at the top. If you read any of these on your own, let me know. I would enjoy hearing what you think. Or check out my reading history and "shelf" (plan to read, am reading, have read) at [|www.shelfari.com/wordsmithtutor].

Summer 2013 The 5th Wave A Question of Blood, Ian Rankin The Hanging Gardens, Ian Rankin Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell The Redeemer, Jo Nesbo Inferno, Dan Brown Tenth of December, George Saunders Silver Linings Playbook, Matthew Quick The Systematic Design of Instruction, Dick and Carey

Spring 2013 The Bat, Jo Nesbo Finding Your Element, Dr. Ken Robinson Daring Greatly, Brene Brown Every Day, David Levithan Sixpence House, Paul Collins We the Animals, Justin Torres Suspect, Robert Crais Fortytude, Sarah Brokaw Kinsey and Me, Sue Grafton Crossed, Allie Condie Winter 2012-13 Brain on Fire, Susannah Callahan Cold Hit, Stephen J. Cannell Monkey Mind, Daniel Smith An Abundance of Katherine's, John Green The Lineup,Otto Penzi Origins, Jessica Khoury The Nightmare, Lars Keplar Designated Fat Girl The Uninvited Guests, Sadie Jones The Ice Station, Matt Reilly The Lifeboat, Charlotte Rogan A Rule Against Murder, Louise Penny A Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny The Black Box, Michael Connelly The Third Gate, Lincoln Child Lost at Sea, Jon Ronson The Art Forger, B.A. Shapiro Blind Goddess, Anne Holt In One Person, John Irving The Other Woman, Hank Phillips Quiet, Susan Cain The Bone Bed, Patricia Cornwell Two Graves, Preston & Child Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter Escaping Into the Open: Writing True, Elizabeth Berg Radio Shangri-La, Jo Napoli Phantom, Jo Nesbo Book Love, Penny Kittle The Lover's Dictionary, David Levitan

Fall 2012 Zoo, James Patterson You Are Not So Smart Night Watch, Linda Fairstein A Wanted Man, Lee Child Last to Die, Tess Gerritsen Bones are Forever, Kathy Reichs The Rise of the Governor, Robert Kirkman Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe (reread) Baking Cakes in Kigali, Gaile Parkin (reread) Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton (reread) Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane (reread) Winter's Tales, Isak Dinesen Storm of Swords, George RR Martin (well that took a long time) Defending Jacob How to Be a Woman, Catitlin Moran

Summer 2012 Criminal, Karin Slaughter Metaphors & Analogies, Rick Wormeli Text Complexity: Raising RIgor in Reading, Nancy Frey Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn Wild, Cheryl Strayed Thinking Fast and Slow, The Secret Life of Pronouns, James Pennebaker The Red Book, The Shallows (reread), Nick Carr The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh The Book of Lost Fragrances, MJ Rose Pathways to the Common Core (reread), Lucy Calkins Common Core Curriculum Maps (reread), English Language Arts The Leopard, Jo Nesbo The Columbus Affair, Steve Berry The Jefferson Key, Steve Berry The Lantern, The Emperor's Children, Claire Messup Nemesis, Jo Nesbo The Little Blue Book, George Lakoff The Woodcutter, Reginald Hill Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alan Alda The Storytelliing Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, Gottschlatt Caught, Harlan Coben Vigilante, Stephen J. Cannell Slipping Into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton Imagine, Jonathan Lehrer Say Goodbye, Lisa Gardner The Delilah Complex, MJ Rose Jake, Reinvented, Gordon Korman The Headhunters, Jo Nesbo Tolstoy and the Purple Chair

Spring 2012 (plus summer reading vetting) Excavation, James Rollins The Death Cure, James Dashner Pathway to the Common Core, Lucy Calkins Amazonia, James Rollins Ice Hunt, James Rollins Gun Games, Faye Kellerman The Scorch Trials, James Dashner The Devil Colony, James Rollins A Clash of Kings, George RR Martin Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy Kaling The Breaking Point, Susan Shellenbarger Heat Rises, Richard Castle Victims, Jonathan Kellerman My African Diary, Bill Bryson 52 Small Changes, Brett Blumenthal Cohesive Writing, Carol Jago Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi (reread) Straight on till Morning, Mary Lovell (reread) West With the Night, Beryl Markham (reread) Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen (reread) Baking Cakes in Kigali (reread), Gail Parkin Text Lesson Content Area Reading, Harvey Daniels So What Do They Really Know?, Cris Tovani Content Area Writing, Jim Burke Darkness, My Old Friend, Lisa Unger Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, Alexandra Fuller Lost in Shangri-La, Michael Zuckoff Focus, Mike A Long Way Gone (reread), Ishmael Beah I am Nujood, Age 10, Divorced, Nujood Ali The Bookseller of Kabul (reread), Asne Seierstad The Kite Runner (reread), Khaled Hosseini And Then There Were None (reread), Agatha Christie The Devil's Star, Jo Nesbo Children of the Storm, Elizabeth Peters The Drop, Michael Connelly Effective Instruction, Jim Burke Write Like This: Teaching Real World Writing Through Model and Mentor Texts, Kelly Gallagher Drama: An Actor's Education, John Lithgow The Maze Runner, J. Dashner

Winter 2011-2012 Strip Jack, Ian Rankin 1222, Anne Holt Red Mist, Patricia Cornwell Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, Rafe Esquith V is for Vengeance, Sue Grafton Explosive Eighteen, Janet Evanovich Knots and Crosses, Ian Rankin Altar of Eden, James Rollins I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar Tooth and Nail, Ian Rankin Evil at Heart, Chelsea Cain If Chins Could Kill, Bruce Campbell The Black Book, Ian Rankin Cold Vengenace, Richard Preston and Lincoln Child I Am Half Sick of Shadows, Alan Bradley The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe Miss Perregrine's Home for Peculiar Children That is All, John Hodgman The Litigators, John Grisham

Fall 2011 Ms. Hempel Chronicles, The Ghost Writer, Robert Harris Tomb of the Golden Bird, Elizabeth Peters One False Move, Harlan Coben The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler Unspeak, Stephen Poole Doing School Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, Amy Krouse Rosenthal Guardian of the Horizon, Elizabeth Peters 51/50 The Magical Adventures of a Single Life, Kristen McGuiness The Family Fang Before I Go To Sleep, Watson The Golden One, Elizabeth Peters

Summer 2011 He Thunders in the Sky, Elizabeth Peters More Six-Word Memoirs, Smith Magazine Smokin' Seventeen, Janet Evanovich The Happiness Project, Gretchen The Paris Wife Background Knowledge, Fisher and Frey Teaching Argument Writing, George Hillocks, Jr The Fifth Witness, Michael Connelly With Rigor for All: Teaching Reading and the Common Core Standards 2nd ed., Carol Jago If You Ask Me (and you won't), Betty White The Ice Princes, Camilla The Falcon at the Portal, Elizabeth Peters Baking Cakes in Kigali, Gaile Parkin Teaching English by Design, Peter Smagorinsky Crossing the Heart of Africa, Julian The Snowman, Jo Nesbo The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen The Curse of the Pharoahs, Elizabeth Peters State of Wonder, Ann Patchett Hold Tight, Harlan Coben Seeing a Large Cat, Elizabeth Peters Back Spin, Harlan Coben Sixkill, Robert Parker The Emperor's Tomb, Steve Berry The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown Fallen, Karin Slaughter Sandstorm, James Rollins Moonwalking with Einstein, Foer Damages, Alex Kava Gideon's Sword, Preston and Child A Red Herring Without Mustard, Alan Bradley Bossypants, Tina Fey The Psychopath Test, Jon Ronson This is a Book, Demetri Martin

Late Spring 2011

The Mummy Case, Elizabeth Peters The Hippopotomus Pool, Elizabeth Peters The Curse of the Pharoahs, Elizabeth Peters The Last Camel Dies at Noon, Elizabeth Peters 127 Hours Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston SO Many Books, SO Little Time, Sara Nelson

Spring 2011 (and Summer Reading vetting) Naked Heat, Richard Castle Matched, Allison Condie The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone One False Move, Alex Kava Just One Look, Harlan Coben Crocodile on the Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters The Deeds of the Disturber, Elizabeth Peters The Ape Who Guards the Balance, Elizabeth Peters The Lion in the Valley, Elizabeth Peters The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog, Elizabeth Peters The Serpent on the Crown, Elizabeth Peters Mystery, Jonathan Kellerman The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell Exposed, Alex Kava The Sentry, Robert Crais A Necessary Evil, Alex Kava The Soul Catcher, Alex Kava The Strain, Guillermo Del Toro The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot Unbroken, Lauren Hillebrand The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be Your Class President, Josh Lieb Theater Geek, Mickey Rapkin The Inner Circle, Brad Meltzer Map of Bones, James Rollins

Winter 2010-2011 Split Second, Alex Kava A Perfect Evil, Alex Kava Wire in the Blood, Val McDermid Packing for Mars, Mary Roach Mermaid's Singing, Val McDermid Black Order, James Rollins Ice Cold, Tess Gerritsen The Hypnotist, MJ Rose Haunt Me Still, Jennifer Lee Carrell Book Lust to Go, Nancy Pearl More Book Lust, Nancy Pearl Gravity, Tess Gerritsen Bloodstream, Tess Gerritsen The Keepsake, Tess Gerritsen The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, Alan Bradley Tools & Texts, Jim Burke The Prince of Mists, Carlos Ruiz Zafon Alice I Have Been, Reading for Themselves, Deborah Appleman The Bone Garden, Tess Gerritsen Ape House, Sara Gruen The Mephisto Club, Tess Gerritsen Vanish, Tess Gerritsen The Sinner, Tess Gerritsen Worth Dying For, Lee Child The Crossing Places The Apprentice, Tess Gerritsen The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen Reversal, Michael Connelly Life Support, Tess Gerritsen Testimony, Anita Shreve Image Grammar Voice Lessons Night Sins, Tami Hoag The Wave, Susan Casey Virals, Kathy Reichs

Fall 2010 Live to Tell, Lisa Gardner Unbearable Lightness, Portia deRossi Liar's Lullaby, Meg Gardiner Dexter is Delicious, Jeff Lindsay i know i am but what are you?, Samantha Bee The Magicians, Lev Grossman Slave, Mende Nazer Sizzling Sixteen, Janet Evanovich The Shallows, Nick Carr Body Work, Sara Paretsky Dirty Sexy Politics, Megan McCain Faithless, Karin Slaughter Hangman, Faye Kellerman  Indelible, Karin Slaughter   Let the Great World Spin, Colin   A Cold Fear, Karin Slaughter   Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins   Spider Bones, Kathy Reichs   Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane (reread)   The Liar's Club, Mary Karr   Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins Summer 2010 Eye of the Needle, Ken Follett Crafting Expository Argument, Deegen With Rigor for All, Carol Jago Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips, Mignon Fogarty Inside the Reader's Writer's Notebook, Linda Rief Illuminating Texts, Jim Burke What's the Big Idea, Jim Burke Wide Awake: A Memoir of Insomnia, Patricia Morrisoe Broken, Karin Slaughter Heat Wave, Richard Castle Beyond Reach, Karin Slaughter Kisscut, Karin Slaughter Mockingbird, Kathryn Erskine Undone, Karin Slaughter Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen This Time Together, Carol Burnett Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris Write Beside Them, Penny Kittle Supreme Justice, Phillip Margolin 61 Hours, Lee Child The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson Backseat Saints, Joshilyn Jackson Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern (Soon to be a CBS sitcom starring William Shatner) Movie Charts: Comedy Graphs of the Films You Love, Paul Copperwaite Fever Dream, Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston My Pet Virus, Shawn Decker The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman The Help, Kathryn Stockett Deception, Jonathan Kellerman Big Gardens in Small Spaces Entertainment Weekly magazine Big Fish, Daniel Wallace Lost Lake, Philip Margolin The Tourist, Olen Steinhauer The 3rd Degree, James Patterson

Spring 2010 Reunion The Power of Half, Kevin Salwen The Accidental Billionaires, Ben Mezrich Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer The Girl Who Played With Fire, Steig Larsson Gone Tomorrow, Lee Child The Angel's Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon Columbine, Dave Cullen