Bookshelf

On the bookshelf page I will share what I am reading, what I have read recently, and what is popular with my students, family, and friends.

Here are some of the books that I have read recently….

Into the Planet: My Life As a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth

I just started this today, so I don’t know much about it.  Recommended to me by a colleague, it has maybe the coolest cover photo of all time.  It is a memoir written by one of the few female cave divers in the world.  I can’t wait to keep reading it!

Internment by Samira Ahmed

 

This is the second book on this list by Samira Ahmed. After reading her other book, I started following her on Twitter.  She tweeted recently about her new book Internment and I knew I had to read it.  I originally ordered it so that I could add it to my classroom library shelf, but with our 3-week social isolation/quarantine I ended up reading it first.  This book takes place in the not too distant future USA where we have elected a president, and government who treat Muslims as enemies of the state, and create laws that force Muslim people to “register” with the government. The book is about a teenage girl named Layla Amin who, along with her family, are forced out of their home and into an internment camp for Muslim’s, not far from Manzanar, CA where we locked up Japanese Americans during WWII.  Sometimes disturbing, but definitely makes you think. Purchase it here.

Old School GRIT by Darrin Donnelly

This book was a gift from my wife for Christmas last year.  I put off reading it as I had a stack of other books ahead on my To Read List, but I definitely enjoyed it.  Told through a series of letters from a (fictional) legendary college basketball coach to his grandchildren, it is meant to give advice on how to overcome adversity and provide the rules for a happy and successful life.  It’s a quick read, and while there are no earth-shattering, brand new ideas or concepts, it definitely gives you reason to think, and concepts that a lot of people could use.  Purchase it here.

Love, Hate, & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

This book was recommended by an “English guru” on Twitter as a must read for young adults, and so when we were ordering books for our classroom this school year, I added it my list. I could not be happier for doing so. I read this over the course of only three days, and struggled to put it down.  This is the story of a seventeen-year-old  girl named Maya Aziz, who is an Indian-American Muslim.  She is torn between being the dutiful daughter that her parents expect, and the fiercely independent girl she longs to be.  She is also must face being the only Indian, and Muslim, girl in her school, and the way she is viewed by her peers.  When a horrific crime happens hundreds of miles away, it’s ripple effects deeply impact Maya, her family, and her future. This book checks a lot of boxes. Love, family, racism, teen angst, and many others. Truly a wonderful read! Purchase it here

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Without a doubt, one of my favorite books in the last few years. The movie version is out right now, and is being raved about by my students.  As a child of the 80’s, this one really hit a nostalgic nerve, but even my millenial students really like it.  The year is 2044 and life on earth sucks. The escape for millions is the OASIS, a virtual world that has become a place of work, love, school, and the biggest treasure hunt of all time. Cline follows the journey of Wade Watts, aka Parzival and his attempt to find the Easter Egg left by the founder of the OASIS when he died.  The winner inherits the entire fortune of the founder, James Halliday, and also control of the OASIS.  In order to find the egg, seekers must be intimately familiar with 1980’s pop culture, an obsession of Halliday. I have read/listened to this book four times, and love it more each one.  The audio version is read by Will Wheaton, and is endlessly enjoyable. Get yours!