36. Little Lady and the Valley of Flowers

Little Lady, Big Apple by Hester Browne

The Little Lady Agency is back, but she is in New York City this time with her lovaah.  And I am in the Valley of Flowers with my lovaaah ;)  The beginning of summer always brings about changes of feelings, moods, emotions, friends, food, drinks, scenery, yada yada yada.  This particular beginning of summer has brought about a lot of changes for me as far as feelings, moods, emotions, friends, food, drinks, scenery, yada yada yada.  I'm happy to say they are very good changes.  Instead of having to drive to see my amazing man and amazing friends, I am officially located with them.  As the Little Lady officially relocated to be with her amazing man.  But she has turmoil in her New York life.  So far, with the exception of not finding a job and being incredibly broke, my summer has been turmoil free and A-MAZ-ING.  Besides, there could be plenty worse things than not having a job.  instead of wandering the streets and going to lunch with people i don't really like (in order to impress somebody else), i have time to sit back, decorate, cook, and...... READ!  (and, lucky you, to write ;)

book number 35: rule number one: be scary. rule number two: be less than thrilling

i finally FINALLY finished reading my 35th book (yes, the last entry was a typo).  Daniel Silva's Moscow Rules.  hooray!  i am out from under Moscow's oppressive rules!  it was really well written, and it made me think about russia and all of its secrets and underground shit. governments are terrifying things when you get right down to it.  other than that, i really have no thoughts on this book.  it was far too long for me to even remember things that i read two weeks ago- the move-in/re-move-in process has been a little stressful, not to mention worrying about job searching and cooking and money and family and pets and yada yada yada.  so the next one will be better, i swear :) 

one note of good and exciting news: i got my library card in my new temporary home! yay!

a room with no view 35??????

To start the summer off on the right foot, I decided to begin with one of those almost classic literature books- E.M. Forster's A Room with a View.

How quaint and full of peculiar social antics from a time much less complicated but more complicated in rules and heresay than the time of today.  these books always remind me how lucky we are to be able to tell our significant other details about our past- for instance, how many sexual partners we have had, when and where our first kiss was, etc.  or even to be able to tell the person we love that we love them without going through parents, friends, nosy relatives and neighbors.  it's interesting that she withheld the fact that a young man, who she knew, kissed her suddenly (on the CHEEK!!!) and it was never spoken of again, lest it mar her reputation, and she let it do so by worrying about it and not telling her fiance about it.  how rediculous is this?  perhaps it was an allegorical kiss- the kiss of SEX.  that's right, i said it: SEX.  sex sex sex sex :)  and you know who is going to go see sex and the city 2 tomorrow?  this gal.  so i feel one more sex is in order- SEX!  yes! 

last school assignment of the year.... and a great historical fiction (32 and 33 respectively)

dos libros para the end of the school year..... one of them lead me to find googleReader and the other? gave me yet another perspective on the civil rights era in jackson, mississippi. according to a family friend, who happened to have been raised as a rich, white girl in the pre-civil rights tennesee and mississippi, this book was bullshit and lies. but i have to wonder how much of that is because she was raised well by a good family and how much is because her eyes were covered to any sins of the white man against the black.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was great. It felt like it may go on forever, but it was really quality writing. It made me feel like I was in their shoes- always the sign of a good novel. I don't understand how people can treat other people as less than human- pay them less than minimum wage for more than maximum work, but it happens to be something that happens, sadly, every day, past and present. But words are very powerful. The creation of a novel of true stories published under anonymous names with the good and the bad of the sub-par treatment is something that I wish would have been actually done and not a fictional idea (that's sort of ironic.... it's a fictional account of a somewhat true story of true anonymous stories.... wait, what??) anyway, this was good. real good. better than minny's chocolate pie. i do wish there would have been a bit more of a wrap up. i would like to know what happened to some of the maids, the society ladies, any backlash or positive beyond what they told us at the conclusion of the book. i also wish someone would write the modern day mexican/american version of this story. i would love to step into those shoes for a few literary moments. im sure that story will be told at some point, if not already out there. home help is something that is kind of a touchy subject. i wonder..... well, the familyt friend that claims this story is "complete bullshit" happens to not know the first thing about her way around the kitchen, with the exception of where the wine glasses are and how to heat up pre-made appetizers. i'm not saying she is alone in this department. plenty of people that were not raised with home help know plenty less than she does about the way around their kitchen, but i cannot imagine not having the curiousity to wonder how and why things taste the way they do. i happen to have a certain interest in this topic, but thats just me. hmmmmmm how can we not be curious about how everything happens and why? im guilty of this myself but why don't i wonder how the tv is showing us color pictures and what makes this couch so comfortable. and why it is dark outside and what brought the storm front in. but we all have our interests don't we? it's time we all figured out our own. so i'll stick to my books and my kitchen and perhaps find one new thing. perhaps in the form of a new job?

here's hoping**

31.... a classic

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

is really a phenomenal read.  it is meant for children, but there are so many things that i didn't get when i read it in fourth grade that it was definitely worth picking up again.  I tried telling my advising teacher that i am observing and he seemed really uninterested.  in fact, he always seems slightly uninterested in whatever comes out of my mouth.  a lot of people i have had the pleasure of talking to lately seem to have this problem.  am i boring?  what's the deal?  why won't anybody listen to meeeee?  there are a select few who do actually stop talking long enough to listen to what i have to say about life and i really appreciate them.  i realize most of my life is filled with trivial crap that is completely irrelevent to 99.9% of the population, but it is important to me, just like everyone else has trivial crap that is important to them.  so you know what? i am going to vent a little right here, right now.  i am currently skipping class because i had a mini-meltdown and decided not to go sit and brew over it in the middle of a classroom.  so i headed home (which involved the longest wait for a bus that i have had in quite some time) after my phone died, in the middle of a deep and importnat conversation that i was having with my mom.  we aren't as close as we once were- and i'm not sure if i want that or not.  there is one thing that is wedging between us and that is the ever-present relationship that i have taken up..... and it isn't the fact that i am in this relationship that is wedging between us, but the fact that i cannot tell her about this HUGE new part of my life until i have deemed that the time is right (or until they find out some how and i am forced to tell her).  i wouldn't mind suffering the consequences for telling my parents about this relationship, but i don't want to tell them until everything is right.  the question begs, 'will it ever be right?'  i dont know.  but i do know that i'm freaking out and this is the least of my worries at the moment.  i'm worried about the weather for driving, my final projects and papers that are due every single fucking day, the fact that i cannot sleep very well at night, the fact that i have headaches every morning when i wake up, the fact that i don't know what/where i'm going to work this summer........ ugh it's giving me a headache right now.  and i don't have any money left to buy any ibuprofen.  (just kidding on that last one.... well sort of).  i hope no one has actually taken the time to read through this, hoping in vain that i would have a deep philosophical point at the end, because i sure don't.  mostly i just needed to bitch a bit.  and i'm not going to apologize for this because no one is forcing you to read this.  but i hope you are having a lovely day. 

30! a book to coincide with a first sunburn of the year

In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson
Book Number 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yay! how exciting is that??
In A Sunburned Country was stunningly interesting- how many facts and truths does Bill Bryson know??  for instance, did you know that one of australia's prime ministers disappeared on a beach and was never found again?  or that there is a phenomena of tourist/local sights involving giant versions of fruit or animals (like the "Big Banana" or the "Big Lobster") made into gift shop/restaraunt combos in the middle of nowhere??  these were actually a few of the least entertaining facts from the book- i am certainly not doing it justice, but i don't want to skew the facts that mr. bryson presents, nor do i want to spoil this amazing book for anyone.  yes, it is a little dense and it is not a ficticious, fast-paced drama, it is true stories strung together by a really entertaining author about his travels in a giant continent that gets little to no attention on a worldwide spectrum.  why? im not sure, and neither is he, but it is really an interesting thought.  his writing is so funny because he somehow finds a way to write truthful statements in a beautifully strange fashion.  he was caught in a cloud of nosy flies, for instance, and found that he had slapped himself with "startling violence" on several accounts.  im still not sure why this statement is so hilarious to me, but it really is and it is a great example of why i keep going back to his books.  all in all, i definitely recommend this book- it's amazingly fantastic, and while it didn't make me want to actually go and explore australia (there are a rediculous amount of poisonous/killer/disgusting/frightening/disarming creatures (aka ways to die horribly) there), but i do want to google some photos of the various regions he visited- they sound absolutely gorgeous and unlike any other place on earth.  i will travel with mr. bryson any day.  (if you are reading this, please invite me and teach me how to write, bill!!!!!!)

g'day, my readers! 

29. Reading Native American Literature

Reading Native American Literature by Bruce A. Goebel

Does this one really need too much explanation?  I don't think so..... basically it is three or four lesson plans revolving around native american literature explained in great detail. again- great read, if you are going to be a teacher, for when you are actually a teacher, trying to do as the book suggests.  how many more times do you think i will say that sentence in the next year?? ha ha

28, The Treasure

The Treasure by Iris Johansen

ah how i love mass produced romance novel/adventure stories!  they really are great- corny where you need them to be (the sex and romance scenes- duh!) and somehow, this one had a little substance to it.... some nice messages about being with the one you love and keeping sacred things close.  some little tidbits of wisdom found in a $4.49 paperback from costco- here's a few:

"But possibilities must be faced before they became realities that caught you by suprise."

"One must always smile or weep.  Smiling is better."

these quotes prove one thing that i've always suspected- there are good messages hiding in the strangest places, waiting to make themselves available to you. 

27. "The Airborne Toxic Event"

White Noise by Don DeLillo

This book brings up a lot of interesting questions.  Especially when you are reading it for a second time in order to create a project as a pair book for an ENT class.  don't ask- busy work and reading.  but i'm glad i got a chance to revisit White Noise.  No, it isn't the basis for the movie.... it is actually about a small, indescript town, and a family.  the narrator is the father of this family, an assembled modern day brady family.... kids and parents from a bunch of different marriages and such, all cohabitating in one odd household.  the father is the professor who chaired Hitler Studies department at the town college.  this is a key example of the strange but hilarious humor in this book.  then a tanker spills near the town and a "Toxic Airborne Event" occurs, leaving them to travel from shelter to shelter and ponder death for the duration of the middle of the book.  Then come the after-effects.  they discuss death a lot in this book but it is quite poignant- on the one hand, truly terrifying, but on the other, satisfying and thought-provoking in a good way.  the book also discusses the role that technology plays on our lives, seen most prominently in the random TV or radio quotes written in random sections.  just one line at a time about some sort of consumer product, cooking tip or Discovery show fact, inserted into the strange and amazing line up of words that make up White Noise.  fantastic.  really fantastic.  again.  if you want a philosophical book that is humorous and not scarily deep, but very thought provoking i insist that you read this.  if i have time later, i will post some of the more thoughtful quotes (that i have flagged in the book, for my pair book project.  so there!)  anyway, i hope you are having a lovely evening, or day, or whatever it is doing when you are reading this right here, right now.  even though 'now' has already passed by the time you were finished reading the word 'now.'  ha! think about that for a few minutes- i dare you :)

kid lit- #26

Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key, by Jack Gantos
I don't have much to say about this piece of fiction, other than that i am terribly sorry for the children and parents that have to deal with children with developmental issues.  this book was written from joey's point of view, and i'm pretty sure his condition is adhd, but it never comes out and says it for sure.  i suppose they do this so that every child that reads the book can properly relate to joey, even if they have a different problem, and also so that every hypochondriac in the making won't go home to their parents and claim that they have joey's affliction.  (i know i might have done this- in fact, as i was reading it, i was thinking about my own hyperactivity as a child during time tables, but i'm a bit of a melodramatic over-emphasizer, so pretend i didn't just say that).  anywho, this book is written from the perspective of this kid with adhd or whatever it may be, so it jumps around a lot, and to be honest, it kind of gave me a head-ache.  but it was good because it helped me to step into the shoes of someone with this sort of learning disability.  thank God i am able to step out of it at the end of the day and relax without zipping around the room, getting made fun of by my peers.  books like these make me realize just how lucky i am and have been.  they also scare me into thinking that my teaching career will involve children running with scissors and accidently lopping off somebody's nose, but i think that is an entirely different matter altogether.

#25.... who are you?

thank God for good books and familiar sitcoms- something ANYthing that i can cozy up to in this horrendous weather.  and to think- just one week ago i was day-dreaming about summer weddings and going to the beach.  now what do i get for doing that in march?  horrifying april weather.  take this blizzard for example.  luckily, i have just finished an affair with a de-LIGHT-ful little book, filled with nice british wit and observations. 
The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne

is a great book.  if the blue and pink cover doesn't lure you in, the idea of putting on a wig and transforming yourself into an alter ego named "Honey" to snap bachelors into shape will.  melissa, our protagonist, is a meek doormat that is constantly walked all over by her "Daddy," a british judge of some sort, her boyfriends and her sisters and other girly acquaintances.  when faced with an economic slump, she transforms herself into Honey, a vivacious, sexy blonde to help otherwise helpless men to get the right haircut, buy presents for their mothers, or get rid of horribly bossy girlfriends. 

this got me thinking about alter egos in general (when i wasn't swooning over the predictable love interests in the book).  who would i be?  why would i change?  to play girlfriend to the hapless fellow to impress his co-workers?  or would i change to become some sort of super hero for myself?  don't we already change every time we are with somebody?  one friend of mine gets confident, advice-giving molly, while another gets emotional, and easily-frightened molly.  my parents get good molly, the girl who never fails to write a thank-you note, and my boyfriend gets the girl who loves to don high heels and short skirts and frolic around.  so who am i?  who are you?  is the definition of who you are static or is it ever-changing?  what kind of wig (real or imaginary) do you put on for people? 

i would like to think that my alter ego's name is some saucy, hispanic looking woman, who flaunts her curves in flitty red dresses and has a throaty laugh.  i would also like to think of this other me as someone who has no problem yelling and gesturing wildly when necessary.... this may be a bit of a stereotype though.  do forgive me.  the only issue i have with this alter ego?  it isn't me.  and more importantly, what is her name?  what is your name?

*Honey Blenerheskett

(from The Little Lady Agency, in case you missed that fact earlier)

You are what you eat, and I am what i watch (apparently)

Alright, I will be honest with you.  I haven't read this book word-for-word, cover to cover.  but i have skimmed, and gotten the most nutritional value that i could from it (ha ha ha ha) 
You Are What You Eat by Dr. Gillian McKeith
is an excellent guide to eating like a healthy person- 80% of the time. this isn't a diet book, it is an 'eat better so you don't perish and die of obesity and countless other health problems by age 42' book.  she claims that you can eat as much of the foods on "The Abundant Food List" (a.k.a. healthy, tasty-in-an-i'm-eating-healthy-and-feel-great kind of way).

While i was reading about nutrition and the care for your body, i had to wonder how we are supposed to care for our hearts and souls.  i just told my habibi that he was the one.  where did i get this from?  who told me that this was an important way to exercise my emotional heart health?  why aren't there studies based on real facts that can tell us what to do and say for a surefire way to stay happy and in love?  i think this is why we rely on television series and magazines so much for guidance.  i wonder if me telling him that he was the one instead of some other sappy saying was a subconscious throwback carrie and big.  "carrie, you're the one."  it makes me weep for joy for these pretend people every single time.  EVERY TIME.  there is no exaggeration there.  but these are fictional characters.  so why do i imitate them?  because they appear happy?  big goes all the way to paris to tell carrie that she is the one, and to start their lives together anew.  will i go all the way to the middle east?  does art imitate life, or does life imitate art in order to gain a sense of order and peace that is impossibe for us to navigate on our own?  even as i write this, pursuing my dream of becoming a professional writer, i have to notice that i am definitely emulating the sex and the city column.  where does this leave me?  this can't be healthy to follow something else so closely without even trying.  so does our reliance on others, specifically fictional, grandiose others, lead the way to healthier emotions, or are we parrotting them without the benefit of the reality?

questions, questions......

numero 23.... in a flash of violence

Split Second  by David Baldacci

Here is the summary on the back, because my own explanation of the plot would be incredibly long winded:
             The world can change forever in a single...
                                              SPLIT SECOND
Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service.  Against her instincts, she let a presidential cnadidate out of her sight for the briefest moment, and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air.  Sean King knows how the younger agent feels.  Eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service agent allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second.  And the candidate he was protecting was gunned down before his eyes.  Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge.
Drawn into a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences, the 2 discredited agents uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making - and are a long way from over...

Okay, so their description was a little long-winded as well, but that about sums it up.  It was interesting to see why and by whom these crimes are done by.  It is also interesting (and a little disquieting) to see how many seemingly innocent people are slaughtered all in the name of these psycho-killers' causes.  Having recently watched the first half of Scarface, I realized that i am certainly not accustomed to these instances of violence.  I cannot watch or read about these things without taking them with me to bed, to the shower, to the grocery store.... the image of Tony Montana's friend being chain-sawed to death in a south beach hotel bath tub will not only stay with me everywhere, it will continue to horrify me and haunt my sweet dreams.  The same is true for these sorts of novels (although not so much with Split Second).  To bring back the doozy that is known as The Road, i will forever picture the naked, starving, rotting people in the basement, screaming for help from the man and the boy.  um, no thank you.  i donl't need to see this.  if it is somehting i can help with, or that i can learn from, for instance, Holocaust pieces, I will do what i need to do by reading/watching what i need to read/watch.  but these things are just unneccesary.  too much violence in our forms of escapism may lead to more violence or de-sensitization to horrible real violence all around us in the world that we actually live in.  so no more for me.  unless it is school sanctioned- then pile it on so i can vomit it back up for an essay (or now, a lesson plan!).  hooray!
i wish you reader, whoever you may be, a safe and happy day! 
just once pretend you are me or pretend you are with some impressionable young child and turn off the heinous crime.  just once today.

#22- Ed Department Strikes Back

Really???? On Spring Break?????  i guess this is what i get for putting off homework and/or doing it a month before it is actually due.  this is how i operate.  i'm not sure why.  right now i am writing because i am a strange mix of emotions- im "trapped in a glass case of" them, if you will (and you should).  its this strange and diabolical mix of angry, sad, confused, excited, and lovey dovey.  (i told you it was a weird mix).  but that has absolutely nothing to do with this book i just read:
Classics in the Classroom: Designing Accessible Literature Lessons
by Carol Jago- that's Mrs. Jago to you

Alright, well, this is going to be a short one.  i have to do my nails, and typing isn't exactly the best activity to accompany wet nails.  basically i have the same review for this education guide as i do for all the others i have read...... useful if i were actually in the classroom, trying to pull together activities for lesson plans for these particular classics, but as of right now- not so much.  blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. 

i'm out.

My favorite book, revisited (my 21st book of the year)

"The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray." --Oscar Wilde

Second Helpings, by Megan Mccafferty

It still remains my favorite book.  It may not have the qualities that scholars could study for years, but it is my classic- it's in my literary cannon, which i prefer much more to the literary cannon being passed on to students in the classroom- there's a reason the kids don't like reading these 'old classics' in school- they are old and quite dull, for the most part.  I consider reading to be a sport that  i am damn good at, but even i struggle to get through most of those beasts.  But i digress.  Second Helpings, the sequel to Sloppy Firsts, was great when i first happened to pick it up in high school, at a Barnes and Noble in Spokane, for something to read on the long, boring drive home.  This was my second choice book to get, only because my mom thought the Gossip Girl  book that i had wanted to get looked "inappropriate and tasteless."  Boy am I glad I dodged that bullet.  Then I couldn't put it down until Marcus and Jessica Darling sorted out their sordid and twisted quasi-romance.  Would they remain as friends?  Would they have sex???  Will he continue to play "Game Master" until she gives up and dies in a fiery car crash??  (no to this last one, because this isn't a novel meant to horrify, as all the other books I pick up seem to be....-i'm shaking my head right now.  deep sigh-) 

Well, if you think I am going to give away the ending, I am NOT, because I insist you read this book, even if you aren't in high school, because the high school girl still lurking deep down inside of you wants to go through this literary extravaganza.  It's hard for me to write and feel like I am giving this book enough credit, so i am going to write some of my fave quotes from Second Helpings and leave it at that.  now go read it!!!!

"And I was happy.  Deliriously, deliciously happy."

"Jessica, we were perfect in our imperfection."

"...what is reality anyway, when no two people can ever see the same thing in the same exact way?  Reality is a lot more subjective than people like to think it is."

"... major in Hobagitry.  I'll just have to suck it up. (Ha. In more ways than one.)"

So there it is.  One of my favorites, summarized in quotes.  They may not make sense to you,  but I bet one of them stands out..... just like these all stood out from the entire novel for me.  especially that major in Hobagitry one.  there would be a lot of people that have graduated by now that are still in school if this was an option for a major.  i'm just sayin'.......

#19 -Mediterranean Summer.... not quite, but i can feel it!

Mediterranean Summer: A Season on France's Cote d'Azur and Italy's Costa Bella

by David Shalleck

what a trite little vacation from the apocalypse....er the books about them.  actually my life is quite amazing right now.  well, i wouldn't go quite that far- but all is good and that's all that matters.  :-)  Anchorman is playing in the background, it's Friday, and i have learned how to write my name, as well as several friend's in Arabic.  because i have almost learned all the alphabet!  yay me!  david shalleck, author of this kind of boring but lovely book, picks up italian in his time (or his 'stages') apprenticing with all kinds of chefs and kitchens- from the almost home kitchens to the michelin starred ones- all over the boot of Italy.  then he is hired by fabulously rich businesspeople to be the chef in the galley of Serenity, a luxury yacht that travels the Mediterranean Sea.  it was a lot of hard work, but some true beauty and no small achievement to make an entirely original (yes, every time he cooked for the owners he was not allowed to make the same dish more than once- NOT ONCE!  can you imagine???? AND it had to stay true to the local regional cuisine AND it had to be fairly health conscious!  needless to say, i'm rediculously impressed- i can't even do that for myself from week to week!)  He goes on to work with culinary great, Jaques Pepin.  i loved hearing him speak so in depth about the recipes and the preparation, and the incredible luxury that people with money on the coast of the mediterranean live in.  someday, i hope to be here.  not necessarily on a luxury yacht, but that would be acceptable.  i guess.... ha ha but i definitely would not hire a cook to take care of every meal.  maybe someone to pamper us occasionally, and make menial meals when we are in a hurry- jetting off to the white sandy beaches and 'discoteques' of italy and monaco- but i wouldn't let this guy (or girl) have all the fun.  but i definitely would do as la signora and il dottore (the owners) do and have my labrador on board, being fed the occasional delectable human food.  i might not, however, name him Alessandro.  but that is kind of amusing.  yes, this book is my dream- sun soaked beaches, crystal blue waters, great food and loved ones- and a happy go lucky dog.  :-)

my last sigh (of the night)

wow.  i'm a little bit disturbed.  and strangely relieved and at peace at the same time.  i suppose salman rushdie has that effect on people.  how else could he have gotten padma lakshmi??   

The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie

this book was frightening to me.  not so much in the traditional sense of a horror movie or car crash- but more like watching a car crash in a movie.  it is psychologically upsetting, however you aren't entirely involved- you are not in the sphere of influence necessary for total fear that will stick with you when you go to bed at night.  i may be getting a little too philosophical.... sorry about that.  this book wasn't as much of a mind fuck as The Satanic Verses which may stay with me for the rest of my life- the images of the butterflies on the pilgrimmage to Meccah and the man transforming into a goat in the back of a van..... those will be with me for a while.  when i am old and gray, recounting stories of my youth in a nursing home, i will probably talk about these twisted fairy tales.  grimm's tales for english speaking indians.  that's what salman rushdie writes.  yes, that's it.  this might not make sense to you, but i can definitely feel the sprout of an idea here.  rushdie writes memorable shit.  'nuff said.  how could anyone possibly live in such dystopias?  i'm about to read cormac mccarthy's the road (not looking forward to the post-apocalyptic horrors shared between man and son, but my group members insist.... what could i say?).  maybe i am just on a dystopic kick.  i wonder if india is really like this?  surely not- no where can be so corrupt and violent, right?  with drugs being smuggled in baby powder shipments and artists mixing with politicians to result in murderous fueds and trickery- husbands killing wives and real life romeo and juliet mix ups.  does such a place exist?  is this the world we live in? i sure hope not.  and if it is, i'm parking myself in montana.  oh wait, i forgot about the unibomber though.... (i swear me and my friend found his abandoned hide out in the woods when we were kids....)
alright, thats enough for tonight.  it's best i quit thinking and go do some school work.  ha.
good night*

site to connect with fellow readers

if you happen to be a reading/literature nerd like me, this is such a great site.  it is like an online, giant, anything-you-could-ever-imagine book group.  for anyone and everyone.  sweeeeet.

#17 (suuuuccckkkk it!)

Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher

my I just say that this was a good read for future English teachers..... 
and may i also just say that i am getting more than my fair share of 'this is how you teach, because this is how i taught in allllll my many years of experience'.......

livin' the life
xoxo molly

#16: another from the school of ed

Engaging Readers & Writers With Inquiry, by Jeffrey Wilhelm

another day another dolla.... another snooze fest, although this one wasn't as bad as some of the others that i have read and have yet to read.  something about someone telling me how to teach is a major turn off.... i feel that they shuold just be teaching us these lessons, as more of a demonstration, rather than telling us how to teach without teaching it.  does that make sense?  perhaps not, but it's how i feel, so i'm sticking to it.  i had an awesome weekend, i checked out another cosmo-sponsored blog with my darling friend emily and am delighted to say that i gave some of them a whirl, and they are good.  good suggestions, cosmo.  now you, reader, get your head out of the gutter, we could have been reading beauty tips blogs...... -wink wink-

so thank you renne library, for forcing me to stay in one spot and soothing me with fountain noises so that i could finish this bugger, which, regardless of how much i don't like reading books about teaching, still taught me how to be an enthusiastic teacher! YES!