Number 97 -- The Book Whisperer

Just finished The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. A truly outstanding book on "teaching" reading. Unlike any other professional book I've read in a long time and worth every moment. Wish I'd had it when I was still in the classroom! If you love books, reading, and kids, READ this book! I just found out it has it's own Facebook page! How cool is that!?

A couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance." -- Atwood H. Townsend (p. 47)

"I can never express who I really am in my own words as powerfully as my books can." (p. 173)

The second quote scares me a little because it makes me wonder what my book choices say about me! I will confess that I am not a lover of classics (though I do have a few favorites) and have not read as many as some of my colleagues; nor do I intend to. I'm not a fan of fantasy (as a whole) or science fiction. I like love stories, but not mushy romance. What I do enjoy is mystery/suspense! I often joke that if the book has a cop and a dead body, I'll read it. However, I am not a slave to any one genre, and will try any new book. After much pain and frustration over the years I have given myself permission to abandon a book that does not interest me. It wasn't easy to release the guilt of it, but once I did, I felt free to make choices I might not have in the past. And I certainly wouldn't be reading 100 books in a year if I was bogged down in a novel that bored me and stalled my progress.