books
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My Top 10 Books of 2016
It’s time again for the list of books that I enjoyed most this year. As always, only some of these books were published in 2016, but they were all a part of my 2016 experience. 1. The Trespasser by Tana French I have loved all six of French’s “Dublin Murder Squad” novels, and when she has a new… Continue reading
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My Top 10 Books of 2015
It’s time again for the list of books that I enjoyed most this year. As always, only some of these books were published in 2015, but they were all a part of my 2015 experience. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For You know me: always on the cutting edge of 30-year-old cultural touchstones. After… Continue reading
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Help for the Restless Reader
In recent years, I’ve become a restless reader. I just can’t relax. Maybe it’s because I spend so many weeks of the year reading stuff I don’t feel like reading, including some really terrible writing, because I’m an English teacher. Maybe it’s because the Internet age has broken my brain. Maybe it’s because I’m an… Continue reading
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Nellie Returns
Nellie and the Coven of Barbo is back! After a hiatus of a few weeks to wrap up the school term, I have returned to the regular publication schedule. In today’s chapter, we pick up where we left off: kids have disappeared, other kids are concerned, strange conversations have been overheard, and now two classmates… Continue reading
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Time to Catch Up With Nellie
If you’ve been postponing reading Nellie and the Coven of Barbo, my YA adventure novel about preteen angst, new beginnings, and witches, now would be a good time to get caught up on the first 15 short chapters. Nellie will return on MONDAY, MAY 18, after I’ve plowed through all this test preparation, essay grading… Continue reading
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Ten Chapters In: Thoughts on Online Serial Novel Writing
What are you going to do with your long weekend? Maybe you’d like to read the first ten short chapters of a serialized novel about a twelve-year-old girl who suspects something funny is going on in her small town of Gale Harbour, Newfoundland. If so, you will find this novel, Nellie and the Coven of… Continue reading
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My Other Blog is a Novel: Introducing “Nellie and the Coven of Barbo”
Dear readers: Where have I been? I’ve been writing a little novel. It’s about half done. I’m going to post it, as a serial, on a blog. If you’d like to read it, it starts here. The working title is Nellie and the Coven of Barbo. It’s an adventure story about being a twelve-year-old girl. … Continue reading
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My Top 10 Books of 2014
It’s time again for the list of books that I enjoyed most this year. As always, only some of these books were published in 2014, but they were all a part of my 2014 experience. This year’s list is compromised slightly by the introduction of the Summer Book Club, a totally fun summer project in… Continue reading
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A Book Blog For Teachers
Friend and reader Tara Warmerdam just pointed me to her wonderful blog, A Reading Corner for Teachers and Writers. I’m so glad she did: she writes about books in a way that is meant to be helpful to teachers, and it really is. Some recent posts discuss a great book about teaching Shakespeare to young people, using picture books in… Continue reading
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What’s the Use of the Academic Paper?: Blogiversary Post #9
I’m still asking myself this question – “Is the academic paper the best way for students to demonstrate their learning?” – three years after publishing the original version of this post. In the interim, I’ve listened to the audiobook of Now You See It (discussed below), and I’m still not sure whether I’m onside with Davidson’s… Continue reading
About Me
My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.