Have You Read a Good Book for YOU Lately??

As educators we sometimes forget that we need to take time out for ourselves but instead we are always thinking about:

• Lesson plans
• Centers for next week
• Books we will choose for our guided reading groups
• How will I finish this Unit before Break
• What new and exciting Art project can we do
• Assessments
• Report Cards 
• I have to write that blog before next week
• I still have to upload those photos 
• What new Children's books can I purchase for my classroom
• How can I help my students/children learn that skill that they are struggling with

And the list could go on and on and on.......

Although we are ALWAYS working to make ourselves better teachers...sometimes it is nice to sit down with our cup of tea or glass of wine and read a good ADULT book.

RELAX...READ a good book and enjoy some peace and quiet! Especially with Spring Break coming up...and Summer to follow! 

Now, lets make a new list, one for us to take our mind off work/school for a little while.

THE NEW LIST

•  STEPHANIE PLUM NOVELS by Janet Evanovich! If you haven’t read them, they are a MUST READ and probably my FAVORITE of all time!!  There are 18 of them! The first one is ONE FOR THE MONEY     

• WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB SERIES by James Patterson (My second Favorite) There are now 11 books in this series. The first one is FIRST TO DIE 

•    BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver: A high school girl relives her last day for 7 straight days.  She figures out how she has died and learns who is important in her life and what she is in danger of losing. (Lauren Oliver is a fairly new author I have read two of her books and love them! )

• DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver Love is a disease & the government demands everyone receive the cure upon turning eighteen. But one of the girls falls in love with a few months before she is to be cured.

• PANDEMONIUM(sequel to Delirium) by Lauren Oliver 

• HANA by Lauren Oliver: I believe this one is only available as an e-book but it is a part of the Delirium story line. 

• 50 SHADES OF GRAY by E.L. James -Racy, disturbing, and totally addicting. A 21 yr old college senior falls for a 27 year old millionaire. He tries to control her every action even in the bedroom. GREAT READ!

• A CHILD CALLED IT by Dave Pelzer: A child's courage to survive physical and mental abuse (true story...have tissues handy)

• THE LOST BOY by Dave Pelzer: A young child searches for a foster family to love him

• A MAN NAMED DAVE by Dave Pelzer: Dave' story of survival and how he has moved on and learned to forgive

• THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold: A young girl is raped and murdered and she watches as her family deals with the loss (again, have tissues handy)

• READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline -  80's pop culture and a fun sci-fi mystery.  Very interesting 

• GRAVE MERCY by Robin LeFevre - move over Bella...this slave was sold and bought to be a death deliverer.  

• ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and A MILLION SUNS by Beth Revis - everyone on this space mission was supposed to be "frozen" on their 200 year mission to another planet to recreate the human race, but then a couple of teenagers had to mess up the WHOLE plan and change everything! 

• PURE by Julianna Baggott -similar to Hunger Games...When a detonator goes off, those unaffected are PURES and they are safely inside the dome to protect them. Those who are DIFFERENT are outside of the dome. One boy risks his life to go and find his mom outside the dome

• UNSAID by Neil Abramson - an animal vet dies but can't leave her family or the animals that she loves so much 

• WHEN SHE WOKE by Hillary Jordan: A young woman commits a crime and is injected with a certain color dye then set to go back out into the real world and survive where people see her and know what crime she has committed because of the dye. 

•  THE SNOWMAN by Jo Nesbo: If you read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, you will like this, it is similar

• TURN OF MIND by Alice LaPlante  A woman has dementia and the story is told through her point of view…and to make things more interesting…it’s a murder mystery

• BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S.J. Watson: Each night when this woman goes to sleep, she forgets everything. When she wakes up her husband has to tell her who she is 

•  HOME FRONT by Kristin Hannah: What happens when the WOMEN get deployed to Iraq and men are left to tend to the home

• YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE by Siobhan Fallon: Short Stories from Ft, Hood, about when the soldiers are deployed

• THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: A Child goes from foster home to foster home because of her anger. Then finally she is put with and older woman and they become close. The older woman teaches her the Language of Flowers.

• THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT by Allan Wolf: this is a Titanic Story 

•   FUTURE OF US by Ray Asher & Karolyn Mackler:  1996 two friends start seeing their lives 15 years into the future when one of them receives an AOL CD- ROM in the mail. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook, even though it hasn’t been invented yet. Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates. Every time they hit refresh, their future changes.

I hope this list helps you choose some SPRING or SUMMER reading! 

Remember...take time for YOU too!