It's that time again. There are eight teaching days left. That total includes two half days, which let's be honest, hardly count, except for when it's 10:30 and I'm staring down two hours of confinement with sweaty twelve year-olds whose desperation for freedom I can literally smell.
But after that, Summer. Yes, I'm excited to walk the dog leisurely at 6:30 instead of at 5:18. For sure, I can't wait to expose my psoriatic skin to sunlight for several hours each day. 100%, I'm excited to torture delight my children with required reading time each week.
You know our drill, right? We each have to read a book per week (or 200 pages, as Shef expertly negotiated this spring) or else forfeit our electronics until we finish? This policy has lowered my approval rating, but I stand by it as essential to my agenda.
So, how do I compile a summer reading list? My friend Stacy is utterly disciplined and curates a list of 8-10 titles throughout the year. I'm jealous of her competence in this and many other areas. I'm more slapdash (see my over-long #TBR list on Goodreads), but I still have a plan. I like to have a book on the go in each of the following categories:
- Audio - Could be fiction or nonfiction. I'm especially partial to thrillers and mysteries on Audible. One of my faves, The Girl on the Train, was recently named Audio Book of the Year.
- Nonfiction - Teaching related or not, self-help or not. Right now, I'm reading the parenting and teaching book, Building Resilience in Children and Teens.
- Middle Grade/YA - I've got The One and Only Ivan cracked at the moment. I love having a kids' book in progress because you finish fast, creating that all important sense of accomplishment.
- Adult Fiction - Here, I crave a good mix of highfalutin "literary" work and well-done page-turners. Right now, I'm reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I need a few hours to really get into it, but I keep falling asleep ten seconds after my head hits the pillow. #struggleisreal
To track my progress, I log each book on my Reading Life spreadsheet. This year, I added the blurb column to help me remember details when I do my Year-End Reviews.
I wish I were organized enough to provide a list of amazing and fulfilling recommendations in each of these categories, but I'm not. Lucky for all of us, I found a truly inspiring list from last summer at one of my new favorite websites, The Modern Mrs. Darcy. I like this gal and her What Should I Read Next? Podcast. Apparently, she's got a new set of recommendations coming soon, so that's sure to be awesome as well.
The time I read my all-time favorite parenting book.
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