Summertime, and the reading is easy

Or is it? We checked in with a few of the folks here at the Tarrant Institute to hear about what they’re reading this summer.

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Rachel Mark:

“At this point in the year, I crave reading that is the equivalent to eating candy; times like these, I love a good YA book. This has been on my list for a year, and I tore through Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon in two days. It’s in the “love story meets medical drama” genre similar to The Fault in Our Stars. Fun reading that will hook loads of teens, as well.”

 

This summer, we welcome two new professional development coordinators to our team: Emily Hoyler and Jeanie Phillips. Here’s what they’re reading.

Emily Hoyler:

“Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (too many to list…I always have about three going at a time!)”

Jeanie Phillips:

“Some free advance reader copies of YA books I picked up at ALA:

• Dear Martin by Nic Stone:  Yale-bound Justyce comes face to face with racial discrimination and police brutality.  A great companion book to Between the World and Me and The Hate You Give.
• Release by Patrick Ness: Adam is unapologetically gay but lives in a fundamentalist Christian family.  Inspired by Judy Blume’s Forever and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, I am loving this novel. Adam’s struggle with his identity and his family is central, but there is a second story line involving a faerie queen that is both weird and fascinating.  Also, Ness writes gay characters like no other!  May have to reread Mrs. Dalloway after this… and also Forever.

Some professional books:

• The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros: not thinking this will be earth-shattering, but I am curious about mindsets of all kinds, and especially what makes some of us take risks and try new things and holds others back.
• Learning First, Technology Second by Liz Kolb: Interested in the framework outlined in this book for evaluating the use of technology in schools.  The Triple E Measurement Tool asks teachers to consider if technology promotes student engagement, enhancement, or extension.

And finally an in-between book:

• The Storm of Creativity by Kyna Leski: I saw Kyna Leski speak about this book and was fascinated.  She uses a storm as a metaphor for the creative process.  This book has an expansive notion of what creativity is and includes the process that artists and architects go through, but also inventors, scientists, and educators.  It is slow going because it makes me think, but so interesting.”

Susan Hennessey:

“A Slant of Light by Jeffrey Lent. Really, the only thing I have on my current reading list.”

 

 

 

Audrey:

“I’m embarking on a re-read of the City Watch thread in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I’m doing them out of order because linear time is an illusion and because I couldn’t remember the plot of Night Watch during a trivia game. After Night Watch I went back to Guards! Guards! and now I’m on Thud!

Indulging my inner burglar architecture nerd, I’m halfway through Geoff Manaugh’s A Burglar’s Guide to the City. Fascinating! Manaugh examines urban environments with an eye to breaking in and out of them. And he gets help from actual retired burglars. Super fun.”

We hope everyone has something good to read this summer, and we’ll see you all back here in August.

Hit us up in the comments: what are your summer reads?

 

 

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