Every summer I have high aspirations of moving through a list of "must-read" books. Now here it is time for my summer to wind down and I gaze longingly at the basket of still unread books wishing I had just a few more weeks to
immerse myself in reading. I love to read and I love a variety of books. A
fascinating volume I just finished was
" The Book That Changed My Life" edited by Roxanne J.
Coady and Joy
Johannessen. Writers wrote short essays on books that changed their lives. Some were expected and others were surprising. Here is a sample of the powerful words these writers penned about the books that changed their lives:
Jacquelyn
Mitchard chose
"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. " She writes," I take from this book lessons in writing, courage, and the absolutely intransigent necessity for utter honesty. Perhaps because of who I am , and from whence I came, nothing else between two covers has ever meant more to me." That makes me want to read this classic again.
A favorite title many writers chose was
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Susan
Vreeland writes,"
Atticus's lessons of respect for all people and his efforts to instill in Scout a sensitive awareness of others culminate when she greets Arthur
Radley with the simplicity of 'Hey, Boo'. It's one of the greatest lines in literature because it acknowledges a human being naturally, on his own terms, without requiring anything of him in return, which is the highest kind of love." I related because I remember getting to that scene in the book and having tears streaming down my face as Scout first greeted Boo
Radley. This book changed my life also.
A book I have always wanted to read is
"I Buried My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown . After reading what Sebastian
Junger expressed in his essay about this book I am more convinced I need to add it to my list. "We wiped out 90 per cent of the native population-even using Gatling guns against Sioux and Cheyenne villages in the last years of conflict. By any modern standard, that is genocide. Dee Brown's great service was to bring that painful truth to a country he clearly loved." When I converse with elders in the community where I teach this book often comes up. The words of Dee Brown helped many of these Native Americans come to terms with the history of their people. I hope to read it soon.
A few other titles recommended in this book are:
" The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
"Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"The Nancy Drew Mysteries" by Carolyn Keene
"The Great Gatsby" by F.Scott Fitzgerald
"The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell
the
Works of Shakespearethe
Bible"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte
For
book lovers that are always looking for titles to add to a must-read list, this book is a good resource. What books would you add this list that have changed your life? Please share and I will post a book list on the blog.
The love for reading began early for my brother and I. This is a picture I treasure of our dad reading to us on our parent's bed when we were very young.
" Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful: 
This is a picture I took from the car of the cloud formations near Chewelah.
We always stop at our favorite coffee stand at the south end of Chewelah. It is called Dad's Espresso.
They have beautiful perennials surrounding the property, especially around the sign by the highway. They are friendly, they make great coffee drinks, and the owner loves to talk horses with JEJ.
One of my favorite highlights of a trip down Highway 395 is to see what they have put on the reader board at this coffee stand. Today's message was perfect for this weekend.
Annie was caught between the bars of the dog gate in the back end of the car. She looked like she was posing for America's Most Wanted Dog. She was disappointed this espresso stand didn't hand out dog bones. 
When we returned home after a long shopping day, the sky had cleared as we relaxed on the deck. The day's activities started early, but we got a lot accomplished. This was the view JEJ caught as the sun began to set. We love days that include good coffee, laughs in the car, changing weather patterns, lunch, photo opportunities, and cool enough weather that the dogs can enjoy it. Today was one of those days.
Thursday Thirteen is a meme I enjoy on many blogs each week.The original site is here. This beautiful header was created by samulli here. 
Every summer I have high aspirations of moving through a list of "must-read" books. Now here it is time for my summer to wind down and I gaze longingly at the basket of still unread books wishing I had just a few more weeks to immerse myself in reading. I love to read and I love a variety of books. A fascinating volume I just finished was " The Book That Changed My Life" edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen. Writers wrote short essays on books that changed their lives. Some were expected and others were surprising. Here is a sample of the powerful words these writers penned about the books that changed their lives:
The Blue Between
Right now this hall looks quiet, but next Tuesday it will once again be filled with excited voices of middle school students. As I begin my thirty-first year of teaching I still get butterflies thinking about the first day of school. 
This year I will loop the 7th and 8th grade languge arts students I had last year, so we will pick up where we left on in the spring- which is nice. We have built a community of learners. They have writing waiting on computers to be finished. Books they didn't have time to read are on the shelves. We will all have stories to tell about what has happened since we said good-bye in June.
The classroom sits empty and bare, but soon the walls will be filled with learning materials, the tables will be heaped with notebooks, and the floor will be covered with backpacks. Students will find their assigned seats, sharpen their new pencils, and life in the classroom will begin again. I can't wait to see my students again.