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Reading the Hard Stuff
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. -ALA’s The Freedom to Read Statement
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Book Review: Sapiens
The Vagabond Teen and I took Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari on the road this summer. We listened to the audio book on road trip days, read some chapters in our down time, and further dove into the subject of humankind, our biology, and our social history by watching videos about early humans and…
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Book Review & Library Lesson: Tribe
This book…will serve as a valuable learning tool to emphasize to young writers the importance of maintaining a clear main idea in their writing and of utilizing an organized system of citation to give credence to their work.
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Book Review: A Little Life
This review contains spoilers. I am still emotionally reeling from A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It is a brilliant and heartbreaking story that grows darker and more intense as it progresses. A Little Life begins as the story of four men whose friendship first develops in college. The characters are compelling from the…
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Book Review: Go Set a Watchman
I’m not sorry I read Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. But. I have a few words of caution for my fellow Mockingbird lovers still on the fence about whether to read Go Set a Watchman. I wish I had approached this work as the rejected manuscript of a very talented young writer, and not as a companion…
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Transforming Stories Collaboration Celebration
I’m excited to share this celebration video I’m creating for one of the classes I worked with during my practicum. I am going through their project packets to provide a final round of feedback—and am excited that their planning and creativity resulted in some amazing projects! Sharing a few snippets of their hard work seemed like a great…
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Blind Date with a Book
Blind Date with a Book campaigns have become popular at all sorts of libraries. The concept is simple: library members choose and check out a “mystery book,” read (or abandon) the book, and then provide feedback about whether they connected with or liked the book. The purpose of campaigns like this one is to encourage…
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Winter Reading: An Un-Review
In early December, I thought I would post book reviews here every few days to keep my blog rolling through the weeks between fall semester and spring semester. I knew I would read over the break–in spite of days of driving with car-sick cats, and days of unpacking, and weeks of getting to know my…
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Children’s Stories & Resources: Afghanistan
The first time my Vagabond Soldier deployed to Afghanistan, resources about the country were hard to find, out of date, and seemed to reveal little about the true spirit and culture of the Afghan people. Even though my son was a baby at the time, I wanted to find stories to share with him that…
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Our Reading Summer
“Reading Summer” at our house is that brief time of year when we have the opportunity to read whatever we want, without the distraction of assigned reading. I enjoy reading. I actually find my textbooks engaging. There is something, though, about having an entire three weeks to binge on my own reading choices that makes…