NHS Students are Reading More! What are You Reading?

Perhaps due to SRR or perhaps due to my blog (less likely, but one can hope), students are reading more at Norton High School! How do I know this? I took a look at the circulation statistics from September through January of 06-07 and the same months in 07-08 and discovered that 171 more books circulated this year than last year. That's a substantial difference under ordinary circumstances but since I see fewer of you each day due to the elimination of studies, I think it's monumental! It seems that when students are given time to read for pleasure they remember that they do actually enjoy it! Teens are so busy with school, extra-curricululars, and work that they just can't fit it all in and reading for pleasure is often one of the first things to go. SSR is giving this back and it is being embraced by many of you.

So what are you reading right now? I know this might not be the best time for this question as I hope you're all reading It's Not About the Bike, but what else are you reading, or what have you read recently that you would recommend to others? I am reading Son of a Witch. I was a huge fan of Wicked (I know, not everyone agrees) and I'm enjoying the sequel. I'm taking my time because I really don't want it to end. Let's hear what you're reading.

New Books!!

Due to budget constraints I was not given any money at all for new books at the end of last year so I had nothing new when we returned to school in Septmember. I expected that this would be the case all year so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was given a budget in late fall. Though I received much less than usual, I was able to order some great new books, some of which arrived this week. I am working on processing these books so that they can circulate and I have rushed a few through because students and teachers were already asking to check them out, but the majority are still being processed at the circulation desk. Come by to see what's new and let me know if there are any titles you'd like to see added to the collection. I don't know when I'll have money again but I'll put them on the list.

Next

I just finished Next, by Michael Crichton. I always enjoy his books and learn something from them, and this was no exception. In this book, Crichton takes a look at the many possible legal, ethical, and scientific ramifications of the completed Human Genome Project. Some of the issues raised include the dilemas associated with universities and companies owning patents to genes, ownership of human tissue, genetic testing as a basis for denying heath insurance and influencing custody cases, and advertising in nature using genetic manipulation. The novel is fast paced with extremely short chapters that bounce between many characters and subplots - some connected and others not. The main story involves Rick Diehl's start-up biotech firm, BioGen, and it's recently acquired license for the Burnett cancer fighting cell line, Jack Watson, his ruthless, manipulative financial backer, Frank Burnett, the man whose cells were sold to BioGen without his knowledge or consent, and his attorney daughter, Alex. In addition to these characters we also meet Dr. Robert Bellarmino, self promoting lead researcher at NIH, researcher Henry Kendall and his transgenic humanzee son, Dave, Josh Winkler and Tom Weller of BioGen, a pair of bounty hunters, and a host of others. Comic relief is provided by a transgenic parrot named Gerard, a bilingual orangutan in the Sumatran jungle, and a host of press releases about the impending extinction of blonds. With about 100 pages to go I found myself wondering how it was all going to come together and be resolved by the end. As it turns out, much is left for the reader to imagine, though we can assume a great deal of litigation will be involved. As for the main characters, we do get some resolution, and some poetic justice. Though not one of his most well written novels (some characters are introduced only briefly then never mentioned again, simply to introduce another possible result of genetic testing) I still enjoyed it and recommend it. Next is available here at the Norton High School Library.

One Book, One School

As you know, this year's One Book, One School selection is Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike. Armstrong's story is both inspirational and humbling. Obviously his survival and triumph over cancer is an amazing story but I found the parts about training and racing to be particularly intersting. I have done a few triathlons (sprint distance, although there was no sprinting involved on my part) so I was interested in his training programs (just in reading about them, not attempting them). I had no idea that he started with triathlons. I really only knew his post cancer story before reading the book. I currently have one copy in the library but it is checked out. Mr. Barth will be donating several more copies to the library (thanks Mr. Barth!) and I will let you know when they become available, however, I don't recommend waiting. Check out Amazon or eBay for used copies at great prices. In the meantime, check out these links to some clever Lance Armstrong Nike commercials (sent to me by Mr. Brassard, an avid cyclist). I think the ESPN one is my favorite.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5143460751000831369&total=44&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2565237855195142768&total=43&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6744963954661597579&q=%22lance+armstrong%22&total=1520&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5501654537037588973&q=%22lance+armstrong%22&total=1520&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

A Salty Piece of Land

The foot of snow outside has me thinking about warmer climates so in the spirit of that I thought I'd write about Jimmy Buffett's A Salty Piece of Land. We all know Buffett's music but you might not know that he's also written a few books, the most recent of which is the above mentioned. Like his other books and his music, this is pure escapism. Tully Mars is a cowboy on the lam who packs up his horse, Mr. Twain, and sets out for new adventures south of the border. In his travels he is befriended by lots of interesting characters, including the one I found most interesting, Cleopatra Highbourne, a 101 year old schooner captain. If this book were a movie Katherine Hepburn would be Cleopatra. He also becomes a fishing guide, is pursued by bounty hunters, restores an old lighthouse, and falls in love. There are way too many coincidences and "in the right (or wrong) place at the right time" instances for any of this to be a bit believable, but that's what escapism is all about. This is a fun read that makes me want to head south and meet people just like the people that Tully meets. A Salty Piece of Land, by Jimmy Buffett, is available in the Norton High School Library for anyone who wants to leave the snow behind for a few hours.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass, Book 1 of Philip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy, has been made into a movie and is being released this weekend so I thought this might be a good time to talk about it. These books were wildly popular in the late 90s and early 00s but I've only just recently gotten around to reading them and have yet to read The Amber Spyglass (Book 3). The Golden Compass is set in a world that is like ours, but also quite different, in which people are deeply connected to their Daemons, an external, animal manifestation of a soul. Lyra Belacqua is an eleven year old orphan being raised by the scholars and servants of Jordan College in the Oxford of her world. She spends her time playing war with her friend Roger and the other groups of children around Oxford, but all that changes when she overhears conversations about a mysterious substance called dust, and a group called the gobblers who are kidnapping children. After her friend Roger goes missing Lyra embarks on a journey to rescue him from the gobblers and learn more about dust. The alethiometer (golden compass) helps her on her quest. During her journey Lyra also learns about her parents and the existence of other worlds. I don't read a lot of fantasy but I really enjoyed the first two books and look forward to reading the third. Maybe I'll even see the movie during Christmas vacation. If you've read the book or see the movie, tell me what you think?

Cell

Do you have a cell phone? Who doesn't? My gradparents are in their eighties and they have one (though it's rarely, if ever, turned on). We've all heard of biological warfare in which superbugs are developed to be released on a particular target, wiping out a large portion of a population. We worry about some countries who might be developing these weapons to use against the United States. But what would happen if a weapon was developed that could be disseminated through cell phones? Perhaps a pulse could be developed that, when transmitted through a cell phone, would reprogram the brain, much like a computer virus plays havoc with a hard drive. This is the premise of Stephen King's book Cell, which I read recently on the recommendation of a student. The book opens with a typical day in downtown Boston but soon the events are anything but typical as people begin to spontaneously and violently attack total strangers and drive vehicles into buildings. Clay Riddell, in Boston on business, manages to stay out of harm's way and quickly deduces that cell phones are causing the people to go crazy. Clay hooks up with a small group of others who managed to avoid the pulse and together they try to survive, figure out what is happening, and travel north in search of Clay's son. I don't read a lot of Stephen King but I did enjoy this, though it has its flaws. It has a very deliberate Night of the Living Dead feel to it and if it were made into a movie I don't think I'd care to see it. The premise is certainly terrifying in light of the prevalence of cell phones in our lives, but King leaves too many questions unanswered. On the plus side, the reader is hooked within the first few pages as the action starts quickly and abruptly. I'm not a big fan of horror but in this case, as with many of Stephen King's books, there is just enough plausibility to make the reader wonder...what if?

Library Field Trip

During Tuesday's professional day I had the opportunity to take a field trip to North Attleborough High School's library media center. I have lots of wonderful colleagues in Norton, but as the only media specialist (or library personnel of any kind) in the district, I have no one in my "department" with whom I can share ideas. So it was a real treat to get out of the building to talk to and share ideas with other media specialists. I won't bore you too much with library shop talk but I would like to share some of the similarities and differences between North Attleborough's media center and Norton's media center.

The most glaring difference is certainly the level of staffing. North Attleborough has two full time certified library media specialists and one full time paraprofession. Norton, as previously mentioned, has just me. Yes, the student population is larger (around 1200 for them and around 700 for us) but they didn't seem to see any more students than I do daily and far fewer than I saw in previous years when we still had studies. One of the nice things about having a larger staff is that there is less waiting for help. There are times when I have several students asking for help, someone else wanting to check out a book, a teacher asking for a video, a jammed copy machine and the phone ringing all at once. An extra person or two would certainly help in a situation like that. They also have a few more computers than our library (NA 15 Norton 12) but ours are newer and, believe it or not, faster. Their collection is larger, but again, they do have more students.

The size of the facilities are similar, though the layout is a little different. Norton's library is much more open with more tables for group work while North Attleborough has tables on one side and individual study carrels on the side. About six years ago the Norton High School library got a face lift. New carpeting and tile replaced the worn and stained avocado carpeting and new paint and furniture completed the look. North Attleborough is still waiting for its turn. Like our library in the not so distant past, damaged carpeting is mended with silver duct tape. One thing they do have that we will never have, however, is natural light. Their media center has windows! What a treat!

Overall, it was a great experience and I wish I could do it more often. It's important to stay in touch with colleagues and share best practices. We talked about student projects, print and electronic resources, schedules, and teaching. You can't help but learn something new when you get out of your own environment and experience something new. I'd like to thank the media center staff at North Attleborough High for taking the time to share their program with me.

It's Great to be a Sports Fan in New England!

Wow, how lucky are we to be fans in New England? The Red Sox didn't just win, but swept the World Series last night (allowing me to finally get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight)!! What a season and what a future we have with our young players. The Patriots are having an incredible season - 52-7, wow! Tom Brady is on pace to smash records and Randy Moss just can't miss. And lets not forget BC football (ranked #2) - what a game Thursday night against Virginia Tech. Being a BU girl I typically don't cheer for BC but since BU doesn't have a football team anymore (another topic for another time), I will gladly support the Eagles in this case. The Bruins and the Celtics are also looking good. Patrice Bergeron had a scare on Saturday but he's been released from the hospital and the prognosos is good. My kids have no idea how lucky they are. They're 10 and 8 and have both been around for two Red Sox World Series wins and three Patriots Super Bowl wins. I asked them how many Super Bowls they thought I'd seen the Patriots win and Colin said 7 or 8. He was quite surprised when I told him that I'd only seen three. Times have changed for Sox and Patriots fans. Congratulations Red Sox and Red Sox Nation!

Staples

Yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny, and in the 70s. Unfortuantly, I spent over two and a half hours of that beautiful day at the emergency room with my son, Colin. He and his brother Sean were wrestling, as boys often do, and Sean ended up pushing Colin off his bed, causing him to hit his head on his bookcase. Needless to say there was a lot of blood and it didn't take long to determine that a trip to the emergency room would be necessary. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to grab a few books before heading out. We have been reading Judy Blume's Fudge series together and were close to finishing one so I brought the next one as well. Though he wasn't up to reading himself, he was happy to have me read to him. A young girl who was also waiting to be seen moved closer so she could enjoy the story, too. We had finished Fudge-a-mainia by the time we reached the second waiting area and were well into Superfudge by the time the doctor finally arrived in the examining room. Reading these books really helped pass the time for both of us. I can't imagine how miserable he would have been if he was simply sitting in the waiting room, feeling sorry for himself, with nothing to distract him (not to mention how miserable I would have been in his company). There are many instances in our lives that require waiting and down time. I highly recommend keeping something to read with you at all times, whether in your car or in your bag, so that you can make the most of wait times. Getting your oil changed or waiting to see the dentist is much more pleasant if you can read something you enjoy at the same time. Try it!

Teen Read Week

Yesterday marked the beginning of ALA's Teen Read Week with the theme of lol@yourlibrary. In keeping with this theme I thought I'd write about some funny books that I've enjoyed but it occurs to me that most of the books I read are not exactly laugh out loud funny. I know there are some, but I do tend to gravitate toward heavier subject matter. I will confess that even though it isn't meant to be a comedy, I did find myself laughing out loud at times while reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Some of the things that came out of Christopher's mouth were just hilarious! Another book that comes to mind is the Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin. Though I read this several years ago I do remember laughing out loud at some parts and crying at others. It was recently made into a movie starring Scarlett Johansson (which I did not see, so I won't comment). Jimmy Buffett's books are also entertaining and light. I really wanted to head to the tropics after reading A Salty Piece of Land. Some of his characters are outrageous. I guess I should branch out and start reading some lighter stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me lighten up my reading?

Attleboro's Big Read

Like Norton's One School, One Book, program but on a much larger scale, the city of Attleboro has embarked on a reading program of its own. Called "The Big Read," this town-wide initiative has the town reading and talking about Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Bishop Feehan and Attleboro High Schools have gotten involved, as have many community groups, including the Larson Senior Center, the Attleboro Garden Club, and local churches. A variety of free activities have been developed to accompany the book, including numerous book discussions, guest speakers, and movie screenings. Though I read this book many years ago, I thought it was worth another look and I was not disappointed. The book recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, yet it is as relevent today as it ever was. This futuristic look at the dangers of censorship, the effects of mass media, and the dangers of a too powerful government (to name just a few), is particularly important today in the face of political correctness, reality TV, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you haven't read Farhenheit 451, or if like me, you haven't read it in a long time, it is well doing. Several copies are available in the Norton High School Library.

Why I Love SSR (Sustained Silent Reading)

We've been doing this SSR thing for about a month now and it seems that things have settled down a little. Students and teachers have had time to adjust to the idea and I'm hearing far fewer complaints, laments, etc. than I was hearing earlier in the year. Now I understand that change, even positive change, is often difficult and takes time. That said, let me tell you why I love SSR.

As you know, I love to read. What a treat it is to be able to do something that I already make time to do at home, in the middle of my work day! I have my SSR book that I keep here at school and I have another book that I am reading at home. I'll admit that I haven't progressed very far in my SSR book as I often have customers during this time, but I'm not complaining. I am happy to put down my book to assist students with finding books for themselves. Which leads me to another reason why I love SSR. Kids are reading more! I usually see several students per day during SSR who are returning a book that they have finished and looking for something new. Students also stop by between periods (an even better idea since it doesn't interfere with their reading time) to check out books. I realize that with homework, part-time jobs, sports, and activities, students feel crunched for time and often don't make time to read. Now that they have been given the gift of time, some kids have rediscovered their love of reading for pleasure. Hopefully facutly members are making the same discovery. If you haven't been completely converted to an SSR lover, please keep at it. Don't think of it as "one more thing I have to do," but rather, embrace this time. It's probably the only part of the school day in which you can read whatever you choose, just because...

Summer Reads

Though I love to read and do so all year, I always read quite a bit more during the summer. This happens mainly for two reasons. I have more time, as I am not in school, and I tend to stay up later because I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn. I read quite a few books this summer and will comment on just a few. First, I finally got around to reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire and I'm so glad I did. I've talked to people who didn't care for it or didn't even finish it, but I loved it! I'm not sure there's any point in ever watching The Wizard of Oz again, as my view of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, has been turned completely upside down. Not wicked, but rather, misunderstood, Elphaba is a likable outcast with a passion for animal rights. It is a little difficult to read knowing, as we all do, her eventual fate, but even harder when you realize that she's not so wicked afterall. I would love to see Wicked, the musical, and lookd forward to the book's sequel, Son of a Witch. Wicked is available here in the Norton High School Library.

The second book on which I must comment is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I have been a huge fan of the books since day one and the final installment did not disappoint. All of the questions are answered and the ending is very satisfying. Rowling does not sugar coat things as some of our favorite characters lose their lives along the way but I still came away with a good feeling at the end. Though I will miss reading about my friends at Hogwarts (where I secretly wish I could have been a student) this book, unlike its predecessors, left me with the sense of a journey completed and as a bonus, a glimps of the next geration. I will donate my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to the Norton High School Library after my family has finished passing it around.

NHS Favorite Reads

Hey Norton High Students, Faculty, and Staff,
What are you reading? What are your friends and colleagues reading? What is your all time favorite book? Please post a brief synopsis of a book you'd recommend to others. Be sure you include the title and author. After you've posted your own, check out what others are recommending!