Summer Reading: For Pleasure and for Practice

Summer Time- When the Reading’s Easy

We are dedicated readers here at The Teaching Distillery. During summer vacation, we can take full advantage of reading to our hearts’ content. Okay, okay, I lie. I read every second I can steal since I currently have a non-napping 3.5 year old at home. They seriously should consider hiring non-napping three year olds as consultants when training Navy Seals or SWAT teams…it takes dedication, patience, and a lot of wine my friends. 

But I digress…

We are currently rocking right into our fourth week of teaching for the school year, and now that we are back into the swing of things it’s time to reflect on my summer reading. I like to mix it up with my reading during the summer. I read books for pleasure and also add in a mix of curriculum books as well. Many of the curriculum books that I read this summer were repeats, some I read year after year, as they contain some awesome reminders, and others that I read this summer were brand new to me.

 I always like to take my time with my curriculum books. I take extensive notes on my iPhone, as I find I return to my typed notes much more throughout the year than the things I highlighted in the book. Typing my notes helps me organize my ideas, and it’s great to simply copy and paste some of my ideas into my keynote presentations that I create for all of my lessons. 

Interested in the books that I have read this summer? Check out my list below!

YA Books:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Finale (Caraval, #3) by Stephanie Garber

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden 

This must have been the summer for parenting books. Here are the books I read so far this summer (see a trend here?):

The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegal

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey

The Happiest Toddler on the Block: The New Way to Stop the Daily Battle of Wills and Raise a Secure and Well-Behaved One-to Four-Year Old by Harvey Karp and Paula Spencer

Nonfiction:

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer - America’s Deadliest Serial Murderer by Ann Rule

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After by Heather Harpham

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Fiction:

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

Elevation by Stephen King

Educational/ Curriculum Instruction books:

We Got This.: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need us to Be by Cornelius Minor

Real Talk about Classroom Management: 50 Best Practices That Work and Show You Believe in Your Students by Serena Pariser

The First Days of School: How to Be An Effective Teacher by Harry K. Wong

Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning by Sharroky Hollie

Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, 4th edition by Doug Buehl 

Discipline with Dignity: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom by Richard L. Curwin, Allen N. Mendler, and Brian D. Mendler

So teacher friends, what were some of your favorite books that you read this summer? Did you read any on my list? What did you think? We’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment below or reach us on our Instagram or Twitter. And as always, we would love it if you share, share away!

Bottoms Up!