First Read of the Month for 2013

Well, it is December 31st, 2012 and the world has yet to end, so it is important that I continue reading and writing. I think the best way to start off the new year is with an author that I have grown to really enjoy during the past few years, John Green. I have read two of his popular titles: my April 2011 Read of the Month Looking for Alaska and my my March 2012 Read of the Month The Fault in Our Stars. I loved both of these books and have grown to really enjoy Green's tweets and videos.

I decided to give one of Green's older books a try, Paper Towns. It is Green's third novel and was published in October of 2008. Some of my library students have presented on this title and it always has sounded like a good read. Now that I have read two of Green's works, I want to go back and give this title a try.

Another John Green Book for a Read of the Month, Can't Go Wrong With This

This sounds like another great, teenager-character led novel. I look forward to reading this New York Times Bestseller to kick off my reading for 2013. Happy New Year to all of my friends and visitors. I hope 2013 is a great year of reading and writing for you!

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Your Own Personal Library Catalog

So, how many of you have remember using an old style, card catalog? You know, you want to find a book in your local library, so you pull out the long drawers flipping through cards. Well those days are long gone of course (thankfully) and nearly all libraries use an electronic catalog system to keep track of their collections. Many of the school districts in Wayne County are using a system developed by Follett . It is a great system for school age children and prepares them for many of the advanced catalogs available in public and university libraries. Catalog software is quite expensive and really impractical for home libraries. Some book lovers may create their own spreadsheet or database to keep track of their books, however there is a great (free) tool online to not only catalog your books, but also meet and communicate with other book lovers online. The site librarything.com is a wonderful site that lets you catalog your own home library. Think of it as a "Facebook

A Little R & R

I decided to take a little R & R before things get crazy with back to school. I wanted to spend some time with my family for these final weeks of summer, so I decided a break from writing was in order. A trip to Kalahari and fun times with friends and family made August fly by. So, what does school year 2014 bring for me? Quite a bit, as always: Back to teaching two courses at Wayne County Community College. Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings I head to Northline Road to teach college level English. I really love this second job! Tuesday, I start my 17th year at O.A. Carlson High School. While public education continues to face challenges, there is no other job for me at this time. I love my co-workers and students. Gibraltar is a great place to work. I will be running my kids all over as usual. Gymnastics, religious education, flag football (which I coach as well), and others events "to be determined." I would not have it any other way. I love watch

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Event

Back in November I wrote about what I believe to be the best part of my job; running into Carlson High School graduates that are success stories and hearing about how well they are doing in the "real world." Carlson High School graduate Nathan Matatall is clearly one of these success stories. After graduating from Carlson High School and Michigan State University Nathan has gone on to very successful career at Dell Computers. The News Herald even published a feature piece on Nathan a few years ago. This past week, Nathan provided my family with a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget. Nathan, my former public speaking student, contacted me via email a few weeks ago and inquired about taking my kids on a tour of Marine One (one of the helicopters used to transport The President of the United States and other dignitaries) and to possibly attend the landing of Air Force One when President Obama was scheduled to arrive in Detroit. I was very excited a

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