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All About Books: 2018 Teacher Summer Reads

2018 Summer Reads

2018 Summer Reads

Ms. Alexis

Ms. Alexis  very much enjoyed Educated by Tara Westover.  It reminded her of The Glass Castle.  It's a memoir of a woman who grew up off the grid, not going to school and being raised by a radical Mormon separatist father.  She ended up getting her PHD after starting public school at the age of 17.

Ms. Bunbury

The only book Ms. Bunbury  managed to get through this summer was My Absolute Darling by American author Gabriel Tallent. She says "I couldn't put it down, despite the fact that it is disturbing and shocking.  Tallent's use of verbs is rich and beautiful, so the writing is as gorgeous as the story is troubling."

Ms. Gruetzner

Ms G. also read Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.

Ms. Manara

Ms. Manara's most recent novel read is  The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.  It's about the author's experiences as a soldier during Vietnam.  The chapter where Tim, as a recent university grad gets his draft notice and has to decide between going to war or fleeing to Canada is devastating. She read it the weekend before school began and bawled through most of it--good times!!!
Seriously, Ms. Manara highly recommends it.
 

Mr. Nevison

While Mr. Nevison read a few intellectually-stimulating books and a number of useful texts (for example, “The Lean Start Up” — a great entrepreneurial treatise), in truth  the most memorable book of the summer was “China Rich Girlfriend” by Kevin Kwan. Yes, he was inspired to read this book after watching the movie Crazy Rich Asians! (The film is based on the book of the same name, the first book in a trilogy, and CRG is book number two… oh, and by the way, Hollywood has already optioned the sequel.) Put simply, it was a perfect summer page-turner. Light-hearted and fun, easy to digest and colourful, it made for great beach reading!

Ms. Boyarski

Ms. Boyarski read Artemis by Andy Weir (author of The Martian), and absolutely loved it! A story about a slacker female delivery girl who lives/works on the moon. She smuggles in illegal contraband - such as zippo lighters, to make money on the side. She is approached by a very wealthy business man who offers to pay her a million slugs (currency on the moon) to help him monopolize on the oxygen supply that runs the lunar colony. Loved it! Easy read, relatable characters. Some offensive language.   She read the second novel in Game of Thrones series and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  Ms. Boyarski is currently reading The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson. Steampunk-style automats (AI/robots dolls) are fighting a war against each other to survive as their life source/resource is depleting. One of the automats enlists the help of a human, female protagonist who studies artifacts and discovers she holds the key to their survival. Not sure what is yet to come....

Mr. Chaddock

Mr. Chaddock had the pleasure of reading The Red and the Black by Stendhal this summer. It was one of the funniest novels he has ever read, and a biting commentary on French society in 1830, with complex characters that seemed truly alive and real, sometimes painfully so.   Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann was another highlight. The epic story of the eponymous German family over four generations, it was hilarious, haunting, and features a character who is killed by the philosophy of noted sourpuss Arthur Schopenhauer. What more could you want from a book? 

Ms. Ireton

The "Vera" series by Ann Cleeves, detective mysteries set in the north of England. The TV series "Vera", scene on PBS and Knowledge network are based on these books. Ann Cleeves has written another series, the Shetland series, which are equally as good.

Ms. Marsh

Ms.Marsh joined a summer reading club.   The books she read wereThe Heaviness of Things that Float by Jennifer Manuel, The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, On the Burning Edge by Kyle Dickman, Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Ms Marsh's favourites were The Handmaid's Tale, Indian Horse, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Ms. Noack

 
Red Notice about Putin and Russia was an enlightening and insightful look into political realities.
Ms. Noack also enjoyed Woman in The Window, a psychological thriller about a Brooklyn therapist who is losing her mind.

Ms. Turner

Ms. Brown

Ms. Brown's  two favourites this summer were The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - fun, spooky reads...

Mr. Fortin

Miles Davis Biography: the man was whacked! Fabulous history of jazz also Homo Sapiens: Fabulous paradigm shift for Mr. Fortin around human development...still reading it...devour slowly or head explodes!

Ms. Lindahl

Ms. Lindahl read Disgrace, which was quite unsettling and brought up some interesting parallels with contemporary race/ gender issues. All the Light We Cannot See, was beautiful and compelling. The Road, she said, was very interesting stylistically and left her crying her eyes out on the Oregon coast lol. All of which, she checked out from our library!
 

Ms. McClarty

Ms. McClarty also read The Raven's Gift by Jon Turk, Natural Acts by David Quammen, and Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson.

Ms. Workman

Ms. Workman read the Harry Hole series by Swedish writer Jo Nesbo. All nine of them. The Snowman is probably the most recognizable as there was a movie made just recently.