two by marsh

Ngaio Marsh, and Agatha Christie, and John Dickinson Carr, occupy a special place in my childhood history of reading. Sometime in between The Hobbit and Foundation, I went on what can only be described as a British mystery reading spree and attempted to read everything these people had ever written. Along with,of course, everything Arthur Conan Doyle had ever written. Ngaio Marsh, though she had the smallest number of books (and, well, is technically a New Zealander), outshines everyone on pure quality of her writing.
Two of my favourites are Vintage Murder and Death of a Peer, and, as I wend my way through my library, I picked them up to read during our recent snow storm.
Vintage Murder is an early, and fun, book in the Roderick Alleyn series. This one takes place as he is travelling through New Zealand and recovering from some unspecified operation. It is early in the canon as he is not yet married or dreaming of his future wife. There is a rugby-hooligan type incident on a train that ends with a bruised backside on one of the characters and a theft before the main murder even occurs. This book has a number of characters, and following every movement of each person can get baffling at times; however, Marsh never makes the reader feel as if Alleyn knows something special or has super-powers, merely that his powers of deduction are sharp and that all of the information is there that is necessary to solve the mystery along with him.
It is interesting to note that the translations of the book all mention the murder weapon, but lose the pun inherent in the original title.
Death of a Peer, though, contains at its heart one of Marsh's best creations, the Lamprey family. Dotty, eccentric, lovable, they form the center of a locked room mystery--and distract the reader from the horror of the crime itself. They nearly distract the detectives as well, but as Marsh's Inspector Alleyn can always be relied upon to re-center himself, the distraction does not prove fatal and all of the clues are neatly laid out in the narrative itself. One of the characters even appears in a later book (Night at the Vulcan) and the quiet romance is dealt with deftly. Very well-plotted, very "British", very enjoyable.

If you enjoy Christie, or even more recent incarnations such as Anne Perry, Ngaio Marsh would be well worth giving a try. continue on...

Tokyo, Year Zero

I've got a new review up at bookgeeks on David Peace's Tokyo Year Zero. It was a difficult review to write. The first time I read the book, I found myself distracted (and occasionally confused) by Peace's oblique writing style. The second time around, I had an easier time of it, but the book still seemed to fall apart in my hands.
I don't want to repeat the review...(bookgeeks is a cool site to visit!), but I think it's interesting how books are labelled. When I originally picked Tokyo up, it was at least partially because it had been labelled as crime fiction, and, although there is a crime at the heart of it, that really has little to do with the experience of reading the book. It's almost like calling Huckleberry Finn crime fiction--sure there's a few crimes, but that's not the point...Still enjoyable, though. (Both of them) continue on...

As an aside...

The Penguin Book Blog is doing a fun "around the world in 80 books" journey through literature. It started with Great Expectations, and I must admit that it caused me to pause and wonder whether my dislike of that book was born of a not-so-great teacher and if I shouldn't read it again. The post is definitely worth checking out. I posted one suggestion, and I then spent the next half-hour mumbling things like "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court to Bloodsucking Fiends to Hard-Boiled Wonderland" in my attempts to circle the world reading fun books.
Oh, and, also?
There's a review I wrote of P.C. Hodgell's Godstalker Chronicles to be found here. Thanks bookgeeks! continue on...

what's that you're humming?

The legend that is Dr. Horrible's Sing Along-Blog is now for sale on DVD (region free). If you missed it when it first appeared on the web, get it now. And make sure to check out the official website as well.
Just in case you may need further convincing; here are a few reviews that speak to how amazing this entire project was.
Review in which the DVD is lauded
Review in which the DVD is lauded although the reviewer is possibly suspect

Have fun. And, trust me, if you have anyone you are at a loss as to a gift this holiday season, this will fit the bill. continue on...

free chickens?

While perusing one of the random book oriented websites I sometimes read, I came across this article on the availability of some free books on an iPhone e-reader. Immediately, (after my heart-rate had gone down at the thought of free books), I checked out the Stanza application on the iPhone and downloaded this book. I have two things to say.
One: the Stanza application (from Lexcycle) is one of the better ebook readers I've sampled. I actually like it better than the Kindle, partially because the "tapping" element now feels innate to me after iPhone use; partially because the pages load quite quickly once you are into the book, and I didn't feel that there was as much dead time as with other ebook readers. The screen was clear and the typeface easy to read (although the ability to flip to a place within a book wasn't as easy as with a physical book to deal with). The available books (I only checked out the free ones) are decent--although obviously a lot are missing (even of those books out of copyright). Every time I come across one of these readers, I start hoping that all of my favourite out of print books will be available. I found one or two here. So thumbs up from this picky (format-wise although not subject-wise) reader.
Two: I was right. Anything with the title "Free Range Chickens" had to at least be a little funny, and this was a lot funny. My favourite part so far? Some of the missing commandments. Including:

If it takes a man a long time to lead his people out of the desert and into the Promised Land, everyone should just be patient with him and learn to chill out a little.

Snort. For those who keep an eye on such things, a quote from the book appeared on reddit earlier this year (the one about the dissections from a frog point of view). Funny stuff.
Also, of course:

Everyone has to give Moses five dollars.

continue on...

So, hypothetically, it's raining and you have some free time... what do you do?

Well, if you haven't just received Fable II and Oblivion as birthday gifts, and you are me, you read. If you have received the above mentioned Xbox 360 games, you read and play the games. Sometimes simultaneously.
But for now, the books. I've been on a British mystery kick. Possibly inspired by my current location--and at least partially inspired by the fact that I now have access to my books again after six months of separation, and we are getting to know each other again. I thought I might put some of my reviews up here, as I realize that not everyone automatically gravitates towards these books, and they really do have something to offer.

The first book I read was Vintage Murder. An early, and fun, book in the Roderick Alleyn series. This one takes place as he is travelling through New Zealand and recovering from some unspecified operation. It is early in the canon as he is not yet married or dreaming of his future wife. There is a rugby-hooligan type incident on a train that ends with a bruised backside on one of the characters and a theft before the main murder even occurs. This book has a number of characters, and following every movement of each person can get baffling at times; however, Marsh never makes the reader feel as if Alleyn knows something special or has super-powers, merely that his powers of deduction are sharp and that all of the information is there that is necessary to solve the mystery along with him.
It is interesting to note that the translations of the book all mention the murder weapon, but lose the pun inherent in the original title.
I'll get to the rest of the books (and the Xbox games) in later posts, but I highly recommend Marsh. Even if you find Agatha Christie too "stuffy", Marsh is a lively and entertaining writer. Of course, this is coming from someone who loves most of Christie's work, so your mileage may vary. continue on...

someone once asked me...

Do you know everyone?

Probably because I have a habit of connecting two people who need similar things (in this instance, I think it was a friend who needed somewhere to stay and another friend who needed someone to rent)--and I do know quite a few people--one of the results of having moved a lot--jobs, houses, countries--you end up with a number of acquaintances.
I am however several orders of magnitude away from Katharine Graham in the "do you know everyone" question.

I picked up her autobiography on a whim--more because "All the President's Men" is one of my favorite books than because I felt any sort of driving need to learn her life story. Her life story (so far, I am only up to when she and her husband have just taken over the Washington Post) is turning into a fascinating read though.
So far, she has met Einstein (rowing a boat), several presidents (Roosevelt, Wilson), a scattering of important artists (Rodin, Brancusi), and a number of names I had to write down to look up later. She has done all of this while being increasingly charming--for all of her privileged upbringing, she portrays herself as someone who was both ignorant of the extent of her privilege and uncomfortable with what she did realize she had. That, coupled with the upbringing that insisted that all of her family make active contributions to the public good, make this book a fantastic read so far. It's a fascinating way to watch history unfold--I can't wait to get to Watergate. continue on...

and now... in the book world

If you haven't read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight you are truly missing out on one of the great new books. Although it's definitely marketed towards young adults, I think pretty much anyone who has ever had a crush on anyone else could relate to this book. It, and its sequel New Moon, are fantastic. Luckily, the third in the series, Eclipse, comes out tomorrow. I'm lucky enough to be judging a contest at our local Barnes and Nobles.

I have no idea what the contest will entail (children dressed as vampires? werewolves? lovely poetry about crushes and young love?) but I love any excuse to get excited about books!

Harry Potter, Eclipse, and the second book the in the "Looking Glass War" series. This will be an excellent month. continue on...

Doug Fischer--50 Content Area Strategies

If you've ever read any of Doug(las) Fisher's books, you know he's an innovative, dedicated teacher-researcher. I've been lucky enough to work with him on-site at my school, and he's just as amazing in person. I've had 50 Content Strategies on my bookshelf for awhile, and I've even used a few of the strategies, but this summer I decided to really sit down and "slot in" a number of them deliberately.
This book is very well-organized. One of the "best" parts is the easy to use index on the inside of the front cover--it describes each of the strategies as a "before," "during," or "after" strategy--always nice for teacher-planning. Each of the strategies is clearly described and examples are given. There are not full-sized reproducibles, but it would be easy to enlarge the examples or make your own from the examples. The strategies range from "anticipation guides" (which sound like fun!) to RAFTS and read-alouds. Many teachers will recognize the "KWL" method, "reader's theatre," and "echo or choral reading."
Not all of the strategies require a worksheet, or even any "product" on the part of the student, instead, they are all designed to help improve student literacy and understanding. In fact, I have had this book come in handy at parent conferences when a parent wants his or her child to "do" more. I pull out this book and "suggest" several strategies and show that not ALL roads to reading require a book-report or vocabulary test.
This book is very useful; for a more in-depth "taste" of Doug Fischer's thoughts and background try Improving Adolescent Literacy--it's already in its second edition and is well worth the read. continue on...

a more in depth review...

Nancie Atwell's newest book is a(n) (admitted) manifesto on reading. In it, Atwell does not so much cover new ground as respond to the educational reactions to the ideas she put forth in In the Middle. She also touches on teachers' reactions to the sneaking suspicion that it's somehow not "enough" to get kids to read--we have to be "doing" something in order to be doing our job.

That particular thread really touched a nerve with me, as I had spent significant amounts of time during the school year trying to convince my principal, other teachers, and even a few parents that READING was the point of the class--not some sort of mystical demonstration of "rigor". I had a particularly tough week when I was being told that I should model my classroom after another teacher who is termed the "worksheet queen". This, in my department, is a term of endearment. The woman has a worksheet for everything, and her students get very, very good at filling them out. I find it really difficult to work that way, and I have a hard time convincing myself that time spent working on worksheets is better than time spent reading or talking about books.

Luckily, I have a few teacher-friends and now Nancie Atwell saying that reading is rigorous and it's the most important skill I can pass along.

Sometimes it's hard to be a voice in the wild--it helps to feel as if there are allies out there. continue on...

an excuse to talk about books

I *borrowed* this meme from CaliforniaTeacherGuy (he tagged everyone!). I love any excuse to talk about books, so here it goes.

1) One book that changed your life: Edna St. Vincent Millay's Complete Works--she was the first poet to really zap my adolescent heart. If I remember correctly, I had just had a tumultuous two week relationship that had ended badly. I read her Well I have lost you sonnet as if it had been written solely to ease my particular pain. I can still quote it to this day.

2) One book that you've read more than once: The Hobbit. What can I say? My dad used to quote the first paragraph to me when I was in first grade. I read it about once a year--always during the winter. "It was a hobbit hole--and that means comfort!"

3) One book you'd want on a desert island: My complete Diary of Samuel Pepys. That man could keep me entertained for a long, long time--well passed when the rum would run out.

4) One book that made you laugh: Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. The man was a comic genius, and the book is a gem. It would be a toss up between him and Wodehouse for my favorite comic novelist of all time.

5) One book that made you cry: Little Women. This book didn't make me cry once--it makes me cry every time. I even sniffle when I recommend it to students.

6) One book you wish had been written: The final Dirk Gently novel. Douglas Adams died before he completed it, and the first chapter is genius.

7) One book you wish had never been written: A Day No Pigs Would Die. This book scarred me in seventh grade. I still have dreams about the end. Sheesh. If it had to be written, I wish I had at least missed out on reading it.

8) The book you're currently reading: The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. It's light, funny, and a good time. Fforde's writing just gets stronger and stronger.

9) A book you've been meaning to read: Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I've heard the music; I have the book; I just haven't gotten to it yet. On the nonfiction front, I'm looking forward to Helen Thomas' Watchdog's of Democracy. It looks fantastic.

10) Tag people: Tag. You're it.

Tags:

• meme
• reading
• books
• musings

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Literacy--academic and non

My weekly NCTE email included two interesting articles this week. They both dealt with literacy (not surprising for the National Council of Teachers of English), specifically the idea of literacy from non-native speakers.

The first, in the Pueblo Chieftan, states quite boldly that:

Students learning the English language don't have to struggle through school if educators learn to teach "academic language," two experts told teachers Thursday.

I'm not sure if I agree with this. I do agree that teachers must deliberately teach academic language. It would be foolish to assume that even native English speakers would automatically understand scholastic language specific to a subject. What I am not so sure about is the idea that this "academic" language will somehow bridge the gap between understanding and confusion that besets so many second language learners in a classroom. There are so many other blocks (including, in middle and high school, a lack of background in the subject, not just in its vocabulary). Many teachers have noticed how much faster students pick up the "casual" conversation that happens among peers--I certainly think that a deliberate teaching of academic language would benefit all students, but ELL students, and the teachers that teach them, will never have their problems solved by one method or one lesson.

The second article, in the Contra Costa Times, discusses a reading program that is finding success in the Bay Area. Most of the credit is given to the ratio of tutors to students: 1 to 1. This article is much more of the "feel good story" type, but it is worth mentioning because of the realities it presents. Some students need 1:1 attention, all students need better than 40:1 attention. It may not be efficient to have teachers' loads at 90:1 instead of 200:1, but the difference in the teachers' work and the students' educations cannot be discounted.

Both of these articles presented "fixes" that are only part of a working, excellent education system. Neither answer "all" the problems. As always in education, schools and teachers must pick, choose, and do the best they can with what they have.

Tags:

• reading
• musings
• links

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yes, it may be efficient, but is it education?

I was distracted from Frank Smith's Writing and the Writer (also excellent! go read!) by Education and the Cult of Efficiency. This book, published in the 1960's, details the advent of the "business ideal" of teaching--and the struggle of public education to simultaneously be "efficient" and educational.

I enjoyed this book on a number of levels. I enjoy reading history, and I'm woefully lacking in my knowledge of the history of public education. This book focuses on the time period from 1900-1930 when the "cult of efficiency" and the glorification of business and monetary success first began and took hold of the public education system. Callahan does an excellent job of pointing out the positives of efficiency (breaking up monopolies, creating a public awareness of what business was doing) and detailing the gradual encroachment of business into public education.

The emphasis on "efficiency" affected schools deeply. Much of the direct effect came from the turnover in school boards--which went from self-termed "scholars and civil servants" to being filled more and more by local business leaders. At the direction of the school boards, studies were done to discover the most efficient way to "run" a school.

It must be noted (and Callahan does) that "running" a school efficiently has little (if anything) to do with educating well. In fact, the idea of efficiency was one that encouraged an explosion in class sizes that are still being felt today. What is more efficient than cutting down the number of teachers and allowing them to teach more students? In fact, one principal pointed out that "love of learning is now to be discouraged because it brings down efficiency." These studies also encouraged efficient building--prompting schools to create cookie-cutter classrooms and losing out on a number of specialized rooms like woodshop, sewing, and cooking that require "non-standard" set-ups.

This book is incredibly relevant today. The echoes of "efficiency" cannot help but be felt in discussions of NCLB and "basic skills." Nothing is ever truly the root of all evils, and NCLB is no different, it is merely today's incarnation of yesterday's demands for all schools to educate students for "the business of tomorrow." In addition, this book made me question what I am teaching my own students. Do I emphasize success as something that can only be calculated monetarily? Am I doing my part to encourage inefficiency and exploration? In a time when teachers and students are feeling more and more like "cogs" in a machine, what can we do to move the focus from counting attendance to inspiring creativity?

It seems a daunting task.

Tags:

• musings
• history
• education

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yet another page to read, yet another site to check

One of the things I love most about the internet is the surprises you can find in someone else's list of links. Today I hopped around a few book-blogs and ended up at the Oxford University Press blog. At first, I merely stared, astonished that the company that received such a high percentage of my meager wages in college had a blog, but soon I was so wrapped up in what the site has to offer that the nostalgia faded into the background.

It's hard to beat their guest bloggers. The writers range from NPR gurus, to celebrated writers, to two men who appear to enjoy arguing about the second amendment a lot--and all write quite articulately and with the quality you would expect from OUP. This blog does not have the "personal" element and is not tied together by the tone of one dominant writer (although several of the bloggers have regular columns). It definitely has a more casual "feel" to it than an official website would (and directs you to the offical OUP *mothership* on their sidebar). The articles are erudite, interesting, and make me smile at the memory of those "notes" I never quite got to at the end of my edition of Middlemarch.

Tags:

• links
• reading
• musings
• education

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the classroom bookshelf, shelf one

In late July and early August, I lovingly go over each of the books in my classroom library and make mental notes as to which books need to be replaced, which have been read the most, and which (as happens each year) have walked off to become a part of someone else's library. So far this year, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak has faired worst of all. Six copies were read to pieces, four were gone, and one had somehow been lost behind the bookshelf and crushed over the year.

This book, Speak, is one of the most powerful in the classroom. Its voice is poignant, hilarious, and strikingly honest, and the writing is astonishing. The story follows Melinda in her first year of high school. She's carrying a deep, and terrible, secret that has rendered her effectively mute. She cannot speak of what happened to her, nor can she navigate the treacherous waters of high school. Because of Melinda's secret, I only recommend this book to my more mature readers (in middle school), but it would certainly be appropriate for high school readers.

At its heart, this story is one of power and redemption. Melinda survives her first year of high school and finds herself in the process. However, its greatest strength (and draw for my students) is the brutal honesty that resonates with teenagers and adults alike. Her high-school perfectly echoes the realities of cliques, pain, and laughter that make high school so memorable.

This is an amazing book.

Tags:

• reading
• school
• musings

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Arthur Quiller-Couch, we love you

What's not to love? In the early 1910's (13-14, to be exact), Arthur Quiller-Couch delivered a set of lectures at Cambridge for the (only five or so years old) English Literature Chair; they have been compiled, and recently republished, as On the Art of Writing. The previous holder of the chair? A.E. Housman--so it was a tough act to follow.

Quiller-Couch makes it through his lectures with grace and humor. Although few of the lectures focus on the act of writing itself, the entire book is filled with intimate connections to some great English authors: Shakespeare, Housman, Johnson and others.

The first three lectures (and the final) have the most to do with the process of writing itself. Couch goes over what to imitate (the great authors) and what to avoid (jargon and elaborate overwriting). His finest lecture, though, traces the history of Cambridge (and universities in general) from its inception to the time of his lectures with a stirring invocation for all students to study their native language and to remember that literature
....is alive, and traffics not with cold celestial certainties, but with men's hopes, aspirations, doubts, loves, hates, breakings of the heart; the glory and vanity of human endeavour, the transience of beauty, the capricious uncertain lease on which you and I hold life, the dark coast to which we inevitably steer; all that amuses or vexes, all that gladdens, saddens, maddens us men and women on this brief and mutable traject which yet must be home for a while, the anchorage of our hearts?
Much of loving books lies in recognizing the elements that inspired that quote. A fact that Quiller-Couch was well aware of, and communicated with such passion to his students.

Tags:

• academic
• writing
• school

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frank smith, en fin

Although there is no way my paltry three posts will cover the impact (or convey the importance) that I think this book has, I thought I would end my ramblings on it for the time being. I can't wait to see how it informs my teaching this year.

A few quotes from the text are now copied into my journal. The first is:
Meanings do not lie at the surface of language but far more profoundly in the minds of the users of language: in the mind of the speaker or writer and in the mind of the listener or reader.
I love this quote. So often in teaching we, in our effort to communicate some "greater" point, forget the richness that students bring to the text themselves. In fact, most of the greatest learning in a classroom happens when the students themselves wrestle with the text and its meaning, not when the teacher is speaking. It is the interaction between reader and text, an interaction that stretches back to the intentions of the writer but is, in the end, divorced from it, that creates the worlds that enthrall generations. This quote, to me, resonates with the reality of reading, it is a solitary act of imagination. I wonder what it would mean to someone else?

In the end, this last quote of Smith's is the one that will go up in my classroom and hopefully spark discussions, interpretations, and thoughtful reading and learning. What is it? Quite simply it is that:

Readers have power

Tags:

• academic
• reading
• school

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history and the folly of mankind

I'm still wrapping my mind around Understanding Reading and, in that sense, have not yet "finished" with it. However, I've recently picked up (for at least the third time) Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly which is one of the finest history books ever written. Tuchman makes no secret of her "purpose" in this book--she is not out to cover history and be done, she is out to cover history and use it to warn against folly in the future.

Her basic premise (which actually ties in quite nicely with Smith's ideas that students need to be given the opportunity to learn on their own and to make mistakes) is that mankind has failed catastrophically to learn from its own mistakes. She does not claim that individual rulers never learn, but rather that mankind has a habit of putting "wooden-headedness" (her word) over the interest of the state, humanity, or even ourselves. To make this point she travels through history (beginning with the Trojan Horse) and follows, step by step, as leaders and thinkers deliberately lead themselves into more and more trouble. It is not trouble in hindsight, it is trouble in real-time--criticized and questioned--and yet those involved seem unable to stop themselves and those who come after seem destined to repeat it.

I am only about a fifth of the way through (I'm embroiled in the Renaissance Popes at the moment)--but each time I read this book I am reminded of the necessity of looking at history and learning from it, not merely because we are "doomed to repeat it" but because the very act of stepping outside of the process gives us a sorely needed new perspective.

Next time: A final "Smith" wrap up and some thought on Quiller-Couch's The Art of Writing

Tags:

• musings
• history
• school
• reading

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frank smith, once again dear friends

Smith simplifies "good reading" frequently in his book. One of the instances that resonated with me was this list:
1) Reading must be fast
2) Reading must be selective
3) Reading depends on what the reader already knows (i.e. their prior/non-visual knowledge)

The first point I touched on in my previous post. Reading slowly does nothing for poor readers. The idea that "slowing down" will somehow encourage comprehension is a false one. Because of the severe limits on short-term memory, the slower someone reads, the less likely they will be able to remember what they have read previously and make sense of it all. Now, this does not imply that no one should ever slow down (as anyone who has witnessed a student rushing through text knows) but that the emphasis for poor readers must not be on comprehending every word, but instead on comprehending the ideas presented on the page. The very act of comprehending what happens will, in fact, "teach" the reader and words they do not know.

The second point is one that many teachers (including myself) are loathe to bring up in class. The idea that it is useful, and even necessary, to skip text in some books opens up the possibility of skipping bits in all books--and all of the classroom arguments and stress that idea entails. However, it is a reality that many books are not meant to be read as a whole (and it could easily be argued that 90% of the books encountered in school fall into this category) and giving students the freedom to skip parts they don't understand or don't need is necessary for both their greater comprehension and the continuation of their appreciation for reading. As anyone who has ever been forced to read something in its entirety knows, forcing completion over comprehension is never successful and serves very little purpose. Who cares if they read an entire story if, because of that experience, they never pick up a book by that author again?

The third point is a tricky one. Most teachers are well versed in scaffolding and front-loading in order to ease students into a text. However, much of this scaffolding is repetitive rather than informative. For example, although a well-meaning teacher may summarize Rikki Tikki Tavi before her class begins reading it, she may not give the class the background on India that would enable her class to follow the story on their own. Instead of telling the students what will happen (which may inspire some of them not to read at all and will not really help those who struggle) this point is about giving them the flavor of the story. Enough of the history of India and the reality of mongooses to allow the students to figure out the plot on their own. This serves two purposes--it keeps the reading itself fresh (and more enjoyable) and allows the students to feel succesful on their own. This last fact is all-important because the success the students feel carries over to the next reading. Middle-schoolers are not easily fooled, they know when they have been "given" the story, and they are also not at an age when they want any adult help--so the teacher must walk a fine line of giving enough information to ensure success without cheapening it, no problem right?

There will be a least one more post on this book--although I could see it going on forever! It will definitely be added to my "wanted" list on Amazon!

Tags:

• academic
• reading
• school

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this should be read by teachers the world over...

this article is an excellent "inside scoop" on the textbook creation process. Of especial interest to me was the idea that "community watchgroups" (with biased, non-educational agendas) exhibit great sway over the industry as a whole. The article can be found here.

As an aside, I thought the difference between what would be acceptable in Texas and what would be okay in California was telling.

Tags:

• textbooks
• reading
• school

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