Book List - For Teaching or Suggesting to Students

Read and need to review:

 

• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (YA fiction audio and text) 
• Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen (fiction)
• Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire (fantasy audio) 
• Anthem by Ayn Rand (dystopian fiction)
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (nonfiction)
• Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia (#1 and #2 in the Caster Chronicles - YA fantasy)
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman (YA dystopia)
• Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant by Veronica Roth (YA dystopia) - 10
• City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (Books 1-5 in the Mortal Instruments series - YA fantasy)
• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (YA fiction)
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (YA realistic fiction)

 

Currently Reading:

 

1. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (nonfiction)
2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (coming of age realistic fiction) - 10

Partially Read

1. The Book Thief by Marc Zusak (fiction) - 10 and CC - stopped on AMP chapter 7 12:36
2. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (fiction)
3. The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (nonfiction)
4. Midnight: A Gangster Love Story by Sister Souljah (urban coming of age fiction)
5. Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks (non-fiction)
6. Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros (audio - coming of age fiction). I became aware of Cisneros in Dr. Timothy Petete’s Ethnic American Literature class in Fall 2009. There’s also a really dope poem by the youth slam team that Albuquerque sent to the Brave New Voices festival
7. The Red Badge of Courage  by Stephen Crane (classic fiction) - 10 Honors
8. Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia (fiction) - CC 11
9.  

 

To read:

Suggestions for 10th grade:

 

1. Othello by William Shakespeare (tragic drama)
2. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah (memoirs)
3. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela (nonfiction)
4. In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (coming of age fiction) - CC
5. Macbeth by William Shakespeare (tragic drama) - CC
6. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (realistic fiction) - CC
7. Animal Farm by George Orwell (classic fiction)
8. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (classic YA fiction)
9. Antigone by Sophocles (classic)
10. Night by Elie Wiesel (nonfiction)
11. Inferno by Dante (classic)
12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (classic fiction) - Honors
13. The Jungle by Sinclair Lewis (classic satire)  - Honors
14. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (fiction) - Honors (CC 11)
15. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (fiction) - 10 Honors (CC 11)
16. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (classic fiction) - Honors (CC 11)

For other grades or extensions:

1. Life of Pi - Yann Martel (fiction)
2. Americanah! by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (fiction)
3. Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (comic drama)
4. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
5. Black Boy by Richard Wright (realistic coming of age fiction)
6. The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime
7. 1984 - George Orwell (classic dystopia)
8. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (classic dystopia)
9. UnWholly and UnSouled by Neal Shusterman
10. Beloved by Toni Morrison (fiction)
11. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (classic YA fiction)
12. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (fiction) (CC 11)
13. everything by Langston Hughes
14. Lion Among Men and Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
15. Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley (literary analysis of hip hop)
16. Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
17. everything by Sherman Alexie (War Dances, Indian Killer)
18. What Was African American Literature by Kenneth Warren- I’ll finish this in grad school
19. Collected Nikki Giovanni (poetry)
20. Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success by Russell Simmons Normally I don’t read self-helpy type books, but I’m practically obsessed with author Russell Simmons as a person. I bought this book and will read it in my spare time. Partial pre-review linked. 
21. The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation (anthology with audio component) This is on my list because I hope that by reintroducing myself to the text “advised” by the inventor of slam poetry himself, Marc “So What” Smith, and by listening I will be able to actively remember that poetry is integral to my makeup.
22. A Culture of Place by bell hooks (non-fiction)
23. Jay-Z: Decoded (autobiography with a ghost writer)
24. Roots by Alex Haley (race relations)
25. Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes
26. Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia (#3 and #4 in the Caster Chronicles, YA)
27. The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara
28. everything by Junot Diaz
29. The Myth Makers by J. Houston
30. Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
31. something by Ana Castillo
32. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Six Months Later

In my last post, my New Year's post, I didn't mention much about school because I was a little emotionally overwhelmed about it.  They took me out of my on-level English classes with 90 students and put me in a co-taught special education classroom with 30 students.  They said it was because I was inexperienced.  Last month, they didn't offer me a contract to return on the premise that I didn't have enough experience.

Because God is awesome and He makes provisions for you before you know you need them, I was offered an interview from a small independent African American district before I even knew they weren't asking me back.  I was asked, interviewed, and hired directly by the superintendent.  She saw me performing poetry at Urban Roots and thought I might be a good match. I'll be teaching on-level English and one or two creative writing or poetry classes.  It's an awesome opportunity! I'm so excited!

I published my poetry chapbook The Risk to Bloom and have sold several copies. I had a feature show that I got paid for (that's three now!) and I booked another feature. I am in talks with three other potential features.  I have a ton of video from these shows but I haven't had time to edit and publish it yet.

I have been asked to write for a group called Soul Medicine. I will post a link and more information about that soon.

I have done a ton more praying and seeking. I have received several revelations about myself, my future, who God wants me to marry and what He wants me to do in the meantime. God is good. I am currently reading The Utter Relief of Holiness by John Eldredge.  I'm going to make another attempt at reading The Daniel Plan by Rick Warren. If you have any other books written by Christians about health, feel free to recommend them.
I have not yet developed a daily without fail prayer and Bible study time. Sometimes I skip a day and other days I'm in it for 2-6 hours. I am inconsistent.

My health is all over the place. I don't eat well. I do exercise regularly, but that is offset by my lack of nutrition and sleep.

My summer goals are these:

1) Read Judges, 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings at least. Maybe 1 and 2 Chronicles also.
2) Find good recipes, make good, clean, healthy food and eat regularly.
3) Find a good workout regimen with RIPPED, zumba, and yoga.
4) Read novels, excerpts, and other things for school unit prep.
      a) I will keep my book list on my blog and update it with reviews.
5) Travel and perform
     a) Right now Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Baltimore, DC, and New York are on the list.  That's probably enough for one summer, but you never know what's going to happen.
6) Tutor
7) Draft my nonfiction book and write good, short things