Any chance I get to recommend "Common As Air" by Lewis Hyde,

http://www.lewishyde.com/publications/common-as-air

 I will jump on--I think this is one of the most important books of the decade, if not the century. Here's his summary: 

Suspicious of the current idea that all creative work is "intellectual property," Lewis Hyde turns to America's founders—men like Franklin, Adams, Madison, and Jefferson—in search of other ways to imagine the fruits of human wit and imagination. What he discovers is a rich tradition in which knowledge was assumed to be a commonwealth, not a private preserve.

 Rejecting the idea of using the frame of "property" to discuss the products of the mind, Hyde focusses on Franklin, our "original pirate." Joining a global community of knowledge-sharers has brought me many personal benefits; I love the feeling of today's re-engagement with the communitarian politics of my radical youth which Hyde conveys. It's a moving and provocative read.

#summerreading

Wow, that sounds like a very important work! I never thought of it in that sense.

I have required my students to read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. It is the story of a Syrian American who stayed in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. He was arrested on suspicion of terrorism and held incommunicado for 23 days until his wife was alerted to his whereabouts by a missionary.

This book was recommended to me by two of my current students who read it for a project that my students do called "Updating the Canon." In the project, the students research and read current works (2000 - present) in an effort to begin the academic conversation on them. With the push toward reading more non-fiction (a worthy push, I must say), I think this will be a great read for my students.

I'm thinking of having my students write a narrative account of some of Zeitoun's experiences as an assessment. We'll see. I have only just finished the book and decided on it, so it will be a little while until I decide.

I have a tall stack of books ready and waiting but I just got Hilary Mantel's Bringing up the Bodies and I am looking forward to that sequel to Wolf Hall (which I read after recommendations from the old NWP Book Ning).

Our school is doing a first-ever mandatory summer reading program, and so I have chosen The Almost True Adventures of Homer P. Figg for my upcoming sixth graders, but I was so tempted to do either Wonder or Out of my Mind (both of which should be required reading for everyone and anyone).

Kevin

The New York Times Learning Network just posted this piece about #summerreading. Spread the word. Get your colleagues to add to this list of ideas at Connect!

I'm digging into the stack of books I didn't have time to read during the school year :) My goal is to get through all 20 that are remaining!

Another of my favorite books of all time, which I read aloud to my kids over and over and over, is "Indian Tales" by Jaime De Angulo. I justr came across it on the bookshelp and am eagerly awaiting some summer moments to re-read yet again. I know of no other book which captures the feel of "the alcheringa" -- the dream time, when animals not only talked but were the people, or the people were animals, or both and also neither at once. Plus it's based on the tales of Pit River Indians near Mt. Shasta, on a trek to the Salmon River where I used to live, so the terrain is nostalgic for me.

I'm going to be reading Natasha Trethewey, the new US Poet Laureate. I've read a little of her work, but can't wait to read her latest book -- Beyond Katrina. Her book Domestic Work also sounds great -- just ordered both!

I plan to read quotes in between bouts of gardening. It is difficult to maintain a train of thought  while digging the hard packed and rocky clay of my yard, but a quote I can handle. :-)

Here is a favorite example: It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. -- Albert Einstein