Tuesday, May 6, 2008

National Teacher Day

Today is National Teacher Day, part of Teacher Appreciation Week. If you can read, thank a teacher.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Just Checking In

Ok, so I don’t exactly have the blogging thing down pat yet. It’s not that I want to go weeks without posting. It’s a matter of time. Or rather it’s lack of time. As an elementary school librarian, mother of two, and a military spouse who is active in the FRG, I feel I barely have enough time to read, much less blog about it. But, I promise to try to do better.

I’ve been listening to Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I have a copy of the book, which I read about 16 years ago. However, I thought this time around I would try the audio version. Rand’s writing is superb, but this story line is driving me nuts. It’s hard to find truly likeable characters. It’s full of what some characters in the story refer to as looters. Those who feel they deserve the benefit of someone else’s work without doing any work themselves. That’s a rather simplistic description, I know. Maybe "looters" is not the proper term. I guess these characters are more like parasites, living off a host they despise and hope to ultimately destroy. The book is a much darker read than I remember.

Thank goodness I’m reading several other more enjoyable books as well. Mo Willem’s latest pigeon book is finally out: The Pigeon Wants a Puppy. This is a great book to use with children who think they are ready for the responsibility of a pet, but really have no clue what is involved.

Tomorrow (May 6th) is the release of the latest installment in the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan. If you have 3rd, 4th, 5th grade and up students in your home, I’m sure you already had this date marked on your calendar. I promise to talk more about Percy later. If you like fantasy, Olympic gods and good verses bad, then you really should check out this series.

Please post and let me know what you are currently reading.