I know I wrote about reading yesterday, but Spring has sprung here in Iowa, and I am dreaming of June, my reading month. I read throughout the school year, but in fits and starts. June's long, warm mornings and lack of regular employment are a gift I give myself, a gift I must think of during the dreary so-much-longer-than-it-seems month of February when I do not have the energy or patience to finish a book. In June, I read. The first full week with no school responsibilities, I often read 5-7 books. I often read a book a day, forcing myself to come to the surface for food and exercise only. Sometimes I shower or interact with other humans, but not always. June is my gift for 60-70 hour work weeks that encompass the dreariest and most depressing part of winter.
Time and a lack of commitment are two of the biggest reasons I am not a very good reader during the school year, but there is another reason I want to share today: I am a book giver. My students are always welcome to help themselves to my classroom library and ask for books I don't have regularly. They also often ask about what I'm reading and if I will share it. I always stop, take out the bookmark, and give the book to a student who is interested. I tell them I expect a full review when they're finished & will read it later. I explain I don't have time to finish it quickly, so it's better if he/she reads it first. Always. Then, often that student hands the book to another student, and another, and sometimes the book gets lost or buried in a locker. That's okay, I will just buy another copy when I want to read it.
5 Comments
3/11/2016 02:54:05 pm
I so agree! I used to always put my reading-for-fun life on hold during the school because there just isn't time or energy. A few years I joined a book club that meets once a month, just so I would have a commitment to read a novel. Now my book club book is on my list of must do's...right under sleep.
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Adrienne
3/11/2016 08:17:19 pm
Someone once told me if a book disappears from a classroom library, it was probably well-loved. I know that is not always true, but I still believe it is true most of the time.
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elsie
3/11/2016 09:01:32 pm
What a great gift you give yourself in June! I hope you are able to finish the books you start but hand off when they request them.
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3/12/2016 06:47:45 am
The school year was always a difficult time to read anything. I like to start and finish a book quickly or I lose interest or feel like I have to backtrack to remember where I left off. I like the idea of gifting yourself in June!
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The views on this blog are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer or anyone else. AuthorKari teaches English I to 9th graders (!) and other electives in rural Iowa. Her husband is also an English teacher, and their friends have sworn to never help them move again because "even libraries don't have that many books." Archives
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