Things to read

Is there something fun on your nightstand? Did you read a young adult novel over the summer that you'd like to teach some day? Was there an interesting (or awful) article in English Journal? All teaching and no reading makes English teachers a little irritable, so offer any suggestions for new reading here.

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• I recently read Tales from the Teachers Lounge. I forget the author and my sister borrowed my copy of the book. The author also has a book titled Daddy needs a Drink. That has been my next relax reading project, too bad I haven't gotten around to it yet. Tales tells the story of a young teacher teaching in Arizona and some of the problems he faces and details he notices. The author interjects great humor; it really is a great book. [Paul D]

• I am currently reading Freakonomics, and really enjoying it. My husband read it as a Management student at Purdue, and suggested that I read it as well. Besides just being incredibly entertaining, it has some interesting things to say about teaching, and teaching minorities in particular. There are several sections in the book where the authors discuss education, and it is really fascinating to see things from a statistical point of view. I would recommend this to everyone, and don't let the economics/statistics scare you; it is actually a fairly easy read. If you teach mostly minority students, like I do, it may just give you a new perspective on things. [Lisa]

• I just finished Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as Stage. It's a compact biography of the Bard (not even 200 pages), with interesting background on the people, daily life and customs of Shakespeare's time. Bryson is known for his humor writing, so his approach is rather light-hearted, but he covers what little we know of Shakespeare's life in Stratford-upon-Avon and London quite thoroughly. In addition to biography, he also includes one chapter on the plays and one on the claimants to authorship of the plays. It's a well-researched book and easy to read if you'd like a refresher on old William or some background information before teaching some of his work. [mes]