It's been quite some time since I've updated my blog. Since I have some extra time over the summer, I'll fill you all in on what I'm reading! Here are my last four Goodreads updates:

  Columbine was a nightmare to read. I stayed up until 3:45am, trying to find a spot to stop that wouldn't leave sleep impossible. When my eyes stopped working, I finally went to bed, but I dreamed of exit strategies and evidence. I woke to the sound of a gun going off (probably a neighbor boy's bb gun or a door slamming - it sounded tinny). I had to finish the book or risk feeling terrible until I did. It didn't work. I still feel terrible. What a raw and terrifying experience, and I feel like a voyeur, peeping in for my own....knowledge? entertainment? need to know? My only saving grace is that Eric Harris wanted to create fear and destruction, and I don't have to feed into that. Chilling. I think it has traumatized me.

Julia Alvarez follows four sisters as they navigate the Dominican Republic rebellion of the 1960s. I loved the personalities of each sister. Even though Alvarez wrote each section, I liked some sisters' voices better than others. The beginning felt a bit slow and confusing (which I found out later was Dede's voice), but I had to share juicy tidbits with my students as I read on. The end felt a little slow too, but overall an informative and fascinating novel. I'm going to go look up more about the Miribal sisters right now!

  I had to read this book at the right time. I picked it up before Christmas Break but just couldn't manage to get into it; however, when I picked it up during my social psych unit, I just couldn't get enough of it. I'm going to try to use parts of it in my social psych and personality units, but mostly I just want students to read it and say, "Hey! I've heard of Allport, Eysenk, and Fundamental Attribution Error before!" I'm excited to read Blink now!

  I read this book slowly over a long period of time because it was weighty and wordy. I even got mad at one point and put it down for a few weeks. I'm not sure if I agree with the central premise of the novel, but it definitely leaves me thinking. I have to say that I rarely find God silent, so it felt strange to read about God's silence in the face of suffering.