Have You Read a Good Book Lately?

I am a reader, and I love to talk about books. I spend most of the school day engaged in conversation with teenagers about the latest adolescent fiction I’ve discovered, or books they want me to read. We discuss the best of the best in classics, and pan the books we’d rank among the worst. Current and former students approach me to beg for titles that are appropriate for them, and I’m always ready to give a list that will cover their reading needs for the next year.

But kids aren’t the only ones who ask me about book recommendations. The first week I wrote this column, I did a professional book review for the National Council of Teachers of English NCTE Selects program, reviewed a middle grade novel for the International Reading Association’s Signal Journal, and submitted a list of 100 recommendations for great short reads to Bookmarks Magazine. I had a pleasant conversation about adolescent novels on the steps of the Spanish Fork Library with library director Pam Jackson, talked with members of my book club about several books that are being made into movies, and discussed a few new releases with my writer’s critique group.

A walk through either my home or classroom would convince you that books are an important part of my life, a part that I’m happy to share with anyone at almost anytime. And that’s what I do in my column each week at the Spanish Fork News. My teaching, writing, and speaking careers provide multiple venues for me to talk about middle grade and adolescent novels, but I know that adults are always looking for a good book as well. I hope you’ll join me each week as I write about topics related to reading, and that you’ll read some of the books I recommend to you, too.