The State of Reading for the Year (So Far)

I can't believe that November is just a week away! Besides being the beginning of the end of the semester, November is the beginning of the craziness of the holiday season. It also has the annual NCTE conference and ALAN Workshop, two of my favorite professional development events.

However, before diving head-first into November, I wanted to reflect on the reading I've done so far this year. While I don't know how much more I'll be able to accomplish in the next two months (grading and traveling will be eating up a lot of time), I'm pretty proud of the number of books I have read. My official count is 60 books, and while I still at least 14 to go if I want to catch up with the number I read in 2014, it is still a decent accomplishment. Here are some of my favorites books from this year so far:

October's Professional Development Opportunities

While I can't believe that it is October already (and that we are only two weeks away from fall break, which marks the mid-point in the semester), the chilly, rainy weather in my little corner of the Midwest assures me that October is here. Besides fall break, cooler temperatures, and Halloween, October also marks a time when things seem to get even busier at schools. While it can be hard to find (or make) time for professional development, I've found that PD can be an invigorating and inspiring. Fortunately, there is a plethora of free online opportunities that can work with crazy schedules.