2016: Favourite Books

Looking back on 2016 I thought it would be well worth the time to list my favourite books. I’d say that I read more in 2016 than I have in the last 5 years at least! Without the pressure of study (and the joy of saying “I’m working” whenever I get questioned over my reading…

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Follow Me Back – Cloke

This book was thrust into my hands by one of my avid year 7 readers. She said I had to stop reading everything else and give this a go. Whilst it isn’t one of my favourite books of the year, I can see why it grabbed her attention. So, what makes Follow Me Back by Nicci…

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Constantly surprised

My students are constantly surprising me, and it’s a great thing. I am about to embark upon some shameless boasting about how talented these girls are – you have been warned! I found out the other day that I have a few students that have written whole or parts of books on the website, Wattpad. This meant of…

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A new favourite author – Sarah J Maas

There are some authors that you just want to read everything they’ve ever written because you’ve fallen in love with their writing style, character development, and plot lines. I have not felt this way about an author since I was in year 6 and reading Tamora Pierce‘s series, such as Song of the Lioness, Daughter of…

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Twisted Fairy Tales – why we can’t let go.

I have recently read a take on the Beauty and the Beast story called “The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty’s Prince” and I have just started “A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale,” which is based on the story of Aladdin, and I began to wonder what drove me to revisit these timeless stories…

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The value of Goodreads in education

As part of a “Digital Concepts and Practices,” a PD course I am undertaking this year, I have been asked to select a digital tool and discuss it’s value in an educational sense. As an avid reader, I decided to explore the value of Goodreads. For those that don’t know, Goodreads is a social networking…

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Smile – Telegmeier

After needing to buy a second copy because our first was never on the shelf, I decided to give this a go and I was not disappointed. I can see why it’s so popular among our year 7s and really wish there had been something like this around when I was 12. Synopsis: “Smile” is…

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Illuminae – Kaufman and Kristoff

This was recommended to me by one of my colleagues and I haven’t been able to thank her enough. I was unsure how I would react to the unusual format in which this book is presented, however I found it one of the most enjoyable and gripping reads this year. This is a thrilling sci-fi…

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Holiday recommendations

As we come to the end of another busy term I am often asked by my students “what should I read over the holidays?” In answer to those questions, I thought I would write a quick post of my top 10 recommendations for holiday reading this year.   1. The Wishing Spell – The Land…

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Graphic Novels – My new love

  I read my very first graphic novel in April this year. It was Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Jim Lee, and I absolutely loved it. It took me a while to understand the format of a graphic novel and for my brain to easily accept reading the images along with the font,…

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