What I am Reading

Well, I have finished Th1rteen Rea3sons Why. It was a good book. The subject of suicide was a little depressing. On to the next book.

I am having trouble picking my next book. I have started Lessons from a Dead Girl, it is becoming another very depressing book. I am also trying to pick one of the Iowa Teen Award books to read as well. I think that I have read all the "light" ITAs. I am not sure. If anyone has a suggestion let me know. I could use a couple of lighter topic books.

Hope you all had a good summer and we will see you in the LMC soon.

Summer Reading Assignment

Don't forget to be working on your Summer Reading Assignment. You can pick up an additional packet of information if you need it when you come in for registration. Don't forget it is on the Berg Middle School Website as well. Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you in a little over two weeks.

Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?

Here is an interesting article from the New York Times published on Sunday July 27, 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?ei=5124&en=81a364206914f90a&ex=1374897600&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&pagewanted=all). This can definitely be a debate going on right now. I know when you, the students, are researching you want to use the Internet and find it right away. However, this article goes even further in the discussion in response for free reading.

I have spent some time reading on FanFiction.net. I don't know how many of you have found it as well. There is a lot of good fiction being written there. There is also some not so good fiction being written there. However could it not be said the same for books in a library. There are some good books there and there are some not so good books. Now not every book is for every reader but there are some books that never find their readers and they get published anyway.

One quote from the article really I thought was really part of the debate, "Some traditionalists warn that digital reading is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories. Often, they argue, writers on the Internet employ a cryptic argot that vexes teachers and parents." If reading on the Internet is such a waste of time for free reading and there is no thought going into it how is it so cryptic a vocabulary? There must be thought and knowledge that we don't know about.

How many of you read for pleasure on the Internet and not just posting on MySpace or Facebook? I would be interested in knowing what you are reading and where.

What I am reading

Well, I have finished Down the Rabbit Hole: an Echo Falls Mystery by Peter Abrams. It took me a while to get into it. Once I did I had to keep reading to find out who did committed the murder. I won't tell you that because it would ruin the surprise. Ingrid is our main character who is in eighth grade. She is involved in many things including soccer and acting. She did not witness the murder that happened in Echo Falls but she was there right before and is not telling anyone. However, she left behind her soccer cleats and while she goes back and gets them, the police have them in a photograph of the crime scene. Ingrid spends a lot of time dodging questions while also trying to figure out who the murder is. Let me know what you think if you have read it.

Now I am taking home with me is Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher. It is a novel about suicide with a lot of suspense the front cover tells me. We shall see.

Items to Add to the Library

As you have been doing your summer reading I hope that you have been reading some good books. Are these books that others would enjoy? Are they books we don't have in our LMC? Then let me know so that when I go to order books I can consider them. I won't guarantee that I will get every book but I will look. Thanks.

Online Socializing Dangers

Be careful what you post on your Facebook or MySpace pages. There was an article in that talked about how sentencing was effected by what was on the defendent's page (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/21/facebook-photos-judges-of-character/). I thought this was interesting in that I know many people don't think about how this might effect them. This particular article talked about a defendent that had gone to a Halloween party dressed as a prisoner in a stripped uniform. This was while the victim from the drunk driving accident recovered in the hospital. It showed to the prosecutor and the judge that even if the defendent were acting remorseful in the courtroom thier actions outside the courtroom were not very remorseful at all.

I have been doing more reading lately on how employers are using the Wayback machine (http://www.archive.org/index.php, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Wayback_Machine) as well as Facebook and MySpace to check on the background of their candidates for a job. While this might not effect you when you are applying to McDonalds other jobs out of college could be hindered by what you published in the past (http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobsearchblogs/a/jobsearchblog.htm). I know in middle school you don't think that this will effect you much, but it might down the line.

Summer Reading Assignment

Don't forget that the Summer Reading assignment will be due August 25th. This is the start of the 2nd week of school. If you have any questions you can check out the Berg Middle School website (http://www.newton.k12.ia.us/schools/BMS/reading.cfm). It has a copy of most of the packet. You can also come and visit me at the LMC during Summer Library times.