oh boy, i am quite behind on reporting out on my reading! time to catch up. in august i read:
the color of sundays, by andrew conte (this was one of six choices that our students had for a summer reading book, and the librarian (who is a friend of mine) asked me to read it so i could help lead a book club discussion on it. the book is nonfiction, the story of the pittsburgh steelers beginning to recruit black players from hbcu colleges...and the history that led up to it. it was written by an author who teachers at a college locally, and he's coming to school to speak in assembly next month. as a person new to being a steelers fan, there was a lot in this book that i think locals would grab onto that just didn't mean much to me, but i did enjoy reading it and learned a lot!)
little house on the prairie, by laura ingalls wilder (the third book in the series, and part of my re-read. like the others, i enjoyed this but didn't necessarily fall back in love with it.)
the golden thread, by kassia st. clair (this is the story of different fabrics that humans have made and used throughout our history - from microscopic scraps of fabric found by archeologists in caves to wool used for viking sails to fabrics that have gone into outer space. for the immersives class that i am teaching in may, we are going to have the students read this book so i needed to preview it. it was really interesting and is going to be a great pick for our class. the kids will read a few chapters all together and then will pick one to focus on and present to the rest of the class.)
madness: race and insanity in a jim crow asylum, by antonia hylton (this author is coming to pittsburgh and i have a ticket to see her speak this spring, so i wanted to read the book before i went. i found it really interesting - the story of segregated asylums, focusing on one in maryland. you learn a lot about how the mental healthcare industry has changed over time, and also about how problematic (shocker) the management of all-black institutions was in the first half of the 20th century. i listened to the audiobook, which is well-narrated. definitely recommend this!)
stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers, by mary roach (this was recommended to me by a coworker and i really enjoyed it - nonfiction but with a playful take it it. this book made me want to read more books by this author - having seen how many books this author has written, i can't believe this is the first one i've read! would definitely recommend.)
