ANGRY AFTER ALLEGIANT

Ok, so I finished Allegiant (awhile ago actually). I promise I won't give anything away, but I was told by a student to have some Kleenex near by. While I did tear up a bit, I think I was left feeling more angry than sad. I wonder how you feel? What did you think of state Veronica Roth chose to leave Tris and Tobias in? 

Interesting article in which Veronica Roth defends her choice-spoiler alert: 
VERONICA ROTH ADDRESSES 'ALLEGIANT' ENDING BACKLASH

ALLEGIANT IS HERE!!

I am so excited that we have finally received the third and final installment of this amazing series. I have been waiting for months to get it in my hands. If you have started with Divergent, you really need to. I know it's being made into a movie, but it is a page turner from page one. I'll admit, I'm a bit giddy right now just knowing I get to start reading Allegiant in less than 45 minutes. 

MACHINE BUILT CITATIONS

Love them or hate them, we all have to create citations at some point. Even if you never go to college, you still have to write them in high school. 

This teacher, Lee Skallerup Bessette, shares her thoughts on allowing students to use citation builders like Bibme.org to create citations rather that teaching them how to do it themselves. What are your thoughts? Do you think you should learn how to hand write (type) citations or is letting the machine do it for you OK? 

Rise of the Machine-Generated Citation

COLLEGE BLOG WORTH READING

College Info Geek seems to be a great blog for tips and tricks for making it through college academically, socially, financially, and all with your integrity intact. 

The first entry I read, which I think many of you would appreciate as well, is "42 Tips I Learned Freshman Year."

My top 5:

1. Be confident, get out of your comfort zone, and try new things. College is the greatest opportunity you’ll ever have for personal development.
2. Find out when you can register for classes and do right at that moment. You’ll thank yourself later when your friends are having to do an extra semester because they couldn’t get into a required class.
3. Flip-flops in the bathroom. No exceptions.
4. Realize that you are an adult now; just because you don’t have to go to work for eight hours a day doesn’t mean you shouldn’t act like it. Be professional.
5. Live in the campus residence halls your first year if you can. Residence halls aremuch, much more social than apartments, and you’ll be involved in a lot more cool things.

Which do you think are the most important or helpful to you? 

SEEK THE UNKNOWN

Teen Read Week in celebrated each year to encourage kinds to Read For the Fun of It! This year's theme is, "SEEK THE UNKNOWN." Ms. Woolsey and I encourage you to come choose a book to read for fun. No lessons, no essays, just reading for the enjoyment of reading.

Find in our library store a wide array of books that have been turned into movies. We have fiction and non-fiction, fantasy to sci-fi to romance and everything in between. These books are flying off the shelf, so be sure to stop by to choose one for yourself. 

BANNED BOOKS??

Every year, the last week of September (although we are celebrating the first week of October here at Westwood), libraries and book stores across the country celebrate (really acknowledge) banned and challenged books. The purpose is not to say, "Hey this was banned, so you should read it to show the man," but more to spark conversations about censorship and free speech. 
I read a quote recently from Clare Boothe Luce, a former congresswoman and author, that sums up my personal beliefs about censorship, "Censorship, like charity, should begin at home, but, unlike charity, it should end there." I, of course, censor what I read and what my child reads, but I do not think I have a right to tell someone else what they should not read, nor do I think they have the right to tell me or my son what we cannot read. We do not all hold the same beliefs and values. Besides, if we never read anything outside our own value system, how are we to grow in those beliefs? 

Personally, all banning or challenging books does is bring to my attention books that I should read. I have already added several new titles to my "plan to read" list that I came across after reading about banned and challenged books this week. 

Come by the library, picked up a "banned" book and form your own opinion. Grow, learn, challenge, contemplate, expand your worldly views. Read!

To learn more, please read more at the ALA's (American Library Association) Banned Book website.

SO MANY GREAT BOOKS!

One of the great things about returning to the high school library is all the great books available to read. I have already read several books over the last few weeks: Wonder, Divergent, and Just One Day, to name a few. To find out what else I've been reading, and my thoughts about each book, be sure to check out my Shelfari (see the widget on the right). And please, make recommendations as I am always looking for something new to read! 

WELCOME TO 2013-2014

Welcome back Warriors! I am excited to be joining you this year for many reasons. I started my career as an 8th grade ELA teacher in a district outside Houston. After starting my Masters at TWU, I went on to become a librarian at Hightower High School in the same district. Due to my husband's job transfer, we made the move to Austin in 2011 and I started in RRISD as Berkman Elementary's new librarian. I spent two years at the elementary level, and while there are things I will miss about Berkman, I am ecstatic to be back at the secondary level, especially at Westwood. Thank you for being so welcoming. 

A little about myself; I am married and have a first grader at Spicewood ES. I have lived in many places in my lifetime: Missouri, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, California and Germany. I attended 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 3 high schools. I have enjoyed moving around and discovering new places. We are finding Austin to be a great place to live as there is a ton to do around town. 

  No surprise, but I love to read. Always have, and I imagine I always will. One of my favorite books of all time is The Giver by Lois Lowry. If you have not read it, you should do so. In a seemingly Utopian society where there are no societal issues like hunger, pain, homelessness, and poverty to cause chaos, Jonas, the new Receiver, discovers that maybe by making life "perfect", his community has made life not worth living. 

  I am currently reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. I had been told it is similar to The Hunger Games series, which I enjoyed, but that it was better. While I have yet to finish the first book, I am beginning to agree. Tris, like Jonas in the Giver and Katniss in The Hunger Games, is the "different" one in a dystopia. Her character is strong yet weak at the same time. She has joined the Dauntless faction, almost the opposite of her childhood faction, the Abnegation, which were a selfless community. So far, she is in the initiation stage which has been terrifying and exhilarating at once. This one is definitely a page turner!