CFS Libraries
Staff Summer Reading Recs 2017
Dear Staff,
As we go our separate ways this summer, we know that books and stories have the power to connect us and bring us back together. Here we've listed some staff favorites, as well as an array of entertaining and professional books we think you might enjoy diving into this summer.
Happy reading!
Justine, Mig, and Natalie
Book suggestions from CFS staff
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Born a Crime is easily the best book that I have read in several years. I felt like I was in South Africa with Trevor, living through those experiences with him. The book is honest, brutally funny and enlightening. Trevor writes about what it was like to grow up in South Africa as a child of a black mother and white father during Apartheid and after Apartheid.
Phrynne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood
Phryne is an independently wealthy libertine living in Australia in the 1920s and acts as a private investigator. I enjoy that series because the cast of characters are so endearing, and the setting is interesting.
Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley
Flavia is a ten/eleven year-old girl living in a dilapidated manse in the postwar English countryside with her father and two sisters. She has a passion for chemistry and solves a series of murders using deductive reasoning and adventure. I like her spunk and the observations she makes about a changing world into which she is maturing.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Quirky and imaginative stories that combine unusual elements in an illuminating way.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
1st generation Turkish-American girl at Harvard who falls in love with a classmate. Goes on just a tad too long but is absolutely hilarious in its detached observations - a Coke can coming out of a machine is compared to "a body falling down the stairs."
The Dead Do Not Die by Sven Lindqvist
A chilling exploration of the appalling brutality white Europeans have shown to the other races of the world.
City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson
This is one of the best YA books I have read in years: a fast-paced adventure story about a refugee girl from the Congo living in Kenya.
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
Jade is an African-American high school student who gets placed in a mentor program to better her situation in life (major eye roll). Jade has an inner voice that the reader gets to know instantly -- and eventually she learns to use that voice for herself and for others. A must-read.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
“The Hate U Give is an important and timely novel that reflects the world today’s teens inhabit. Starr’s struggles create a complex character, and Thomas boldly tackles topics like racism, gangs, police violence, and interracial dating." (VOYA)
How Not to Die
Isaac's Storm
The Unlikely Disciple
The Friday Night Knitting Club
Wild Card Quilt
Orphan Train
The Language of Flowers
The Art of Arranging Flowers
Humans of New York
The Nightingale
Code Name Verity
The Kitchen House
Homegoing
Dollbaby
The Hunger Angel
The Invention of Wings
At the Water's Edge
An Abundance of Katherines
Professional Reading
Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters
by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst, the authors of Notice and Note and Reading Nonfiction. A few LS teachers are reading this over the summer -- email Natalie (nharvey) if you want to join our book club!
Making Thinking Visible
by Ron Ritchart, creator of the research-based approach to teaching thinking, started at Harvard's Project Zero. Highly recommended!
The Innovator's Mindset
by George Couros. An affirming read for teachers who focus on students' learning needs and interests, creating an open culture of curiosity and digging deep into learning.
Hot off the Press! Our Lower, Middle and Upper School Summer Reading Lists 2017...new, award-winning books for kids and adults!
Middle
More summer reading adventures: All CFS staff have full access to NYTimes.com!
Yes, it's true! All CFS staff have a free account to nytimes.com. To activate your NYT "Academic Pass," follow these steps:
- Go to nytimes.com/passes
- Create an account using your school email address. If you already have an account with your cfs email address, log in and the pass will be activated.
- Check your email for confirmation from nytimes.com. Click on the link in the message to validate your address and claim your pass. If you don't get a confirmation email, check your spam/junk folder.
- You have successfully claimed a Pass when you see the Start Your Access screen. Now you can enjoy NYT full online access from any location, any device!!
If you have any questions or problems, email Mig at mhayes@cfsnc.org. This is a one-year ($$$$) subscription to see if you like/use it, so please let me know!