Recap: Books I've Read Lately

Hello, again!

It's been a long two weeks away from the blog, packed with big moments and preparation for the changes ahead. In that time, I've been reading lots of great books but haven't had even a spare moment to sit down and write about them. Let's catch up, shall we?

On May 8th, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (insert tiny squeal of excitement here)! It was a million degrees and by the end of the third ceremony, I was a blistered, tired, happy mess. I'm so grateful that I was able to celebrate the occasion with my family, but even more grateful that they have been cheering me on continually over the past four years. (I'll take this opportunity to say: thanks, Mom and Dad!)

Post-celebrations, my boyfriend and I hopped on a flight to California for a weeklong getaway with my extended family. We had so much fun exploring, eating way too many of my grandmother's cookies, and soaking up the California sun. I even came back with a few freckles! (And I tried my hardest to come back with my grandmother's dog but she kept too close an eye on him.)

Next week I embark on the next chapter, which entails moving into a new apartment (yay!) and beginning graduate school. I think part of the reason why graduation hasn't sunk in yet much is because graduate school is coming up so fast; I already have homework to get done!

As all of these changes are happening in rapid succession, you might find that posts aren't quite as regular here on Top Shelf Text. I am doing my best to keep things on schedule, I promise, but bear with me as I work out my new routines.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin // A definite winner, and a quick read too! This is the story of A.J. Fikry, a rather fickle bookseller whose life has been marred by the tragic loss of his wife. He's grumpy, very particular when it comes to books, and in need of saving. On the night that A.J. becomes a victim of burglary, he also becomes the recipient of a rather unusual package. In that moment, his life changes in infinite ways. I read this in about a day and loved every minute. If you read and liked either of these books, I'd recommend this one for you.

The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton // Told through the dual perspective of Darwin himself (in the 1800's) and an ambitious researcher searching for the truth two centuries later, this book has mystery, conspiracy, and all the best parts of academia. Darwin's daughter takes center stage when it's revealed in her personal papers that Darwin may not have been the upstanding hero (or genius) that we revere today. Not quite as fast-moving, but definitely a good one for a rainy day. I'd recommend for fans of Charlie Lovett.

The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D.  // Never have I flown through a nonfiction book so quickly. Brizendine explores the chemical changes that occur in the brain from conception all the way to old age, detailing what a woman's brain looks and acts like in each different hormonal stage of life. It explains different behaviors and perceptions between males and females, as well as lends insight into why a woman's perception of reality changes drastically with each stage of life. I'd recommend this for both women and men (yes, really!)-- as a resource for understanding the differences between the sexes. I do have a lot of background knowledge in neuroscience and human development, but I strongly believe that the information is accessible for those without experience in these fields. 

I read one more book in the past few weeks, but you'll have to wait until next week to hear about it, so check back in! I'm also starting to curate my summer reading list, so I'll take any and all recommendations!

Happy Reading!

Currently Coveting {April}

Happy April Fool's Day!

My apologies for the lack of posts last week, March seemed to fly by this year and I had to work my tail off to meet some deadlines. Thankfully, the hardest part is over, and I'll be sharing more about my big project with you all at the end of this month.

I found this month's stack of books that I'm coveting through the Goodreads app on my iPhone. Do any of you use the app? I love it for on-the-go moments when I'm in a bookstore and see something I'm not quite ready to buy (or want to find for a better price); I simply scan the barcode on the book, and it automatically saves all of the information for me! Then I can shelve it and come back to it later. Usually that's the extent of my app use, but the other night I was using it to browse while laying in bed, and I found so many good books to put on my to-read list! I'm challenging myself to go a whole month without buying a single book (insert shock-face emoji here), so if any of these make it onto my nightstand this month, it'll have to be through the library. (Though I will make an exception for free books from Bookbub and the Kindle First monthly picks-- can't say no to free books, am I right??) 

Below you'll find my picks for the month of April:

Voluntary Madness by Norah Vincent // I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book, but I'm willing to give it a shot, based on my interest in psychology and mental illness. Norah Vincent is famous for her social experiment in which she lived disguised as a man for eighteen months. Because of that experiment, Vincent was experiencing severe depression, so her doctor recommended that she commit herself to a mental institution. Vincent was a patient for a year, and used that time to sculpt this book, which is an account of her year and her thoughts on her treatment. It's not objective in the sense that she didn't commit herself under false pretenses (she really did need the treatment), but I've read that she does a great job of detailing her experience while "in the bin."

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano // This is a really old pick (as in, I remember watching an Oprah episode with my mom about it), but I recently added it to my to-read list. I'm a super healthy eater, but I've been trying to evaluate the way I approach food, and I'm interested in this concept of eating mindfully and really enjoying every bite. I think it speaks to the idea of everything in moderation, so I'm looking forward to putting it on my library list.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce // If you saw this post, then you know that I was a fan of the first book in this series. I'm really looking forward to reading this next book, which details the same events but from the opposite perspective. (And it's gotten even better reviews than the first!) I'm debating whether I should reread The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry first, because I read it about two years ago and don't remember as much detail as I'd like. I'm also thinking this duo would make for great beach/vacation reads this summer. 

Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan // For nonfiction and psychology fans! I am guilty of forgetting my password just about every time I try to log into an account, and I am certainly a big proponent of going with my "gut feeling" on exams. These are the everyday things that Hallinan discusses in his account of why we think the way that we do, and his arguments about human "design flaw" and how we are built for human error seem really interesting. I'm really fascinated by the brain (as you know), and the fact that our brains are just not built for optimum performance, and that we are designed to make mistakes, is comforting to me. I'd love to learn more about the science and psychology behind these everyday blunders.

Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson // I'm drawn to very specific time periods in historical fiction, and WWII-era stories are one of my favorite subsections within the genre. Not only do I love the cover design, but I'm also hooked by the premise of the story, which is one of dual perspectives: two courageous women, one hiding french resistance fighters and an risking everything to protect an innocent child from the Nazi soldiers who have taken over her home, the other taking refuge from a shattered personal life in the same house decades later. Like many stories of this genre, the themes include family and sacrifice, and of course, the uncovering of old family secrets. Sounds like an excellent story to get lost in, if you ask me!

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Now that spring is starting to show itself, I feel like my energy has been renewed, and I can't wait to take advantage of the sunshine by parking myself on a bench outside and getting caught up in a good book! Will any of these make your to-read list this month? Any other reads that have caught your eye lately?

Happy reading!

Educational Booklist

If you saw this post, then you know that I'm really really excited about what's to come in the next year. Though I read a lot of textbooks about education and spend a lot of time in discussions with my classmates and professors, I still always feel like I have so much more to learn (which reminds me of this talk that I also love). I've been collecting a number of books lately that have to do with education, and I've added a few to the stack that I've read before but want to re-read. These books cover a number of topics within education: the controversy of standardized testing, the reform movement, the argument behind proponents of grit as a success factor, the achievement gap, etc. These are all big-ticket issues within my field, and I feel like the more I read, the better prepared I'll be to address them. Of course, each author lends his or her own bias to the arguments, so while I'm approaching each book with caution, I'm looking forward to seeing new perspectives on these issues. I thought I would share my booklist here for those who are also interested in reading about education!

The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons from a Small School in Harlem by Deborah Meier // Deborah Meier has an incredible history as an educator. She is the founder of several small schools in Harlem, which became some of the most successful schools in an area that was ridden with low graduation rates and disengagement. In this, Meier writes honestly about the challenges in creating a successful school, and lays out her strategies for others to consider and follow. I've read snippets of this book since I bought it late last year, but I'm looking forward to reading it cover-to-cover soon.

How Children Succeed: Grit Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough // I read this book last summer and it made it onto my top ten list. You can read more of my thoughts about it there; I found it to be extremely thought-provoking but didn't always agree with Tough's assumptions. I do think that I'm better able to speak about educational issues since reading it, and I certainly appreciate how much I learned from it.

The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch // I was introduced to this book in a class about schools and society in my sophomore year of college. Essentially, it was the book that introduced me to some of the major controversies in education. Diane Ravitch was one of the major players in supporting No Child Left Behind when it was first implemented, and in this she admits that she was greatly mistaken and details why our schools are failing our students and what should be done to help slow and repair the damage. When I read this I didn't have a whole lot of background knowledge so I took Ravitch at her word on a lot of issues. Now that I'm more knowledgeable I'm looking forward to revisiting it with a more critical eye to see if my opinion of it has changed.

The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner // This is one that I haven't read yet, but we've had a lot of discussions about the national achievement gap in my classes this semester and I'm looking forward to expanding my scope to learning about the achievement gap on a global level. 

A Mind at a Time by Mel Levine // This is one that I found in my mother's collection of books on children and parenting. Mel Levine is widely respected for his perspectives on learning, and since my background is in psychology I am looking forward to exploring this classic.

Radical by Michelle Rhee // Michelle Rhee is another big player on the educational scene. It's the same type of story: here's what's wrong with our system, here's how we can improve it, here are the overarching social problems that are playing a role in preventing these changes. I'm interested to see Rhee's personal perspective on it all.

The Unschooled Mind by Howard Gardner // Gardner is behind the theory of multiple intelligences, which is one of the most important theories that we use in approaching the idea that each learner is unique. Information is best processed and demonstrated in different ways by different students, and I like Gardner's idea that we should mold our teaching around the way that students learn.

In Schools We Trust by Deborah Meier // Another one by Deborah Meier, and one of my newest acquisitions. We've been having a lot of discussions in my classes that center on the idea of school culture and community. Curating an unconditional learning community in which everyone feels they can learn is one of the biggest challenges and most important goals of schools. The atmosphere of standardized testing often strains that community feeling, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Meier has to say about how we can combat that strain.

It's unrealistic to think that I'll get through all of these in the near future, as I usually look to reading as a way to relax during busy semesters and tend to save these types of books for long breaks when I'm craving stimulation. I don't have any long breaks coming up anytime soon, but I'm hoping to at least revisit Ravitch's book, read In Schools We Trust, and dive into Rhee's sometime this summer.

Currently Coveting {November}

November is my favorite month of the year, hands down. Not only is it my birthday today (yay!), but in two weeks I'll be home stuffing my face enjoying a Thanksgiving feast, and I can finally see the light at the end of the hardest-semester-ever-tunnel. For this month's currently coveting, I picked only two books that have been on my mind for the past week straight. I tend to stick to a very predictable model of personal style, decor, etc. but my reading selection is never predictable and my bookshelf is the most varied collection of things that I own, as evidenced by the two picks below. Now I'm off to indulge in birthday treats and maybe sing a certain relevant Taylor Swift song...enjoy!

Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf // This book looks so fascinating, though it's definitely not for everyone. As a psychology major, I love learning about the ways in which the mind works. People are often surprised that a large part of my psychology education has been dedicated to learning about the technical aspects behind cognition, and that there is a heavy emphasis in my university's psychology program on neuroscience. In fact, following a neuroscience track into graduate school was one path that I seriously considered this past year. The brain is fascinating- we know barely anything about it- and I would love to be part of that movement to really dissect the workings of the body's most important organ. One of the biggest pushes in the neuroscience community right now is for neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, cognitive psychologists, and educators to work together in researching how development of the brain affects learning at an early age. In working to become an educator, an integral part of my professional knowledge (in my opinion) has to do with the workings of the brain. This book brings together two things that fascinate me: neuroscience and reading. It explores the neural processes behind reading, examines the history of the human ability to read, and pays special attention to the subject of dyslexia. I'll be adding this to my growing stack of reads for professional purposes, but from a personal perspective this looks like the perfect storm of my interests and I can't wait to get my hands on it. 

Yes Please by Amy Poehler // On the opposite end of the reading spectrum is this. As soon as I saw the announcement for this book, I knew I had to have it. Not only is Amy Poehler a force to be reckoned with in the pool of role model-worthy women, she's also beyond hilarious. Tina Fey, her real-life BFF, wrote my favorite memoir to date (I've listened to the audiobook three times and own both a hardcover and paperback copy), and I'm expecting this one to be just as good. Perfect for holiday gifts to your girlfriends and a sure way to make people judge you when you belly laugh while reading it in public. 

What are you looking forward to reading this month?