Ranch Librarian Annotated Bib: Cool Stuff to Read

I was inspired last night to post some things I have been reading lately, mostly because I just made my students write an Annotated Bibliography. For those of you who don't speak English Teacher, an Annotated Bibliography is the bibliographic information for a source (usually in MLA formatting) followed by a short annotation that gives a variety of information, depending on the purpose of the Annotated Bib.

So often I read COOL STUFF on the internet and want to tell EVERYONE about it, but can't figure the logistics out for doing that.

An Annotated Bib is my solution to that problem. So, here are some things I've been reading lately:

• Three, by Ted Dekker (Book)

• Find it here at Amazon
• A few months ago, my pastor handed my this novel after plucking it from the shelves of his well book-stocked office. He asked me to read it, because he thought I would enjoy it. And he was right! Ted Dekker is a master of suspense, and this novel is fascinating--it's a dramatic crime thriller, with all the things you come to expect from the genre: a scary bad guy, a average joe hero, and dynamite women law enforcement officers. But Dekker is a believer, so his intense and suspenseful novel is clear of profanity, gratuitous violence, and other things that might be too much for some readers. I am about 40 pages from the end of the novel, and it's clipping right along. I am eager to finish it and find out what happens to the main character. 

• "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas (Online article)

• GQ Daily (online)
• A friend of mine, who is an athletic trainer, posted this article on her Facebook page. It was longer than I had anticipated, and I completely riveted by it. The article discusses the occurrence of former NFL players dying in strange ways and at young ages--drug overdoes, suicide, heart failure--and the pathologist who has identified a new brain disease brought on by recurring concussions. Big stuff. And as if that wasn't a big enough deal, the article also discusses the intense opposition that doctor faced when presenting his findings to the NFL community. He was demeaned, shot down, smeared, and ignored. But his findings are certainly worthy of attention. While I am a fan of sports, I am not a particular fan of sports in the US, as I believe we've lost the point of what athletics are meant to do, and this article (in my opinion) is great support for that. 

• "How We All Miss the Point on School Shootings" by Mark Manson (online article)

• Mark Manson.net
• This article knocked my socks off, and voiced so much of what I feel like I have wanted to say about school shootings. As a teacher, I see the reality of the consequences of school violence. We train for situational response and are faced with running scenarios that involve trying to protect our students from an intruder who might try to hurt them. Talk about scary stuff. But Manson's article digs deeper into the root of school shootings, and I couldn't agree with him more: we're missing the point, so long as the media continues to argue and report on the wrong stuff. It's powerful and worth the read. 

• "I Don't Want to be a Teacher Anymore" by anonymous (online article)

• DailyKos.com
• Whoever the woman is who wrote this article, I want to hug her. It's well written, insightful, and shows the absolute dedication and passion that great teachers bring to their classrooms. It's also incredibly sad to read, because it's a record of the slow and bureaucratic death of that teacher's passion. Whoever this woman is, she's taught in Oregon for 35 years, and she's finally gotten to the point that no teacher wants to reach: "I don't want to be a teacher anymore." And this is an incredible accomplishment, because Oregon doesn't have the best track record as far as public education goes. But she list all the things that have changed, little by little, year by year, all of which have culminated in making this teacher's life miserable. For anyone who has ever found themselves agreeing with the mainstream media report on the ways in which teacher's unions are ruining education, read this. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a teacher, read this. It's powerful stuff. 

• "166 years after his mysterious death, Edgar Allen Poe still fascinates us" by Michael Schaub (online article)

• LA Times Online
• Yesterday, October 7th, was the 166th anniversary of Poe's untimely death. This LA Times article simply recaps the facts of the famous writer's death, along with some of the lore surrounding his gravesite and life. If you haven't read any Poe, you should. You can find his collected works here. I adore his poems "Annabelle Lee" and "The Bells," as well as the stories "The Purloined Letter" and "The Pit and the Pendulum." But Poe's life is a sad story, as so many writers' stories are, filled with death, loneliness, and alcohol. His legacy has lingered, however, and it's an impressive one--did you know why the Baltimore Ravens (Football, right?) are named such? I didn't until I read this article, but as it happens, it's for one of Poe's more famous poems, entitled "The Raven." If you are a literary buff, check out this quick read for some cool facts about Poe. 

Those are the most interesting selections from my most recent readings. How about you? What are you reading about these days?