Reads
I am an avid reader and love writing book reviews. Hopefully you will find your next great read here. I read a little bit of everything including comics and graphic novels, YA and children’s literature, non-fiction, and more.
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Why Teachers Should Embrace Youth Culture Power
Youth Culture Power: A #HipHopEd Guide to Building Teacher-Student Relationships and Increasing Student Engagement by Jason D Rawls and John Robinson Teachers are using hip-hop in innovative ways in the classroom to not only connect with their students but to also give them voice. It’s about time that two musical artists in this genre combined…
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Unknown Anti-War Comics
The Unknown Ant-War Comics Edited by Craig Yoe Many people incorrectly view comic books as celebrating violence and romanticizing war. Others dismiss the medium because they believe the stories in them are trivial and juvenile. However, comics at their best contain powerful stories and comment on their times in striking detail. This collection features comics…
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Writers, Set Your Pages on Fire!
Set the Page of Fire: Secrets of Successful Writers by Steve O’Keefe “Everyone who can read is qualified to write and capable of crafting something in print that is powerful and important.” I took lots of notes while reading this book. The above quote is one of my favourites. So, if you’ve never written anything…
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Mischief and Mayhem (Book Giveaway)
Who wants to win a book? There are four ways to enter Send me an email Comment on my post about this book on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram I will randomly choose a name from all entries received and you could win this book. Mischief and Mayhem: Part One of The Faerlands Chronicles by S. D.…
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Pantsing is the Best Way to Write
There are two types of writers. Those who extensively plan and those who start writing not entirely sure of where their words will take them. The former people are the ones who compose outlines and are sometimes referred to as plotters. The latter group are known as pantsers as they are seen as flying by…
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Don’t Plan Everything (Freestyling and Pantsing)
I have a theory about writing and where ideas come from. It basically goes something like this, you can’t force it. You need to let an idea cook for a while before it is ready to come to life on the page. When I read Adam Grant’s book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, he…
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Write With Confidence in 7 Steps
Seven Steps to Confident Writing by Alan Gelb Everybody could benefit from learning how to express themselves clearly and persuasively in a piece of writing. Unfortunately, many of us see writing as “the thing we had to do back in school that we weren’t very good at it.” That is were Alan Gelb comes in.…
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Brill Building Historical Fiction
I’m Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil The Brill Building is a place where songwriting magic happened. Dozens of professional musicians worked there to churn out some of the most popular songs from the 1950s and 1960s. The author of this book was one of those prolific songwriters. Her work is even recognized by the…
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Technology Changed Everything in Music
Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music by Mark Katz This was an interesting read and I will write a few posts about the observations I made and things I learned while reading it. The 4 Minute Restriction “For seventy-one years between the invention of the phonograph and the introduction of the long-playing disc (877…
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There is More Than One Profound Truth
“The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.” ― Niels Bohr Neil Postman helps break down this thought. He writes, “It is better to have access to more than one profound truth. To be able to hold comfortably in one’s…