Chris Bell
chrisb@isb.ac.th
This week in my newsletter, I encouraged students to ‘Take a Chance.’ I have been giving book talks in classes and when I do this essentially I am trying to give some insights or pique their interests in books. It is part of the way we encourage reading for pleasure and overall appreciation of literacy. A couple of things to share about this process are that I let them know, “There are somewhere between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published every year in the US alone”. (Forbes) This is important to know so they, and you, should not feel obligated to finish a book that doesn’t appeal, offends, or is just bad. There are enough books published each year that you should always be able to find something you WANT to read. The other thing I share is my 20 Page Test. Basically, if in 20 pages the book hasn’t captured your attention enough to make you want to finish it then consider finding something new. I have used these methods for a while and the point is to give students the agency to make good decisions about books they read for pleasure. Additionally, to ensure them there is something out there for them.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
The of Racing in the Rain ~ by Garth Stein
Offered a tough read last week, so I needed something a bit lighter. This was it! Told from Enzo’s (the dog) perspective this is a heart wrenching story of a family dealing with illness and loss. While it sounds depressing, it is uplifting and at times very funny. The connection that the family has to each other and Enzo’s role in that family make for great storytelling. I haven’t seen the movie, but I will! Enjoy this one when you need a break from the day.
TECH RECOMMENDATION
Privacy is something that we have less and less of today. With that in mind it is important to protect what we have for the future. Something you can do yourself and with your family is to run through Facebook’s Privacy Check Up. Facebook has done, in my opinion, a nice job of creating a comprehensive way to look at your information on their site. Take a few minutes and go through the steps and you might be surprised.
As always if you have other questions or concerns or would like me to cover something in this section you can email me at: christob@isb.ac.th.