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Seeking the future of world language learning at the intersection of comprehensible input, project-based learning, global education, and love.
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Book Club 2017: All the Fluff

Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell December 31, 2017 2 Comments
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It’s that time again! Here’s a run-down of what I read in 2017.  It’s newly on my bucket list to read all the Pulitzer-winning novels, and this year’s list has 2: His Family, the first one, and The Underground Railroad, the latest one.  I prefer the first, and below you’ll see why.

Must Read

Best of 2017:

A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles

From Goodreads: A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

My take on it: Yes, it’s like Terminal, but in a hotel, but there’s so much more to it, so rich a storyline. There are so many vignettes that could be classic short stories in their own right: I could read the Triumvirate’s “Night of the Bouillabaisse” over and over and over again.

Overall, the book can be summarized in the Count’s lesson from life:

If one did not master one’s circumstances, one was bound to be mastered by them.

I would have loved it even had it simply ended as a memoir-type novel, but at about 83% you get the sense that there’s a game afoot, and then there is, and then there’s a resolution, which you didn’t expect at all, and you love the Count even more.  My only negative comment is that at the end, you feel such a sadness that you’ll not be continuing your newly established friendship with the wonder that is Alexander.

I can’t believe it wasn’t a finalist for the Pulitzer.  It was every bit as richly written as All the Light We Cannot See.  My favorite of the year so far.  Can you tell I enjoyed this book?  Time and space fail me to quote all that I loved, but let’s have a go.

Fate would not have the reputation it has if it simply did what it seemed it would do.

What can a first impression tell us about anyone? Why, no more than a chord can tell us about Beethoven, or a brushstroke about Botticelli. By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration but our reconsideration–and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour.

Coffee can energize the industrious at dawn, calm the reflective at noon, or raise the spirits of the beleaguered in the middle of the night.

If patience wasn’t so easily tested, then it would hardly be a virtue.

While a man should attend closely to life, he should not attend to too closely to the clock.

As a people, we Russians have proven unusually adept at destroying that which we have created.

Speaking of a man released from the Gulag:

Here were not simply the ravages of time. Here were the marks of one man upon another, of an era upon its offspring.

My new motto for 2018:

What is an intention compared to a plan?

And what a life philosophy:

These are the greatest of conveniences… I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson

On Goodreads: It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people’s home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The Mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not… Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan’s earlier life in which – remarkably – he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century.

My take on it: If Forrest Gump were a castrated Swede, this would be his book. (And the movie was funny, too.)

Meet Allan, who “did not get into other people’s business–if he could avoid it, which he usually could,” and who “considered that in general it was quite unnecessary to be grumpy if you had the chance not to.”

It is true that “few people were lucky enough to survive everything, year after year,” but apparently one of those few is Allan:

Herbert Einstein didn’t understand very much, but he did understand that his friend Allan had nine lives, and that their certain death was on the way to being transformed into something else, again!

As the book starts, Allan is about to be unwillingly subjected to a 100th birthday party, his own, without any alcohol allowed, and in the face of such an unpleasant outcome, “Allan surprised himself by making what –you have to admit– was a decision that “said ‘yes’ to life.”  He climbed out the window.  And the rest, as they say, is history – well, his story of what happened after he climbed out the window, complete with a suitcase full of money, a couple of inadvertent murders, a former petty thief, a hot-dog-stand proprietor, a redhead farmer and her pet elephant, and a frustrated police chief and prosecutor, who should have followed their instinct that

only harm would come from being involved in the disappearance of an ungrateful geriatric.

Interwoven in that current story, is Allan’s history, a tapestry of the 20th century, starting with his father’s excursion to Russia, and then, well,

“Now it’s war!” And war it certainly was–all the time.  In just about every part of the world, and it had been going on for several years.

But don’t worry – amid the war Allan is there to “show what a couple of bottles of tequila can do for international relations”- because even as he tries his hardest to avoid politics and the mess of who is Left and who is Right, though “if there was one thing life had taught Allan, it was that people insisted on being either one or the other,” he first stumbles into saving the life of Francisco Franco:

The food was excellent; the Andalusian cook did not dare let it be anything else.  And the wine flowed in an endless series of toasts in honor of Allan, of Allan’s father, of Czar Nicholas II, and of the Czar’s family.  And finally the general fell asleep just as he was giving Allan a big hug to seal the fact that they had just progressed to the familiar tú.

And then solves the last piece of the puzzle in the U.S.’s journey to invent the atomic bomb.  And helps Mao Tse Tung’s third wife escape her captors.  Walks over the Himalayas.  Saves Churchill’s life as he escapes Tehran.  Solves the atom bomb problem again – for the Soviet Union, where Stalin sends him to a Gulag prison camp for his trouble.  Dines with Kim Il-Sung and Mao.  Dines with Nixon and De Gaulle, preventing a communist revolution in France.  His activity as a spy in Russia solves the Cold War and helps the USSR crumble.

Since Allan didn’t really have a life mission, his misadventures can be summarized in this quote:

You’ll see that things will turn out like they do, because that is what happens–almost always, in fact.

His Family, Ernest Poole

From Goodreads: In this 1918 Pulitzer Prize winning story, widower Roger Gale struggles to deal with the way his children and grandchildren respond to the changing society. His Family is the story of a sixty-year-old New York man who reflects on his life and the lives of his three daughters. The women represent three separate types – one maternal, the second devoted to social movements, and the third living a happy and carefree existence – and the father sees something of himself in each.

My take on it: Happy hundredth anniversary to this first Pulitzer award-winning novel! Two recommendations:

1) Give up on judging the 1918 feel of the book. Forget about using the words “stereotyping” and “misogyny” and “sexism” and “racism.” Why? Because this isn’t a 2017 author trying to write a 1917 book. This is a 1917 author writing a 1917 book. So you’re not allowed to pretend you know how Poole should have written it, because you’re not a 1917 author writing a 1917 book, or even a 1917 reader reading a 1917 book.

2) Don’t read the book. LISTEN TO THE FREE LIBRIVOX RECORDING BY JAMES CARSON.  Carson isn’t super animated, but I mean- neither is Roger (the book’s main character). Carson’s voice will have you saying “Who is it that he sounds like??” until you figure out that he has a timbre rather like Martin Sheen.  Listening to Carson, you’re enveloped in the story because it’s so startlingly as if Roger himself were telling it to you.

Now. The review.

My favorite part of the writing was definitely Poole’s character development. I recently read Grisham’s penultimate offering, The Whistler, and just now I had to think hard about the title because the book was so desperately forgettable, and one of the maddening things was that halfway through Grisham would mention a main character and I still couldn’t remember who the person was. Not in His Family. Almost instantly Poole could drop the name of anyone in Roger’s family and I knew exactly who it was and felt the personality of the person, that’s how good the character development was. I’m not sure when is the last time I read a book that helped me know the characters by name and personality so very, very quickly.

Another feature that stunned me: I often think our world has gone mad, with infighting on every side over issues like women’s rights, immigration, country vs. city, senseless war across the sea, economic changes, poverty and education, motherhood vs. career woman, marriage, children vs. childless “freedom,” etc. This book encouraged me, in a way, that this new age isn’t the end of all things, it’s not the only time we’ve ever struggled with these issues. Truly, I often felt like I was reading a 2017 blog post written in 1917 prose. And the most amazing thing is that it’s a 1917 author doing it. He couldn’t see suffrage 3 years ahead. He couldn’t even see the U.S. entrance into WW1, much less the carnage that would follow in Round 2. (The publication date is 1 month after the U.S. entrance into the war, so his writing must have been finished.)

I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time, especially the perspective on death, how at the end, everyone feels their life isn’t quite finished, and how our influence lives on in those we live behind. The description of Roger’s death at the end was enveloping.

Go. Listen to it now.

Worth Your Time

Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance

From Goodreads: From a former Marine and Yale Law School Graduate, a poignant account of growing up in a poor Appalachian town, that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class. Part memoir, part historical and social analysis, J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy is a fascinating consideration of class, culture, and the American dream.

My take on it: This book is full of stuff no one is allowed to say except the people who are living it. Society is waiting to crucify anyone who’s willing to say what J.D. says, which is that people need to man up and take personal responsibility and change their lives.  That we can change and not whine about being victims of our environment.  That answers are gray and people who do bad things also do good things.  But you can’t crucify J.D. because he has the right to say it, and he’s said it well.  I’ll think of this book every time I wander eastern Kentucky and I’ll be looking for the sets of eyes in the windows.

The Adventures of Nanny Piggins, R. A. Spratt

From Goodreads: “Good evening, I am Nanny Piggins,” said Nanny Piggins the pig. When stingy Mr. Green planted a Nanny Wanted sign on his front lawn for his three children, he had no idea his ad would be answered by a pig. Yes, a pig. A fabulously sassy and impeccably dressed pig as a matter of fact! With her insatiable urge to eat chocolate (and feed chocolate to everyone she loves), her high-flying spirit, and her unending sense of fun, Nanny Piggins takes Derrick, Samantha, and Michael on a year of surprises, yummy treats, and adventures they’ll never forget.

My take on it: As a family dinner time book, this had us laughing more often than not. I too expected a piggy Poppins but there’s little to endear Sarah Piggins to adults- she’s a deceptive, rebellious, gluttonous, irresponsible influence on her charges, and as long as kids know that, they (and you) will be okay, and perhaps more than a little amused. I want a Boris book.

Along the Infinite Sea, Beatriz Williams

From Goodreads: Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler’s problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she’s finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.

But the car’s new owner turns out to have secrets of her own, and as the glamorous and mysterious Annabelle Dommerich takes pregnant Pepper under her wing, the startling provenance of this car comes to light: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle’s life from World War II stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts.

My take on it:  It was more risqué than my usual, but not 50 shades by any stretch.  Stefan was written an awful lot like a woman, but the rest of the character development and the plot were so well done. I devour World War II stories, and with the across-time aspect of this one, I raced through it.  Some favorite quotes:

Stefan:

One can follow the sun, of course, but I have always thought that it is best to know some winter, too, so that the summer, when it arrives, is the more gratefully received.

About pregnancy:

…inconvenient little symptoms that had no obvious link to the biological reality, the peculiar fact that a new and separate human being was growing inside the center of you.  You didn’t notice the human being until much later, and you still couldn’t quite picture it in your head, a baby.  A real one.  A tiny fat red little person.

Von Kleist:

It is the natural duty of the large to protect the small.

Johann:

It is an important business, having a baby. There is a new life to be considered.

About love:

Lady Alice:

Nobody stays in love forever, and then you’re just stuck together out of habit and inertia and bloody sniveling children. If you simply go on having passionate affairs, you never have to give it up.  It’s like being in love constantly, for ever and ever, only with different people.

(Until she marries Annabelle’s father.  Which is the end of that erroneous perspective.)

Annabelle: “But then they leave you, or they sleep with someone else.”
Lady Alice: “What’s the matter with that? You simply find yourself a new one (philanderer). They’re not rare, I assure you.”
Annabelle: “Because it hurts like the devil.”

Considering safe, faithful Johann, Annabelle:

Imagine that, a lifetime of secure love, a houseful of children and loyalty…. He promised to make my happiness the study of his life.

(I live that, and it’s movie-worthy wonderful.)

A Nazi, about Nazis:

A stooge for these men, these selfish men who will commit any crime to win themselves another gram of power.  I have got to do this, I have got to stop them.  I have got to do this for my boy.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson

From Goodreads: It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour, mystery, and real-life suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope Riddle to President Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster that helped place America on the road to war.

My take on it: I enjoyed this so much more than In the Garden of Beasts. I felt drawn into the storyline of an event I never knew more about than a few lines in a history book. Well done, Mr. Larson.

The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead

From Goodreads: As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.

My take on it: I came to this book as a Southern white girl. And to justify my 3-star rating, I’m going to go on at some length about being a Southern white girl in 2017.
I’m married to a New Englander and live in the Ohio River Valley now, but I spent the 80’s and 90’s in rural East Central Georgia, in an enormous county with a tiny population, 60% Black, of whom a disproportionate number bore the last name of Jones, and many had never left the county. And speaking of the name Jones, the name also applied to a street and a mansion near the center of town, and the lake outside of town, and a number of other things, and I’m thinking that you can guess why.
I was relatively young when I discovered what the not-South thought about the South. In part I blame it on the reporters who make sure they’re pairing strong accent with low education in those they showcase on the television. In any case, I learned early to fight that accent. That it would brand me as stupid. It wasn’t terribly hard for me- my father from Ohio, my mother mostly from California, and me homeschooled- I could resist the accent. On the rare occasions I’m with friends from back home, it slips back in, but I catch it quick and send it on its way.
I fought the accent, but I proudly offer my origins in a conversation. I love the South. I love that we’re so hospitable that you named hospitality after us. I love that we know that our organic food comes from actual real farms and respect the people who wrest bounty out of the earth. I love that we can spend most of the year outside enjoying the truly fresh air (though we do long for any little flake of snow) (and really, I do not miss that awful humidity).
But I must tell you, we feel the weight of your judgment, real or imagined. Often I think this must be what it’s like to be a modern German, always fighting the stigma of the slavery years. In our minds, aside from the not-South Elites believing we’re unrepentantly ignorant, they think we’d go back to the slavery years in a heartbeat, that we’re still fighting the Civil War in our hearts, that the statues and the flags mean we celebrate the pieces of our history that are rape, torture, oppression, murder.
I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve wanted to say “I know. But it wasn’t me.”
But I do remember hints that the Black Africans were the descendants of Ham, and perhaps all the pain they went through stemmed from his Genesis curse, not as a reason to further oppress them, but as a way to find an explanation for what had happened.  An explanation outside of us.  No- not us.  It wasn’t me.
I remember the race riot over the black man who had anemia and died in a hot jail – at least, in my head that’s what it was about. I remember the curfew and the state troopers.
I remember there being black churches and white churches, a black funeral home and a white funeral home, down to divisions in the grocery stores, chicken places, gas stations, that some were patronized mostly by whites, and others were patronized mostly by blacks. And you probably think that’s wrong. And I feel like I’m supposed to think that’s wrong. And it felt completely normal. It felt like everyone liked it that way. No one made the rules. We just all followed them anyway. But now I ask myself, do I think that because I’m white?
I know it happened in Georgia. I know I’m from Georgia. That was history, and it wasn’t me.
And now to the book.
Although other reviews will point out to you that this book was fiction, and not historical fiction, when you open it and read the Library of Congress classification, that’s what it says. Historical fiction. It’s not. I want to say, “But Colson, the history is horrible enough. Why didn’t you leave the fiction to the characters? Why so much fiction in the surroundings, too?” Someone even remarked in a review that he must have done a ton of research. I beg to differ. Even for an educated mind – not any of those Georgia-accented people, mind you – it’s tough to tease the history out here. As another reviewer said, we’re confronted with “fake” history we suspect could not be true, and we’re annoyed we have to go elsewhere to verify that we were right.
Everyone will know there wasn’t a real railroad under the ground. It’s preposterously imagined.
But will you know that Georgia wasn’t a dark place so evil that no one would ever believe the underground railroad reached into its darkness?
Will you know that South Carolina never pretended to institute a “negro betterment” program in order to perform medical experiments and purify and limit the African races?
Will you know that North Carolina didn’t outlaw the Negro races and then ferret them and their protectors out and string them up in a weekly festival before using their corpses to decorate the road into every town?
And after all that treatise, I’ll echo what others also said about the characters: perhaps making it a first-person narrative from Cora’s view would have made us care more. If you’re going to paint it something it wasn’t, even as horrible as it was, at least make us care about the humans involved.

Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez

From Goodreads: Here is the poignant journey of a minority student who pays the cost of his social assimilation and academic success with a painful alienation–from his past, his parents, his culture–and so describes the high price of making it in middle-class America.

My take on it: This was a quick and fairly easy read.  Rodriguez offers a brief series of well-written, deeply thoughtful essays on his family, their language and religion and traditions, and how his education and assimilation into the educated U.S. society separated him from all of those and labeled him.  I thought it was well-written, and it made me think hard about things I thought I knew about when I had no real insight on them.  I’d actually written an essay against bilingual education in high school, and then thought more about it thanks to my aunt being a bilingual ed teacher in Arizona and to the arguments from Stephen Krashen.  Richard tries to be a strong voice of experience on my early side, against bilingual education.  Regardless of where I end up on the issue, I’m glad to have Richard’s personal insight.

Camino Island, John Grisham

From Goodreads: A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a secure vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library. Their loot is priceless, but Princeton has insured it for twenty-five million dollars.

Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts.

Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer’s block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous offer of money convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Bruce Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets.

But eventually Mercer learns far too much, and there’s trouble in paradise as only John Grisham can deliver it.

My take on it: The reason I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads instead of 3 is probably that I came to it just off of The Whistler, the absolute worst excuse for a Grisham novel yet. Mercer is underdeveloped and doesn’t stir anything in you, but Grisham had me rooting for the good guys and the bad in this one, and that’s a fun conflict. And I knew who the characters were through the story, a vast improvement over Whistler.

The Kept Woman, Karin Slaughter

From Goodreads: With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn’t belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come.

My take on it: My first Slaughter book: the profanity and careless, commitment-free relationships were distracting and not my style. That said, the plot was highly interesting with characters so well developed that every time she mentioned someone I thought “Oh yes, I know who that is.” Only the green assistant ME, a forgettable side character, was oddly developed.

Behind Closed Doors, B.A. Paris

From Goodreads: Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.

Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace’s friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn’t Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?

And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?

My take on it: As far as capturing you and holding attention, five stars. I started and finished it in 24 hours in a season where I was hard pressed to find time to read a few pages. I found the time for this one (but didn’t get a lot of sleep!). But as the novel wore on I felt the writing got sloppy, like she was in a hurry to meet a deadline and was churning out canned, stilted phrases. Also, in spite of what the epilogue interviewer says, the characters are not that believable. I don’t know a couple like Jack and Grace.  And I don’t know anyone else who does. [SPOILER] He’s after the sister and not the wife, because he can smell fear? He wants her as a wife “in name only”? I don’t think so.

Meh

The Guilty, David Baldacci

From Goodreads: Will Robie escaped his small Gulf Coast hometown of Cantrell, Mississippi, after high school, severing all personal ties, and never looked back. Not once. Not until the unimaginable occurs. His father, Dan Robie, has been arrested and charged with murder.

My take on it: Typical David Baldacci- fantastically impossible superheroes in a plot so convoluted there are two or three extra plots you’re not sure have much more purpose than to take up space (the preacher’s daughters, the sick football friend, the casino people), but in true Baldacci form, he pulls you in and keeps you there to the end.

The Whistler, John Grisham

From Goodreads: We expect our judges to be honest and wise.  Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system.  We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.  But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.

My take on it: As late as halfway through the book, I was incredulous that Grisham could have written it.  He mentioned characters – I mean main characters and I didn’t know who they were.  Why couldn’t I care about the characters?  Why couldn’t I even remember them?  Where was the heinous injustice of the crime?  And then, it got… okay.  Almost Grisham.

 

Lies Women Believe, Nancy Leigh Demoss

From Goodreads: In best selling Lies Women Believe, Nancy exposes those areas of deception most commonly believed by Christian women—lies about God, sin, priorities, marriage and family, emotions, and more. She then sheds light on how we can be delivered from bondage and set free to walk in God’s grace, forgiveness, and abundant life.

My take on it: If you’re on the far conservative, Bible-respecting side of evangelical Christianity, you’ll find this book excellent. Demoss takes so many of the lies we really do believe and helps us really fight them with the truth of the Word of God.
If you’re not sold on some of the hardest, more “radical” teachings of the Bible, specifically regarding the special gifts and God’s best plan for women, you’ll want to burn this book. Call it your independent spirit, call it your family’s financial situation that sends you and your children separate ways out of the house each day, you’ll want to find every reason you can to say “No, Nancy, surely that can’t be what God actually meant. You’ve got it wrong.”
I know, because I had to figure out those reactions in my own heart.
But if you have a discerning heart, a spirit that can take a hard look at why you think one thing and Demoss thinks another, and then come out somewhere in between or one side or another, and know why you’ve done that, and then keep reading, you’ll get the most out of this book. More than you would if you swallowed every word hook, line, and sinker. More than you would if you threw it at the wall as a bunch of antiquated, oppressive patriarchal propaganda.
So why 3 stars?
First, because of the writing of Eve’s diary. Demoss isn’t a fiction writer. The introductory sections written as if they were from Eve’s diary are hard to stomach and harder to believe. And there wasn’t a point in including them. I dislike reading what people think Bible characters would have said.
Second, because of the same issue I had with a counselor I met with not long ago: yes, I believe the Bible. Yes, I believe it’s true at all times and in all situations and contains insight on all the answers to life’s hard questions. But it makes it exponentially more helpful to me when the insight is being communicated by someone who’s been there. Someone who’s been married more than a few years. Someone who isn’t horrified at your confession of crazy thoughts about your kids because she remembers having those thoughts and how she fought them. Demoss can’t talk from the voice of experience about the issues that have been the hardest for me, and that’s the story behind my 3 stars.

Happy new year, everyone.  What amazing books did you read this year?  What’s on your reading list for 2018?

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Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell
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2 Comments

  1. A must-have resource to accompany Felipe Alou | Musicuentos says:
    April 17, 2018 at 1:41 pm

    […] author of a recent Pulitzer novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, on my radar because reading all the Pulitzers is on my bucket […]

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  2. All the Fluff: Book Club 2018 | Musicuentos says:
    December 24, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    […] and had 7 children, homeschooled them, served in church – in short, her book is what I hoped Nancy Leigh Demoss’s book would be.  Demoss writes “The Bible has all the answers” – which is very true […]

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      • Everything works (or nothing does).
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  •  2019 (31)
    •  December (5)
      • In the end, these are your favorite posts.
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      • One last time: Book Club '19, All the Fluff
      • What I learned from COFFEE (or, another hat I wear)
      • Every story comes to an end.
    •  November (3)
      • Make a MovieTalk more than a MovieTalk: 5 ways
      • And then PBLL says to TCI... #ACTFL19
      • 4 ways to incorporate a Song of the Week comprehensibly & thematically
    •  October (2)
      • One thing at a time: Step Five.
      • One thing at a time: Step Four
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      • One thing at a time: Step Three
      • One thing at a time: Step Two
      • One thing at a time: Step One
      • Try adding this 1 practice to your classroom culture this year
    •  August (6)
      • Authentic poems for the Spanish novice
      • Hurry up & move! Two (no three! no SEVEN) new brain breaks
      • Supercharge a "News" unit
      • 10 real-world project examples for PBLL
      • Brain Break: Play 5 Second Rule!
      • The Miss Musicuentos of 2003: 5 things right, 5 things wrong
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      • Join me for a revolution: #SociallySilentSummer
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      • The 3 silver bullets that killed my textbook
      • Reflections on our AAPPL experience
      • How proficient language speakers get there, and how it changed my goals
    •  March (3)
      • 6 strategies to turn to when (language class) plans go awry
      • 10 songs for a Spanish class health unit & "duele"
      • The wait is over. #EsperanzaRenace
    •  February (2)
      • Legacy, or how my father's spirit lives on in my bilingual child
      • The fundamental perspective that drives your approach to TCI
    •  January (2)
      • Pick & choose lightning review for Novice Spanish
      • Resolved with a Plan 2019: Stuck rabbits, changing puzzles, picking up a paintbrush
  •  2018 (32)
    •  December (2)
      • Thank you, and what you read this year
      • All the Fluff: Book Club 2018
    •  November (3)
      • Gallery Blitz: High-energy novel review
      • From the "icky" test to the Supreme Court: Reflections on teachers sharing (& selling) ideas
      • If the resource fits, use it! (But what fits?)
    •  October (2)
      • Straw wars: #authres photo resources for Carrie Toth's Mar de plástico
      • Keys to an unforgettable, successful #unconference session
    •  September (5)
      • My most expensive resource is now FREE
      • StoryDrawing the song "Latinoamérica"
      • Crowdsourced tips: Toward a new, improved conference model
      • It's conference season. Kick FOMO out the door.
      • RESOURCE RELEASE: Trip Itineraries for Novice High Spanish
    •  August (8)
      • This year, consider... 4) drawing the story
      • #AuthresAugust: Kiva project descriptions
      • This year, consider... 3) paying for apps & services
      • #AuthresAugust: Tips for teaching an authentic novel
      • This year consider... 2) teaching a learner novel (resources for Peter va a Colombia!)
      • #AuthresAugust: Turning TripAdvisor reviews into a trip itinerary
      • This year, consider... 1) A vocabulary brainstorming station
      • Back to work: #AuthresAugust and This year consider...
    •  May (3)
      • #Langchat history and more: Stories and perspectives for your listening pleasure
      • Dear pregnant/young mom teacher: Dream small.
      • More translation-free twists on Matamoscas
    •  April (2)
      • Two cures for our obsession with high-frequency words
      • A must-have resource to accompany Felipe Alou
    •  March (2)
      • How the (shower curtain) word wall looks... so far
      • ImproviCuentos: Mad Libs + novel chapter = (90-minute) lesson plan
    •  February (2)
      • A tribute to your unhistoric acts, teacher
      • NCSSFL & ACTFL gave us new Can Dos: Your 15-minute(ish) guide
    •  January (3)
      • Mind Mapping Vocabulary
      • Blogs to watch 2018: You tell me!
      • Resolved 2018: Intention vs. plan
  •  2017 (30)
    •  December (4)
      • Book Club 2017: All the Fluff
      • The Power of Thank You (and what you read most)
      • Book Review: Raising Global Children
      • 21 gifts for the teacher you love
    •  November (3)
      • A minor stroke of genius: Count down the rabbit trail
      • ACTFL '17: Novice PBLL, and adapt that text!
      • Can I learn with you at ACTFL '17?
    •  October (2)
      • Break free from the verb chart. (FLANC '17)
      • Build an iceberg? I'm gonna need some ice.
    •  September (3)
      • Let the PLN make your simmer sauce (w/Ratoncito Pérez resources)
      • The $10 gift for EVERY teacher on your list
      • In search of music that says something real (#AuthresAugust)
    •  August (5)
      • The alphabet book every Spanish teacher must have (#AuthresAugust)
      • The best Spanish travel channels on YouTube (#AuthresAugust)
      • #AuthresAugust: Blogging street signs in Madrid
      • Authentic or learner material? Wrong question.
      • New resources: How frequent is that high-frequency word?
    •  July (1)
      • Welcome back! (sort of)
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      • Summer Activity Record sheets for elementary to Spanish 2
      • Yes, some people are "good" at languages. So what? (Black Box)
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      • A Musicuentos storytelling video
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      • Why it's I Can, not I Need or even I Want
      • 5 steps to make a video viewing guide
      • Let's do this together.
    •  February (3)
      • So your students think they can dance...
      • One question: What do you use your L2 for?
      • Blogs to Watch 2017
    •  January (3)
      • Resolutions 2017: Support the community
      • Resolutions 2017: Do something empathetic
      • Resolutions (Systems!) 2017: Become Officer Hopps
  •  2016 (54)
    •  December (8)
      • Top post of 2016: Homework choice systems for Spanish class
      • Best of 2016, #2: Top 20 Songs for Spanish Class
      • Book Club '16: Who Owns the Learning
      • Best of 2016, #3: 5 ways to use infographics in language class
      • Book Club 2016: All the Fluff
      • Best of 2016, #4: Where's the agreement?
      • Best of 2016, #5: New(ish) authentic music!
      • When the textbookless teacher's creativity goes up in flames
    •  November (3)
      • Textbook as AID: #actfl16 slideshow and checklist
      • See you this year? Conferences & workshops
      • One more question: Did you become proficient because of a class?
    •  October (4)
      • So, what was your pathway to proficiency? (Poll)
      • Post-It Votes: Low stress, high interaction with input
      • VanPatten/Ellis/Conti/Long: "Principles" compared
      • Native speaker video resource: ¡GRACIAS Project Amigo!
    •  September (2)
      • The largest Spanish class PBLL collaboration ever?
      • Throwback ThurSLAy: Research that brought us here
    •  August (6)
      • #AuthResAugust: Interactive websites
      • #AuthRes August: Top 20 Musicuentos songs
      • #AuthResAugust: New(ish) Music!
      • Nine homework choice systems for world language classrooms
      • #AuthResAugust: The power of Twitter
      • Annual BTS sale: 20%-25% off ebook guides to authentic novels
    •  July (5)
      • A call to #AuthRes August
      • World language teaching after the Babel fish
      • Where are the points of agreement in language teaching?
      • My own position statement: the why & how of TL use
      • July agenda: To boldly think in public
    •  June (2)
      • Welcome, again
      • This side of the Year of No Grades: How it changed (me)
    •  May (1)
      • Seven things I will (should/would/might) do next year
    •  April (8)
      • They couldn't hear the word "no"
      • Scaffolded reading: Novice Mid #authres "Places to Plans"
      • NEW Summer PD: Brave Little Tailor CI strategies workshop
      • Dear Everychild: Learn a language
      • I am (Shakespeare): A practical, fun TL transition/brain break
      • Extra, extra! Special guest at (Base)Camp Musicuentos
      • Guest Post: What is "unconscious" acquisition in the classroom? (Justin Slocum Bailey)
      • I'll never use authentic resources again
    •  March (6)
      • Primacy/Recency Lesson Plan Template
      • Better acquisition by altering (not eliminating) translation
      • 5 ways to use infographics in language class
      • Armed for incomprehensible input (CSCTFL '16)
      • Effective Storytelling with Consistency, Cartooning, and Cool Content (CSCTFL)
      • The Best Laid Plans (CSCTFL '16)
    •  February (3)
      • It's TIME! Register for Camp Musicuentos 2016
      • The word to fear in lesson planning
      • Culture, description, family: Novice #authres this week!
    •  January (6)
      • Quick tech to start your year: One-Click Timer
      • Quick Tech to start your year: Video DownloadHelper
      • Quick tech to start your year: Screencastify
      • Chameleons and bears and early language class, oh my!
      • Blogs to Watch 2016
      • Resolve for 2016: Walk free, and pay it forward
  •  2015 (78)
    •  December (11)
      • Top post of the year: The 2015 updated rubric
      • Book Club 2015: Make It Stick
      • Best of 2015 #2: The five things I must have in my syllabus
      • Book Club 2015: All the etc. in one post
      • Best of 2015 #3: How important is task completion?
      • Semester 1 assessment: Elementary edition
      • Too much choice = a self-defeating tyranny?
      • Best of 2015 #4: My homework choices for very early novices
      • Best of 2015 #5: Using the song El perdón
      • Ending the year with Best of & Book Club
      • How about an elementary rubric?
    •  November (4)
      • Couch conversations from ACTFL: A conference in sound bytes
      • Teach me to say what I need to say: Overview of TBLT (Black Box)
      • See you at ACTFL '15?
      • A checklist: Adapt, Incorporate, or Ditch a textbook activity?
    •  October (7)
      • 7 Brain Breaks for World Language Teachers
      • Give & take #authres activities: Let's collaborate!
      • Collaborating via Google Drive step-by-step
      • Correcting all those errors? Step away from the red pen. (BlackBox)
      • Twitter Lingo for World Language Teachers
      • More resources for very early circumlocution
      • More TL in class is tough. Let's do it anyway. (BlackBox)
    •  September (6)
      • A conference in sound bytes: 6 quotes from KWLA '15
      • The Best Laid Plans (KWLA '15)
      • Cultura y Comunicación con Comerciales (KWLA '15)
      • Novice description with a deep cultural AP twist
      • See you this year? Conferences & Camp Musicuentos 2016
      • The taco/sushi talk - visualized!
    •  August (9)
      • These are a few of my favorite things
      • ANNOUNCING: The 2015 updated performance assessment rubric
      • Let me tell you about tacos... I mean crêpes!
      • You can't possibly teach it. But you can do this. (Black Box)
      • Homework choice for elementary students (and my syllabus)
      • BTS: The Taco Talk for Intermediates
      • Finally: My homework choices for very early novices
      • The five things I must have in my syllabus
      • If I learn it, can I use it? The interface debate (Black Box)
    •  July (6)
      • Back-to-school time! Upcoming posts, resources on sale
      • Starting my interactive notebook
      • I can do more with you than I can alone (Black Box)
      • This is design-based learning: A disaster relief team
      • No dog with my iced tea, please
      • All they need is accurate input... right? Wrong. (Black Box)
    •  June (4)
      • The new required school supply: Find your own audience
      • Grammar drills aren't all in your head... or in your head at all (BlackBox)
      • The one-word key to teaching culture
      • Why your method doesn't matter: Black Box videocast
    •  May (4)
      • Embedded listening
      • Rubrics: How important is task completion?
      • Add this to your Novice AND Intermediate HW choice options NOW
      • What a design-based WL program looks like
    •  April (6)
      • "Three Before Me" poster in German and French
      • Three before me
      • Why interpersonal isn't interpretive
      • How can a transition empower your class?
      • How can I help you put research to practice?
      • Forced to adopt a textbook: Now what?
    •  March (7)
      • New song: El perdón for two levels
      • En español, por favor: Fostering bilingualism in children
      • It's not about the I in IPA, or the vocab list
      • Armed for a world of incomprehensible input: Circumlocution training
      • Timely repost: the "I don't understand!" signal
      • Poll: what conference proposals?
      • Anatomy of a novice question
    •  February (7)
      • I see a... great chance to practice prepositions
      • Speaking of motivation: Guest interview on Paulino Brener's EPC Show
      • It's TIME! Open registration for Camp Musicuentos '15
      • The M that trumps your method, materials, & madness
      • Shake things up: Vary your seating - every day
      • #Teach2Teach 3: A coach who failed me, and a coach who didn't
      • Pronunciation gold: Forvo.com
    •  January (7)
      • It's a myth, #11: Assessing communication without communication
      • My favorite authentic resource combining culture & calendar
      • #Teach2Teach Question 1: The Great Balancing Act
      • All new resource: Battleship for es / está
      • 2015 Resolution #3, Expand your learning network: New blogs to watch
      • 2015 Resolutions #2: Act like we're on the same team
      • 2015 resolution #1: Stop being so hard on yourself
  •  2014 (96)
    •  December (22)
      • Book Club '14: George Müller & Bruchko
      • Best of 2014 #1: Every language teacher's biggest mistake
      • Best of 2014 #6: Carol Gaab's rebuttal to my TPRS critique
      • Book Club '14: Creating Innovators
      • Best of 2014 #2: Where I depart from classic TPRS
      • Book Club '14: Stella Bain, Gemma Hardy, & a bittersweet hotel
      • Best of 2014 #7: What I love about TPRS
      • Book Club '14: Monuments Men, With the Old Breed, In Pharaoh's Army
      • Book Club '14: The Kite Runner
      • Best of 2014 #3: Sample homework choice systems
      • Book Club '14: Crazy Busy
      • Book Club '14: The Hobbit & The Scarlet Pimpernel
      • Best of 2014 #5: How I use verb charts
      • Book Club 2014: Amazing Grace (Kozol)
      • Book Club '14: A Step of Faith & Walking on Water (The Walk series)
      • Best of 2014 #4 & #8: Curriculum planning outside the textbook
      • Book Club '14: Five Days at Memorial & Men We Reaped
      • Best of 2014 #9: Genius hour isn't a great idea for novice classes
      • Book Club '14: The Painted Veil & Life After Life
      • Best of 2014 #10: The new JCPS curriculum documents
      • Happy Cyber Week! Resource sale Dec. 1-3
      • Musicuentos Book Club 2014
    •  November (4)
      • Lessons from ACTFL '14: if they have all the answers, they're trying to sell you something
      • What's ahead: ACTFL, best of '14, and the book club
      • Linguacafé: The idea that rocked my interpersonal world
      • What we learned at IFLTA '14: Everyone struggles, Culture leads
    •  October (5)
      • Communicative teaching in the shadow of [grammar-focused] common assessment
      • More multi-tasking children's lit
      • Next on my PD list: New proficiency videos
      • What we learned at KWLA: share, think, respect
      • The game-changing authentic resource guide for Spanish 3+: it's here!
    •  September (4)
      • Three days and then...
      • The technology that's making us irrelevant...and more relevant
      • Thank you, reflective teachers
      • See you this year? Conferences & Camp Musicuentos
    •  August (6)
      • How I teach La ciudad de las bestias
      • Putting homework in their hands: Sample systems
      • The First Day Story: Empowering with CI
      • Keeping games communicative
      • Let's talk tacos: Informing parents & students on proficiency
      • Regreso a clases! Ciudad on sale
    •  July (2)
      • Oso de Mantequilla: A tribute
      • It's coming!
    •  June (7)
      • What we learned at Camp Musicuentos
      • Lesson plan: Indirect objects and celebrations (template too)
      • New Podcast: What kind of corrective feedback works?
      • New resource: Educating parents and students on proficiency
      • Another resource: JCPS new curriculum documents (K-12)
      • Introducing the past tenses together
      • Time for you to get feedback?
    •  May (9)
      • Upcoming workshop (IN): Proficiency-based lesson planning
      • Stop calling this easy & fast
      • Revisiting Photopeach for the AP Final
      • Stop stressing: It's wrong to do the best you can
      • Three tasks for crafting an effective message: Black Box Podcast episode 4
      • A Year in a Day: Camp Musicuentos 2014
      • Taking care of business: Summer collaboration for a successful year
      • 4 ways to tweak the exit ticket
      • Black Box Podcast episode 3: To Sell Is Human, part 1
    •  April (9)
      • Top 25 Spanish novels
      • Let's play
      • New activity resource: Tweetfest!
      • Black Box Podcast episode 2: Circumlocution
      • An impromptu "langcamp"
      • See you at ACTFL '14
      • 4 ways to keep curriculum relevant
      • Tutorial on the best free PD you'll find in your own home
      • The Musicuentos Black Box Podcast: IT'S HERE!
    •  March (11)
      • Authentic visual illustrations of proficiency (Spanish)
      • Curriculum planning outside the textbook, Part 2
      • A week or more of working with Vivir mi vida
      • Resource release: Complete verb pack
      • Curriculum planning outside the textbook: Part 1
      • Corrections to simple verb pack
      • Musicuentos is on Pinterest!
      • Is this the best we can do?
      • Writing a restaurant review: Activity from Bethanie Drew
      • Putting a number grade on proficiency-based assessment
      • Resource release: Simple verb pack
    •  February (7)
      • My favorite source for restaurant (and other) reviews
      • Guest post: A TPRS rebuttal by Carol Gaab
      • TPRS strategies I don't put in my toolbox
      • What I love about TPRS
      • Repost: Valentine's #authres from Twitter
      • How I use verb charts
      • Guest post: What students need- A leader (David Seibel)
    •  January (10)
      • Every language teacher's biggest mistake
      • My new favorite digital storytelling app
      • Why Genius Hour can't work in a novice classroom
      • Website review: Geoguessr
      • 2014 resolutions #5: Use more authentic sources.
      • 2014 Resolutions #4: Take a step outside the textbook
      • Reviewing 2013: Five blogs to watch
      • 2014 Resolutions #3: Survey your students.
      • 2014 Resolutions #2: Collaborate with someone
      • 2014 Resolutions #1: Read a book
  •  2013 (110)
    •  December (13)
      • The #1 Musicuentos post of 2013 (and the six years before that)
      • Best of 2013: #2 - Tips for the new AP
      • Best of 2013: #3 - Choice in homework, updated
      • Best of 2013: #4 - Novice song for Spanish Class Idol
      • Best of 2013: #5 - Can you control vocabulary?
      • Best of 2013: #6 - Is your lesson plan out of whack?
      • Best of 2013: #7 - Four habits that enrich vocabulary
      • AP Spanish final exam: Controversia navideña y Vacunas para niños
      • Best of 2013: #8 - Novice high vs. Intermediate low
      • Best of 2013: #9 - Using assessment to inform your teaching
      • Best of 2013: #10 - Spot-checking conversations
      • First-ever Musicuentos ebook: Reader's Guide to Ciudad de las bestias
      • Happy December!
    •  November (8)
      • AP Spanish essay - Obamacare
      • Vote: Musicuentos proposal for ACTFL '14
      • Setting goals
      • Don't go to ACTFL '13 without TELLing
      • Repost: A story for demonstratives
      • Listen to some Grammy music
      • Caring about the Really Big Deal
      • Calm before the excitement!
    •  October (4)
      • Using assessment to inform your teaching
      • Just some fluff: Makeup for busy mom teachers
      • Top 3 mistakes teachers of novices make
      • Book review: Teach Like A Pirate
    •  September (7)
      • Interacting with authentic materials: a guide
      • Using audio-lingua
      • Seven keys to a great story
      • Stations: Exploring music
      • It's a myth: Equipping students to communicate with... themselves
      • Turn a Novice Song into "Spanish Class Idol"
      • Is your lesson plan out of whack?
    •  August (12)
      • Children's literature for the world language class (Helena Curtain)
      • App review & Giveaway! High School Spanish
      • Choice in homework, updated
      • Back to school: Proficiency posts
      • App Review: Storykit (bonus - meet my family!)
      • Back to school: Evaluate traditions
      • Back to school: Blogs with great ideas
      • App review & giveaway: Word Magic dictionary and thesaurus
      • My authorized AP syllabus
      • Back to school: Musicuentos "first days" posts
      • Back to school: Give them signals
      • Going back to school with Musicuentos
    •  July (6)
      • Tips for the New AP
      • Don't be fooled! What the AP does and doesn't measure
      • Illustrating proficiency with a laugh
      • Snag some free apps while you can!
      • Stop asking for unnatural language
      • Fun video: Animals, present, feelings
    •  June (9)
      • Targeting problems with a pop quiz
      • Song, irregular present, part 4: Tengo tu love
      • It's my birthday - check out our presents!
      • A meaningful approach to grammar
      • Websites for creating online magazines
      • A world with no magazines
      • Guest post: Coaching with choice
      • Screencast: Photopeach
      • Communicative grading made easier
    •  May (10)
      • Health infographic: Novice - Intermediate Activity
      • A lesson in finding authentic sources easily
      • Tips and songs for past participles
      • Foster higher-level thinking from the beginning
      • Summer: Language for the fun of it
      • Novice high vs. intermediate low
      • E-magazines with learner appeal
      • Step outside the textbook: Tell a story
      • Repost: Novice description with Jengibre and Pin Pon
      • Interpersonal communication by choice
    •  April (11)
      • Novice speaking: Describing self with Sie7e
      • Can you control vocabulary?
      • Activities from authentic resources: Future tense
      • Why I love mistakes
      • Maternity leave!
      • Lots of your class gone? Pick up a book.
      • Abandon the multiple-choice question
      • Songs for future tense
      • I choose béisbol: sample "homework" report
      • 300 times thank you
      • Reporting like kindergarten
    •  March (11)
      • Training in circumlocution: Ban the dictionary
      • Fun activity #9: A leer
      • Last tips on avoiding burnout
      • Cortometraje for narration
      • Make developing curriculum even easier
      • Even more tips on avoiding burnout
      • Authentic resource: trivia games
      • Still more tips on avoiding burnout
      • Two more ways to ease into developing curriculum
      • Song, irregular present, part 3: Carmelina
      • More tips on avoiding burnout
    •  February (10)
      • Intermediate news activity for all three modes
      • Easing into developing curriculum
      • If you don't pay attention to comprehensibility...
      • Burning out or burning bright?
      • Keeping the class engaged: Change activities
      • Fun activity #8: A cantar
      • Twitter/relationships activity, just in time for Valentine's
      • Tech tools gone wrong
      • Grading regular free-topic writing
      • Add more music to homework choices
    •  January (9)
      • Spot-checking conversations
      • Song, irregular present, part 2: Hace tiempo
      • Four habits that enrich vocabulary
      • Paragraph form
      • Myths 8 & 9: I don't do it because they can't handle it.
      • Assigning homework
      • Song, irregular present, part 1: Sigo con ella
      • More choice every day
      • A novice cross-curricular activity from authentic materials
  •  2012 (39)
    •  December (2)
      • 5 New Year's resolutions for every WL teacher
      • It pays to have a focus
    •  October (2)
      • Best and worst games I've seen
      • Example: authentic text for novices
    •  September (7)
      • Success with Stations
      • More student choice in homework
      • Prezi: The Choice is Theirs (KWLA 2012)
      • Prezi: Kick the Vocab Quiz (KWLA 2012)
      • Take the leap to standards-based assessment
      • Fun activity #7: Conecta cuatro
      • A song for feelings
    •  August (11)
      • Screencast: Edmodo
      • Myth #7: Spanish Mike is a taco.
      • A study in motivation, part 2: Self-assessing abilities
      • It's my blogiversary - but you get the gift
      • Menus
      • Reading guides: Cajas de cartón & Esperanza renace
      • A re-post for your first days back: Abecedario
      • Screencast: Finding authentic sources for prompts
      • Maintaining personal proficiency
      • Ideas for the first days of school
      • AP redesign: Units & EQ's
    •  July (9)
      • A study in motivation
      • Advice for teachers in training
      • More uses for Amor de mi tierra
      • Book review: The Talent Code
      • Songs for 'duele'
      • The Case for Commands
      • Got idioms?
      • Like Musicuentos? Like it on Facebook.
      • Very short times with very young kids
    •  June (1)
      • 5...4...3...2...1... LAUNCH!
    •  March (4)
      • Another change: Survey says...
      • Design your own final exam
      • What I'm changing this week
      • Repost for CSC12: Increasing target language
    •  February (1)
      • A storytelling success story
    •  January (2)
      • Not going to ACTFL again, but for the best reason ever
      • Free Ebook for WL educators
  •  2011 (57)
    •  November (1)
      • Dear novice-learner teacher - love, an AP teacher
    •  October (3)
      • Learning from #langchat
      • Not your average health unit
      • Presentation: Target Language: Expect More, Say Less
    •  September (6)
      • Spanish 3 assessment documents
      • For KWLA 2011: Media from Reel to Real
      • Accuracy vs. proficiency: an illustration
      • Fun activity #6: A escribir
      • App review: Tour Wrist
      • Myth #6: Memorizing vocabulary
    •  August (5)
      • Trending topic = authentic comprehensible input
      • Got the rubric!
      • New year, new units, new assessments
      • Jumping on the Animoto bandwagon
      • Rethinking "late" work
    •  July (1)
      • A song made for early Spanish 1
    •  June (9)
      • Proficiency & tacos
      • Proficiency levels shouldn't be a secret
      • Flipbook illustration
      • Ethics in the language class - we aren't their parents
      • Activity #5: Gira la botella
      • Symbol Illustration
      • Connecting your classroom
      • Myth #5: The textbook is all I need
      • Taking paperless to the blog
    •  May (2)
      • Combat the 'este tiempo' monster
      • Children's DVD giveaway!
    •  April (6)
      • Activity #4: Drama Inmóvil
      • Myth #4: The Time Whine
      • Have you used PhotoPeach?
      • The myths aren't going to ACTFL
      • Fun activity #3: ¡Arriésgate!
      • Fun activity #2: A conversar
    •  March (3)
      • Dismantling Myths 2 and 3: Learning about language and its cousin, Grammatical Terms
      • Activity 1: Cuento poco a poco
      • (Trying to) Make learning fun
    •  February (10)
      • Two new options for out-of-class fluency
      • Great resource from la Sra. Birch
      • Dismantling Myth #1: What's a qualified teacher?
      • Keep singing: 189 pages of Spanish lyrics
      • #Charlando para aprender
      • Vote for this week's #langchat topic
      • It's time for them to use their time
      • For tonight's #langchat: A game for description
      • Short listening activity tailor-made for beginners
      • Ciudad de las bestias: Guides public & streamlined
    •  January (11)
      • Instead of the vocab quiz
      • Best songs for stem changing irreg. present
      • Do something drastic - kick the vocab quiz
      • Topic for #LangChat 1/27
      • Topic for the first #LangChat 1/20
      • Low-level learners can't understand authentic media, what?
      • They can't speak, and it's our fault: Dismantling the myths
      • Don't teach a health unit without this song
      • New: A language teachers' weekly chat on Twitter - choose our first topic!
      • Since I stopped teaching to the [AP] test
      • Faith and Culture: help me decide our AP topic
  •  2010 (38)
    •  December (4)
      • 9 ways to increase students' TL use
      • I love collaboration
      • The problem with translation (from a student)
      • Why music is more powerful than anything (& how to use it)
    •  November (2)
      • iPad giveaway!
      • A collaborative project for our Spanish-teacher PLN
    •  October (2)
      • And the winner is...
      • In the spirit of open source: Ciudad de las bestias
    •  September (10)
      • Books recommended as 'easy'
      • Pure present tense & at least 22 repetitions of 'ya no'
      • For a conference attendee: resources in math
      • Searching BBC Mundo
      • Prompts with Power: writing/speaking prompts
      • Prompts with Power: Prezi
      • Prompts with Power: German & French resources
      • Prompts with Power: Dating in high school
      • KWLA Presentation: PLN-ology
      • Tweet with double objects
    •  August (6)
      • Interactive comic creator using Maya & Miguel
      • Ads of the World | Creative Advertising Archive & Community
      • Added some great new links
      • First 12 days of Spanish 1
      • My supply list
      • Scope & sequence, word list for Spanish 1
    •  July (4)
      • 5 tips for increasing (your own) target language use
      • A warm-up from @samocamila: por vs. para
      • Camila's all on board! (well, on Twitter)
      • Getting vocabulary from a tweet
    •  April (3)
      • Huge toy giveaway from SpanglishBaby
      • A case for avoiding "pet" grammar
      • Authentic audio with future tense
    •  March (2)
      • Interesting blog post about iPod as language lab
      • News article: appeal + subjunctive for influence
    •  January (5)
      • A high-interest exercise for imperfect/pasado continuo
      • A song with 17 verbs in past subjunctive
      • My corporate Spanish links, all in one place
      • "Adora la Exploradora"-the week we didn't feel like a boring past-tense review
      • My level 1 and 2 stories (for Bethanie, and whomever else)
  •  2009 (80)
    •  December (2)
      • A song with 37 repetitions of "más que"
      • Switch to a communicative set-up
    •  November (10)
      • Print & audio sources for AP synthesis essay re: efficient energy
      • Two songs for voy + a + infinitive
      • A case for free-topic blogging
      • It's 19 de noviembre!
      • Camila's new single: "Mientes" (release date 11/24!)
      • A case for pleasure reading
      • Noviembre - a popular month for songs
      • Zachary Jones's "Clozeline"
      • Two songs + resources for Ojalá + subjunctive
      • A song just for @mamitati
    •  October (13)
      • You can't buy this in a textbook
      • Cultural connections: Four songs to explore using Google Earth
      • David Bisbal's YouTube channel
      • Correction on Pin Pon in Shrek
      • Four songs for contrasting que & lo que
      • Nominados en la 10a entrega de los Latin Grammy
      • Story and songs for subjunctive: indefinite/negative antecedent
      • AP sythesis essay sources: Los indocumentados y el sistema de salud
      • Blog that does what I do, only better
      • My October playlist
      • We must not ignore the Paz Sin Fronteras (video)
      • Build your perfect tenis (en español)
      • Video with por, haber, past participles, commands, from Coca Cola
    •  September (10)
      • Latin Grammy website gets a cool makeover... and nominations!
      • Songs for the elusive 3rd pers. sing. preterite
      • I just made my first Yodio
      • KWLA Fall 09 Conference presentation
      • Found Juanes on Twitter
      • For you French teachers
      • Bilingual toy giveaway, gracias a @mamitati
      • Keeping your eyes open for gold nuggets
      • CNN launches Latino in America
      • Bob Esponja on Mundonick
    •  August (4)
      • A correction on the correction of La Frase Tonta
      • I am in technology heaven
      • An AP oral presentation, with past tense: "Consecuencias"
      • I love crossover songs
    •  July (2)
      • Raimundo, the bilingual Latin American snail
      • A song for object/refl pronoun 'te'
    •  June (6)
      • A song for your hip-hop fans
      • Developing world citizens
      • Follow me on Twitter
      • Aquí Estoy Yo: video oficial
      • A new group on my radar
      • Two months later, back to the blogosphere (with a companion)
    •  April (5)
      • A most fantastic performance at Premio Lo Nuestro
      • The heroes speak Español
      • A brilliant pair of songs contrasting por/para
      • Useless grammar I used to teach
      • Adding some links--check 'em out
    •  March (7)
      • Negative commands + culture
      • Winds of change
      • Our students aren't the only ones who have speaking problems!
      • Activity: News interaction (present perfect)
      • A new smash hit with a subjunctive benefit
      • A shout out for Jacob & Joshua
      • El campesino y la princesa (a Spanish 3 story test, with a bit of subjunctive)
    •  February (15)
      • More interactive websites, courtesy of my students
      • A product I love
      • Good stories for commands
      • a story for imperf. vs. pret. and subjunctive influence
      • Interactive websites: practicing house/location/color vocab
      • Subjunctive for doubt: Story, song, activity
      • A good story for 'tiene'
      • A song for subjunctive/nosotros commands
      • A story for demonstratives
      • Rules in a communicative class
      • Cause and effect
      • Relating everything to English
      • A correction on La Frase Tonta
      • Equipping and informing, for free
      • A project based on motivation
    •  January (6)
      • "How much is estuvo de pie?"
      • One more song for subjunctive
      • A couple more subjunctive songs
      • An example of vocab
      • Internet scavenger hunts
      • A Spanish 2 story test
  •  2008 (51)
    •  December (7)
      • Videos from Jesús Adrian Romero
      • Alex Campos's YouTube channel
      • A story test
      • A video for Navidad
      • Great new song for subjunctive
      • ¡Nueva música!
      • A fantastic blog post
    •  November (14)
      • Ever heard of Patito feo?
      • Two groups you just can't go wrong with
      • Things to be thankful for
      • Grammar learning vs. acquisition
      • Forced to give grammar tests?
      • High aptitude is a beautiful thing
      • Another Spanish 1 reading
      • New media list!
      • At the ACSI conference in Dayton
      • Story success: Huevos verdes con jamón
      • Another story source!
      • Words we don't use
      • Song success: Hace tiempo
      • El carro de sus sueños
    •  October (12)
      • Overgeneralizing, again
      • Spanish 2 Story: La llama se llama...
      • Song success: Me voy
      • Not posting lately
      • overgeneralizing
      • The outcome of Pin Pon
      • Pin Pon in Shrek?
      • Best practices
      • Reading in Spanish 3
      • SCORE!
      • My media list
      • Awesome YouTube video
    •  September (18)
      • KWLA '08: Assessing comprehension without English
      • Song success: La llave de mi corazón
      • Spanish 1 Story: Insectos grises para el almuerzo
      • Finding stories
      • How do I find the music?
      • Modeling the billingual lexicon
      • Summaries of some classroom SLA articles
      • Love/Hate Krashen
      • Another article that rocked my world
      • More sunshine
      • When it's not all coming up roses
      • What on earth is going on here?
      • So, what are the cuentos?
      • The verdict on pop test 1
      • People I love
      • A pop test
      • Some assumptions
      • Starting to share my journey

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