Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Steal Like an Artist.  10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

This little book is full of fabulous ideas on how to jump start your creativity.  Austin Kleon is an artist and in this book he shares ideas on how to live a creative life. Kleon gives advice on how to look at the world as an artist.  The first chapter starts with telling you to steal like an artist.  What does this really mean?  It means nothing is original anymore.  "All creative work builds on what came before." pg 7.  At first this thought made me uncomfortable and I realized it is because I am a teacher and hate when students cheat or copy.  Yet Austin Kleon gives "stealing" and "copying" a whole new meaning.  He says you should create a swipe file and put good ideas inside of it.  "there's only stuff worth stealing, and stuff that's not worth stealing.  Everything is up for grabs." pg. 6

"We learn by copying." pg.33  Every person learns by imitation and my mother always said, that the ultimate compliment is to have someone copy you.  Copying is not the same as plagiarism.  Copying according to Kleon is trying to figure out how something works.  "First you have to figure out who to copy.  Second, you have to figure out what to copy." "Who to copy is easy.  You copy your heroes." Pg. 35  By the end of the process you learn who you are and see things through a different lens.  Your own work then becomes influenced by your heroes.

Steal like an Artist is full of great artwork and inspiration and Kleon is right, no one ever told me these 10 things about being creative.  Kleon really makes you look at the world differently.  Yet he also gives practical advice that is worth hearing more than once, like don't quit your day job, stay of debt and marry well.I read this book one chapter at a time.  I could have easily devoured the book in one sitting but I wanted to savor it and let the lessons live in my brain for awhile so they could work their magic on me.

After reading Steal like an Artist, I am looking at the world differently with a creative edge.  I have already made small changes in my life and am making time in my day to be creative.  I plan to reread Steal Like an Artist often.

Check out this Ted Talk I found by Austin Kleon where he talks about the 10 Things No One Told You about Being Creative.

Free Audio Books from SYNC

Free Audio Books from SYNC

OMG I am so excited.  I found this website called SYNC audio books that is giving away two free audio books a week ALL SUMMER!  Each week you can download one Young Adult book paired with one Classic book.  The new week downloads begin on Thursdays.

Here is the line-up or schedule for the rest of the summer.


June 20 – June 26, 2013
Once by Morris Gleitzman, read by Morris Gleitzman (Bolinda Audio)
Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., read by Dion Graham (christianaudio)

June 27 – July 3, 2013
Rotters by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne (Listening Library)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, read by Jim Weiss (Listening Library)

July 4 – July 10, 2013
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, read by Nick Podehl (Brilliance Audio)
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

July 11 – July 17, 2013
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler (HarperAudio)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, read by Simon Vance (Tantor Audio)

July 18 – July 24, 2013
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon (Recorded Books)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

July 25 – July 31, 2013
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade (Scholastic Audiobooks)
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, read by Steve West (Blackstone Audio)

Aug 1 – Aug 7, 2013
Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, read by Dan Weyman (Macmillan Audio)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Ralph Cosham (Blackstone Audio)

Aug 8 – Aug 14, 2013
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren (Brilliance Audio)
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, read by Miriam Margolyes (Bolinda Audio)

Aug 15 – Aug 21, 2013
Sold by Patricia McCormick, read by Justine Eyre (Tantor Audio)
Let Me Stand Alone by Rachel Corrie, read by Tavia Gilbert (Blackstone Audio)

Don't miss out on this.
Go to audiobooksync.com

The books are easy to download on your computer, Ipad or phone with the Overdrive Media file or app.

I only wish I had found this website sooner.  OK, I am off to fold clothes with my new audio book playing in my ears.

Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher, You change the world one sticky note, one scrap of paper, one note card and one heart at a time!  You are awesome! Love, Teacher

Dear Teacher is a new blog that I read everyday because it inspires me to be a better teacher and person.  Dear Teacher is on a two week break and she asked me to write a guest post or be her "Substitute teacher" on her blog for a day.  Today is the day!  I am so excited and thrilled to be a part of this amazing blog if only for a day and it is my first writing experience as a guest poster.

My guest post is on ways to chill, relax and rejuvenate over the summer so you can go back to school refreshed and ready to be a awesome teacher.  I know you are wondering if I included reading on this post and the answer is, Of Course, I did.  Go check out some of the books on my summer reading list.

Please go read my guest post and check out the amazing Dear Teacher blog at
http://dearteacherloveteacher.wordpress.com/

Let me know what you think.
Oh and please pass this on to all the teachers you know out there that need a little pick me up.
Have a wonderful, awesome, thoughtful, super, relaxing day!!

Steve Jobs: Genius by Design by Jason Quinn

Steve Jobs: Genius by Design by Jason Quinn and illustrated by Amit Tayal

Steve Jobs was adopted in 1955 by Paul and Clara Jobs.  He grew up in California an inquisitive child, full of energy and willfulness.  He was stubborn and knew what he wanted out of life and let no one stop him.  Steve had a lot of creative energy and friends and family who believed in his ideas.  He could have taken many wrongs turns and ended up a penniless hippie, but his strong will to persevere won out.

Steve's friend, Woz, created the first personal computer and Steve was the brains behind the business.  They ended up starting the Apple company together in Steve's parent's garage.  Steve always demanded perfection and he was a bit hot headed.  As Apple grew some people refused to work with him.  He was technically fired from the company he created.  So he decided he would create another company called NEXT and he would compete with Apple. NEXT and Apple became huge rivals.  Steve's NEXT company owned Pixar and created the first computer animated move called TOY STORY.

Steve knew he was going to change the world and so he did.  He didn't do it alone, he had help along the way and he knew how to lean on his friends for support.  This graphic novel biography of Steve Jobs was very informative and interesting.  I learned a lot about the type of man Steve was and the creative genius he brought to his projects.  When I started reading this book I had no idea who Steve was or what he accomplished besides the basics of being an Apple CEO.

The Artwork is very well-done.  The size of the book is equal to the size of an Ipad and it even looks like an Ipad.  Inside the artwork is done simply with black and soft colors.  Each panel is surrounded in black.  Steve is captured perfectly in every decade of his life.

Steve Jobs is not presented as the god of technology, he is presented as human in the book.  This biography details each decade of Steve's life including the high and low points of his life, including some of the mistakes he made, presented in the book.

You know it is really interesting to learn about a product or a companies history when you are a person who has used this type of product for awhile.  As a owner of an Ipod, an Ipad, an Iphone and a Mac computer, this was really cool for me to read about.  We are definitely a Apple product using family and knowing the history behind this company is valuable to me.  I never thought I would read a book about Steve Jobs and like it but that is what happened.  Now I am passing the book onto my son and then my daughter because I know they will like it to.

Steve Jobs thought differently and I wanted to include his words in this post.  He created the Think Differently campaign for Apple in the 1990's so below you can hear Steve narrate a commercial in the campaign.  It is very moving and makes me want to get out there and let my creativity flow.

Steve Jobs thank you for your creations.  You have made the world a better place.

"Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough
to think they can change the world...
are the ones who do."

Buzz. A Memoir by Katherine Ellison

Buzz.  A Year of Paying Attention.  A Memoir by Katherine Ellison

Katherine Ellison has ADHD and so does her oldest son, Buzz.  She is married and extremely busy, disorganized and frazzled like most ADHD moms, me included.  Buzz is 12 and is seemingly out of control.  He has no friends, he tells his mom he hates her, he constantly picks fights with his younger brother Max.  Katherine wonders where she went wrong and how she is going to survive motherhood, as Buzz moves through junior high and high school.  So she makes a plan to pay attention to paying attention for a whole year.

Katherine with her son Buzz in tow, set out to investigate ideas and solutions that will help them to reconnect and find a way to be less angry, less distracted and more in tune to their brains and how they operate.  In Buzz, A Year of Paying Attention, Ellison investigates medicine, meditation, brain scans, Neurofeedback and more.  She drives and flies with her son to many different locations to learn all they can about ADHD.  ADHD is a work in progress.  It doesn't effect any one person in exactly the same way and so what works for one person, may or may not work for another.  It is important to explore ALL your options.

As a mother who has ADD and two kids with ADHD, I found this book to be extremely valuable.  Ellison and I have a lot in common and it was helpful for me to read that some of what she goes through is just as horrible as what I go through.  Ellison made me feel validated and that it is OK to be a work in progress as a parent.

For years, I have been against medicating my kids.  I worry and as Ellison points out, a lot of parents worry about medicating their kids.  It is not a decision to take lightly. That being said, my husband has been pushing to medicate our kids.  After reading Ellison's book, I am willing to give it a try with limitations.  So we will probably take the step when school starts in the fall with a two week trial.

I wish that insurance covered more than just medication for ADHD.  I continue to dream about a day when kids go to a school that is active, where kids can control their own learning and not remain seated in a desk all day.  Where educators facilitate and not have to give test after test or can choose to do something creative over reading the paragraph and answering the questions.  Schools should be a place where all kids can succeed, not just the "good" kids.

Ellison's book is great for parents of kids with ADHD.  Please read it.  She tries a lot of different methods and solutions (some are very expensive) so we don't have to.  She rules out what doesn't work and shares all the information available in her research in the pages of Buzz.  As a parent I found it vey valuable and of course it is helping me on my own parenting journey.

My advice and Katherine Ellison's advice is to keep trying.  Never give up on your kids.
So I will continue to search for what is best for my kids and continue to read books about ADHD.

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Arn Chorn-Pond is eleven years old when the Khmer Rouge soldiers roll into his Cambodian town.  They have won the revolution and have plans to make the entire country equal.  They start by evacuating Arn's city saying the Americans plan to bomb it.  They march everyone out of the city for days, with little food and water.  People begin falling down and dying of dehydration and bullet wounds.  "In just one day people can get use to seeing dead body." pg. 22

When Arn and his family arrive in the countryside first they are stripped of their clothes and everyone must wear the same set of black pajamas.  Then their hair is cut short, including the girls.  Next they take away their possessions, saying that all belongs to Angka (the ruling body of the Khmer Rouge), every pot, pan, bowl and spoon.  Then they take away their names.  Everyone must be addressed by Comrade.  "Now all of us, we live as equal, no rich, no poor." pg 31  Then they separate the families.  Children are removed from their parents, men are separated from women.  Angka is their family now.  Everyday they are made to work in the fields to produce rice as their rations of food become less and less.

Arn is exposed to death every day and the only thing that keeps him alive is the music he plays for the soldiers and the friendships he’s made.  Eventually Vietnam invades Cambodia and Arn is thrown into the role of child soldier.

At the beginning of Never Fall Down, it is hard to read about the violence and atrocities being committed in the Cambodian genocide.  Towards the middle, the violence lessens as Arn makes his journey out of the work camp.  For some people this book will be hard to read, the violence too much to bear.  If Arn can live it, the least I can do is read it.  It is important as a reader to read the stories of those who have lived through extraordinary circumstances and to give weight and meaning to what they endured, experienced and lived through.  Sometimes the most difficult stories are the ones that inspire us, encourage us and make us aware of what happens around the world.

This is the third book I have read by Patricia McCormick and I eagerly awaited it’s release.  McCormick is a writer who tells a difficult story with grace and ease.  She educates her readers about issues that are central to problems going on in the world today.  Never Fall Down educates us about the history of Cambodia and teaches us that we must never give up hope that if we fall down, someone, somewhere will help.  We must always be willing to help those in need and to keep hope alive.

Never Fall Down is based on the REAL LIFE of Arn Chorn-Pond.
Here is Patricia McCormick and Arn Chorn-Pond in a short video clip about the book and Cambodia.



You can find more information about Arn and the amazing life he has led since 1979 at his website

http://arnchornpond.com/

Book Club: The Year of the Gadfly

Book Club:  The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller

Beginning on May 28th (I know I'm a little late) and running through July 10th, debut author Jennifer Miller will participate in a special virtual book club on www.ShelfPleasure.com, a website for women who love to read. Miller will interact with site visitors and chat about her debut novel, The Year of the Gadfly, and she will conclude the club with a special live online chat on July 10th at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Those interested in taking part in the book club can do so by visiting the Shelf Pleasure forum and following the “Summer 2013 Book Club” conversation thread found on their home page. Readers can also participate in the live chat with Miller at the conclusion of the book club on July 10th at 6:00 p.m. ET by RSVPing here.

I met Jennifer at the Twin Cities book fair in October, 2012 and she is bright, bubbly and full of energy and bright ideas.  She sells her books at a novelade stand that she created and gives out free cookies to those who buy a book.  For this book club through ShelfPleasure, she plans to visit 100 book clubs in

30 days so hurry and go sign up.

I thought you would want to know.
Interested?

A Million Heavens Giveaway

A Million Heavens by John Brandon Giveaway

John Brandon is the Minnesota Author in the Spotlight for the month of June and he is giving away around 5 copies of his novel, A Million Heavens to Booksnob readers.  I love the cover of this book and I'm not sure how to accurately describe the feel of the book.   A Million Heavens has a cloth-bound cover and there is no dust jacket, making this hard cover book unique.  This giveaway is open to residents of the United States and will end the last day of June.  Good Luck.

Here is the synopsis from Good Reads:

On the top floor of a small hospital, an unlikely piano prodigy lies in a coma, attended to by his gruff, helpless father. Outside the clinic, a motley vigil assembles beneath a reluctant New Mexico winter—strangers in search of answers, a brush with the mystical, or just an escape. To some the boy is a novelty, to others a religion. Just beyond this ragtag circle roams a disconsolate wolf on his nightly rounds, protecting and threatening, learning too much. And above them all, a would-be angel sits captive in a holding cell of the afterlife, finishing the work he began on earth, writing the songs that could free him. This unlikely assortment—a small-town mayor, a vengeful guitarist, all the unseen desert lives—unites to weave a persistently hopeful story of improbable communion.

Rules:

Open to U.S. residents only
Ends 6/30 at midnight
Good Luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Isn't Normal Giveaway Winners!

This Isn't Normal Giveaway Winners!!

School is out for the summer!  OK, I had a busy, busy, busy last week but it is done and I am ready for summer and reading.  This was a difficult school year for many reasons and it was also the anniversary of my 20th year as a teacher.  I can't believe I have been teaching this long already.  WOW.

Back to books.  M.R.Tain and his publisher are generously giving away 5 copies of the book This Isn't Normal to Booksnob followers.  I am excited to announcing the winners of this entertaining, time travel, young adult novel.  So without further adieu, here are the winners.  Drum roll please....

Bea from the Philippines
Zemira from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kristia from Cyprus
January from Canada
Jean from http://ajeaniecreation.com/

Congrats everyone.  Enjoy your new book.

Here is excerpt from my book review.
Tain does an excellent job of taking a typical teenage girl and transforming her into a thoughtful, Christian young woman.  Tain captures the year of 1965 and the whole experience of Karla's time travel is very believable.  Tain creates a snapshot of two different years 1965 and 2005, existing 40 years apart and juxtaposes the two different time frames extremely well.  It was quite fascinating.

Announcing the June Author in the Spotlight

Announcing the June Author in the Spotlight

Happy June to everyone who has been waiting for the summer months to arrive.  June is my favorite month of the year.  School ends and I turn another year older.

I have three more days left of the school year, tons of papers still to grade, a classroom room to clean and pack and I am looking forward to some down time.  I'm invited to three weddings this month and I plan to start my summer by relaxing at the beach and jumping on my trampoline, if it ever warms up that is.  I also plan to read A LOT.  One of the books I plan to read is A Million Heavens by John Brandon, June's Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob.

John Brandon has written three books.
A Million Heavens (synopsis from Goodreads):

On the top floor of a small hospital, an unlikely piano prodigy lies in a coma, attended to by his gruff,
helpless father. Outside the clinic, a motley vigil assembles beneath a reluctant New Mexico winter—strangers in search of answers, a brush with the mystical, or just an escape. To some the boy is a novelty, to others a religion. Just beyond this ragtag circle roams a disconsolate wolf on his nightly rounds, protecting and threatening, learning too much. And above them all, a would-be angel sits captive in a holding cell of the afterlife, finishing the work he began on earth, writing the songs that could free him. This unlikely assortment—a small-town mayor, a vengeful guitarist, all the unseen desert lives—unites to weave a persistently hopeful story of improbable communion.

Citrus County (Synopsis from Goodreads):


There shouldn’t be a Citrus County. Teenage romance should be difficult, but not this difficult. Boys like Toby should cause trouble but not this much. The moon should glow gently over children safe in their beds. Uncles in their rockers should be kind. Teachers should guide and inspire. Manatees should laze and palm trees sway and snakes keep to their shady spots under the azalea thickets. The air shouldn’t smell like a swamp. The stars should twinkle. Shelby should be her own hero, the first hero of Citrus County. She should rescue her sister from underground, rescue Toby from his life. Her destiny should be a hero’s destiny.

Arkansas (Synopsis from Goodreads):

Arkansas is a biting first novel full of wet T-shirt contests, illicit drugs,
and cross-country road trips. There are the days: the dappled grounds, the aimless yardwork, the hours in the booth giving directions to families in SUVs. And then there are the nights: crisscrossing the South with illicit goods, the shifty deals in dingy trailers, the vague orders from a boss they've never met. Before Kyle and Swin can recognize how close to paradise they are in this neglected state park in southern Arkansas, the lazy peace is shattered with a shot. Night blends into day. Dead bodies. Crooked superiors. Suspicious associates. It's on-the-job training, with no time for slow learning, bad judgment, or foul luck.

This month at Booksnob you can expect a contest, author interview, book reviews and so much more.  Stick around because June is going to be a great month on Booksnob.  So get busy and start reading!

Happy June!