Author: Paul Di Filippo
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This selection was stories came under the recommendation of Harlan Ellison during one of his interviews. Being a sucker for blindly following the advice of people I respect without giving it a second thought, I put the order in to get a copy for my house.

The theme tying together the short stories is a fascinating one — writers in alternate universes.

Imagine if Anne Frank left Europe and lived Judy Garland’s life instead of hiding in an attic, or if Joseph Campbell was the head of a literary magazine that used its stories to manipulate culture into utopian ideals (both of which were my favourite stories of the bunch). That’s the series of stories you’ll be reading.

Since it is a collection, there are going to be hits and misses for every person. However, the consensus seems to be that Anne alone is worth the price of picking this up. Between that masterpiece and the writing that has a level of refinement you only see in people who have a mastery of their craft, I’d have to agree.

Author: Kwame Alexander
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There are so many genres this book could fall into that to pigeonhole it into one would be a gross injustice.

At its surface, it’s a quick middle-school read about twin boys who play basketball. The sport becomes a metaphor for life as the struggles on and off the court come into play, all tied together under a theme of family, friendship and coming of age.

Then there’s the writing itself.

Each chapter is written in verse (poetic prose if you will), but unlike Chasing Brooklyn, Alexander uses a different style each time. It keeps it fresh, interesting and you have to seriously applaud him for stitching it together like a well tuned choir.

It’s written for a middle-school crowd, but the layers he adds onto the story will keep any reader engaged.

It doesn’t take long to read, but it deserves a permanent spot on anyone’s shelf.

Author: Michael Scott
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I was expecting a fun, young adventure book with fantasy elements. Instead, I ignored my duties for a night and stayed up until 2am to finish this in one sitting.

Scott has managed to take everything I loved and studied as a young teenager and wrap it up in a story. Nicholas Flamel (the historical one), the Book of Abraham the Mage, the Codex and Dr. John Dee all play a prominent role in this plot, which is where I geeked out.

The main characters, twins Josh and Sophie Newman, are something to be desired. They’re built up to be important, but felt like secondary characters in the grand scheme of things. I’m assuming there will be more character development in the coming books, which I’ll be reading.

The world building outside of the historical elements is outstanding. You can feel Scott spent time to put life into the world and great attention was paid to each detail, so nothing was out of place.

I look forward to finishing out this series.

Author: Harlan Ellison
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It’s no secret I am a rabid fan of Harlan Ellison. Nobody has influenced my view on literature more than him, even if this secretly has more to do with hearing an outspoken individual rant against stupidity.

His style of writing, unfortunately, would fall on deaf ears to today’s mass audience given its verbose vocabulary steeped in poetic tones. Then again, he’s also been credited with creating the word “bugfuck.”

Web of the City is his first (and very few) full length novels. It chronicles his time spent undercover in a street gang in New York and was written while he was in the military.

FYI – his writing occurred at the end of the day (after intense training), in the bathroom, with a wooden plank and typewriter on his lap. To any modern writer complaining they don’t have time, are too tired, or <insert special snowflake circumstance here>, your excuse is invalid.

So – is it any good?

It’s the beginnings of the Harlan Ellison I fell in love with and a story that’s neat to follow (albeit sensationalized), but not something I would recommend for someone unfamiliar with his work.

All together rough around the edges, but hey, it’s Ellison.

And he’s won more awards and published more works than a mere mortal would consider possible.

Thus, who am I to judge?

Author: Ryan Holiday
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I’ve been a fan of Holiday for a few years now and it seems his writing gets exponentially better with each release… which is a big deal considering his writing was solid at the outset of his first publication. Whether you’re a fan of his personal successes and career history is another issue to raise outside the scope of a book review.

This work is centered on making work that lasts. If I could summarize it in a sentence:

The longer your work is selling, the better chance it has at being a perennial seller.

Each chapter dissects how to ensure your work/art/craft/business becomes a seller and stays a seller. If you’ve dipped your feet into any waters that deal with creating great work, much of this book will be a good reminder.

The part that shined for me was the marketing section — nothing new, but told in a way unique to Holiday’s style, which made it both pleasant and palatable. It was definitely a kick in the pants to what I should be doing with my own work.

However, he fails to acknowledge the elephant in the room with turning anything into a lifetime seller: luck.

Some work fizzles out and dies after many years while other work never gets off the ground, even if they are both of the same caliber with equal marketing forces behind them. Sometimes, you just don’t know. That shouldn’t be an excuse to not even try, but a reminder nothing is a guarantee.

A good read for its writing, but uncertain whether the advice in here adds anything to what has always been available.

Author: Lisa Schroeder
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This book caught me off guard.

It is written entirely in verse, while in the young-adult genre, and still manages to be compelling for a jaded reader like myself. It’s the perfect book for someone who doesn’t read, or hates reading, but wants the satisfaction of knowing they finished a thick book.

The story chronicles the lives of two characters: Brooklyn and Nico. Their connection is Lucca, Brooklyn’s boyfriend and Nico’s brother, who is managing to leave messages for Nico to save Brooklyn.

It’s a ghost story mixed with a teenage love story and an overlying theme of redemption.

Although that seems combo trite, there’s something about it that pulls you in. I commend Schroeder for managing to write in a way that’s easy to dive into, but requires heavy unpacking while still providing an addiction to what happens next.

I’ve already recommended it to my students, who are now recommending it to each other. To have the approval of young adolescents and their teacher puts this in a realm of high-approval overall.

Author: Patrick Ness
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Another recommendation by one of my students and it’s a spectacular one.

Diving into a book completely blind is a gamble, especially when time is limited and there are scores of excellent titles out there. After chapter one of this book, I had to finish it.

I’m disappointed I just discovered Patrick Ness, but also worried because of the certainty I will be reading out his entire library this year. More Than This was a mystery, wrapped in infinite layers, and each turn of the page came with a hope some of those layers would be peeled away.

Ness has a way of making you feel satisfied by what you discovered, but frustrated because more questions come about as a result. A boy dies in chapter one, wakes up in chapter two and by the end of the book, there’s no solid resolution of what he woke up into.

There are just a few characters, but each went deep and each had a life of their own.

It’s hard to talk about this book without giving away the plot, but it’s hard to give away the plot when you’re not sure if you got it all. You end up loving this book for that reason.

Author: Robert McKee
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This is a workshop inside of a book.

While it is meant for screenwriting, the principles McKee espouses in here are a gem for anyone looking to take on the craft of storytelling.

I originally picked up this book a few years ago as a library loan, but life got the best of me and I had to return it before finishing. It seems the universe really wanted me to read it as I found it back in the library in their sale section at a ridiculously reduced rate. Thus, I forked over the few bucks, took it home and spent time with it.

I’m typically wary of books that attempt to teach the craft of writing, or storytelling, because the methods by which our literary giants use vary to the point where there’s no consistent grounding. What works brilliantly for one writer is a disaster for another.

However, if a book on craft (written by a veteran in the field and not somebody looking to cash-in on hopeful writers without a clue) can provide a few good gems to help unlock some ideas in my own process to make it better, I’m all for it.

This book had many gems and a few mind-blowing moments for me. One particular brain-busting moment came when McKee defined what makes a story cliché… it completely changed my thinking.

I’m glad I finally picked this book up and took the time to read it. It now has a prominent place on my reference shelf where I’ll be sure to come back to it time and time again.

Author: Marissa Meyer
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Always on the hunt for material my students would enjoy, I heard many wonderful things about this book and picked it up without hesitation.

The premise had me hooked: a cyborg Cinderella and sci-fi telling of the story. I’m in!

Then I waited for the book to really hook me and bring me into its world…

and waited…

and waited…

and waited…

then it ended.

It had its moments, but nothing to make me want to come back into its world. Personally, I’ll pass on the rest of the series.

However, it’s well loved and received by many, so maybe I’m just a bitter jerk who’s getting old.

 

Author: Donalyn Miller and Susan Kelley
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This book is the follow-up to the magnificent, “The Book Whisperer.” In the vein of books that helped with my own professional growth, Miller’s first book comes a very close second to Penny Kittle’s “Book Love,” which completely changed the way I looked at reading in the classroom.

To venture into this sequel is to make a few assumptions:

• You are familiar with the author’s previous work
• You have already begun the process of getting your students to engage in independent reading
• You are building a classroom library
• You are engaging your students with their reading in some form
• In addition to allowing independent reading, you are also giving your students choice in what they read

One of my biggest regrets over the years was getting rid of shelves of books I’ve collected since high school. While I would say this was all done in the name of minimalism, the ease of replacing it with technology and getting over my own ego that people would be impressed at my vast home library (nobody was, I promise), it was really done because I moved so often I hated lugging all those books with me.

Those books would’ve made a wonderful foundation to my classroom library, but now I’m rebuilding. Thus far, I’ve managed to secure over 200 titles for it and each one has been carefully culled for maximum student engagement.

However, merely filling my classroom with books for the sake of filling it with books would be counter to the advice Miller and Kelley offer in this follow-up. This book moves beyond getting students engaged in reading and towards getting them to become lifelong readers. That’s a difficult task considering you only get students for a year… possibly even just a semester if you’re teaching high school.

Among the many salient, and inspiring, points she makes, there is an entire section into keeping your classroom library updated and how building lifelong readers goes beyond recommending a single title a student would enjoy. One thing I appreciated are the examples being used in the classroom right now and the accompanying resources to use right away.

This isn’t one of those books you just read through and put it down and get to work. It’s a book you continue to pick up and look through once you hit a new stage in your teaching. Each time, you’ll find something different.

I applaud this work and hope to see the ripples of Miller and Kelley’s work ripple outwards as teachers engage with their pedagogy. As a lifelong, prolific reader, I can appreciate its effects.