My first reaction when I saw this book was, "Great, EVERYONE is reading Shakespeare before I do. Even people in solitary confinement!" I'd recently decided to read all of Shakespeare's plays in a year and I was finding it slow going. But the prisoners that Laura Bates described in this book seemed to breeze through the plays, even if they had limited education and no previous knowledge of the bard. If they could do it, what the hell was my excuse?

Once I got past my petty jealousy, this book spoke to me on a lot of levels. Laura Bates is an English professor who has been teaching Shakespeare for years, both in colleges and in prisons. This book recounts her experiences with the latter, particularly in a supermax--or solitary confinement--unit. A great number of my family members work in corrections, including in prisons, and I myself had helped start a writing and spoken word program at a women's prison here in Nova Scotia. So I didn't need to be convinced of the value of prisoner education. And, as I mentioned, I'd recently started a Shakespeare in a Year project in which I was attempting to read the Complete Works of Shakespeare (or at the very least the plays) before the end of the year. So I didn't need to be convinced of the value of Shakespeare.

Still, this book surprised me in a lot of ways.

The thing that struck me most about Laura Bates' experiences teaching Shakespeare in prison was the way the inmates interpreted certain passages. Dr. Bates deliberately chose plays she thought might speak to them, plays about crime (Macbeth) or imprisonment (Richard III) or loss of power (King Lear) or violence and revenge (Titus Andronicus). Even so, the inmates' reactions to them often changed the way I myself was reading the material.

As an example, when discussing the murder of King Duncan in Macbeth, one part that often stumps literary critics is why Macbeth is able to kill Duncan but cannot seem to complete the plan by planting the bloody daggers on the sleeping guards, implicating them. He balks at this and wanders off, forcing Lady Macbeth to complete the task. Why? I, like many critics, interpreted Macbeth's actions as evidence of doubt, of lack of conviction to the plan. Lady Macbeth, by contrast, seems like the pushier of the two in this scene ("Fine! I have to do everything myself, do I?").

But the inmates had a different interpretation:
"'He needs for her to get her hands dirty too', said the new student in the group named Bentley...When Bentley made the observation about Macbeth's need for a partner in crime, the others, all serving time for murder convictions, agreed. It is easier to bear the burden of guilt, especially of such a heavy crime, my students said, with an accomplice.
Genius.

That not only changes how I feel about that scene, it changes how I feel about the relationship between Macbeth and his wife. Is Lady Macbeth really the mastermind who pushes her husband, unwillingly, into a series of murders? Or is Macbeth pulling his wife further into their crime spree so she shares his culpability?

There are a lot of other examples of the inmates' interpretations of Shakespeare (the comparison of Titus Andronicus to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is worth the price of admission alone) and they're all fantastic. Even if you got nothing else out of the book, these insights are more than worth the read.

Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

As a book, this is fascinating. I learned so much and I loved the way the information was arranged. It's not a science textbook. It really is a "popular history of science" in that it is very accessible and digestible. I loved it.

As an audiobook, it's still good, but I'm also extremely picky when it comes to audio narration. At least I think I am. I know I seem to be annoyed by quirks in narrator voices at a much higher rate than my partner, Mike, is. So maybe the things that annoyed me about Jonathan Cowley's reading wouldn't annoy other people. They were relatively minor.

But here's the thing. He sort of talks in a way that makes every single sentence seem like a mild revelation, like every single sentence should have a pause and an implied exclamation point on the end of it. No, not an exclamation point. He's not speaking like an advertisement for laundry soap or a monster truck rally. And it's not really a question mark at the end either, like some sort of Valley Girl. It's more that he's slightly over-emphasizing every single sentence, to the point that it's distracting. He's giving special emphasis to EVERYTHING, which of course gives it to nothing.

Jonathan Cowley reads everything in italics.

Yes, that's it. It's only mildly annoying but it did make me listen to the audiobook in 30-45 minute increments, maximum. Other than that, it's great though.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this audiobook free from Tantor Media through Edelweiss. I was asked to write an honest review, though not necessarily a favourable one. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is the novel I wish I had written. It's clever, it's poetic, it's memorable and--at the risk of overstating--it has weight, importance. It's a novel that seeped into my skin as soon as I started reading it and won't leave soon.

If it sounds like a self-help book, that's because it's meant to. Told like a series of self-help tips about how to become rich in Asia, it shows the stark contrast between the characters' aspirations and their impoverished reality. Think Slumdog Millionaire meets The Kite Runner. Plus, it's told in the notoriously tricky to pull off second-person. Any writer considering writing a novel in the second person should read this book first to see how to do it well.

I may wish that I had written this book, but I have a feeling that no one could have written this but Mohsin Hamid. I don't usually like to gush this much, but I was blown away by the talent of this writer. I can't wait to read more from him. I can't believe he was able to make me care so much about characters who were never given names, in a city that is never specified. Amazing and unforgettable.

I think the last time I was this moved by the beauty of prose was after I read Erick Setiawan's Of Bees and Mist. But at the same time this was a very personal reaction to the book, so I'm almost a little worried that if I say too much, I'll be setting the expectations impossibly high for anyone who hasn't read it yet. All I can say is that I personally loved it and would highly recommend it. It's not a book that is strictly dependent on its plot, setting or even form, as much is it is on the beauty of the language and the universality of the human condition.

Okay, I've definitely set the expectations too high with that statement. Just forget what I said and read it for yourself.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced copy of this title from the publisher, Penguin Canada, as part of the Penguin Book Club Exclusive Reads program. I was asked to write and share an honest review, though it was not required to be positive or favourable. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

The Fiction Writer's Handbook is probably not what you would expect from the title. It is not arranged into chapters with titles like "How to Begin" or "How to Get Published." In fact it's not arranged into chapters at all, but rather an alphabetical "list of entries" with terms like "antagonist," "flash fiction" and "verb tenses." Some entries, like "first-draft strategy" (where the author suggests you start) and "revision" (where the author suggests you go next) are longer articles filled with ideas to improve your writing, while others are merely brief definitions of literary terms. Every entry contains words in SMALL CAPS indicating terms that can be found elsewhere in the book (in the e-book edition these are hyperlinks that allow the reader to go directly to the entry locations).

If this format seems like it would be difficult to read cover-to-cover, that's because it is. It's not meant to be read cover-to-cover, nor is it meant to be read in one sitting. The idea is to skip around, read the entries that interest you, and use them to improve your writing or at least your editing. I almost think of it as a book of editing prompts.

Shelly Lowenkopf also includes a bibliography of suggested reading that includes not only other non-fiction titles about the writing process, but many fiction titles as well, because as he sees it, every serious writer must also be a serious reader. Amen to that.

Personally, I do a lot more reading than I do writing these days (you can tell by the awkwardness of this very sentence) so I found the book interesting for other reasons. I enjoyed reading about the techniques fiction writers employ and the common mistakes they make. It was nice to find the words to describe things I notice in books all the time, like the "information dump": (when the writer can't help throwing in ALL the things they learned in their research, whether the story needs it or not), "talking heads" (having characters engage in long passages of dialogue with little reaction, gestures, inflection or subtext) and "purple prose" (when the author's obvious "love of words" completely overtakes the story with excessive metaphor, romantic language and flowery description).

In other words, if I become a more astute critic of writers' foibles in my upcoming reviews, y'all have Shelly Lowenkopf to blame! In fact, forget about writers and readers; this book should be required reading for reviewers.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Changing Tomorrow 2 outlines an entire unit plan for teachers on the theme of leadership, with lesson plans that include in-depth study of several famous leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Pablo Picasso, Charles Darwin and more. Students are asked, through a series of lessons and projects, to learn more about each person and assess the ways in which each does or does not exemplify the qualities of leadership. This leaves a lot of room for class discussion and critical thinking because even though all of the people included in the book are exemplary in many ways, even great humans have their flaws and their detractors. The lesson plans in the book encourage students to ponder whether a person's positive contributions to society outweigh their bad decisions, or whether it is even necessary for them to do so in order for us to rightly admire them as great leaders.

VanTassel and Avery also include helpful explanations of how their unit plan aligns with U.S. common core state standards in gifted education, 21st-century skills and English Language Arts. For Canadian educators I can also attest that these lesson plans could easily be applied to Canadian provincial outcomes in English Language Arts and Social Studies. In Nova Scotia, for instance, the junior high (middle school) Social Studies curriculum focuses on the idea of empowerment, so these lessons would fit easily into that theme.

I found this book to be well laid out, straight forward and easy to use. And of course, as always, I asked my resident curriculum expert--my partner Mike, the junior high English and Social Studies teacher--to help me assess the book's value. We ended up spending two days discussing the lives and legacies of some of the people featured in the book, thereby inadvertently completing some of the assignments recommended for high ability students.

In a way, that's its own endorsement!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own (except in the case of educational resource books, in which case I often consult other educators to help me assess the books, which I usually mention in my reviews).

This review first appeared on my blogs, Cozy Little Book Journal and The Bookish Elf.

I can't say enough great things about this series. On the other hand, I'm a preschool teacher, so my lesson planning looks a lot different than that described in this book, so why should you believe me? Because I'm an awesome book reviewer, that's why!

And also because my partner Mike teaches middle school English and Social Studies (junior high, as it's known here in Canada) and this is what he had to say:

"I particularly liked the way the choice boards were set up with 'free choice' options. Like in the bingo or tic-tac-toe menus, the whole board may have different things like "write a newspaper article" or "create a children's book" but then in the centre there'll be "free choice." Of course the kid is going to choose that. But the trick is for 'free choice' they actually have to come up with their own project idea and write a proposal explaining it and get it approved before they even start. But writing a proposal is something you can grade them on! So it's like getting them to do a bonus assignment before they even do the real assignment. And the whole time the student is thinking he's getting away with something because he chose the 'free choice' square. Genius."
I couldn't have said it better myself.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own (except in the case of educational resource books, in which case I often consult other educators to help me assess the books, which I usually mention in my reviews).

This review first appeared on my blogs, Cozy Little Book Journal and The Bookish Elf.

Oh these books make me excited! The entire series is filled with such enthusiasm for teaching and so many great ideas for teachers that I actually get a little tingly when I read them.

First of all, I love the idea of creating choice boards (or menus) for students' assignments. It's such a great way to incorporate different means to a common end. This is good for a classroom in which many students may have IPPs (individualized program plans) so they have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways. (A student with dyslexia may choose to do an oral or a visual presentation instead of a written assignment, for example.) More importantly, it empowers the students to make the choice themselves, so they can decide which assignments best play to their strengths (The student with dyslexia may prefer the written assignment because it allows more time for proofreading and revision as needed.) And, of course, it allows all of the students to have a variety of assignments to choose from, not just those with identified special needs.

And, as Westphal points out, having an inclusive classroom doesn't just mean taking students' different learning abilities into consideration It also means paying attention to things like socioeconomic differences. One thing she suggests is the "$1.00 contract," in which students and their parents verify that no more than $1.00 was spent on additional materials for a project. This encourages students to be more resourceful with materials available in the classroom or to re-purpose things they have at home, and evens the playing field for students who may not be able to afford expensive presentation materials or props.

Westphal also understands that teachers may find it intimidating to allow students to choose from a variety of assignment types, then figure out how to grade them all equally. For that, she includes a useful rubric that can be applied universally to any project or can be adjusted to reflect the state or provincial outcomes the teacher intends to assess.

Differentiating Instruction with Menus for the Inclusive Classroom: Social Studies Grades 6-8 includes a lot of specific ideas for lesson planning and assignments on U.S. history, civics and geography, but for Canadian educators they could easily be adjusted for your own curriculum. For instance, the "Explorers Menu" asks students to choose one activity for "breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert" (in that order). Each "course" asks the student to create something that demonstrates a knowledge of famous explorers, but they wouldn't necessarily need to be the explorers most pertinent to American classrooms (though, of course, there is a lot of overlap).

As with the other books in this series, teachers can use any or all of the suggestions in the book in whole or in part to make their lesson plans more varied, more inclusive and--I think--even more interesting. So good!

Or should I say A+?

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own (except in the case of educational resource books, in which case I often consult other educators to help me assess the books, which I usually mention in my reviews).

This review first appeared on my blog, Cozy Little Book Journal.

I've been a preschool teacher for about a decade now, and my partner Mike is in his first few years as a middle school teacher, so we've both had reason to be concerned about "difficult parents." It's important to stay professional and focused, but some parents can drive you around the bend! Most of the time, parent interactions are smooth and easy, but for those other times, there's this book.

Mike and I agreed that we had never encountered a resource for educators about dealing with parents that was so, well, readable. We both read this book cover-to-cover almost as soon as we got it, often waiting impatiently for one to be finished a chapter so the other could keep reading. We skipped back and forth between sections, saying things like, "Did you read that part about the helicopter parents? I wish I'd read that before parent-teacher night!" This book was the subject of frequent conversations for several weeks.

And it's written to be conversational. Suzanne Capek Tingley is speaking directly to educators, almost as though she were in the room. She gets that we work hard, we do our best and we genuinely care about our students, BUT that there are times we just wish we could throw a coffee mug right at sweet little Johnny's blowhard dads (But don't do it, she cautions!) She also gets that we all want to be professional and not let difficult situations escalate if we can help it. In other words, she's on our side.

I think that's the key to this book's success. The author gives us permission to think those things (for example, when discussing a scenario in which a parent tries to give a teacher a $200 gift certificate, she jokes that you could use it for a new water heater) which breaks the tension, but then gives us solid advice on what we should actually say and do (i.e. don't take the $200, even if you're taking cold showers at home!).

Tingley also divides the book up into "parent categories," which is immensely helpful. Many of us are familiar with the helicopter parent (always hovering) but she also talks about Mr. NBA ("my kid could go pro if only the coach would play him more"), Pinocchio's Mom, The Intimidator, The Uncivil Libertarian (enforcing any school rule is somehow an infringement of their child's personal rights and freedoms) and many more.

And, ever mindful of her audience, the author finishes it all with "A Final Assessment" in which she presents various scenarios and asks how you, the reader, would react. (Don't worry, she explains the "right" answers!)

This book is funny from start to finish, but it's also useful and informative. I recommend it to both new teachers and seasoned pros. Even someone who has been teaching for decades would likely enjoy the scenarios described in How to Handle Difficult Parents, even if it's just as a reminder that someone else knows what you've been through.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own (except in the case of educational resource books, in which case I often consult other educators to help me assess the books, which I usually mention in my reviews).

With her stunning debut novel, Zoe S. Roy has proven herself a powerful voice in Canadian fiction. Spanning from China to Boston to Halifax over many decades, The Long March Home is the story of one family's experience through Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution and their struggles to define themselves as individuals and as family despite differences of culture and nationality.

Meihua, a university art professor in China, finds her loyalty to the Communist cause questioned when it is revealed that she is American born to an American (actually, Canadian) mother. Her father, whom she has never met, is Chinese, as is her husband and her three children. Nonetheless, she is arrested and sent to prison for eight years on the suspicion of being "anti-revolutionary." When her husband is also arbitrarily imprisoned, it falls to their maid to raise the children and keep them safe while they await their parents' return. The youngest daughter, Yezi, spends her early years only knowing her mother from visits to prison. Eventually things change in China and Meihua is released. Her mother, Agnes, is even able to visit from Boston, meeting Yezi for the first time. Three generations of women struggle to piece together their identities. Are they Chinese? Are they 'foreign'? How would life have been different if they had never been separated from each other? And, of course, what ever happened to Meihua's Chinese father?

I said this story is about the Cultural Revolution but really it is about family. Each of the characters struggle to come to terms with the values and conditions set by the society around them but under it all is a deep longing for family connection. When Meihua is imprisoned she denies being "anti-revolutionary" but worries that if she denies it too vigorously she will be accused of criticizing the regime and it may be even longer before she sees her children. Yezi is taught at school that it is wrong to speak out against the government yet they are the ones keeping her mother in prison. She also struggles with the idea that the bourgeoisie are evil yet her grandmother is wealthy enough to buy a plane ticket to visit them and she seems so nice. Even the reasons behind Agnes' separation from Meihua and her Chinese father are entirely informed by cultural expectations at the time, but her choices (which are eventually revealed) were all made with the best interest of her daughter in mind. However the characters feel about the values they are expected to adopt, each of them wishes for more connection to the people they love.

What I love most about this book is that it is not over-written. Roy does not paint these characters in broad strokes, making them two-dimensional ideologues who are firmly planted on one side of an argument or the other. There are no sides, only conflicts and paradoxes. The author allows her characters to be conflicted without instructing her readers, "This is how you should feel about this moment. Look at this terrible injustice and be outraged!" She allows things to go unsaid between her characters and she allows things to go unwritten on the page. When Yezi asks her mother for information about Communism or America, Meihua is patient but guarded in her answers. She knows that even things said in her own home could have a way of getting her or her daughter in trouble. When Yezi, referring to her American grandmother, asks, "She's foreign?" Meihua responds only, "How can she be foreign? She's my mother." That one line could be taken as a microcosm of the the whole novel.

This novel was both moving and delicate. I cared about the characters and their stories and found myself wondering about them even after I had closed the cover. From every angle, it was hard to pin down "right" or "wrong" or "good" or "bad," only "that which tears these people away from each other" and "that which brings them together." I felt--and this is going to sound strange--I felt wiser after I read this book. (I realize that sounds hokey. I assure you that Zoe S. Roy could have expressed the same sentiment better and more concisely. And thrown in a history lesson.)

For more reviews, please visit my blog, Cozy Little Book Journal.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. (In fact she was pretty brave to send it to me at all because if I had hated it I would have said so, and I would have published a bad review accordingly. Lucky break for her, I'd say.) I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own.

My Pilgrim's Heart is unlike any book I've read before, and yet it's strangely familiar, as if reading it has awakened in me something long forgotten. Maybe it's because it reminds me of theological books I read in my university days, studying Religious Studies at McGill University; not the stuffy textbooks about nineteenth century German philosophers, but the modern, personal accounts of applied philosophy, of practical theology (two of my favourites of these were by Father Thomas Ryan).

And Stephanie Dale's story is certainly one of applied philosophy. This book is a memoir of the author's "pilgrim's path" walk from Rome to Istanbul with her grown son (who was actually travelling from Canterbury on foot), a journey that is as much about spiritual and personal meditation as it is about travel. As Dale recounts her trip, she also reflects on her life before, during and after the walk, specifically the fragile state of her recent marriage. Though she may not be able to save her marriage, she is able to come to terms with why it wasn't working and what wasn't working in herself.

As I write this, I suppose it sounds trite. Oh, she went for a walk and she found herself. But the book does not sound trite at all. It is sincere, reflective, poetic but not flowery, moving but not twee. I loved it for all the reasons I hated Eat, Pray, Love (it's the anti-Eat, Pray, Love). Where Elizabeth Gilbert was affected and entitled, Stephanie Dale is open and sincere; where Gilbert was pompous and showy (look at me praying! look at me dating Italians! look at me being amazing!), Dale is vulnerable and thoughtful. Plus, she walked like a billion miles so she's entitled to be a wee bit philosophical (or delirious or whatever) by the end of it!

This review first appeared on my blog, Cozy Little Book Journal, on Nov. 6, 2012.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I was asked to post an honest review (though not necessarily a favourable one). The opinions expressed are strictly my own.