As part of our series on summer reading, we polled the Twittersphere to find out what books caught Education Week readers’ attention. We invited our readers on social media to share the best book they’ve read this summer using #EdWeekReads. We heard from more than 50 readers with wide-ranging responses that included books for pleasure, education-related reads, fiction and nonfiction, children’s and YA literature, new releases and old favorites. Check out some of the highlights below, and see the complete list of recommended reads from our readers on Storify.
Topping the list of recommendations were books (perhaps unsurprisingly) on education, specifically covering technology, student learning, and classroom resources.
I’m reading Visible Learners by @ProjectZeroHGSE researchers. //t.co/MLA4gPw6OI . Welcome insight on #documentation. #EdWeekReads
— Andrea Fanjoy (@afanjoy) July 10, 2016
@educationweek Kevin Kelly’s new book, The Inevitable provides a glimpse of the future #EdWeekReads pic.twitter.com/TszoOtK3mO
— John Massie (@UplandEdTech) July 8, 2016
I just read In the Best Interest of Students by Kelly Gallagher. A must read for secondary ELA teachers #EdWeekReads #KellyGToGo
— Tara Sullivan (@RedbirdNotes) July 8, 2016
(Check out author Kelly Gallagher’s Commentary on the importance of in-depth learning over test preparation.)
Lucky to have rec’d my summer #EdWeekReads from @AFTunion @LundyPonce //t.co/2ZML394MXL pic.twitter.com/UyiQid5qRo
— Cassy (@CassyLL) July 8, 2016
So far this summer, I’ve read the Building Powerful Numeracy books by @pwharris - mind blowing. New ways for me to compute! #EdWeekReads
— Kit G (@MrKitMath) July 9, 2016
Racial and social injustice concerns during a violent summer seem to be prompting readers’ book choices. Many readers recommended nonfiction books on race. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ memoir, written as a letter to his teenage son about his life and thoughts on race in America, was mentioned twice as a critical read.
Mine are the *crucial* Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Boss by Mike Royko (I am currently re-reading). #EdWeekReads
— Marissa Page (@marissahpage) July 7, 2016
@EdWeekTeacher Coates’ Between the World and Me--moral imperative to read this book #EdWeekReads
— Ms. Vannatter, NBCT (@MsCVannatter) July 8, 2016
@educationweek #Multicultural Resources for Young Readers, The Playmaking Way, and Against All Odds #EdWeekReads pic.twitter.com/8jRZ4dKyY1
— Rabin Nickens (@RabinNickens) July 6, 2016
@EdWeekTeacher #EdWeekReads pic.twitter.com/ZEqPmOPvuB
— Gary Rogers (@RogersEducator) July 7, 2016
The teachers we heard from are favoring fiction and memoir that provide insights for life in and out of the classroom.
I read Farenheit 451 by Bradbury while at US Army/UofL CFDC. Relevant to our current culture on many levels #EdWeekReads #ISteachingtips
— Mark Davis (@LeadingBearkats) July 7, 2016
#EdWeekReads My first summer read is The Goldfinch be Donna Tartt. Can’t help but read with the 6 traits in mind. A++ Ms Tartt!
— Shannon Burns (@shabuinthepeg) July 9, 2016
Fun read in the car is the audiobook to Bill Bryson’s “The Road to Little Dribbling” while I drive to summer school each day. #EdWeekReads
— John Hayward (@Jhaywardtwit) July 7, 2016
Just finished a great book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Must-read for teachers #EdWeekReads #teacher
— Susan Butler-Graham (@SusanGra1) July 9, 2016
@educationweek Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou...Simple yet inspiring for all women. #EdWeekReads
— Aleya Cunningham (@aleyacunny) July 6, 2016
In children’s and YA literature, many educators picked books from their school libraries. Author John Green got two votes of confidence.
Lots of YA - The One (Selection series), Winter (Lunar Chronicles), All the Light We Cannot See, and Miss Pettigrew #s 2&3 #EdWeekReads
— Brook Tierney (@br00kbt) July 9, 2016
Best summer book so far: Maniac Magee. What a simple yet powerful book about the ugliness of ignorance #EdWeekReads
— Crystal Paek (@paek_ela) July 6, 2016
Trying to choose books from my HS library. Starting book #8 An Abundance of Katherines By John Green. #EdWeekReads
— A. Blair (@ABlair230) July 8, 2016
@ABlair230 John Green’s great, have you read Looking for Alaska? Recently read and surprisingly loved it most out of his books #EdWeekReads
— Crystal Paek (@paek_ela) July 9, 2016
Need more to read this summer? See our previous coverage on the books Education Week’s opinion bloggers named noteworthy.
Source: Image by Flickr user .christoph.G., licensed under Creative Commons