Summer is in full swing. Although I’ve always enjoyed summer
for getting outdoors, riding my bike, and taking vacation trips, in previous
years I just didn’t get it. Now that I have spent a year as a teacher I know
how important it is to have this time to recharge. Along with a little R &
R it also makes me very happy to have the time to do some research and whittle
down my reading pile. So while I compile what I’ve been reading and doing this
summer, I thought I would share with you a website I’ve been using to help out
with professional development.
I remember reading several of the classics when I was in
school. Books like A Tale of Two Cities and The Scarlet Letter. But no one has
read them all. I find that in teaching high school we wind up talking about
certain classics that find their way into the history class. Immediately The
Red Badge of Courage, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and The Jungle come to mind. I mean, these books had an influence on history and we talk about them in class. I'm thinking we should probably have read them, no? So, being
the type A nerd that I am I added these titles to my reading list for the
summer. But who has time to read these along with everything else you want to
get through? That’s where Daily Lit comes in.
All you have to do is go to DailyLit.com and signup for
free. Then look through their catalog and choose a book that you would like to
read. Daily Lit will then send the book to you in short email installments. I’m
currently on the 20th installment out of 50 of Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of
Courage. The installments are less than a thousand words and I’m guessing it
takes me about five minutes to read each day. Seeing the email in my inbox
provides me a form of discipline to read the installment before deleting and
also to not allow the installments to pile up. Daily Lit allows you to make
these classics into the bathroom book of the Internet age. Give it a try!
