Summer Booklist

I haven't compiled my summer book list yet, except for the fact that I want to re-read Summer of the Monkeys.

What's on your list? I need ideas.

What was that? Flying clothes?

I was in the mood for some good historical fiction. True to the times, insightful about the conflict, solid research on dress of the age, interesting characters, and good acting. I put the Civil War North and South on our queue and hoped for the best.

Boy, that was a mistake. There were just too many clothes flying off of people. Not squeaky clean for my taste, that's for sure.

So I'm going to try for something else. And hope my next copies of Lark Rise to Candleford, Season Three get here soon.

Sound and Fury, Hobart Shakespearians

I loved the list of documentary recommendations from the last few posts! We watched Sound and Fury, a documentary about cochlear implants and we really liked it. Very well done. I thought the producers did a great job portraying how complex this issue is and how emotional, especially to deaf people who value and treasure deaf culture. 9 out of 10. Universal appeal.

We also liked Hobart Shakespearians, about a teacher in LA who inspires his 5th grade classes on to greatness. While not as engrossing as Sound and Fury, still good, and a powerful example of the power of one teacher/one mentor/one educator.

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman

I finished How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman. Good read.

Since our family has had much more face time, email time, phone time, and hospital time with doctors in the past year than I ever could have hoped for, I've developed a new appreciation for good doctors and nurses and they work they do.

My greatest criticism in our medical voyage has been that doctors only seemed to be treating the numbers of my daughter's tests. I worried they weren't treating my daughter---just treating to the numbers. This is a big theme of the book: what criteria doctors use to make decisions.

The book isn't meant to be an expose of doctors, just an examination of doctors doing what they can. The message of the book is: doctors are doing the best they can. Patients are doing the best they can. Modern medicine is doing well, but can do better. We can all do better.

A good book if you are interested in the subject.

And . . . I must make one more comment before I venture off. Groopman was ruthless in his examination of drug salesman. I relished his comments, having met many a tight-bodiced, cleavage-showing, perfumed drug saleslady, as well as many slick, shiny-shoed, sweet-talking drug salesman man during my time working in a doctor's office. I'm sure there are some drug salespeople who have integrity and make an honest living and are good at what they do. I just think the whole drug manufacturing business is crooked. Like health insurance companies, it makes money on people who are vulnerable because of illness or circumstance. Groopman and me: we have little tolerance for this.

It was enough to read the book and find a kindred spirit in Groopman, who sliced and diced the drug reps and their industry. But that was just a sliver of the book. The rest of it was worth reading as well.

Keep them Coming!

I love all the movie recs in the comments. Keep them coming! Our Netflix queue needed a facelift.

Katy, either comment or email me and tell me what you teach again. I've been doing some more YA historical lit (I'll have to blog about it) and I'd love a reminder what topics you do. Would be fun to help you have lots of historical fiction suggestions at your fingertips.

Documentaries Take Two

Thanks for the comments! Fun suggestions! Katy, I would love to have your list of historical documentaries.

We also watched Babies, Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and Wordplay. We liked all of those and thought they were worth the time.

Stacey, I would be so, so interested in your charter school experience. There aren't charter schools where we live for elementary, but there is a math and science charter school for junior high that's opening. If there were a waiting list, even so early in the game, we'd be on it.

Documentaries we watched. Some we liked.

Sometimes we get on documentary kicks. Sometimes we find some good stuff. Sometimes we just send the movie back.

Here's a sampling of some of what we've been through that we thought were really good.

1. Waiting for Superman, about the public education system in the US. Fabulous. Really truly well done.

2. Mad Hot Ballroom, about the ballroom dance program for elementary students in New York? I think New York. Hilarious. A riot. I loved it.

3. Spellbound, about the National Spelling Bee. Good stuff.

4. Nursery University about preschool in New York. We liked it.

Other things we watched and thought were interesting:

1. The food movies. Like Supersize me, the reason that I cannot frequent McDonalds---seeing the movie obliterated my McD business forever. We also did Food Inc. (interesting).

2. The oil movies. King Corn and Fuel for example. Good.

3. The homebirth movies. Like Being Born in America. Interesting---ironic that almost every movie makes hospitals out to be BAD and then there's an emergency and that's where the BAD hospital homebirthers end up going. Eric and I always find that ironic.

I'm sure we'll find more topics. We like documentaries. Anyone have any other suggestions?