Books That Should Be on the Banned List

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2006 was a strange year for me. I read more books than I have ever read, but had by far the busiest schedule in my life. Between raising 2 year-old triplets and adjusting to teaching all four subjects in a new school system, I sometimes wonder how I managed to even open a book. So how did I devour so much good reading?

For starters, I have a 35 minute commute to work, perfect for listening to audiobooks. This past year I read five books on my drive to and from work. I also had about 15 minutes to myself after the kids went to bed every night, and, amazingly enough, I was able to read three or four more books in that period.

I'm sorry to say that I can't recommend any of these books to you though. In fact, I'm going to write to somebody (???) and ask them to place them all on a banned book list. My fear is that if you read them, you might begin the slide towards total geekdom (I've already finished it and am enjoying what's at the end). And, God forbid, you may begin to think like me or some of the authors who wrote the books.

Or maybe you might learn something incredibly useful that could enhance the experience of your students this school year. So I think what I'll do is list my favorites among these books and say that these are my recommended reads from 2006.

• The World is Flat - (Thomas Friedman) - Should be the Bible for educators across this country.
  
• Everything Bad is Good for You - (Steven Johnson) - Video games and reality television really are good for you.
• Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Your Classroom - (Will Richardson) - I'm in this one!
• The Tipping Point - (Malcolm Gladwell) - I had no idea Paul Revere was so revered!
• Freakonomics - (Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner) - Weird questions, interesting answers.
  
• A Whole New Mind - (Daniel Pink) - I didn't realize I was so right-brained until I read this one!

I've already started spending those Christmas gift cards on more books. Soon I'll be learning about The Long Tail, how I think without thinking (Blink), and much more.


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