Sunday Salon: February 11, 2018

My life in books:
I am finally back to reading non-CYBILS books.

 

• Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork--intense YA
• Tears of Salt: A Doctor's Story--Emotional and interesting adult non-fiction

Currently reading--Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Challenges progress:

• Non-fiction--My goal is 20 books and I've read 16 already!
• Literary Voyage around the world--Read books set in as many countries as possible. I have read in 10 countries so far, adding Mexico and Italy in the past week.
• Literary Escapes--Track the US states. I have read books set in 9 states so far and in the past week added: TX and Washington, DC
• Read all of the ALA YA Award Winners--these haven't been announced yet.
• Motif Reading Challenge--I just added this one yesterday, but as luck would have it, I had unwittingly done both January (read a book different from my race/country) and February (one word title)!

My life outside books:

Working:
What a fantastic work week! It was super busy and I got to spend two of the days creating curriculum with colleagues, which is one of my favorite things to do. One day three of us created four days of digital citizenship lessons (unfortunately, in response to a negative event at one of our local schools) and the other day I worked at a junior high helping them create student-centered units incorporating technology.

Family:
We are one month on from the debris flow in Montecito and for many of us, life is back to normal with all utilities restored and our water drinkable. Yesterday morning I drove parts of the area that I hadn't seen since the disaster. Wow. It's like a war zone and very sobering.

On a positive note, I LOVE the Olympics! I love the pageantry, the scenery, seeing a new country as it is highlighted as the host, hearing the stories of the athletes, and the competitions themselves. Friday night we watched the opening ceremony and I thought they did a beautiful job. The costumes, the images, and the graphics were all wonderful. And did you see the 1200 drones that made shapes?! Wow! Having grown up in southern California, I am normally not a winter sport person, but I do love to watch speed skating in particular.

This video has no sound, but it's the best one I could find of the drones at the Opening Ceremony.