Hello Friends,

As you may or may not know, Joan's husband Dean was injured shortly before Christmas. All the family is working on his recovery. For those who have sent their thoughts and prayers… A BIG THANK YOU! They are helping!

This month's issue is from Denise. As I don't have Joan's gift of words, it will be short.:) I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Housekeeping Items:

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Final Thoughts:

I enjoy watching the literacy debates running around the Internet.
Do we read? Can we read? What counts as reading?

I encourage you to start a log this year of any "reading" you do purely for pleasure. No work related items and any medium of your choice. If you listen to books on tape while on vacation - duly log it. You will be surprised at the end of the year and it's a handy reference.

Dec. 31, 2004 Addendum from Joan

Thank you so much to Denise, trusty Web Wizard, for covering for me this month. Yes, Dean is healing; his bad leg is slowly returning to being a good leg; his bad arm will heal and once again be a good arm; all of the internal organs are returning to normal. So, what did we learn from this experience: There is a good reason why bronc riders don't have a saddle horn. Thank you for your support and prayers.

I find I must comment on Denise's suggestion for a ~pleasure~ reading log, as I vicariously learn so much from her family's reading. I love the fact that her 11 year old and 17 year old join in and add to the log also, being very careful to only list pleasure reading, and not required school texts. In 2004, the family reading log list indicates that Denise read 87 books; Shel, her husband, read 103; Jess (17) read 27; and Elliot (11) read 42.

Yesterday, in a rambling, 3 hour, email dialogue with Denise and Nadine (mother of Jonathan in Critical Pedagogy), I enjoyed their discussion of the following books:
I am Charlotte Simons by Tom Wolfe
The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
The Amber Room by Steve Berry
The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry
A Hole in Texas by Herman Wouk
The Epidemic-Rot of American Culture by Robert Shaw, M.D.
Surviving Treblinka by Samuel Willenberg
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Kite Runner by Hossenini
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Haddon
The Time-traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clement
The Report Card by Andrew Clement
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
I, Jack by Patricia Finney
Sea of the Trolls by Nancy Farmer
The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
Doctor Illuminatus by Marin Booth
The Divide by Elizabeth Kay