Teacher Thoughts: Book Source

As a teacher, I have built quite a large collection of books for my students.  As a 6th grade English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, I feel that it is my duty to have a good selection of books for my students to read.

My first year of teaching 6th grade, I inherited a decent amount of books from previous teachers who retired and left books behind.  I added to this collection with books that I had as a child/teen and continued to build my library with my Scholastic Bonus Points.

Then I started to notice that books had gone missing.  Despite having what I thought was a check out system, it was truly impossible to tell who really did have my books.

Enter Book Source.

I wish I could say that I remembered how I came across this, but I don't.  All I know is that it has made a HUGE difference in how I track who has books from my classroom library.

The first thing that I did was download the app.  There is also a corresponding website, which is what I use most often in the classroom. 

Here's how I got things set up:

1.  I created an account when I downloaded the FREE app.

2.  I spent a great deal of time during my summer break entering books into my library.  

You can do this by scanning the EAN code on the book or manually entering ISBN numbers.  I had to use both methods.  I had books that were so old that they didn't even have ISBN numbers, so I just created listings myself.  I also had books that did not have a bar code or didn't have a bar code containing the ISBN, so I manually entered those, too.  I used the website to add any listings that I couldn't scan with my phone.  (I promise, that after the initial time commitment, it's not time consuming at all!)  As I get new books, I quickly scan them with the app and add them to the collection.

3.  Set up Login Information and Passwords for students.

Once I had the library set up, I created a classroom ID and password for both the students and I to login to the website.  From here, you also create a separate teacher password to access the teacher page to do things like manage students or the library.  I added the first name and last initial of all of the students that would come to my classroom this year and gave them all a general password.

Now, the set up was completed!  

During the first week of school, discussing my classroom library was on my list of introductory things to discuss with my students.  I have a poster hanging by the computers that goes through the steps of logging in and checking out books.

When a student picks out a book from my library, he goes to the website and logs in.  Then he clicks on the student tab, searches for his name, clicks on it, and searches for the book he has chosen.  Once he finds the book, he clicks "check out," and voila!  Book checked out.  I don't need to do anything.  I can pull up a list of students who have out books if I notice one is missing.

Students can return books on their own, but I prefer to be in control of that.  When a student finishes a book, they bring it to me to return.  I can scan it back in with the app on my phone or use the website.  I have a bin in my library for students to put the book back, and my classroom librarian will file it later.

I have it set so students can only check out 1 book at a time, and I know exactly who has it and how long it's been checked out!

As you can see, I have 740 titles in my library, and this has been a HUGE help!  

Teacher friends, do you have a system for managing your classroom library?

I was not approached by or compensated in any way by Booksource.com for this post.  All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Reading: A Look Back & A Look Ahead

First: A Look Back

January 
February
March & April (I combined these two months into one post.)
May & June (Another two for one post with my special review of Micah's book Riffs of Regret!)
July
August
October (This is when I officially met my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal!)
November
December

**NOTE:  I did not lose my mind.  Did you notice there's no September?  I published a monthly book post in September, but it was only to tell the sad but true story that I hadn't finished any books.  I figured it was worth leaving out of the look back.**

Now: A Look Ahead
As I mentioned in my December Books post last week, my reading goal for 2016 is to read 40 books!  I thought I'd share what's up "first" on my to-do list.  In other words, these are books that are currently in my possession in print or audio form,

1. Drums of Autum by Diana Gabaldon (This is the 4th book in the Outlander series.  I am currently reading this one now, and I have through book 5...)
2. Landline by Rainbow Rowell (This is an Audible download.  I enjoyed listening to Fangirl; so I thought I'd give another Rainbow Rowell book a try!)
3. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon 
4. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr*
5. Fairest: Levana's Story by Marissa Meyer (This is a prequel for the Lunar Chronicles series.  I still need to get my hand on the 4th and final book, Winter.)
6. The Girl on the Train by Paul Hawkins*
7. How to Raise and Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims* (I saw this book on CBS This Morning awhile ago, and it was like a religious experience.  Everything this woman was saying, I was agreeing with.  As a teacher, I see exactly the things she is taking about every day.  I needed to have this book.)
8. The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story by Lily Koppel*
9. The Blackthorn Key  by Kevin Sands
10. George by Alex Gino
11. The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller

*All books I received from my parents for Christmas

Numbers 9 & 10 are both books I received for free from Scholastic.  Since they are pretty new releases and both sound interesting, I want to read them before I decide to add them to my classroom library.  Sometimes I'm a responsible teacher like that....

As you can see, I have 11 book ready and waiting to get my on my journey toward 40 books in 2016!  Of course, I will be adding the remainder of the Outlander books to my collection, and I will have my monthly Audible credit, too!  The Rainbow Rowell book was actually my December credit purchase, so I'm already ahead of the game!

What books are you looking forward to reading this year!?

December Books

So technically, December is not over, but I will not have any more books finished, before the month is over.  I thought it would be fun to go ahead and wrap up this month by sharing my December books today!

I was annoyed that I didn't finish this first book in November.  I finished it on December 1st.  I almost cheated and made it a November book, but I didn't.  I kept it real.  ;)

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I listened to this book on Audible. And it was LONG. It was over 30 hours, and I had hoped to finish it in November, but that just didn't happen.

Overall, I found it interesting to hear about Jobs's life. As a consumer who loves both my iPhone and iPad, I was interested in knowing more about the founder and person of Steve Jobs.

At times, though, the narrative was confusing and dull. There were times that Isaacson jumped back in time after we'd progressed years in the future. Or he jumped ahead in time to mention a future event that would occur with a person in Jobs's life at that moment in the biography. I didn't really care for this style. As Jobs was a very significant business man, there were numerous people coming in and out of his life both personally and professionally, and it was hard to keep it straight! Jobs was also a jerk, and sometimes it made me angry to hear about how he treated people!

I didn't really care for the narrator much, and since Isaacson himself recording the introduction and epilogue for the book, I wish that he would have performed the whole reading.

My final thought is that this wasn't a great book, but it wasn't awful either.


Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a refreshing "read" (aka listen) after my last book on Audible. For starters it wasn't 30 hours long, which got things off to a great start.

I wanted to keep listening to this book. I really liked Cath's character, and I could sympathize with her freshman year of college struggles.

I will say, though, that I was disappointed with the ending. The story just seemed to stop. I didn't feel like there was really a resolution. It ended with a piece of Cath's writing, but I don't feel like it wrapped the story up. This is why I gave it 4 stars.

Overall, though, I really did like this book!

The Chimes by Charles Dickens

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was a free gift from Audible to their subscribers this year. It was a short listen (under 4 hours), and it was free, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I was feeling pretty tired when I was listening to this story, and listening to this on my commute was not the best of ideas. I found myself struggling to stay awake, and since I was driving, that was a bit of an issue.

I found this story incredibly confusing. The main character is referred to by two names, and a lot of times, I got lost in what was happening. When "Trotty" goes up to the bell tower, I got completely lost and the story made essentially no sense to me until the very end. So I would say that overall, I get what took place in the story, but I didn't enjoy it.

Dickens should have stuck with A Christmas Carol.


Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another great book in the Outlander series! This one kept me riveted from start to finish, made me laugh, and moved me to tears.



View all my reviews

Not only does that wrap things up for December, but it also wraps up my books for 2015!  I set a goal to read 30 books this year, and I actually knocked it out of the park and read 36!

Based on that "performance," I'm going to up the ante in 2016.  My goal is going to be 40 books.

How did you do with  your reading goals this year?

It's a New Year!

There's a back to school commercial (that I can't seem to find on YouTube and don't remember what company it's for) that plays the famous New Year's tune, "Auld Lang Syne."  Kristin  mentioned this in a post recently, and I can't help but agree.  The "New Year" for me starts in August!

I love the beginning of a new school year.  It's exciting!  Fresh school supplies, setting up my classroom, anticipation of all of the *wonderful* things that are going to happen.....it's all just so exciting.

Though I will admit, by the end of the first week, this happens:

from my "The Life of a Teacher" board on Pinterest

Maybe not the first week.  But at least by October.

In case you don't remember, I teach 6th grade at a small school district.  We have one elementary school and a Jr/Sr High School.  This means that our elementary is a K-6 building.  This year, the 5th and 6th grades will be trying a new schedule.  It's not exactly block scheduling, but the purpose it to provide more time for Math Instruction and for ELA (English Language Arts- which includes Reading and Writing) Instruction.

 I have been the 6th grade Reading teacher for 2 years, and last year I taught all of the reading classes and language arts (writing) to my homeroom.  This year, I will be teaching 3 ELA classes for 80 minutes each.  I'm looking forward to this new schedule and adventure.  But if any of you have taught Language Arts, it can be really difficult and time consuming to grade writing assignments.  I will also see about 60 students (I know, I know, some teachers in this subject area see A LOT more), so I wanted to keep things organized and make things easier for myself and my students.

I came up with a couple of things to try!

1) Writing Process System
Last year, I ordered a filing system for folders.  This was originally for something entirely different (math related, and thank goodness I'm done teaching math!), but I was able to find a good use for them.  First, I color coded the tabs of manila folders for each class I will be seeing (My homeroom is blue, another is red, and the third is yellow).  I placed all of their folders on this filing system.  Next, I have some colorful storage baskets.  On each one, I taped an index card.  One basket reads, "Rough Draft" in green.  The other is "Editing/Revising" in yellow, and the last is "Final Copy" in red.  (Do you get the green, yellow, red?  Like a stop light??)  Students will write their names on their own folders.  As they enter each step of the writing process, they will put their manila folder in the appropriate basket.  In other words, if a student is working on his rough draft, he will place his folder in the rough draft basket when class is over.

When dealing with writing assignments in the past (in both Language Arts and Reading), I was very set on students NOT handing in their assignments until the due date.  With 60 students, I've decided I might lose my mind trying to grade that much work at once!  (Truthfully, you should see how awful some of their writing is.....)  With this system, as soon as a student's folder is in the Final Copy basket, I can correct the paper, and return it.  After I've graded a paper, it will go back into their manila folder and back to the filing system.  I plan to have students keep all of their writing in their folders to serve as a portfolio of sorts.

2) Use of Google Docs
I have already gotten some very good feedback on this from parents.  I am sending home an introductory letter about what students will be needing for ELA class.  On this letter, I explain to parents that students will great a Gmail account for the use of Google docs.  I do include a permission slip, and parents do not have to allow their student to create an account.

Why am I doing this?  For a few reasons:

• My classroom computers (I have 2) are not connected to printers in our school.  Therefore, I have to give students a flash drive to save their work.  Then I have to put the flash drive into my computer, open their file, and print it myself.  This isn't a huge deal for one or two students, but when almost all of your students need you, it can get time consuming and overwhelming.
• Of our 4 computer labs, one is a technology classroom that is being used for classes all day, and one has no printer.  That means if I can't get my students into 1 of the 2 labs that have printers connected, students cannot print their work from there.
• This will also allow easier peer editing because students can share their work with other students.
• This also makes it easier for ME to edit student work should they ask me to.
• While students can access their saved work from any computer in the school, they can't access their work from home.  While not all of our students have computers or internet access at home, those who do can take advantage of being able to access their work from home if they choose.

Things I did before running with this idea:

1. I asked permission from my principal.  Before I got too excited, I wanted to make sure that I was even allowed to offer this option to my students.  (P.S.  She LOVED the idea.)
2. As I already stated, I created an informational letter to send home.  I will be sending this letter home with my students the first day of school.  The sooner it gets home, the better.
3. I included a permission slip at the bottom of the letter. Again, as I already stated, I am not going to force the students to use this.  Even if there are students whose parents will not allow it, that's a lot less students I have to do things with the harder way. 
4. My principal reviewed my letter and initialed it.  She requested that I provide her with a copy of the letter to read and initial.  Her initials will be on this communication going out to parents so that they know that the idea has been approved.

I'm really excited to see how these new ideas will work!

Any other writing teachers out there have ideas to share??

Book Review: Bridge to Terabithia

I wasn't planning to write a book review this week, but I read a couple of chapters of Bridge to Terabithia on Friday to start preparing for a new unit for one of my reading classes, and I finished it in a couple of hours on Saturday.

Back to my thoughts on Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson.  If you plan to read this or see the movie, I just want to warn you that my review contains spoilers!!

via

If you've never read the book (or seen the movie), here's the summary from Goodreads.com:

Jess Aarons' greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in his grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys' side and outruns everyone.

That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. Together they create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I read this book because one of my 6th grade classes picked as the next book they wanted to read in class. It only took me a few hours to read. I'm sad to say that I just don't get what the big deal is surrounding this book. I would also really love to know why this book was ever turned into a movie?? I hope my students will not be as disappointed in this book as I was.

I did give it two stars and not one because I didn't feel that it was badly written or anything like that. I just thought the plot was rather boring. Don't get me wrong, though! I would have loved an area like that to play with friends as a kid. We were always playing imaginary games, and we had so much fun! That doesn't mean that someone should've written a book about them.

I really didn't feel connected to the characters, and for a crier, I surprisingly had a very UNemotional reaction to Leslie's death. While there was an indication that something bad was going to happen, I felt that her death came out of nowhere. I actually thought that they might get swept through the creek and something bad but more adventuresome would take place.

This was a truly disappointing read.

View all my reviews

The more I think about it, the more that I want to change my review to one stars, but I'll go ahead and keep my final decision.  I just don't get all of the hype.  Looking over other ratings people gave this book, I was glad to know that I wasn't alone.  It seems like people either love this book or hate it.

Have you read it?  What did you think?  It's ok if we disagree!  If you liked this book, I would really love to know why!! :)

Book Review: Redeeming Love

I know that it's Tuesday.  I should be hosting Dinner Time Tuesday right now, but I'm not for two reasons:

1) We don't really have any food.  So I haven't really been making dinner. (ie. I ate tortilla chips and salsa for dinner yesterday.)
2)  It's usually only Kristin and I linking up anyway, so I figured it could wait until next week.....or until I buy some food, whichever comes first! :)

Instead, I share with you my review of Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. 

Here's what Goodreads.com has to say: California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.

Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.

But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does ... the One who will never let her go.

I cannot even put into words how good this book is!  I'm so glad Julie sent it to me during our Book Swap with Ashley way back in April!

This book is an amazing story of God's redeeming and unconditional love. Rivers creates a beautiful love story, not just between the characters and God, but between man and woman. It is a story of hope and love, and it reminds us that no matter how awful we may be, God will forgive us. 

I feel like I could go on and on about this book, but at the same time, I can't find any more words than the ones above because I feel like it just sums it up so well.  If you're looking for a book to finish off your summer reading or a book that's just simply amazing, I highly recommend this one!

It's August Already?!?

I seriously cannot believe that it's the first day of August.  At my school, teachers head back to work on the 26th.  I always enjoy the beginning of the school year, but giving up my lazy summer days takes some adjusting.  Every year, without fail, back-to-school nightmares start disrupting my sleep.  All of these things serve to remind me that my summer is rapidly drawing to a close.  :( 

As many of you know, though, I have a big change coming this school year.  I am moving from first grade to sixth!

I've had a lot of reactions from people about this.  An overwhelming majority of people are excited for me and have offered their congratulations.  I appreciate this because it was MY decision.  I wasn't "asked" (aka "told') to move.  I didn't have to do it.  It was something I wanted to do.  What I haven't appreciated are the few people who have said, "Are you crazy?",  "Why are you punishing yourself?", "Of all the elementary grades, 6th is my least favorite.", and "Why would you want to do THAT?"

Fortunately, none of you were among those negative Nelly's, but with the school year approaching, I decided I would share why I am moving to 6th grade.  But first, some background as to why I even considered it.  I honestly never wanted to teach above third grade.  Students after that develop real attitudes about school...and usually, they're not good attitudes.  I had been working closely with a sixth grade teacher on our School Wide Positive Behavior team.  One day, during a meeting, he mentioned that the sixth grade was going to need a fourth teacher for the upcoming school year.  Knowing how I felt about the older grades, he jested, "Wanna come teach 6th grade?"  "Uhh...no," was my sarcastic reply. 

I call those my famous last words.

After that conversation, I couldn't stop thinking about moving out of first and up to sixth.

In no particular order, my reasons are listed below:

1. I spent 6 years of my seven-year teaching career in first grade.  I really just felt the need for a change.
2. If I moved, I would be teaching reading.  This is a subject I am highly comfortable with.  Not only do I love reading, but my background of teaching primary reading will be very helpful with sixth grade students who are still struggling.  I will be able to take them back to the basics, if necessary.
3. I taught this group of students when they were in first grade five years ago.  That's a good AND bad thing.  BUT I like that I can see and interact with past students again.  One of my favorite things about teaching is watching my students grow up and seeing what kind of people they become.
4. Independence.  Sixth graders are not needy.  They can do so much more on their own without repeated explicit instruction.
5. Projects.  Because of their independence, they can do much more interesting things to demonstrate their knowledge.
6. I am sick and tired of the reading stories in first grade.  We use a wonderful curriculum in first grade (Story Town by Harcourt).  When we got the reading series during my second year of teaching first grade, I was thrilled.  My first year was chaos.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I finally had a guide.  But after five years of some of the most boring and/or stupid stories ever, I decided that if I had to hear "Little Rabbit's Tale" (to name just one) one more time, I was going to rip off my ears.
7. I am done with the negativity.  Not that everyone is happy and positive all the time.  I know I'm not, but two of the teachers with whom I've worked for a long time have just brought me down.  Every change, certain students, anything that they don't like becomes a HUGE issue.  I've essentially been doing things the way I want anyway because I just don't care what they say.  I need to be somewhere where each thing we're asked to do is not the end of the world.
8. I only need to write lesson plans for 4 reading classes (which can essentially be the same) and one math class.
9. Students can actually help you...effectively.  I could only rely on the best and brightest of my first graders sometimes to help me with certain tasks.  Sixth graders are a bit more reliable. 
10. Change is good, y'all!  Especially when it's change that you've initiated.  Am I nervous?  Yes.  Do I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing?  Absolutely.  Am I overwhelmed right now?  Sure.  But I'm so excited.  

And that, friends, is why I'm moving to sixth grade.  :)
 

Book Review: The Casual Vacancy

I received The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling for Christmas.  I am ashamed to say that it was only the third book I've read this year.  The first book I read and reviewed here was The Little Book by Selden Edwards.  Then I was asked to read Most Unlikely to Succeed by Nelson Lauver for work.  That was an amazing memoir written by a man in a county not far from where I live.  We were also fortunate enough to have him come to speak at an in-service day, which was totally amazing. 

This brings me back to The Casual Vacancy.

Source

Here is the book description from Amazon:

When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

I'll be honest. I wanted this book because J.K. Rowling wrote it. I'm pretty sure every adult Harry Potter fan hoped that this book was secretly "Harry Potter: The Adult Years." I knew it wasn't. That made it hard to get into at first. I really do not think the plot is interesting. We are introduced to many characters, and the story bounces around between them. It was confusing at times. As I read, I started to enjoy making the connections between the characters and how they all weave together to tell the story. What kept me reading is that I really did want to see what happened in the end. I would have liked the book more, perhaps, if there had been fewer characters (some of whom seemed rather unimportant) AND if the story was about something interesting.

Don't let the election part scare you away, though.  This wasn't overly political.  It didn't center on the election itself.  There was a lot more to the story than that.

Overall, I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't love it either. I would recommend that J.K. Rowling's grown up fans read this, though, because it is SO different from anything even remotely related to Harry Potter....except maybe that it takes place in England. ;)

Is it time to read yet?

I miss reading. 

I have no time to sit down and read a good book right now.  I am so desperate for warm weather, summer vacation, and reading!

I thought I'd share my reading list.  I've also updated my Recent Reads page.  I decided it was time to get rid of all of the crossed off books and start with a fresh list.  So...basically, what you see here will also be on that page.  You can always feel free to check back to see how I'm doing or what I've added! :)

1. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone ~J.K. Rowling
2. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets ~J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban ~J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire ~J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix ~J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince ~J.K. Rowling
7. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows ~J.K. Rowling
8. The Hunger Games ~Suzanne Collins
9. Catching Fire ~Suzanne Collins
10. Mockingjay ~Suzanne Collins
11. Gilt ~Katherine Longshore
12. Casual Vacancy ~J.K. Rowling
13. The Beatles: A Hard Day's Write (The Stories Behind Every Song) ~Steve Turner
14. The Giver ~Lois Lowry
15. Gathering Blue ~Lois Lowry
16. Messenger ~Lois Lowry
17. The Great Gatsby ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ok, don't be mislead.  I have OBVIOUSLY read the Harry Potter books.  I have also read The Hunger Games trilogy.  I reread Harry Potter every summer, and I want to read The Hunger Games books again, too.  Everything under that, are new additions to my list.  I know that I read The Giver in middle school, but I don't remember it.  It is also part of a trilogy.  So I used my bonus points from Scholastic and ordered the set with the last book order I submitted.  :)  (The perks of being a teacher.)  I also read The Great Gatsby in high school, but I just didn't get it.  With the movie coming out, I thought now was a good time to read it again.  Maybe I'll understand it this time. 

Anyone else have a summer reading list?

Book Review: The Little Book

This book was so good. I thought since I was totally lazy this weekend, I would share this review from my WordPress blog. It was the first book I read this year, and one of only two books that I've read so far in 2013. Im planning a review of the other very soon. :)
***************************************************** I got a big stack of new books for Christmas.  Since I asked for mostly books and clothes, I would say that Santa granted my wishes!  Choosing which book to start with came down to just grabbing the book on the top of the pile.

via

The Little Book by Selden Edwards is a book my friend Brooke shared on her blog, and since she stated that if you like The Time Traveler's Wife, you would like this book, I was sold.

Here's the synopsis from the back cover of the book:

"When Wheeler Burden--banking heir, rock idol, baseball hero, bestselling author--suddenly finds himself dislocated in time from 1988 San Francisco to Vienna in the year 1897, he's arrived at a pivotal moment in history, philosophy, art, and culture.  It is a time when the coming twentieth century looms before the world with great promise and peril, and when Vienna is enjoying its magnificent swan song as the epicenter of modern thought and the seat of European intellectual and political life. 

But what's most important to Wheeler from the earliest moments of his arrival are finding an appropriate set of clothes and discovering the identity of the luminous young woman he encounters early in his stay.  These simple actions set in motion a series of events that will ultimately reveal the incredible truth at the heart of Wheeler's adventure and will illuminate the eccentric Burden family's unrivaled impact on the very course of human history."

I.  LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

First of all, I love the subject of time travel.  The Back to the Future movies are among my favorites, and the book The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was riveting to me.  (P.S.  Though good, the movie version of The Time Traveler's Wife isn't even CLOSE to as good as the book.)  The thing I love most about the subject is the confusing, yet intriguing, ways that the time traveler impacts the future.

I will be honest.  I wasn't sure I would like the book at first.  When I started reading, I felt that the beginning chapters were...I'm not sure.  Maybe just not what I was expecting.  The story begins with Wheeler's arrival in Vienna.  That threw me off and confused me a bit for some reason.  I suppose I was expecting to learn a little about who he was before being transported back in time.  HOWEVER, I pressed on, and soon I was enthralled as the story began the back-and-forth of Wheeler's situation in Vienna and explaining more about his story from childhood to adulthood.  I loved how many chapters left clues that hinted to things occuring while he is in Vienna.  The story allows you to make predictions, and as the story unfolds, light bulbs start going off in your head.  You get many "Aha!" moments as something you were predicting actually happens.

Amazing.

If you're looking for a book to add to your reading list, I HIGHLY recommend this book.  The good news is that there is a sequel to this book titled The Lost Prince.  I think I'm going to need to find that one soon!