Educating the Net Generation: How to Engage Students in the 21st Century by Bob Pletka

I read this over the holidays in an effort to understand those digital natives I work with on a daily basis. Pletka makes an appeal to teachers to incorporate more technology into their curriculum development planning. In particular, he suggests more collaborative learning using Web 2.0 technologies.

This book was just OK. I was hoping for more research-based suggestions and pedagogical best practices. Instead I got a lot of Pletka's own opinions and an in-depth look at one classroom project that used Web 2.0 technologies. The information about the classroom project was great, but not enough. Finally, Pletka needs an editor. There were several sections that repeated, verbatim, information that had just been presented.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Folklorists know that the song most of us know as "Scarborough Fair" (you know, "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme") by Simon and Garfunkel is hundreds of years old and rife with fanciful and negative side stories. If you think about it, really, who would make their true love do impossible tasks to earn their love? Would you be surprised to learn that in many cases the maker of impossible tasks is an elfin knight up to no good?

Werlin takes the dark side of this beautiful song, adds a curse, and sets it in modern times. Her writing is good and easy to read, but the whole book fell a bit short in terms of character development. It was a fun read, however, and I'd recommend it to those who can't get enough romantic fantasy under their belts.

Eclipse and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

These are the last two books in Meyer's vampire quartet. I finished them in one day during the Thanksgiving break. They are as good or better than the first two. Edwards and Bella's star-crossed romance continues with all its tortured twists and turns. I hated to see the series end.