Kristin Hannah – Institute for Educational Advancement

What We’re Reading: Summer 2018

��Ƶ Staff — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 23:50:21 +0000

Are you looking for a summer book recommendation? Check out what some of us at ��Ƶ are currently enjoying!

The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations by Oprah Winfrey

“During a time when I needed some inspiration in my life, this book, and the conversations Oprah shares, provided great insight into life lessons that some of the most brilliant leaders and visionaries have learned throughout their lifetime. I felt like a fly on the wall as I read through chapters about mindfulness, intention, fulfillment, love and connection.” – Niña Abonal, Senior Program Coordinator

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

“The Great Alone explores a wild and sparsely populated Alaska in the 1970’s, when a Vietnam War veteran moves his wife and 13-year-old daughter from Seattle to the very rugged frontier of Alaska to begin anew away from city life and war memories.�� The book is an insider’s examination of the harsh realities and lush beauty of life in Alaska that I knew little about, set against a troubled family’s story of survival over the course of several decades. The book deals with adult themes but is well-plotted with engaging characters.” – Bonnie Raskin, Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Manager

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

“I reread The Things They Carried every year. To me, no other work so perfectly captures the camaraderie that exists under the most trying, confusing and challenging circumstances. Though fiction, it is grounded in historical truth and humbling to imagine what these characters went through so far from home. O’Brien doesn’t mince words, but his descriptions have a gripping gentleness that makes you feel more than think. I get lost in each vignette that eventually weaves together into a larger narrative.“ – Hillary Jade, Program Manager

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

“A unique coming-of-age story that follows Eva (and the food she loves) from birth through adulthood, told almost exclusively through the viewpoints of those she encounters along the way. It would be accurate to say I devoured this book. Not only was Eva’s journey compelling, but the vivid descriptions of the food that defines each stage of her life made me want to host my own elaborate, biographical feast. A great read for fiction lovers and foodies alike.”-Nicole LaChance, Marketing & Communications Coordinator

In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

“I had read A Walk in the Woods but never thought to pick up another Bryson book until this one was recommended by another ��Ƶ staff member. This travel book about Bryson’s journey through Australia is a delightful cross between a page-turning beach read and informative historical commentary. I found myself laughing even while learning about the ecology, anthropology, history, geography and culture of this fascinatingly unique continent. You may even end up moving Australia up on your list of travel destinations!”-Nicole Endacott, Program Coordinator

The Revenge of Geography by Robert D. Kaplan

“Though dense in historical examples, this book shows how many of our current tensions—from the Syrian Civil War to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions—stem from monolithic geographical features. I particularly enjoyed the last two chapters, where Kaplan points at America’s demographic transition and concludes that geography, more often than not, determines the fate of nations.��”-Mark Blekherman, ��Ƶ EXPLORE Extern

Want more book recommendations? Check out what we were enjoying in ,��Ի��.

What books have you been enjoying this summer? Let us know in the comments!

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What We’re Reading: Summer 2015

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 01:30:00 +0000

Much like many of the kids we serve, the ��Ƶ staff is a group of voracious readers. We wanted to share what we’re reading now in case you are looking for some good summer reads.

New and Selected Poems, Volume 1 by Mary Oliver

“I give my highest, unqualified recommendation to this collection, whose wisdom continues teaching me what it means to be attentive. Good reading for summer nights.”

– Brianna Safe

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

“Marie Kondo has a writing style that invites you to read slowly and deliberately and enjoy every word.�� She has a relationship to objects that makes them seem to have feelings, which many of us gifties can relate to. (Which is why I can never throw away a pen.)�� And it just feels freeing to try her method.”

– Zadra Rose Ibañez

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

“I couldn’t resist reading another novel by the fabulous J.K. Rowling, and her writing pulled me in immediately, as usual.”

– Jennifer Kennedy

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

“I love this story both for its beauty and for how it teaches me. Throughout the novel, Brontë asks compelling and profound questions about love and the nature of goodness in a person’s life. Jane Eyre is a captivating and challenging read that I always enjoy.”

– Morgan Carrion

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

“It is deeply contemplative, insightful, and introspective. I like how Robinson deals honestly and lovingly with some of the most profound questions regarding religion and faith.”

– Jennifer de la Haye

My Struggle: Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgaard

“‘I saw life; I thought about death.’ Slowly slogging my way through this six-book autobiographical series, whose literary voice echoes the cinematic eye of fellow Scandinavian Ingmar Bergman. Not for the easy reader or faint of heart.”

– Brianna Safe

The Mysterious Benedict Society, Book 1 by Trenton Lee Stewart

“Such an engaging story about bright young kids. It actually reminds me a lot of A Wrinkle in Time. I will definitely be getting a copy for my nephew!”

– Jennifer Kennedy

Walking Away by Simon Armitage

“It’s British poet and novelist Armitage’s account as a sort of ‘troubadour’, walking the south-western coastline of the UK, and the people he meets who feed him and accommodate him in return for a poetry reading. It’s a testament to the beauty of the British landscape, the therapy found in walking (and being blasted by the elements) and, most reassuringly, the enduring power of poetry. He’s also just been nominated as Oxford’s Professor of Poetry – and !”

– Louise Hindle

Brainstorm by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel

“I love the scientific analysis behind adolescent behavior – this type of understanding is empowering.”

– Jennifer de la Haye

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

“This book helped me uncover hidden blocks to reaching for what I wanted and gave me a new perspective for dealing with obstacles in my life.�� I absolutely experienced a paradigm shift in how I relate to what matters to me.”

– Zadra Rose Ibañez

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

“Another excellent novel from my favorite author. I get caught up in the language and storytelling ability of Picoult every time. The extended metaphors in this novel relating to wolf behavior and wolf pack dynamics add an interesting dimension as well.”

– Jennifer Kennedy

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

“The book is a fictional account of two sisters struggling to survive the atrocities of World War II in German-occupied France—one a resistance fighter in Paris, the other a mother and teacher in the countryside. I’ve read a lot of material about the horrors of the Holocaust, but never from the perspective of the French people.”

– Bonnie Raskin

Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults

“What’s most exciting about this multi-authored text is the underlying principle that IQ is not an isolated piece of the individual. The work asks two questions: How can this principle help avoid inaccurate diagnoses and the conflation of giftedness and behavioral/emotional/mental disorders?�� And how can we understand the intersection of giftedness and these disorders (dual diagnoses) in a way that preserves the child’s needs first and foremost?”

– Brianna Safe

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What books are you reading this summer? We’d love to know. Please share in the comment section below.

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