Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 264. From Romance to Research: Our Summer Reading Picks for Teachers

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264. From Romance to Research: Our Summer Reading Picks for Teachers · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

0:00
Heidi: This is episode 264 of Teacher Approved.
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You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
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educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
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Heidi.
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Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
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Window, where we give research-based and
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teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
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more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
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from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
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Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
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the show.
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Emily: Hey there, thanks for joining us today. In today's
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episode, we are talking all about summer reading. It's a fun
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one, plus we've got a teacher-approved tip for turning
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reading into a celebration.
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Heidi: But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
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share a quick win that you can try right away. Emily, what's
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our suggestion for this week?
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Emily: This week, if you haven't already, you should download the
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Libby app. So, if you haven't heard of it, because you live
1:02
under a rock or something, well, Heidi only heard about it
1:06
recently, so.
1:06
Heidi: No, that's not true. I did know about it, I just didn't
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have it.
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Emily: That's true, that's true. Okay, well, Libby is a free app
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that connects to your local library and lets you borrow
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ebooks and audiobooks. So you sign in with your library card,
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and you can browse the library's whole digital collection, and
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check things out the same way that you would in person, except
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it all happens on your phone.
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Heidi: And it really is actually free. It's not one of those
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things that you have to like put in your credit card to get a
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trial of. The library pays for the licenses, so you're not
1:34
pirating anything. All of the authors are getting paid, you
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just read the books, and you don't have to pay anything.
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Emily: Yeah, you may have to wait a while to get the book you
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want, that is the risk of that. So, my tip is to always have
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your holds maxed out, however many holds your library has,
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have that many waiting, so that you're more likely to always
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have something to read, although it does tend to be that you get
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three or four holds up at the exact same time.
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Heidi: That's how it works all the time.
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Emily: Yeah, well, you can read on your phone or your tablet
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through the app, and you can listen to the audiobooks in the
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app, and if you have a Kindle, you can send the ebook directly
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to your Kindle to read it there, which is so nice. But yes, just
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be aware about if it's a popular book, especially, it's going to
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have a waitlist. But sometimes that also means they recently
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bought more, or they're gonna buy more while you're on the
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wait list, so sometimes you get off of it faster than you think.
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Heidi: And if you don't have a library card, this is your sign,
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and no judgment, because I just barely got my library card. And
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so you can join me in starting with Libby this summer. I've
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only had it a few weeks, and I've already read a ton more
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than I usually do.
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Emily: I know it's so nice when they're just there and they're
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free.
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Heidi: And every day you get like a little surprise, like,
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"Oh, my hold came up."
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Emily: Yes, such a treat. Yeah. Well, if you like this idea or
2:52
anything else we share here on the podcast, would you take a
2:55
second and give us a five-star rating? Ratings and reviews are
2:59
one way that new listeners find us, so every rating and review
3:02
really means a lot to us and is a huge help.
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Heidi: Okay, we are going to try something a little bit different
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today.
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Emily: Yes, we are. So, since books are such a big part of
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summer fun, at least for us, or for you if you're doing your
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summer right, we are dedicating today's episode to reading, so
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we're going to be sharing some of our recent faves and what's
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on our summer to be read lists. And don't worry about writing
3:28
everything down, because we will have all the links in the show
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notes.
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Heidi: Plus we will be talking about a special book that we are
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pretty excited about, but before we get to that, why don't you
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kick things off with one of your book recommendations, Emily?
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Emily: Okay, my first recommendation is my most
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favorite book of the year so far, and that is One and Only by
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Maurene Goo. I hope that's how you pronounce it. And it is
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about a Korean American named Cassia Park, who lives in Los
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Angeles, where she works for the family matchmaking business. So,
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the secret to their success is that for centuries the women in
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her family have been able to peer into the past lives of
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their clients to find their fated true love, and Cassie has
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known who her fated is for 10 years, but she hasn't met him
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yet, and now she's almost 40, but she does meet a younger man
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named Ellis, who is handsome and wonderful, but he's not her
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fated. So I just got such a kick out of this book. It didn't go
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the way I thought it was gonna go. It really surprised me how
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Heidi: That is one of my favorites too. I have not seen
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much I enjoyed it. And I do love a book with some magical realism.
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this book anywhere. I'm gonna grab that.
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Emily: You're missing out. It's good.
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Heidi: I'll put it on as one of my Libby holds.
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Emily: There you go. All right, what's your first
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recommendation?
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Heidi: Okay, my first recommendation is also a little
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bit of magical realism, but historical romance. This is The
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Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton, and
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I read another of India Holton's, that, what is it, The
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Ornithologist Field Guide to Love? She's got such a fun,
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unique voice. It's very, very dry humor. Just picture like
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uptight Victorian ladies who are, you know, the the prim and
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proper auntie who's worried about her young niece catching
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cold if she goes out without her shawl on, but they're, they're
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also pirates. They're not at all concerned that she's covered in
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gunpowder, and a grenade just came launching through the
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window.
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Emily: Oh, this sounds amazing.
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Heidi: Prim and proper Society of Lady Pirates in Victorian
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England, and they have houses that fly, so instead of ships,
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they sail their houses around.
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Emily: Obviously.
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Heidi: It is just so crazy and so silly and so fun. If you like
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historical fiction with a little bit of romance and just want to
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have a fun time, this, this is the book.
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Emily: Well, this is already on my TBR, so I'm glad to hear that
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it's a good one.
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Heidi: Yes, and I got it through Libby. Hey, look at that.
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Emily: All right, I'll put it on my holds. I think I have one
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open spot.
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Heidi: That came up pretty quick. I only barely put it on
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the other day, and I already got it. It came up really fast. So,
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yeah, okay. Emily, give us another one.
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Emily: Well, I'm going to share a teaching book recommendation.
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If you want a teaching book to inspire you this summer, and
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that is The Joyful Classroom by Lynn Bechtel and Kristen
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Vincent. So this is a great read for inspiration and guidance on
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how to make your class more joyful, so that your students
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are more engaged and challenged. And this is important because
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the research supports that students learn more when they're
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engaged, and when students are engaged, your job is much more
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fun. And we feel really strongly about that, which ties into the
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special book we'll be sharing later. But Joyful Classroom was
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also worth a read.
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Heidi: Yeah, I really like that one, and I appreciated that it
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wasn't very dense, so it was very clear, practical takeaways,
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lots that you could take from it, but it didn't feel like a
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slog to get through. It wasn't super heavy and like research
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language that was hard to navigate. It was just, it was
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written to help teachers, and that was very clear. And I think
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so often we underestimate how important it is to enjoy your
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job.
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Emily: Yeah.
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Heidi: But it is important to enjoy your job.
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Emily: I think that's a big key with teacher burnout is that if
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you don't even like it, you're going to get burned out so much
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faster, because there's already a million things to help burn
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you out as a teacher. So, at least if you could have the
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teaching part be something you enjoy, that's the goal.
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Heidi: Yes, absolutely.
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Emily: Well, did you have a teaching book you want to share?
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Heidi: Yes. So, the one I am recommending is called Classroom
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Engagement: The Unwritten Code by Jen Foster. And again, I like
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this for the same reason I like The Joyful Classroom, is that
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it's just full of really practical takeaways that are
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easy to consume. If you're reading a professional
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development book on your personal time, you don't want to
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have to wade through all of the research summaries to get to the
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good stuff.
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Emily: Yeah.
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Heidi: You just want, what do I need to know for tomorrow, or
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for back to school to make this year easier. And this book is
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laid out really clearly. It's very easy to navigate. The
8:13
content is broken down in a way that makes sense, so it's,
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highly recommend that one if you want teacher development,
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classroom management, but not any of the stress.
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Emily: That sounds like a great read. I'll add that to my list
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too.
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Heidi: Okay. Emily, what is your third recommendation for us?
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Emily: Okay, I actually had a hard time narrowing it down to
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only three. This was hard, but based on what I was most blown
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away by this year, my third recommendation is Lady Tremaine
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by Rachel Hochhauser, and this is a Cinderella retelling, which
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I do like a fairy tale retelling, but I also think
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they're hard to do well. So I was kind of not sure that this
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was gonna work, and this is told from the eyes of the evil
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stepmother in Cinderella, and I feel like I should say that evil
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is in quotation marks. And I really was worried this is going
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to be predictable, because you know the Cinderella story, but
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that wasn't true at all, and it wasn't completely faithful to,
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like, the Disney version of Cinderella. There was a lot
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more, you know, ability to change the story a little bit.
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And I feel like it just tells a really interesting tale of the
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lengths a mother will go to for her children and also how
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powerful a strong ambitious woman can be, so, and this book
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is a debut novel from this author, which is pretty
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incredible, because it's an amazing book and it's getting
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really good reviews.
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Heidi: Well, that's interesting. I love a good retelling.
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Emily: Yeah, you'll have to read it. It's good.
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Heidi: Okay, I'm kind of picturing Lady Featherington
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from Bridgerton.
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Emily: Yes, yes, in some ways yes, but I would say a little
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more willing to get her hands dirty, that maybe.
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Heidi: Oh, okay.
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Emily: She, you know, Mrs. Featherington is not so much.
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Lady Featherington, not Mrs. She's a lady, right? Isn't she a
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lady?
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Heidi: Yeah.
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Emily: All right. What's your third recommendation?
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Heidi: This has to come with a caveat that I don't know how it
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ends. I was listening to this on Spotify, and Spotify only gives
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you so many hours a month.
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Emily: Oh, yes.
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Heidi: So I'm not to the end yet, but so far I really enjoy
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this.
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Emily: Well I've read to the end, so I can say that the
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ending is good.
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Heidi: Okay, phew. Emily can vouch for this. This is called
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How to Write a Love Story. It is by Catherine Walsh, and the only
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other books I've read by Catherine Walsh have been
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Christmas ones, and I've loved her Christmas books. They take
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place in Ireland, and they're, you know, just full of heart,
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nothing too racy or scandalous.
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Emily: Yes, you'll get the swears, but.
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Heidi: Yes, Irish are sweary. Yeah, nothing too heartbreaking
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happens, but it's also not mind-numbingly boring, like this
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happens, but you're not, you know, in agony over it. So, this
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is the story of a young woman whose father wrote a famous
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fantasy novel series, and he died before the final book could
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be published, and so the publisher wants her to write
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this final book, and she is really struggling. I cannot
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blame her, that would be an impossible task. And so the
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publisher sends over an editor to help her, and wouldn't you
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know he's young and handsome and full of ideas. Hijinks may
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ensue.
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Emily: Yes, and it's got that small town feel of this cute
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little town in Ireland, and the people in it, like, it's a good
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one. I really liked, I just love Catherine Walsh. All the books
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I've read from her, I really like.
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Heidi: Just so fun.
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Emily: Okay, so we still have our TBRs to share, but hopefully
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we have given you some good ideas for titles to add to your
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TBR list, but of course we have to mention our very top
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recommendation, which is Structure and Spark, a flexible
11:50
framework to manage every classroom curveball, which we
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wrote, so we may be biased.
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Heidi: Yeah, we wrote a book, I still can't believe it, and it
12:01
comes out August 18. We're so excited, so excited. We've been
12:06
working on this since November of 2024, so it's been a long
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time.
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Emily: Yeah.
12:11
Heidi: And the book walks you step by step through the seasons
12:14
of the school year with specific examples of ways to adjust your
12:18
management to meet the particular needs of that season.
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Emily: And by season we do not mean winter, spring, summer, and
12:26
fall. We mean the specific seasons that we have identified
12:29
that the teacher experiences throughout the school year. And
12:32
once you're aware of them, you can be prepared for them, so you
12:35
won't be caught off guard again by the spring fever chattiness.
12:40
You'll know it's coming, and you'll have a plan for exactly
12:43
how to address it, so you can pre-order the book now and be
12:47
ready to go this school year.
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Heidi: And we know that every author says this, but pre-orders
12:53
really, really do matter. The publisher is already tracking
12:57
totals, so we would love to get that number as high as possible.
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Emily: Yes, we are so grateful to any of you who pre-order, and
13:03
as a thank you for anyone who does, we've got some bonuses for
13:06
you. So, let's tell you about the bonuses. So, the first one
13:10
is our Spark Vault, and this is a collection of small ways that
13:16
you can add Spark to your day when you need a little energy to
13:22
add to your lesson, or something to get your students engaged
13:26
again. We've got the vault of ideas that you can just quickly
13:29
grab something that will help you when your Tuesday afternoon
13:32
is dragging.
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Heidi: And then, you know, because we love a podcast around
13:36
here, we are creating a special private podcast companion
13:39
listening series, so we will walk you through the book season
13:42
by season, and give you lots of extra support and ideas to go
13:47
along with that season, and ways you can implement those ideas in
13:50
your classroom. And you know the bonus of a podcast is you can
13:54
just listen wherever you happen to be in the summer, so you
13:56
don't have to make time to sit down and really pay attention,
13:59
because we're going to go along with you.
14:01
Emily: Yes, and our third bonus is the Structure and Spark
14:04
Coach. So, if you like using AI, we have a custom AI tool that is
14:09
trained on our framework. So, when your class is bouncing off
14:13
the walls and you can't tell whether this is a structure
14:16
problem or a Spark problem, you can describe what's happening,
14:19
and the coach will help you sort it out and point you to some
14:23
ideas of what to try, so it's kind of like a diagnostic
14:26
version of what you'll learn in the book, so it's good to have
14:30
both. They will work well together.
14:34
And then the final bonus is time in the Teacher Approved Club,
14:37
where we use this structure and Spark framework every month, and
14:42
the earlier you pre-order, the longer you get for free in the
14:45
club. So, if you pre-order by June 15, which is today, you
14:49
will get three months free in the club. If you preorder by
14:54
July 15, you get two months free, and if you pre-order by
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August 17, which is the day before our book comes out, you
15:00
get one month free in the Teacher Approved Club.
15:03
Heidi: You can check out the link in the show notes, or visit
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secondstorywindow.net/book to find all of the details and all
15:11
of the ways to order your copy.
15:13
Emily: Okay, now let's get to our TBRs. Heidi, what's one of
15:17
the books on your TBR?
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Heidi: Okay, well, since we're talking teaching, one of the
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books I want to read this summer is called The Together Teacher
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by Maya Hake Merlin, and I did start this last summer, but you
15:29
know, life got busy and I put it away, and but I really want to
15:33
get back to it, because the ideas are so good. So it's all
15:35
about how to organize your teaching life, but the ideas are
15:39
so valuable that I, even though I'm not in the classroom right
15:42
now, there were very actionable takeaways that I need in my own
15:45
life.
15:46
Emily: Oh.
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Heidi: You start by kind of looking at your, what your
15:49
ideal, realistically ideal week would look like, and then what
15:54
systems have to be in place to make that happen. And then
15:58
figuring out how to put break those systems down into the
16:01
parts that they need, and then how to put those into action in
16:04
your life. So, it's really, I love that it works big picture
16:08
down to like granular detail, and then it walks you step by
16:11
step through how all of these pieces work together. If you are
16:16
in the classroom, I think this could be such a valuable
16:17
resource, and even if you're not, like I said, there's tons
16:20
of good time management, material management, life
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management tips in there that I found really helpful. So I'm
16:26
excited to get back to that. I just pulled it out today. All my
16:29
post-it notes are sticking out of it, ready to dive in.
16:33
Emily: Well, that sounds like an excellent read.
16:35
Heidi: Yes, highly recommend. Okay, Emily, what is top on your
16:38
TBR list?
16:40
Emily: Well, for a teaching book, I have Do I Have Your
16:43
Attention: Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing
16:47
Learning by Blake Harvard. So, I just really love learning about
16:51
the science of learning and the way your brain works to handle
16:56
information and your memory. I just find that so fascinating,
16:59
and I think it's really important for us as teachers to
17:01
understand, so we can tailor our teaching to those findings, and
17:06
I just think this sounds like a really promising read.
17:09
Heidi: Yeah, that does sound interesting. I'll have to check
17:10
that out.
17:11
Emily: Yeah, what's next on your TBR?
17:14
Heidi: Okay, so next up is the book, The Smallest of Joys by
17:17
Diane Shiffer, and if you're like me, maybe you already
17:20
followed Diane on Instagram or TikTok. Her name on there is
17:24
ShifferDiane, I think it's her username. And if you haven't met
17:28
Diane, you are in for a treat. She is the loveliest woman in
17:32
the whole wide world. She calls herself like a vintage Nana. She
17:37
says her style guru is Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith show.
17:43
Emily: You know what, that tracks.
17:45
Heidi: She loves wearing, you know, vintage dresses from the
17:48
30s and 40s, and her home is, you know, decorating these
17:52
lovely vintage linens, and she just, it's just sunshine and
17:57
sunlight and warmth and a big hug on your screen. And this is
18:02
her new book that came out. I actually pre-ordered it, but I
18:05
haven't had a chance to listen yet. And, of course, I had to
18:07
get the audio book, because I want to hear her read it to me,
18:09
because her laugh is just like a warm cup of a hug, like you're
18:15
drinking a hug. It's so darling. So, I had to get the audio book.
18:20
I thought the book was going to be like a memoir, but it's
18:22
actually just short essays about her thoughts on life, and she
18:25
kind of moves through the year about, you know, lessons from
18:28
winter and lessons from spring. And so I'm really excited to
18:31
dive into that, because she is such a lovely person. So, and
18:34
getting to spend time with her sounds like a treat.
18:36
Emily: Well, I will definitely be anxious to hear what you
18:39
think about. I'm sure you'll love it, because she is a treat.
18:42
I would love to check that one out.
18:45
Heidi: Definitely. Okay, Emily, what is next on your TBR?
18:48
Emily: I've got Dolly All the Time by Annabelle Monahan. So, I
18:52
have loved all of Annabelle's other books, and this one is
18:55
getting excellent reviews. Everyone I've heard from has
19:00
raved about it, and I don't know a ton about the story, but I do
19:03
believe it's a fake dating story, which I'm not gonna lie,
19:06
that's my favorite trope. But it's hard to do well.
19:09
Heidi: Yes, it's adjacent to, like, marriage of convenience,
19:13
but it makes more sense in the modern world. I haven't read any
19:16
Annabelle Monahan, she has really bright covers, right?
19:18
Emily: Yes. Oh, you've got to, they're good.
19:21
Heidi: Yeah. Okay. Well, now I've got Libby. I have so many
19:24
more options.
19:25
Emily: All right. What's your last book on your TBR?
19:29
Heidi: Okay. Well, this is another magical realism one.
19:31
This is The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston. So, the premise
19:35
is the new head gardener, a young woman moves to this
19:38
enchanting Lily Moore house to take care of this old home, and
19:43
she stumbles upon a secret garden that has a door that,
19:46
like, vanishes and reappears, but never in the same place
19:48
twice, and when she goes through it, she finds this secret garden
19:52
that happens to have a mystery man trapped inside of it.
19:56
Emily: As we all do.
19:59
Heidi: So I loved The Seven Year Slip from her.
20:03
Emily: Yes.
20:03
Heidi: And last year, what was the one we read last year?
20:05
Emily: I can't remember what it was called. It was like she kind
20:09
of gets stuck in a town from a book she's read, so like a
20:12
fictional town, right? Isn't that the premise?
20:14
Heidi: No, it was the song. She could, she and her like rival
20:19
songwriter guy could hear the same song, like could hear each
20:22
other's thoughts.
20:24
Emily: Yes.
20:24
Heidi: I think it started, they could hear the same song, and
20:26
then they could start hearing each other's thoughts as they
20:27
collaborate to write this song.
20:29
Emily: Well, the book town one is another one by her. I know
20:32
that's one of her books, and all her books have magical realism
20:35
in them.
20:36
Heidi: Yeah, so the one with the song was Sounds Like Love, and
20:40
the trapped in the fictional romance town was A Novel Love
20:43
Story.
20:44
Emily: Yes, yes, yes.
20:45
Heidi: And I bought The Dead Romantics, but I haven't read
20:48
that one yet. I'm saving that. That felt like a fall read.
20:51
Emily: Yeah, that's one I haven't read yet either. But I
20:54
have liked her other ones. They're fun.
20:56
Heidi: Yeah, I like magical realism because it's a way to up
21:00
the stakes without having to necessarily up the trauma.
21:03
Emily: Yes, and there's usually less world building than a true
21:09
fantasy book.
21:10
Heidi: Yes, also that. If you're listening to this episode the
21:14
day it comes out, this book comes out tomorrow. So I'm very
21:16
excited, I got it pre-ordered, so I'm ready to go.
21:19
Emily: Fun.
21:20
Heidi: Okay, Emily, what is your last recommendation for us?
21:23
Emily: Okay, my last one is another one that I've been
21:25
seeing get tons of good reviews, and that is This Book Made Me
21:28
Think of You by Libby Page. It makes me wonder if that is a pen
21:32
name.
21:34
Heidi: Yeah, it might be.
21:35
Emily: So, this one's about Tilly Nightingale, who finds out
21:38
there's a birthday gift waiting for her at her local bookstore
21:41
from her husband, which is surprising, because he died four
21:44
months ago. But he had left her 12 books, one for each month, to
21:49
help her in the first year without him. So she sets off on
21:52
a year of bookish adventures, and she's vlogging it as she
21:56
goes. It has lots of good reviews, and it sounds really
22:00
sweet, so I'm excited to listen to that.
22:03
Heidi: That sounds like a good one, and hopefully you've gotten
22:06
lots of new books to add to your TBR, and we would love to hear
22:10
what you're reading this summer, so you can come join the
22:12
conversation in our Teacher Approve Facebook group.
22:15
Emily: Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
22:17
we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters,
22:20
and simplify the rest. This week's teacher-approved tip is
22:23
plan a summer reading celebration. What do you got,
22:26
Heidi?
22:27
Heidi: Well, the idea for this comes from one of our favorite
22:29
Christmas traditions, which is the Jolabokaflod, and that is
22:34
the Icelandic tradition of exchanging books on Christmas
22:38
Eve, and then spending the night reading and eating chocolate.
22:41
Really, it is a highlight for us, and we've adapted it to
22:45
where we usually do it on December 23 because 24th is
22:48
crazy for us. But we eat lunch, and then we just spend the
22:51
afternoon reading for as long as the kids will stay focused.
22:54
Emily: Which last year was pretty long.
22:55
Heidi: Yeah, they, they're getting bigger.
22:58
Emily: They're getting bigger, they liked their new books.
23:00
Heidi: Yeah, that helps, but I think this idea could adapt
23:03
really well to summer. Maybe you let everyone pick out a new book
23:06
at the library or the bookstore, and you grab some snacks, and
23:09
then you can just go home, and everyone enjoys a relaxing
23:12
afternoon or evening of reading in the air conditioning. It's
23:15
too hot to be outside.
23:17
Emily: Yeah, so when it's too hot, then you can make being
23:20
inside extra special. It's an event. And guess what? National
23:24
Book Lovers Day is august 9, so that would be the perfect day to
23:27
do this.
23:28
Heidi: There you go, it's all set up.
23:30
All right, to wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving
23:32
extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra
23:34
credit?
23:35
Emily: Well, to stay on theme, I'm giving extra credit to my
23:38
Kindle stand. So we've already given extra credit to our Kindle
23:41
page turner remotes that we both got from our mom a while back.
23:45
Well, the Kindle stand takes the remote to the next level. Mine
23:50
has a base that sits on the floor, and then a stand with an
23:53
adjustable arm, so I can arrange it to hold my Kindle over my bed
23:57
while I'm so cozy under my covers, and I can just click the
24:01
remote to turn the pages, and I don't have to take my arm out of
24:04
the warm blanket to tap the screen. It is for sure
24:08
ridiculous, but neither the stand or the remote are
24:12
particularly expensive, but they make the Kindle reading
24:15
experience so much better. And also, the stand will hold other
24:19
things like your phone and things like that, so it's not
24:22
only for a Kindle.
24:24
Heidi: And what I like, I mean, this actually is a practical
24:26
tool, because we both have arthritis in our hands, like the
24:30
old ladies we are, and you would think, like holding a book or
24:33
holding a Kindle, actually really hurts after a while, so
24:36
this is just a way to make that easier, and you get to stay snug
24:40
and cozy, so that's another bonus.
24:41
Emily: Yes, you can choose to be lazy even if you don't have
24:45
arthritis. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
24:48
Heidi: Well, my extra credit goes to the Reading Journey app.
24:52
Emily: I just downloaded this.
24:53
Heidi: Okay, good. Now, I don't like Goodreads. I kind of was on
24:57
there years ago, but I just, I don't like it. Because probably
25:00
because there's just too many people I don't want to have to
25:02
show my reading to other people.
25:04
Emily: Yes.
25:04
Heidi: So I really haven't seriously tracked my reading,
25:08
but I've noticed it because most of my reading is either ebooks
25:12
or audiobooks. Without the cover, I'm really having a hard
25:16
time remembering which books I have read, because you just
25:19
don't have that visual reminder. So last year I decided I need to
25:25
start keeping track of what I read, and so I bought this cozy
25:29
little Google sheet library that builds little libraries. You
25:34
like every time you finish a book, it adds a little book to
25:36
the your library, which I love for that to be an app, because I
25:39
didn't find it easy to use on my phone.
25:41
So this year I set out on a quest to find a good reading
25:45
tracking app. I've been trying out four different ones, and of
25:49
the four, Reading Journey is by far my favorite. It has a really
25:53
nice interface, it's easy to navigate, and I will put a link
25:56
into the show notes if you want to see it. I don't know if it's
25:58
available on Android, I have it for iPhone, but it's worth
26:00
checking out. It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles
26:04
that some of the other apps do, but I am using the free version,
26:07
so maybe there's more in the paid. And then of the other apps
26:10
I'm trying, Fable is probably my second favorite. It has a nice
26:14
interface, but it does seem more geared toward connecting you
26:17
with people. I don't really care what anyone else is reading, and
26:20
I don't want anyone else to see what I'm reading. Make it sound
26:23
like I'm reading salacious novels. I just don't want to
26:26
have to explain it.
26:27
Emily: Yes.
26:27
Heidi: And then the two that I have not enjoyed are Bookmory
26:32
and Story Graph. I found them both kind of hard to navigate.
26:36
Bookmory actually pops up with ads because I'm using the free
26:39
version.
26:40
Emily: Yeah, I didn't like Bookmory either.
26:42
Heidi: No, and I have logged, I think, 25 books now in all of
26:47
these apps, and every single time Bookmory makes me like so
26:52
frustrated because I can't figure it out, like I can get it
26:54
uploaded, I can't get the thing to work, I can't get the rating
26:57
on it, just, yeah, so don't like that. And StoryGraph is fine,
27:00
but it's kind of hard to navigate, and it's not very
27:03
pretty.
27:04
Emily: I like all the data you get from Story Graph, that's
27:06
what it's good for, but I feel like a lot of the other things,
27:09
it's not really good for that, so.
27:11
Heidi: Yeah, and I do find it tricky in Story Graph, if I want
27:14
to see, like, all of the books I've read so far this year,
27:17
surprisingly hard to find. I can see the genres and all the pages
27:21
and everything, but yeah, so that's Heidi's recommendations.
27:26
Emily: What I liked about Reading Journey is the cute
27:29
widget you can get on your screen that has like a bookshelf
27:33
that shows what you're reading. Did you know you can do that?
27:36
Heidi: No!
27:36
Emily: Yes, so it like puts a little like rectangular
27:39
bookshelf onto your screen, and then it has what you're
27:41
currently reading on the bookshelf.
27:44
Heidi: Oh, that's really fun.
27:45
Emily: So, I'll show you how to do it.
27:47
Heidi: Okay, yeah. I look forward to that. Trying to
27:49
decide if I want to get the upgrade. I missed the days where
27:51
you could buy an app and just own it instead of having to pay
27:54
for it every single year.
27:55
Emily: Yeah.
27:56
Heidi: So that's my hang up with that one.
27:59
Well, that is it for today's episode. Thank you for coming
28:02
with us on this ride and this experiment. Hopefully, we've got
28:05
some new ideas for books that you can put on hold at the
28:07
library, so you can enjoy reading all summer long.
28:09
Emily: And don't forget to add our book, Structure and Spark,
28:12
to your list.
28:16
Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
28:19
Heidi.
28:20
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
28:23
or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
28:26
episode.
28:26
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
28:29
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
28:32
Bye for now.
28:33
Emily: Bye.