November books I hope to read - 2007

The books I plan to start, complete, and/or purchase in the month of November have been listed below. The books that I am in the process of reading, wanting to start, and plan to purchase for future reading have been rightly notated on the list below with corresponding italicized words. Additionally, I typically have four books in the hopper (in the process of reading). These four books always fall in one of the following five categories: children's literature, personal (self-helpish type books), religious, professional development, and Miss Alainius. Although this journey may be a bit tiresome, I enjoy the adventure of learning.

November books are:

* King of the Wind by Marguerite Henery. This book was awarded the Newberry Award in 1948. - CL
* Character under Attack and What You Can Do About It was written by Carl Sommer. Printed in 2005. - P
* The Final Chapter written by Chuck Smith. - R
* Outlearning the Wolves written by David Hutchens. The second edition printed in 1998. - PD
* The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner (completed several times but just need to post) - PD.
* The Book of John (in progress) - R.
* A Day's Journey by Jon Courson (in progress-1 year) - R.
* How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. (completed but just need to post) - SH.
* Joy in the Journey by Guy Doud (would like to start) - R.
* What's Worth Fighting for in Your School? by Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves(would like to start) - PD.
* Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard (would like to start) -PD
*The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard (read but must post) - PD.
*The Big Book of How to Say It Best by Jack Griffin and Robbie Miller-Kaplan (in progress) - PD.


Books, intellectual conversations, and casual conversations all have an influence one one's thinking, actions, discussions. I look forward to the journey that lays ahead. Here's to the journey!

Nate the Great and The Boring Beach Bag

Nate the Great and The Boring Beach Bag was written by Margaret XYZ. It is one of many books in the Nate the Great book series. The reading level of this delightful mystery book is 2.0 (2.0 is equivalent to second grade zero month - September).

Nate is at the beach swiming in the beautiful ocean with his dog Sludge. Oliver, the boy who follows everyone, swims out to Nate to tell him someone stole his boring blue beach bag. Nate agrees to help Oliver find his boring blue beach bag. Nate and Oliver set out to gather clues to help them solve the mystery. Nate talks with Oliver, Annie, Esmerelda, and the girl who runs the beach restaurant. Using his uncanny detective skills, Nate the Great uncovers the mystery. No one ever stole the bornig blue beach bag. It was Oliver who could not find his borning blue beach bag in the first place. Another mystery solved by Nate the Great.


MY TWO AND A HALF CENTS WORTH
This is a delightful mystery book series for young readers. The main character is a boy so I would say that this series is marked for young (1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade) male readers. Although I don't consider myself as young as a second grader, I do enjoy reading these fun, yet simple mystery stories written by Margaret XYZ.

Main Characters: Nate the Great, Oliver the boy with the boring beach bag, sludge Nate's dog, and Annie the girl running with her dog.
Setting: The beach.
AR Score: 100% ;)

Investing without a Silver Spoon

Investing without a Silver Spoon was written by The Motley Fool. It was published in 2000. This book has been divided into two parts. The first part is an introduction to direct investing and the second part of the book is nothing more than a laundry list of companies that permit direct investing. Part one of the book consists of nine chapters and is only a total of 96 pages. Part two has no chapters, lists all the companies in alphabetical order, and is a total of 311 pages. Part one provides the investing layman with knowledge about direct investing. This book provides an argument for investing now instead of later as well as the advantages for direct investing plans. The book also reviews the disadvantages of direct investments and times when not to invest. The authors walk the reader through the enrollment process and covers industries and companies to embrace. This book provides a brief education on how to determine a company's valuation and performance measures. Recordkeeping, portfolio tracking and taxes are also reviewed in part one of this book. Lastly, we all need to know how to sell the stock we purchase through a direct investment plan.

The authors of Investing Without a Silver Spoon take great pride in providing their readers with detailed information on how to start and finish their investing journey in the world of Direct Investing. It is not hard but it requires self-discipline. Although this method of saving for your future may not provide you with a bazzilon dollars but this will provide you with a fiinancial foundation to build upon.

MY 2 1/2 CENTS WORTH

I have been a fan The Motley Fool for years. I have thoroughly enjoyed their financial advise, their professionalism, and humor. Their website has encouraged many financial gun shy individuals to step out into the world stocks and invest wisely in one's own future. I have always been frustrated with the financial world interms of its intimidation factor. The only people who know anything about tend to have lots and lots of money. I on the other hand am a common man with little to know money, yet I need to provide for the future. I have two children who need to go to college, they both will have a wedding (some day), my wife and need to have retirement $, and we will need to have a little spending money every now and again. To do this with little to no knowledge is scary and intimidating. Most stock brokerages prey on the ignorant and cator (sp) to the wealthy. Motley Fool, on the other hand, has become a champion for the little man or I should say for the man with little money. They provide financial information for the layman. They make investing look simple enough even for a layman to do. Their strategy is simple: reduce your debt, research in companies that allow the invester to purchase stock directly from the company, and invest regularly (i.e. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly). Historically, this strategy has helped many individuals prepare for their retirement years. Personally, I have used this method of savings to save for my children's college, our first automobile, a partial down payment on the house, and a new garage door. Although this is not the answer to everyone's financial woe's (sp), it is a savings path that can help many people get into the stock purchasing game with a minimal impact on their fiancial wallet. Fifty dollars a month is no more than ten Starbucks latayes (sp). That same fifty dollars a month could purchase you 1-2 shares of stock from companies like Edison, Intel, Starbucks, Walmart, or Tyson. In one year you would have spent $600 on special coffee that tasted good going into the body and most like felt good going out of the body. However, that same $600 dollars spent on the stock through the companies direct investment program still exsists in the form of 6-12 shares in the company. An added bonus would be that the stock has gone up and/or the company also provides you with a dividend (sp). Either way you end up with a lot more than the coffee your drank earlier.

I highly recommend this book to those who have little discresionary funds, yet are looking for ways to provide for the future. Although saving for one's future is not easy, this book provides a path that can be implemented by anyone who has some discretionary funds and self-discipline. Here's to investing without a silver spoon.

Lawn Boy

Gary Paulsen has done it again. In 2007, he has released another fictional book that will appeal to young male readers, especially those who have run into the biggest summer delima....no money. Gary Paulsen takes you on a six to eight week summer journey of a twelve year old boy and the business he incidentally started. Lawn Boy is a delightful read for those who love to read, laugh, and learn about money.

Lawn Boy is a fictional book about a twelve year old boy who begins a lawn service, the stock market, and sponsors a prize fighter named Joey Pow. The first problem this twelve year old faced was that he needed some cash to purchase an intertube for his bike. He has no money nor does his parents. Grandma gives the young man an old riding lawn-mower that used to belong to grandpa. As he is cutting his lawn one of the neighbors asked him to cut his lawn and the business began. The second problem the twelve year old had was were to put all the money he earned. Arnold, one of his customers who was a work-at-home stock broker, helped him invest his money as well as build his lawnservice business. A third problem this young man faced was the competition who wanted to extort money from his business and the workers. The last problem our entrepuner faced was how to tell his parents he had earned over $400,000 in six to eight weeks. All of the problems were solved in humorous ways only to create another problem to be solved.


MY 2 1/2/ CENTS WORTH

This is another delightful and enjoyable book by Gary Paulsen. I thoroughly enjoy these types of books. They bring back memories of boyhood delemas as well as inspire individuals to press forward despite one's circumstances. I think every young man with little to no money in his pocket should read this book and uncover the possibilities available as an entrepuner (sp).

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind was written by T. Harv Eker and published in 2005. It is a "How to get rich" type of book. It is a book for those who wish to explore the whys they are in their financial state and how they can change their "financial blueprint." According to the author, we are in controll of our financial well-being. We are rich, poor, or inbetween all because of our financial blueprint. Mr. Eker explains to the reader why he/she is in her current financial state (typcially individuals who have purchased this book are already in a financial situation and are looking for a solution) and then proceeds to provide the path of recovery. The book does provide some helpful hints that, I believe, are nothing more than common sense. However, there are also some bits of advise that may put individuals into more financial peril. Like all self-help type books, they offer advise. This advise will work wonders for some and devistate others. All readers should read these type of self-help books with a bit of causion.

School Personnel Administration: A California Perspective

School Personnel Administration: A California Perspective (sixth edition) was written by Arthur J. Townley and June H. Schmieder-Ramirez. The first edition was printed in 2001 and this sixth edition was printed in 2007.


School Personnel Administration: A California Perspective (sixth edition) is a text that provides the reader with a brief but detailed history of the personnel position in the educational field particularly in California. In addition, this text provides the reader with a comprehensive look at the roles, responsibilities, and governing laws that surround the personnel administration position.

This text is fifteen chapters and comes with a companion CD. The CD is nothing more than an outline of the text, however, it does provide some additional information in some sections of the text. The fifteen chapters focus on the personnel administration position within California. These chapters cover the following topics: history of personnel administration, the chief personnel officer, process of selecting personnel, process of evaluating personnel, process of discipline, staff development, collective bargaining, certificated personnel, classified personnel, organizational culture/climate, and the legal aspects of school personnel administration.

MY TWO AND HALF CENTS

For those of us who are looking to learn about the personnel administrative role within the educational field in California, this is a book for you. School Personnel Administration: A California Perspective contains a great deal of information about the personnel administrative position. This information is concise and easy to read. However, it is not light reading. When reading this textbook, I highly recommend you read 1-2 chapters per sitting. The text is so rich with information, it can be overwhelming and you may miss vital information if you rush through the text.

I found this textbook to be very informative and worthy of my professional bookshelf. As I read through the text, many of the questions and misunderstandings surrounding the personnel administrative department were answered. This text will help all of those who have worked or are currently working in the educational field gain a better understanding of how the personnel department functions and why they do what they do. I recommend this text for those who have become interested in a position within the personnel administration department.