Cased-based learning and Cognitive flex

Case-based learning /case-based reasoning (CBR) and the cognitive flex model were similar in that they require the use of cases to create heuristics, which can be used/applied/adapted to future situations. Case-based learning may involve one or a few cases to present a solution to a problem, while CBR and cog flex use multiple cases or full databases of cases to help create a base knowledge and deep heuristic to be applied/adapted to future situations. CBR seems a little more directed (fewer cases, the point of them seems to be a little more obvious), while the cog flex is very vague and messy to start, but once you start saturating yourself with the material, the patterns start to emerge in a larger way.

My initial reactions are mainly two things:

1) The time it would take to create these systems with quality cases that help students focus in on the skills and content knowledge that you want them to learn would be, or could be, immense. The time that it would take to create a whole database of information that was easily accessible and easy to use would probably be four or five times the amount of time it would take students to use the database for a lesson. This is probably not feasible for a single person and would be difficult to implement at the k-12 level.

2) Student self-direction could potentially be a huge issue. These kinds of learning model assume that students already have some kind of analysis skills that will allow them to study the cases and have some meaningful takeaway. CBR and cog flex assume that they will be able to analyze inconsistent patterns over large amounts of material. As someone who is at the graduate level, it was fine for me to go through and complete the task. I also found myself picking out patterns that had nothing to do with the topic. I teach mostly fifteen year olds that have barely been able to choose their own topics to research in class, let alone direct themselves through a bunch of case studies, cross-reference works and pick out relevant patterns to answer open ended questions across 30+ letters. I think this could be good for higher level students with some sense of self-direction, but could be difficult to implement.

I would consider using these models in my classroom if I had a capable Honors, AP or IB class (in which document-based questions are required anyway), but I think it would be difficult. I would have to use a lesson plan that is already created. I might consider using the Plantation Letters in an Honors level class, at least as a Learning Object, but possibly in the cog flex method it was originally intended for.

I would consider using some of the following sources for creating databases of material:

North Carolina Photographic Archive: http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/photos.html

UNC Digital Collections (UNC Wilson Library used to be the state archives): http://www.lib.unc.edu/digitalprojects.html

Newspaper archives (there are ads on this one, but the material looked good): http://www.freenewspaperarchives.us/

I would also consider using Wridea in a CBR or Cog Flex model. It allows students to type in their ideas or notes and see them all together. The part I think would be most helpful is you can create "idea rain" which drops the ideas in random orders onto the screen so that you can see all of the ideas together in random patterns. This could be used as a randomizer for the cross-referencing mechanism found in the cog flex model. 

Context Rich Learning Environments

The goal-based, anchored instruction and Star Legacy models all seem to be variations on the problem-based learning environments. They seek to place the students in a real world situation in which they use their extant knowledge and developing problem-solving skills to work their way through realistically situated challenges or problems in order to gain concrete experience within a field so as to create lasting memories and understanding within a particular subject.

The MOST model was the most different from the rest. It had a cross-curriculum literacy aspect that I really appreciated. It focused on building literacy (reading, comprehension, listening, writing, computing, etc) skills, rather than problem-solving skills. I like that this method does not assume that students have already mastered enough literacy to be able to jump into problem-solving situations well equipped.

My problem with many of these "real world problem solving" models is that they are pretty easy to adapt to science and math curricula, but often seem harder to adapt for language arts and social studies.

The advantage of the Star Legacy model is that it gives a fairly explicit method and timeline for the process, which is circular and repetitive, allowing students to work through the secondary problems that naturally develop as you solve an initial problem in real world scenarios. This seems like one of the most realistic methods, but possibly one that is harder to adapt particular kinds of material to.

The MOST method was very interesting to me, as I am teaching students that have literacy problems and in the 9th grade struggle with social studies vocabulary and basic writing skills. It has been estimated that the students I teach in classes probably left primary school with a two year knowledge/skill deficit, which has continued to grow as they aged. Using the information coming from the studies on MOST, I can find ways of enhancing or supplementing the reading materials with multimedia that help students to gain a better understanding and comprehension of texts by supplementing the contexts in which information is presented. I would definitely consider using aspects of this method in my classroom.

If the project goes well, I plan on using the goal-based scenario project we create in this class in my classroom, so hopefully I will be trying it in my classroom within a few weeks. I think using it as a way of incorporating writing instruction and social studies content could be effective in some of my classrooms.

Students could use google drive to collaborate, brainstorm and edit materials and ideas for the problem-solving aspects. I think voicethread could be a great piece of multimedia for the MOST method, because teachers can create their own multimedia to support text visually and auditorily. I would also probably consider using Audacity to create audio versions of texts to help support readers struggling with literacy.

Group Learning Environments

The models that we'll be looking at today are 1) Guided Design, 2) Cooperative Learning, 3) Problem-based Learning and 4) Situated Learning or Cognitive Apprenticeships.

Similarities and differences:

One of the main similarities I noticed is that most of the models fall back on or directly rely upon a problem-solving based curriculum. Guided design and cognitive apprenticeships seem to particularly focus on teaching particular methodologies, which can then be used in realistic situations. Problem-based learning also includes teaching the method of solving a problem, but is or, at least, can be more focused on the actual problem than the methodology. Cooperative learning seems to be a very broad group of learning plans that involve teamwork and usually, but not necessarily, problem-solving, often through group discussion and teaching. All of these methods tend toward a constructivist model of learning, meaning that students are supposed to construct their own understandings of the content rather than being told how content fits together. This seems to be naturally true of the problem-solving and analytical focus of all of these models.

Initial reactions:

The Hope - The great advantage to these models centers around the development of two skill sets: decision making and interpersonal communication. These are two skills sets that students will most definitely need in their future jobs and lives in general. Decision making is one of the toughest things to teach students, but by putting them in self-directed learning situations, they must decide how to react, approach material, communicate with others, which sources are appropriate (etc ad infinitum). This may be difficult for students at first, but with appropriate coaching and scaffolding, students should be able to get the hang of it relatively quickly. The second skill set they will be developing will not come as easily. Interpersonal communications that allow for real group learning to happen require a certain level of maturity and mutual respect among group members. This can be harder to achieve. Modeling and reinforcing appropriate interpersonal skills is necessary, as well as the mediation process. Though these skills may be harder to teach, they will be infinitely helpful to students in life. With mastery of these skills, students will be more confident and take more ownership of their actions.

Another advantage is the motivation and interest level of the activities that most of these models call for. It is much more interesting to try to figure out what a culture is like by digging through artifacts and figuring out what they mean or design your own trebuchet than to memorize facts without context. These activities tend to be highly engaging, therefore keeping students on task and in the material.

The Concern - One of the problems I think could be the development of critical thinking skills. Group members provide a certain kind of scaffolding for each other. If there are students in a group who are better at decision making or critical thinking they can provide a model and help for their fellow group members. On the other hand, it may also be true that the students who are better at the processes may dominate, rather than coach or help other students. Weaker students may learn the problem-solving process well, but not necessarily become better critical thinkers. I think that these group projects would need to be supplemented with appropriate individual activities that would illustrate acquisition of critical thinking skills.

The most obvious potential problem is the group dynamic. We come from a culture believing in the power of the rugged individual and many school situations have become highly competitive.That mindset is part of what creates the interpersonal problems and breakdown of group dynamic. Part of the commitment to group work is the commitment to teaching students about how group dynamics work and the interpersonal skills they need to make a successful cooperative learning environment. I think gaining this commitment from the students is much harder than the group work, in and of itself. 

Group work really requires less focus on the self and more focus on a community. Methods like the Jigsaw method try to use a self interested position (you will be graded and have to be the expert) to get students to work well in groups (teaching other students and acting as a group expert). I am not sure if I am convinced that this kind of ultimatum will work, particularly not at the primary or secondary level. The assumption made by all of these models is that the students will be motivated to work toward group success. A practical downside of this is that if you give your students a "group sink or swim" ultimatum, the motivated students might do all of the work, while the under motivated students will ride their coattails or bring the group grade down. The downside of giving individual participation grades within the group is that each student might still be motivated only to do the work for themselves (and their individual high grade), rather than working together to achieve an interactive learning situation. I think it is a complicated balancing act, one that could create hostility in students if not kept in check.

One last issue I have with the majority of the readings, particularly for cognitive apprenticeships and problem-based learning, is that most of them are based on data at the higher education level and more specifically applied engineering and medical schools. These are excellent settings and material types for PBL and cognitive apprenticeships, because students are learning trades in which you gather information, analyze it and then act upon it. Medical school is a trade school, so it is easier to put students into problem-solving or even simulation type situations. This is not as easy in primary and secondary education - not impossible, but not easy. The concerns about transferring problem solving skills to real life are less problematic when the problem students are solving are a simulation for the job they hope to have. When you are trying to get students to pretend to be mathematicians or archaeologists or economists, none of which may be in their future, it is harder to accept that they will be able to extrapolate the skills and be able to apply them generically across curriculum.

For my classroom?

 I would certainly like to try to implement some of these models in the classroom I think group work tends to work best when students are given clearly assigned and clearly defined roles within the group. This way it is clear who is responsible for what and accountability is a cut and dry issue. I also think it makes it easier for students to understand what they need to do to make their group work successful (i.e. complete their role). 

One of the ways that I think helping a class (as a whole) to perform better collaboratively is to make it a part of the classroom culture as a whole. If students are assigned one project as group work, it is different from the normal interaction routines that they experience in the classroom. If the whole nature of the class is to work together in groups (for common disciplinary goals/rewards, for group participation, etc), then a transition into a group project will not be as alien.  Johnson et al. give a great overview of how to create a positive interdependence between group members, promoting this kind of learning community outlook. I think they make clear that only by teaching the appropriate social skills and values will cooperative learning really work.

Possible Web Resources:

Google Drive - Students can share and work collaboratively on documents. 

Google Hangout - Students can have meetings outside of class from their homes or anywhere with an internet connection. The screen sharing capabilities are particularly nice for certain kinds of projects.

Simple Machines or Forumotion - Two free forum hosting sites, which could help students have thoughtful discussions about their group work - more time to think or prepare a researched response, which may lead to new hypotheses or solutions to problems.

Individualized Learning Environments

This unit we examined two types of individualized learning environments: Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and the Audio-Tutorial Approach (A-T).

What are key similarities or striking differences between the theories/models in a given unit? Do the theories/models in a unit share any common foundations or principles?

Both of these models want to focus on allowing the student to move through material at their own pace, mostly independent of the traditional classroom or lecture/discussion setting. Both models seem to try to maintain some connection between the students and the faculty, such that students are always provided with the assistance they need and to create some sort of faculty presence within the learning experience.

One thing that struck me was that the PSI model is a mastery-based model, which requires students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge before moving on to the next objective. The A-T model does not require mastery before students move on, but in its traditional form does require more contact with faculty for review and quiz sessions, in which students may be asked to present or recall any of the course material studied. I tend to be in favor of mastery-type models, because it helps to remove the fear of failure, which allows students to be more at ease in the learning environment. That being said, this is not always an option, given the time and resource constraints of most educational environments.

What are your initial reactions to these learning theories/models? What are barriers to their use? What benefits might be expected for those who overcome the barriers?

My initial reaction to both models in their traditional forms was that they would be very time intensive and require a lot of time scheduled during which the teacher observes students doing their work, in case they need help. Given the technological advancements since the birth of these models, I think there are better ways of handling those issues. The one barrier that I do not foresee being eliminated is the time it takes to develop these kinds of programs. Gathering materials, creating coherent curricula and then creating all of the necessary digital materials for these programs will just take time. I think the benefit to spending that time is that teachers (hopefully in groups) will create databases of resources that can be used in and out of the classroom. I thought of many ways of incorporating these ideas into classroom style teaching, as it occurs in most primary and secondary school settings. Using the A-T style approach, teachers can provide the lecture style material outside of class, while using in class time for review, guided practice and group/collaborative learning. My favorite parts of the PSI model are the focus on mastery (as opposed to merely testing) and the clear statement/testing of objectives. Letting students know what is expected of them and then having a guiding process through to demonstrated mastery is important in any classroom.

Would you attempt to use any of these theories/models with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theories/models be modified so that they would work with your current/future students?

I wouldn't (couldn't?) attempt to use any of these formats in their original forms in a public high school classroom - it's just not set up that way. There are many facets of each of these models that I feel would fit nicely into that learning environment. I would be in favor of delivering material A-T style to students outside of the classroom. This would combine short podcasts, videos, text and short assignments that students would complete out of class, so that they could come prepared to engage the material in the classroom. I would also try to incorporate the PSI-favored explicit objectives, mastery and tutored (as opposed to lectured) style of in-class interaction. Rather than lecturing material to students, they could engage the material in guided and independent practice, either independently or in groups, with teacher assistance for a more student-centered approach.

Since we're taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out these learning theories/models online? 

For the PSI model, I think that LiveBinders would be a great resource for this type of program. It could be a great way to organize different units and objectives for completion. Also, any website creation programs like Weebly or GoogleSites would be useful in creating a platform and organizational tool for material where students can easily access it.

For the A-T model, the first tool I thought of was VoiceThread. I can't think of a better way of putting audio-visual material together in a way that is so accessible for students. Podcast hosting sites would also be super-helpful with this model, so Podbean or Blubrry are options. Also Audacity is a great open source audio recording tool. 

Three Down, Thirty-Seven to Go

I have had the advantage of being able to read during travel and doubling up on my reading by putting books on my kindle and on my iPod. I finished up Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series just after the new year. I would recommend it to anyone, from middle school age on up to the octogenarians.

I have also had the pleasure of picking up my first Stephen King novel, Carrie, which was the first book I pulled off the book list that I could find for my kindle. I did not know what to expect from this prolific author with such a reputation preceding him, but I was pleasantly surprised. He was as interesting as Crichton, but a little more reader friendly, I thought. Also a little more vulgar, but that never really bothered me.

Speaking of vulgarity, the second book that I finished today also fits that brief: Fahrenheit 451. This was a classic that managed to escape me (one of the many to escape me) during my high school years. I found  myself intrigued. I know I will go back and read this book again and learn more from it some time in the future. There was something strangely comforting about this dystopic setting with all of its odd characters, most of whom were strangely well-read for people who were not allowed to read books by law. It made me wonder how they learned to read in the first place. I suppose they were taught when they were younger, before all the book burning, but I almost feel that some of these characters should have had a little more atrophy of their reading skills. After sounding critical, I will go on to say that I loved this book and I see it becoming one of the books that I will read over and over, just as I have talked about the Wicked series (by Gregory Maguire) and Little Women (Louisa May Alcott). I think it is because I know I have more to learn from this book and that one reading or, in this case, listening could not nearly be enough to truly get at the depth Bradbury offers.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year and happy reading!

Book Challenge 2013

This year the book challenge is going to be a bit different. I am still going to set a number of books as my goal, but I am also implementing a reading list, off of which I will try my very best to pick books (though I can't really make any promises about only picking books off the list). This book list comes from the "Rory Gilmore Book List", which includes all of the books the character mentions reading on the show Gilmore Girls. I don't think this is the ultimate book list, but it is a nice long list of books, most of which I have never read. I am a person of habit. I have books that are like comfort food - I go back to them year after year (and let's be honest - sometimes just a few months later) to feel what they bring me time and time again. This year I am going to attempt to not re-read as much and delve into a world of new books - many of which will be classics that I somehow got through high school and college without reading.

As always, this reading challenge doesn't include the many things that I read for work, none of which are not novels, nor the time I spend reading non-novels. Hopefully, I will be able to find the time to read (or listen) to  some of these books and find some new favorites during the year. :)

Goal set: 40 books

Book List:

1984 by George Orwell

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Archidamian War by Donald Kagan

The Art of Fiction by Henry James

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Babe by Dick King-Smith

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney

The Bhagava Gita

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy

Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel

A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner

Candide by Voltaire 

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

Carrie by Stephen King

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman

Christine by Stephen King

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty

The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty

A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

Complete Novels by Dawn Powell

The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton

Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père

Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Cujo by Stephen King

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Deenie by Judy Blume

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx

The Divine Comedy by Dante

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

Don Quixote by Cervantes

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

Eloise by Kay Thompson

Emily the Strange by Roger Reger

Emma by Jane Austen

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Ethics by Spinoza

Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extravagance by Gary Krist

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore

The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan

Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce

Fletch by Gregory McDonald

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler

George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg

Gidget by Fredrick Kohner

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford

The Gospel According to Judy Bloom

The Graduate by Charles Webb

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The Group by Mary McCarthy

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry (TBR)

Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare

Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare

Henry V by William Shakespeare

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris

The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (Lpr)

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland

Howl by Allen Gingsburg

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

The Iliad by Homer

I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Inferno by Dante

Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy

It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence

The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Love Story by Erich Segal

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

The Manticore by Robertson Davies

Marathon Man by William Goldman

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir

Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken

The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Miracle Worker by William Gibson

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin

Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor

A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman

Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret

A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall

My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh

My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken

My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest

Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin

Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen

New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson

The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Night by Elie Wiesel

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan

Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell

Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Old School by Tobias Wolff

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan

Oracle Night by Paul Auster

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Othello by Shakespeare

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan

Out of Africa by Isac Dineson

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby 

The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker

The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche

The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Property by Valerie Martin

Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Quattrocento by James Mckean

A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall

Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman

The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien

R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton

Rita Hayworth by Stephen King

Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert

Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition

Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi

Sanctuary by William Faulkner

Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James

The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman

Selected Hotels of Europe

Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Several Biographies of Winston Churchill

Sexus by Henry Miller

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Shane by Jack Shaefer

The Shining by Stephen King

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton

Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Small Island by Andrea Levy

Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway

Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers

Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore

The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht

Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos

The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker

Songbook by Nick Hornby

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams

Stuart Little by E. B. White

Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett

Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry

Time and Again by Jack Finney

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Trial by Franz Kafka

The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Ulysses by James Joyce

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Unless by Carol Shields

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker

What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles

What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Red = have read

Blue = on kindle/or audible

Purple = on bookshelf