Reading Roll Call is a classroom activity I conduct with my students at the beginning of every week to see what they are independently reading. I always share the title of a book that I am reading to model participation and showcase the lifelong commitment to reading that I’ve made.
The Reading Roll Call idea stems from Donalyn Miller‘s book Reading in the Wild. I have adapted the activity and idea into blog form to track my reading progress on a weekly basis. Happy Reading!
After creating the COVID-19 Stack about a month ago, I haven’t made much progress in my reading plan. The likely culprit is the Netflix binging of shows, including Tiger King, All American, and Don’t F**k with Cats, among other documentaries that have piqued my attention.
With the Stay at Home order being extended through the end of the month, I think that it’s time to return to the books and make progress with The Andromeda Strain being the first book on the list to tackle.
The start was a little slow, so I was wary about whether or not this book was worth it. I resumed reading it this morning and found that the plot is starting to pick up. More characters are being introduced that weave well into the plot. Each character has specific details about their scientific backgrounds and contributions that are beginning to make more sense.
As I learned about the book’s characters studying potentially dangerous bacteria that are on orbital satellites, I chuckled because I saw a headline about President Trump signing an executive order to mine the moon. While these instances are not directly related, one cannot deny the similarities between them. I’m looking forward to seeing what else happens in this oddly realistic novel.
From the Back of the Book
“TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BEFORE RESEARCHERS ENTERED THE HOT ZONE, MICHAEL CRICHTON PREDICTED A VIRUS JUST AS DEADLY. HERE IS THE CLASSIC, TERRIFYING NOVEL OF BIOPHYSICS…
What if there was a virus so lethal, it could kill people as quickly as they took a breath? What if it spared some from instant death … but drove them hopelessly insane instead? What if the swiftest acting, deadliest virus ever known to humankind could be spread by no more than a gust of wind, from the remote desert site of its first massacre to the busiest cities in America … and the world? What, if anything, could stop it?
There are no villains in this hot zone. Only the microscopic seeds of Earth’s extinction. It is stealthy, sudden, savage. And we are all susceptible to it …”