Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

As for me, I'm spending today with me immediate family at my parents' house in Memphis. I'm thankful for my family, more than anything else. I'm also thankful for my health, my future career as a teacher, and the University of Tennessee and University of Tennessee at Martin! There are many more things, but these are the top ones that come to mind this beautiful day.

So wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stop and take a moment to say thanks for the blessings in your life!

Coates wins National Book Award for non-fiction

Ta-Nehisi Coates won the National Book Award for non-fiction yesterday for Between the World and Me, which has been described as "the searing best seller about being black in America."

He dedicated the book to his friend from Howard University, Prince Jones Jr., who was killed in Fairfax, Va., by a police officer in 2000 "because he was mistaken for a criminal," Coates said. Alluding to shootings of blacks by police this year, Coates said, "At the heart of our country is the notion that we are OK with the presumption that black people have a predisposition toward criminality."

Hunger Games finale only a week away

Julius Caesar: Helpful links for creating unit, lesson plans

I'll be spending the next couple weeks putting together a unit plan on Julius Caesar for 10th grade students. As I began the process, I thought it might be helpful to post links to various sources I find helpful throughout the process -- for my own benefit as well as others who may be taking on the same task. Links will be updated throughout the next couple weeks.

Veterans Day: Students, nation stop to say 'thank you'

I tutor students at a local middle school every Wednesday morning. This morning was unlike any other morning I've had at the school since I began helping students in English Language Arts. There's always a certain energy -- a buzz, if you will -- that greets you when you walk into a middle school classroom. The excitement exuding from the students was obvious from the moment I walked in the door this morning. One student was drawing an American flag on the whiteboard. Another student was writing a patriotic poem on the board. Other students, meanwhile, were talking about the special assembly about to be held on this especially special day.

About 30 minutes into first period, all students were dismissed to the gym. Over the course of the next 30 minutes or so, the students put on a fitting tribute to the men and women, past and present, who have served America in our armed forces. It was a great show.

Students carried our nation's colors into the gym. The school band played an array of patriotic songs. Other students read patriotic poems before a guest speaker -- a local veteran who served combat tours on active duty -- spoke to the students about Veterans Day and offered them a brief glimpse into what it's like serve in the armed forces. In addition to students and teachers, there were also many local veterans -- some old, some young -- in attendance to watch the program. I'm not a mind reader, nor did I interview each of the veterans afterward, but I feel safe in saying that every veteran in attendance appeared to appreciate the students' recognition of their service to our country.

This middle school was not alone. Across the county, state, and nation, many schools were holding similar programs to honor veterans. That's great. It really is. We should also encourage our students not to limit their gratitude and recognition to one day per year. Every day is a great day to pause and say "thank you" to a veteran.

Finalists for the 2015 National Book Awards

The Washington Post has a great article on its website today about the five finalists for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature.

The winners will be announced November 18. The finalists include: Ali Benjamin for "The Thing About Jellyfish;" Laura Ruby for "Bone Gap;" Steve Sheinkin for "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War;" Neal Shusterman for "Challenger Deep;" and Noelle Stevenson for "Nimona."

The Post article goes into detail with information about each author and their work of literature.

Ali Benjamin, author of "The Thing About Jellyfish,"
 is one of five finalists for a National
Book Award in Young People's Literature.

Young People's Literature is just one of four categories included in the National Book Awards. The other categories, including finalists, are as follows:

FICTION:
- Karen E. Bender, "Refund"
- Angela Flournoy, "The Turner House"
- Lauren Groff, "Fates and Furies"
- Adam Johnson, "Fortune Smiles"
- Hanya Yanagihara, "A Little Life"

NONFICTION:
- Ta-Nehisi Coates, "Between the World and Me"
- Sally Mann, "Hold Still"
- Sy Montomgery, "The Soul of an Octopus"
- Carla Power, "If Oceans Were Ink"
- Tracy K. Smith, "Ordinary Light"

POETRY:
- Ross Gay, "Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude"
- Terrance Hayes, "How to Be Drawn"
- Robin Coste Lewis, "Voyage of the Sable Venus"
- Ada Limon, "Bright Dead Things"
- Patrick Phillips, "Elegy for a Broken Machine"

Biographies for all finalists may be found in this official press release (in PDF format) from the National Book Foundation.

The National Book Foundation’s mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America. In addition to the National Book Awards, for which it is best known, the Foundation’s programs include 5 Under 35, a celebration of emerging fiction writers selected by former National Book Award Finalists and Winners; the National Book Awards Teen Press Conference, an opportunity for New York City students to interview the current National Book Award Finalists in Young People’s Literature; NBA on Campus, a partnership that brings National Book Award authors to colleges across the country; the Innovations in Reading Prize, awarded to individuals and institutions that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading; and BookUp, a writer-led, after-school reading program for middle-school students.

The National Book Award is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar record of identifying and rewarding quality writing. In 1950, William Carlos Williams was the first Winner in Poetry, the following year William Faulkner was honored in Fiction, and so on through the years. Many previous Winners of a National Book Award are now firmly established in the canon of American literature, such as Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Jonathan Franzen, Denis Johnson, James McBride, Joyce Carol Oates, and Adrienne Rich. 

Happy birthday: Albert Camus, Nobel Prize winner

A very special "happy birthday" is in order for Albert Camus, who was born on this date (Nov. 7) in 1913. He was a French Nobel Prize-winning philosopher and novelist.

During the war, Camus joined the Combat, a French Resistance cell which published an underground newspaper by the same name. The group worked against the Nazis, and Camus became the underground paper's editor in 1943. The Allies liberated Paris in August 1944, and Camus witnessed and also reported on the last of the fighting. He was also one of the few French editors to publicly express opposition and disgust to the United States' dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.

However, his Nobel Prize in literature did not come as a result of those efforts. Instead, his Nobel Prize came as a result of his work in 1957, when he wrote for L'Express. He was awarded the Nobel Prize "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the conscience in our times."

Albert Camus died on January 4, 1960 at the age of 46. He was killed in a car accident, taken from us way too soon.

Happy birthday, Mr. Albert Camus, Nobel Prize winner!

Get ready for Part 2 of Mockingjay!

For the past four Novembers, I've looked forward to two things, and not necessarily in this order:

1.) Thanksgiving (who wouldn't?).

2.) The latest Hunger Games movie release.

This November is certainly no exception, as I eagerly await the fourth and final installment of the Hunger Games movie franchise. The movies are based, of course, on the The Hunger Games trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. While there are, or will be, four Hunger Games movies, there are actually only three Hunger Games novels. They are, in order of release: 1.) The Hunger Games, which was released in 2008; 2.) Catching Fire, which was released in 2009; and 3.) Mockingjay, which was released in 2010.

The series follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they fight through a deadly battle royal forced upon them by the government, which is led by the evil and despicable President Snow. There are four movies, as opposed to three, because the final book, Mockingjay, has been split into two parts for the motion picture. Part 2 of Mockingjay will be released on Nov. 20, and I couldn't be more excited.

Here's an interesting fact regarding the novels: In August 2012, the series ranked second in an NPR poll of the top 100 teen novels. Harry Potter ranked No. 1 in the poll. Also in August 2012, Amazon announced that the Hunger Games trilogy was its top seller, surpassing the record previously held by -- you guessed it -- Harry Potter. Take that, Harry!

Through the end of 2014, the Hunger Games trilogy has sold more than 65 million copies in the U.S. alone, which, when broken down by actual book, breaks down this way: more than 28 million copies of The Hunger Games, more than 19 million copies of Catching Fire, and more than 18 million copies of Mockingjay.

As for the movies, so far my favorite has been Catching Fire, the second movie of the four. But ... the trailers for Part 2 of Mockingjay look awfully good. I can't wait to see it. It's been November ritual for the past four years. The only sad part about it all is that this is the last November that I'll have a new Hunger Games movie to look forward to.