Welcome!

My name is Rachel and I am a teacher in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.  Reading has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember.  I have wonderful memories of reading the Little House series at bedtime with my mom, then taking a family trip out west and getting to visit one of Laura's houses!  What a learning experience and awesome way to bring a book to life!  Together, we were pioneers, lived through World War II with Molly, the American Girl, and I promised my mom that when she got older I would hold and rock her, just as the little boy did in Love You Forever.  As I've gotten older, books have become even more important to me.  I have images (probably unrealistic) of what true love should look like from Nicholas Sparks.  If I need a distraction, I pick up a celebrity memoir and lose myself in a world that is too glamorous for me to even attempt to understand.  I've traveled to Hogwarts and fought dementors with Harry, Ron, and Hermione; I've shot arrows alongside Katniss in The Hunger Games; and I've learned that being Divergent is ok from Tris and Four.

My reading tastes largely center around middle grade and young adult books.  I've taught fourth and fifth grade, and will be moving to the middle school to teach sixth grade English Language Arts next school year.  For many reasons I read books that my students read.  I want to have a quick knowledge of several books to be able to recommend to all types of readers.  I also want to be able to talk to my students on an in-depth level about their books, and I can't if I haven't read them.  I also think books help me relate to my students better.  Child or adult, books have a way of opening our eyes to new and different situations.

I am also a mom to two young children. My son is almost six and my daughter just turned one.  We read a lot together, and I love that my son has just started learning to read and is now reading to me!  I've just introduced my son to Roald Dahl, probably my all-time favorite children's author.  So far we've read The Magic Finger, The BFG, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  He's patiently waiting to read (my personal favorites) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.  I can't decide if I want to wait until he's older or just go for it and check for understanding as we read.  I'm leaning towards going for it this summer!

So this is my blog.  Reader Rach.  I will be blogging about all kinds of books.  I am a member of GoodReads, so make sure you follow me over there, in case I don't blog about every single book I read.  I'm also @rnowens on Twitter.  Please comment, tweet, or e-mail me your suggestions and book recommendations!