Reading Tennessee

This summer my family had the opportunity to vacation in Tennessee. None of us had ever been here before and it was on all of our wish lists. So, of course, I had to include a few literary stops along the way. This state did not disappoint. Today, I wanted to share three locations that I highly recommend if you're ever in the area.

1. Burke's Book Store - located in Memphis. Established in 1875, this is one of the oldest independent bookstores in the USA. This shop is known for its unusual stock of new, used, and rare books. Well worth an hour of time for anyone who enjoys history, music, and/or literature. If you are a fan of music, the famous Memphis Drum Shop is just a few doors down.

2. Parnassus Books - located in Nashville and started by award winning author Ann Patchett. While she often spends time there, don't expect to run into her on a whim. You can, however, find her recommendations and even autographed merchandise if you are a fan. If you have never heard of this writer, you will still enjoy a stop at this charming shop. It houses one of the most whimsical children sections, and pet lovers will enjoy time with the bookshop dogs - yes, that's plural. The entire staff here was extremely nice and helpful.

3. Dollywood - located in Pigeon Forge. In addition to the park, there are two hotels on property. All three locations offer a large selection of books written, or coauthored, by the amazing Dolly Parton. I had no idea how prolific her tastes, style, and abilities extended. We stayed at the Heartsong hotel and highly recommend the location. Even if you don't head into the park itself, the hotel is a beautiful place to relax when visiting the area or even nearby Gatlinburg. I highly recommend sitting by the fire or pool, reading, or playing the free games available outside. The cinnamon bread here is a MUST!

How about you? Have you been to any of these locations? Is there anything, or anywhere else you would recommend?

Inside the Magic Kingdom: 7 Keys to Disney's Success

I recently finished a book recommended to me by a colleague some time ago. Inside the Magic Kingdom is a useful book not only for business leaders, but for teachers. It translates Disney’s operational principles into practical strategies for educators, emphasizing that "everything matters" when it comes to creating an engaging, detail-oriented classroom environment and fostering strong relationships with students.

While it was written as a business management book by Tom Connellan, its core lessons readily apply to school leadership and daily teaching:

Everything Matters: Just as a clean park creates a great experience, classroom decor, transitions, and welcoming routines impact student focus and engagement.
Pay Attention to Detail: Teachers can use this to notice small behavioral or academic changes in students early on, or to fine-tune lesson plans for better accessibility.
Everyone Walks the Talk: It models consistency for educators, emphasizing that teachers must demonstrate the same behaviors, expectations, and attitudes they ask of their students.
Reward, Recognize, and Celebrate: Provides strong insights into how to build a positive classroom community by consistently validating student effort and success.
While I don't agree with every example given or ways suggested to utilize these in a classroom setting, I can certainly appreciate the sentiment behind those ideas.
To help you bring these principles into your school, here are specific classroom applications for each of the seven keys outlined in Inside the Magic Kingdom:
Key 1: The Competitor Is Anyone the Customer Compares You With
Students compare their classroom experience to engaging modern media, video games, and social media apps.
• Classroom Example: ** Gamify lesson reviews.** Use interactive platforms like Kahoot! or Quizizz to match the fast-paced, high-engagement visual stimuli students experience outside of school.
Key 2: Fantastic Attention to Detail
Small environmental factors heavily dictate how a student feels, focuses, and behaves throughout the school day.
• Classroom Example: Audit your room layout. Ensure high-traffic areas (like the pencil sharpener or turning-in bin) are free of bottlenecks, and use clear visual labels so students can find resources independently without asking.
Key 3: Everyone Walks the Talk
Teachers must visibly practice the exact values, mindsets, and academic habits they demand from their students.
• Classroom Example: Model mistakes out loud. When you make an error on the board, openly celebrate it as a "learning moment" to model growth mindset and resilience in real time.
Key 4: Everything Matters
Every single interaction, routine, and visual element in the room contributes to the overall classroom culture.
• Classroom Example: Create a threshold ritual. Stand at the door and greet every student by name with a high-five, fist bump, or quick check-in to establish a welcoming environment before they even sit down.
Key 5: Customers Are Best Heard Through Many Ears
Feedback shouldn't just happen during formal end-of-term evaluations or parent-teacher conferences.
• Classroom Example: Use digital exit tickets. Spend the last two minutes of class having students submit an anonymous Google Form rating how clear the lesson was from 1 to 5, allowing you to adjust tomorrow's pacing.
Key 6: Reward, Recognize, and Celebrate
Authentic praise drives intrinsic motivation and reinforces positive behavior much better than broad, generic compliments.
• Classroom Example: Send "Positive Friday" emails. Pick two or three students each week who showed improvement or kindness, and send a quick, specific praise note directly to their parents.
Key 7: X Makes the Difference (The People)
Systems and lesson plans are only as good as the human connection and relationships driving them forward.
• Classroom Example: Hold regular morning meetings. Dedicate 10 minutes at the start of the week for community-building circles where students share personal highlights, building strong peer-to-peer empathy.
How about you? Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on these keys and ideas?

57th Anniversary of Apollo 11

This week marks the 57th Anniversary of Apollo 11  (July 16–24, 1969). Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56 UTC.

The last few years, I have celebrated this week with friends and family in the industry. Two years ago, I celebrated the anniversary, and space travel in general, by visiting the Infinity Science Center in Mississippi. This science center honors Fred Haise in particular as he is from Mississippi. Haise has his own parking spot at the center and can still be seen visiting and fundraising to honor the museum and commemorate NASA's past. To learn more: https://www.visitinfinity.com/ and Astronaut Fred Haise

We've also been to the Houston Space Center quite a few times. This location houses a lot of Apollo era artifacts. I also highly recommend the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. While not strictly dedicated to space, it does the critical role the Navy has played in space exploration and spacecraft recovery.

I've never been to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but my husband and several other family members have. I hope to go one day. I'd also love to go to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

NASA, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX have all become synonymous with the celebration of space travel. However, few people realize how they might participate or become a part of space history. If you'd like to learn more, please check out my articles: Apollo 11 Anniversary and Blue Origin, Wally Funk, and More. For those of you asking for more information about the interviews, or watching the ones I mentioned in previous years: http://www.countdowntothemoon.org/ or check out this article on the gentleman (Nathan Price) doing the interviews: League City man conducted 1,840 interviews on NASA's moon mission

How about you? Are you interested in participating in an interview? Are you inspired by the human grasp for space? What has surprised you most about reaching for the stars? What are you most looking forward to in the future? Have you read any good SPACE travel books?

Independence Day: Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary

Happy Fourth of July!

Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776. This year, we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of this date.

If you're curious how people are celebrating, or to view some of those celebrations, check out https://america250.org/ or https://www.whitehouse.gov/freedom250/

I've also been overwhelmed with the number of celebratory videos of foreigners enjoying their time in our country: especially those who have come here to various states hosting the world cup. It's been so wonderful watching the positivity flooding social media from these tourists and fans as well as from the Americans enjoying their company.

I myself am enjoying celebrating all things USA: the history, the current camaraderie, and the willingness of friends and family to serve in our military. Loving your country doesn't mean liking everything about it, but taking pride and fighting anyway to maintain the right to improve it if possible.

We have a family full of men who have served in various branches of the military. I know many of my family members have served in the Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force. While I have friends and former students who also served in the Coast Guard, I'm not certain if any of my family members did.

Some time ago, I shared a post about the history of our national anthem if you'd like to check that out here: https://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2023/06/national-flag-day-and-star-spangled.html

Thank you to all of the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, our country in ANY way. You are appreciated more than you know.

I'm spending some time celebrating with family and friends. I hope you are all able to do the same.

How about you? How are you celebrating? Are you reading any great books this week? Anything you recommend about the armed forces or fighting for independence?

IWSG: Publishing Industry

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive. Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.

JULY QUESTION - Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry?

MY ANSWER - I feel like author compensation and support needs to be improved (fairer royalties, marketing support, editorial support, format flexibility, and less bias, etc.) There should also be less archaic return policies with an eye toward environmental sustainability.

How about you? Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry?

Writer on Vacation

I'm currently enjoying some vacation time. I hope you are able to do the same this summer. I will be back for the July IWSG post. Until then, check out this cool list of "Writer on Vacation" ideas: https://www.elitedaily.com/p/7-best-places-for-writers-to-go-on-vacation-for-a-weekend-retreat-9742085 

How about you? Are you able to enjoy any vacation getaways this summer?

Father's Day 2026

Finding the perfect read for your father depends on his personality. Whether he enjoys heart-pounding thrillers, touching memoirs, or deep dives into history this list offers recommendations suited to a variety of interests.

Consider the following top book recommendations for Father's Day:

• For the Thriller Lover: A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci or Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman. Both are fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat reads perfect for fans of mystery and suspense.
• For the Sentimental Dad: Big Fish by Daniel Wallace explores a son uncovering the truth behind his father's fantastical stories, while Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama offers a powerful, reflective memoir about identity, and My Father at 100 by Ron Reagan provides an intimate look at the man behind the public persona.
• For the Non-Fiction & History Enthusiast: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown is an inspiring, true underdog story about the 1936 US Olympic rowing team.
• For the Aspiring Handyman: Good Clean Fun by Nick Offerman is a great blend of woodworking guides, humor, and lifestyle.
• For the Geek & Sci-Fi Dad: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline provides a highly engaging, pop-culture-heavy adventure set in a virtual reality universe
• For the Creative Dad: Every Tool's a Hammer by Adam Savage is a chronicle of his life as a maker.

If you'd like to see my recommendations from previous years, check out these two pages: https://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2022/06/fathers-day-reading-gifts.html and https://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2021/06/7-fathers-day-reads.html

To see one publisher's recommendations for this year, check out: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/fathers-day-books-for-kids-adults/

How about you? Do you have any recommendations for our Father's?