October was another busy month, which meant I only read seven books. I assume my reading will pick up pretty soon because it's getting cold and dark earlier, meaning I'll just want to be inside. Of the books I read last month, I gave three (two fiction and one nonfiction) perfect grades. My reviews are below. Pure Murder I struggled with … [Read more...]
My Favorite Books of September
Readers who follow my Real Nerds Read Facebook page commented when they noticed something unusual about my September reading reports. I gave four consecutive books a perfect grade. Interestingly, I only read seven books in September, which is several books short of the monthly norm. Perhaps this is because I leisurely read these great books that … [Read more...]
My Favorite Books of August
I read my favorite book of the summer in August. I actually read 10 books last month. I gave three fiction books perfect grades, but one of them will be a book I recommend to anyone who will listen. Here are my favorite books of August. The Child The Child by Fiona Barton is easily the best book I've read this summer. The book is about a … [Read more...]
7 Easy Ways for Students to Stay Informed
News quizzes are difficult. I wasn’t really aware of this until a few years ago when I began giving weekly current events quizzes in my introductory public relations course. Some students did quite well on the quizzes and even said they looked forward to them; other students struggled. I teach in a mass communications program, and my students … [Read more...]
Do you want sympathy or solutions?
My department chairman is a great guy who tries to fix all of the problems I bring to him, which sometimes annoys me. I know that sounds strange. Why would anyone not want their boss to fix their problems? I bet you assume that your staffers want you to fix problems they present you, too. But sometimes we don’t want someone to solve our … [Read more...]
My Favorite Books of July
I read 12 books in July, which surprised me because I traveled a lot last month and honestly thought I'd read more. Even so, 12 books in a month is nothing to be ashamed about. That's still a lot of really good reading. Of those, I gave one none non-fiction book a perfect grade. The I-5 Killer It is possible that I over rated The I-5 Killer by … [Read more...]
What I’m Into (July 2017 edition)
July tends to wrap up my summer and begin the transition back into my professorial life, so the month was full of work, family, friends, food, and fun. I started the month working in Singapore and ended it watching my daughter play basketball in New Orleans. It was a busy, exciting month. Here's what I was into in July. Catching up My … [Read more...]
