From the home office in Hot Coffee, Mississippi*...
Your favorite Greenbriar teachers, administrators and staff are readers, too! What are they reading? What books do they recommend? Scroll down and see!
Name: Mrs. Gann
Position: Student teacher, House B Language Arts
Favorite books: The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the poetry of Shel Silverstein, biographies of famous women (especially First Ladies and Queen Elizabeth II), Russian fiction and nonfiction (Solzhenitsyn, Dostoevsky, Chekov, Ahkmatova), Nancy Drew, the Griffin and Sabine series, the Sandman series (graphic novels by Neil Gaiman), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon, The Diary of Anne Frank, anything by Stephen Ambrose (Band of Brothers), Holes by Louis Sachar, The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, new nonfiction about scientific discoveries (Longitude by Dava Sobel, The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester)
What I want to read next: The complete Harry Potter series and Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
How I choose a book: I like nonfiction more than fiction. I like learning about how real people endured personal struggles or solved seemingly impossible problems. I also like nonfiction that explores or further explains an historical event or cultural issue. If the book feels nice in my hand and has an interesting cover, I am more likely to pick it up.
Name: Mrs. Hanlon
Position: Teacher, House B Language Arts
Favorite books: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brasheares, Artemis Fowl series, the Harry Potter series, Holes, Gathering Blue, Gone With the Wind, the Boxcar Children series, anything by Judy Blume, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Notebook
What makes a good book? Anything that catches my interest or makes me think, smile, laugh, cry, daydream, wonder or imagine.
Name: Mrs. Olsavsky
Position: Intervention Specialist, House X Special Education
Favorite books: Little Women and Jane Eyre
What makes a good book? A book is a "good read" when you can visualize the setting, characters, and events and when you do not want to stop reading the book.
Name: Ms. Padgett
Position: Title I Reading Specialist
Favorite books: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
What makes a good book? If you liked it!
Name: Mrs. Orlowski
Position: Teacher, House A Language Arts
Favorite authors: J.K. Rowling, Jean Sasson, Les Roberts, Danielle Steele, Jean Auel, Mary Higgens Clark. Irving Wallace is my favorite author.
What makes a good book? I love adventure and mystery. Endings with a twist, multiple plot lines that are interwoven.
Name: Mr. Blaha
Position: Teacher, House X Mathematics
Favorite books: Sports magazines, the Harry Potter series, and all war history books (WWI, WWII, Vietnam, the Gulf War)
What makes a good book? A book that can tap into your imagination. If the book can make you imagine the story in your mind, then the book comes to life! "Books are better than movies because YOUR imagination is far more creative than anything movie directors can put onto a screen!"
Name: Mr. Vento
Position: Teacher, House C Reading
Favorite books/periodicals: The Sporting News, Rolling Stone, Bernie's Insiders, The Plain Dealer
What makes a good book? A good read is any literature that is relevant to the reader!
Name: Mr. McDonald
Position: Teacher, House A Reading
Favorite books/periodicals: Rolling Stone, Motorcyclist Magazine, Popular Science, Gold Magazine, Car & Driver. Fave books/authors include Clive Barker, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz. My favorite books is Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
What makes a good book? If the book relates to my own personal experiences, dreams, or conflicts. I enjoy identifying with the protagonist.
Name: Mrs. Gajewski
Position: Teacher, Special Education
Favorite books: The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird
What makes a good book? When I am reading a favorite book, I dread coming to the end because I want to know even more about the characters.
Name: Ms. Weaver
Position: Teacher, House C Mathematics
Favorite books/authors: Nora Roberts, Faye Kellerman, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich and Sidney Sheldon. I also have read all the Harry Potters and the complete Lord of the Rings trilogy.
What makes a good book? When I can get lost in the characters & story to the point where I lose track of time. A great book has humor, roman, and suspense.
Name: Mrs. Banville
Position: Teacher, House X Language Arts
Favorite books/periodicals: People magazine, the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and almost all the books on the Greenbriar Summer Reading list.
What makes a good book? A relatively "quick" book to keep me reading. Intense plot, two or more conflicts, good character development, and the author's ability to help me "escape" into his/her world for a short period of time.
Name: Ms. Eredish
Position: Teacher, House C Language Arts
Favorite books/authors: Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steele, John Grisham. I have read many autobiographies, historical fiction and nonfiction, including The DaVinci Code and Fallen Angel. I am currently reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
What makes a good book? A good book is one that "pulls you in." A book that you can't put down and hurry to read the next page. These books are also disappointing at the end because it's over and I want more!
Name: Miss Taylor
Position: Teacher, House X Special Education
Favorite books: Holes, The Outsiders, James and the Giant Peach, the Harry Potter series, There's a Wocket in My Pocket, The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons, A Smile as Big as the Moon.
What makes a good book? Something that makes a good book in my opinion is if it can hold my interest, something I can relate to, something that makes me smile.
Name: Mrs. Kerr
Position: Teacher, House Z Science
Favorite books/authors: I have read all of Patricia Cornwell's mystery/forensics books and all of Anne Perry's mystery books. I've also read many of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books and Agatha Christie's mystery novels. I subscribe to Better Homes & Gardens and Good Housekeeping magazines as well as the Plain Dealer.
What makes a good book? A good book catches your interest in the first few pages and holds it until the end. It should have drama and suspense, but NOT melodrama! A good mystery novel will keep my interest to the point where I won't sleep until I finish it.
Name: Miss Trattner
Position: Teacher, House A Mathematics
Favorite books/authors: The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, fantasy stories, Math Curse, and other children's literature, Antiques Magazine, Cleveland Magazine, and Art and Antiques.
What makes a good book? A good book holds my interest and seems credible. A good book can take you any place or to any time period.
Name: Ms. Wagner
Position: FACS Teacher
Favorite books/authors: Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts
What makes a good book: If it keeps my interest for more than 10 minutes without putting me to sleep!
Name: Ms. Cipollone
Position: Teacher, Computers/Technology
Favorite books/authors/periodicals: Mitch Albom, Dan Brown, Nelson DeMille, John Grisham, and Cooking and Fitness magazines
What makes a good book: Something that takes me to another place or time, or a story that gives meaning to my own life.
Name: Mr. Phillips
Position: Teacher, Grade 8 Science
Favorite books/periodicals: Congo, I Robot, The Gift, Shades of Grey, Popular Science
What makes a good book: The unknown and mystery.
Name: Mr. Nahra
Position: Teacher, MH/DH Special Education, Grades 7 & 8
Favorite books/periodicals: The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam, Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Sky of Stone by Homer Hickam, Seabiscuit by Laura Hillengrand, Money Ball by Michael Lewis
What makes a good book: An author who has the ability to make a story interesting that otherwise might not have initial appeal. You need to be "pulled in" to the book from the first few pages.
Name: Ms. Paulozzi
Position: Teacher, Reading, House Z
Books I have enjoyed: The Outsiders, Tears of a Tiger, Among the Hidden, A Child Called It, And Then There Was None, Chicken Soup, Flipped and Where the Red Fern Grows.
What makes a good book: I enjoy reading a book that keeps me guessing. These are the best types of books because I can't put them down. I also believe that good books are ones that I can relate to in some way or another.
Name: Ms. Maphis
Position: Administrative Assistant
Favorite Books: Mysteries, biographies, historical novels
What makes a good book: A good story and characters. A good ending, which is not necessarily a happy one!
Name: Ms. McEvoy
Position: Teacher, Special Education
Books/authors I have enjoyed: Anita Shreve, Stephen King, Reading Lolita In Tehran, Anne Rice, The Witching Hour, The Dark Tower, Violin
What makes a good book: When I can picture the characters and there is lots of action. When I have to think to get the meaning from books.
Name: Ms. Coskey
Position: Teacher, Computer Science
Books I have enjoyed: I like to read historical nonfiction. Currently, I'm reading the report from the 9/11 Commission.
What makes a good book: I like to read books that contain interesting historical information. I look for books that make me say, "I didn't know that."
A big "thank you" to every Greenbriar faculty member who responded. Don't see your name on the list? Want to contribute? See Mrs. Hanlon or Mrs. Gann for details!
*A real town in Mississippi, zip code 39428.