by Scott McLeod | Mar 1, 2026 | Miscellaneous |
Books I finished reading (or rereading) in February 2026…
- Miracle Children, Katie Benner & Erica Green (education)
- On Basilisk Station, David Weber (science fiction)
- Darkside, Michael Mammay (science fiction)
- Nine Dragons, Michael Connelly (thriller)
- Lost Light, Michael Connelly (thriller)
- A Minute to Midnight, David Baldacci (thriller)
- Daylight, David Baldacci (thriller)
- The Absent One, Jussi Adler-Olsen (thriller)
- City of Jade, Dennis McKiernan (fantasy)
- The Proving Ground, Michael Connelly (thriller)
- Perun’s Hammer, Ian Heller (science fiction)
- The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown (thriller)
- The Deryni Archives, Katherine Kurtz (fantasy)
Hope you’re reading something fun too!
by Scott McLeod | Feb 1, 2026 | Miscellaneous |
Books I finished reading (or rereading) in January 2026…
- Mastery, Tony Wagner and Ulrik Juul Christensen (education)
- Planetside, Michael Mammay (science fiction)
- Spaceside, Michael Mammay (science fiction)
- Colonyside, Michael Mammay (science fiction)
- The Keeper of Lost Causes, Jussi Adler-Olsen (thriller)
- The Last Mile, David Baldacci (thriller)
- The Fix, David Baldacci (thriller)
- Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz (fantasy)
- Deryni Checkmate, Katherine Kurtz (fantasy)
- High Deryni, Katherine Kurtz (fantasy)
- The Truth, Skyler Ramirez (science fiction)
- The Murder at World’s End, Ross Montgomery (mystery)
- Coyote Hills, Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman (thriller)
- Gone Before Goodbye, Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben (thriller)
Hope you’re reading something fun too!
by Scott McLeod | Jan 7, 2026 | Higher Education, Miscellaneous, Podcasts |
Will Deyamport (Dr. Will!), educational technology expert and entrepreneurship guru, invited me to appear on his podcast and talk about how to get a teaching job in higher education. Our discussion was wide-ranging, but the core of our conversation probably happened between 10:22 and 18:22 when I shared the three primary possibilities for postsecondary teaching. Will asked me numerous insightful questions. Hopefully we demystified together what it’s like to go after a higher ed teaching position, including what to think about as you choose a doctoral program or line up your professional qualifications with a postsecondary pathway in mind…
Happy listening!
by Scott McLeod | Jan 5, 2026 | Miscellaneous |
I read (or reread) 141 books last year, which I believe is a record for me, at least since my childhood years. Does some of that total represent a desire to escape from the hellish political landscape that we currently are living through? Yeah, probably… [Was I also reading in my childhood years as an escape? Yes, definitely.]
My top book for 2025 was my reread of In Search of Deeper Learning, by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine. This book resonated differently with me the second time that I read it through. I unearthed lots of new think-abouts, and I am looking forward to unpacking the book with my doctoral students this summer in my Leadership for Deeper Learning class. As I said in my post last January, if you care about deeper learning, this foundational book is worth every penny you pay for it and every minute you spend reading it.
Last year I also greatly enjoyed Implementing Project Based Learning in Early Childhood, by Sara Lev, Amanda Clark, and Erin Starkey. I hadn’t thought much about early childhood project-based learning (ECPBL), but I learned a lot from the book (and a visit with Sara in Los Angeles!). Our youngest learners can do PBL too!
On the fiction front, my top pick last year was probably The Final Strife, by Saara El-Arifi. I tend to read more traditional epic fantasy instead of fantasy with African-/Arabian-themed elements, but this was a fantastic book (and a good series overall). Lately I’ve been on a thriller and mystery kick instead of my usual science fiction and fantasy emphasis. These tend to be a little less challenging for my brain, so I finish them fairly quickly. Maybe I’m gravitating to the whole good-triumphs-over-evil aspect…
Hope you’re reading something fun too!
by Scott McLeod | Jan 2, 2026 | Miscellaneous |
Books I finished reading (or rereading) in December 2025…
- Who Needs College Anymore?, Kathleen deLaski (education)
- The Reversal, Michael Connelly (thriller)
- Absolute Power, David Baldacci (thriller)
- The 6:20 Man, David Baldacci (thriller)
- The Edge, David Baldacci (thriller)
- Memory Man, David Baldacci (thriller)
- One Good Deed, David Baldacci (thriller)
- Shadow of Doubt, Brad Thor (thriller)
- Some Desperate Glory, Emily Tesh (science fiction)
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie (mystery)
- The First Duelist, Rutledge Etheridge (science fiction)
- Small-Town Crafter, Tom Watts (fantasy)
- Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky (science fiction)
Hope you’re reading something fun too!
by Scott McLeod | Dec 1, 2025 | Miscellaneous |
Books I finished reading (or rereading) in November 2025…
- Intentional Influence, Ben Johnson & Bobby Dodd (education)
- The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (fantasy)
- Earth Awakens, Orson Scott Card (science fiction)
- The Golden Spoon, Jessa Maxwell (mystery)
- The Impossible Fortune, Richard Osman (mystery)
- The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate (children’s)
- Long Road to Mercy, David Baldacci (thriller)
- The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny (thriller)
- The Bones Beneath My Skin, TJ Klune (fantasy)
- When the Moon Hits Your Eye, John Scalzi (science fiction)
- Icehenge, Kim Stanley Robinson (science fiction)
- Dark State, Jack Slater (thriller)
Hope you’re reading something fun too!
by Scott McLeod | Nov 1, 2025 | Miscellaneous |
Books I finished reading (or rereading) in October 2025…
- Breakneck, Dan Wang (economics)
- The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune (fantasy)
- Somewhere Beyond the Sea, TJ Klune (fantasy)
- The Shattering Peace, John Scalzi (science fiction)
- Earth Afire, Orson Scott Card (science fiction)
- The Winner, David Baldacci (thriller)
- To Die For, David Baldacci (thriller)Â
- Entanglement, Gerald Kilby (science fiction)
- The Sunlit Man, Brandon Sanderson (science fiction)
- Bloodhype, Alan Dean Foster (science fiction)
- The Doorman, Chris Pavone (thriller)
- The Last Steward, Nicholas Sansbury Smith (science fiction)
Hope you’re reading something fun too!
