Summer reading for teachers: 11 books Vicki Davis highlights and returns to again and again — AI ethics, productivity, faith, and classroom-management classics — with a challenge to pick just one or two this summer.
Today is a new feature I’ll run on some Saturdays – not all of them, but it is a day where I can post things on the personal and human side of life just sometimes. Here’s a piece where I went through my most highlighted books, I use a tool called Readwise that helps me chat with my highlights and look at them as well, and I went through those to share what those books are and my recommendations on who might find them useful.
These are eleven books for your consideration, and many of them are timeless. I fully expect some of them won’t be your cup of tea. That is ok. But when something is a book I’ve read multiple times, it stands out and might can help you.
I do want to point out that the books I share on deciding when to say no and how to prioritize and have purpose are some I wished I had read earlier. There’s a power in knowing your purpose. There’s a power in saying no. Not because you want to be a contrarian but every yes is a no to something that might be better. So you have to choose your yeses and your no’s can help you say yes to some really great things.
I hope you enjoy Significant Saturday and know that you matter, you are significant, and to take a moment to feed your soul with books and resources for the spiritual side of life as well as helping you have a more peaceful life because of the order and success in your classroom.
“You are significant, not because of what you produce, but just because of who you are.”
Vicki Davis
Host, 10 Minute Teacher Podcast
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11 Books for Your Teacher Summer: AI, Faith & Focus — Episode 949
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Key Takeaways for Teachers
- Pick one or two — not all eleven. “Choose what speaks to where you are right now.” The whole invitation is permission to go deep on one book, not guilt over a stack you’ll never finish.
- Anchor your AI use in your values first. Jason Thacker’s The Age of AI asks what it means to be human before it asks what AI can do — the right order for any educator.
- Endings aren’t failures. Between Necessary Endings and Die Empty, the summer challenge is to let go of what’s no longer serving you and stop leaving your best work buried. This has helped me learn how to say no! I wish I knew this when I started teaching!
- Feed your soul, not just your skill set. The prayer, devotional, and worry books here are on the list on purpose — a calmer, more grounded teacher builds a calmer classroom.
- Reading is awesome. Reading is good for you and me. I love listening to books. Reading books on kindle. Reading books on paper. Reading in my hammock. And talking about books. I give my “book of the year” to everyone in my family at Christmas. I’ve already picked that book out and it is not on this list yet. I have to finish a book before I write about it here.
Try This Tomorrow
Open your most-highlighted book — or your Kindle or Readwise highlights — and reread just five highlights before you plan your next lesson. Five minutes, nothing to buy, and you’ll walk in with something worth sharing. I love telling my students “I read this last night” because I’m modeling lifelong learning!
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Here are all eleven books, in the order I shared them on the show:
- The Age of AI by Jason Thacker — a Christian framework for using AI wisely, starting with what it means to be human. This is useful for anyone who wants to wrestle with if there can be a humans-first moral approach to using AI. If AI ethics are your thing, this is a good one to get a viewpoint.
- The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler — a hopeful, big-picture look at how converging technologies are reshaping our world. When you read this, so much makes sense about the pace of change. My students and I have studied this book.
- How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie — timeless, practical wisdom for anyone carrying too much worry into the day.
- Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud — why letting go of what’s no longer serving you can be the most life-giving thing you do.
- Die Empty by Todd Henry — a call to do your most important work now instead of taking it to the grave with you. He says that the greatest books and greatest dreams are all buried in the graveyard with people who let their dreams be buried with them. I don’t want that to be me!
- Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte — the knowledge-management system that changed how I capture and organize ideas.
- The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer by E. M. Bounds — the most-highlighted book in my entire library, on the power of prayer. Prayer is the work as my former pastor used to say.
- Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman — a daily devotional that has settled my mind through many hard seasons.
- Leadership 101 by John C. Maxwell — part of Maxwell’s small, chapter-a-day “101” series that’s perfect for reading and discussing at the table.
- The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong — the classic I give every first-year teacher for classroom procedures.
- Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones — practical behavior management and classroom setup for teachers who want a smoother year.
About Vicki Davis
If you’re here, you might know me. Twenty-four-year teacher, Mom of three amazing kids, and wife of an awesome, quick-witted, few-worded engineer she met at Georgia Tech. I could print my full bio with all of the awards, but I think I just want to tell you that I’m your servant. Educators. Those who are working to reach kids. Teaching is noble.
I sort of fell into teaching in college, as I loved being a TA for a remarkable professor. Then, in 1992, Mom asked me to help her teach people how to use this Internet thing so she could earn enough money to put in the first computer lab at my alma mater high school. I’ve been teaching ever since. Sometimes businesses. Sometimes kids. Lots of time, teachers. I have a lot to learn and love to read and learn new technologies. I am also passionate about sharing and helping others.
I know this isn’t an official bio, and you can see mine here. That said, I guess I’m just writing this bio just to feel like I’m a human on a page writing something another human might read. I use AI to help me, but I don’t want AI slop. I want to be me and share with you, even if AI might summarize, I want you to feel like you get more realness by taking the time to come to my blog. If more humans don’t do this, I guess we’ll just have search engines summarizing pretend humans who are pretending to write, and we will lose this crazy connection we have built since I’ve been blogging in 2005. I had a person not too long ago – a leader I respect – tell me she started reading to me in elementary school when she decided she wanted to be a teacher. That is cool, I guess. I’d love to feel like my consistency has helped some people. OK, enough of this. On with the show! Let’s learn!
Other Shows for Teachers
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If this list pointed you to your next read, share it with a teacher friend who needs a good book this summer.
Episode Transcript
This transcript was generated using AI and has been reviewed by humans for accuracy. Minor errors or artifacts may remain but I worked my best to find any issues with the transcript as I reviewed the show. – Vicki
Click to read the full transcript
Announcer: This is the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.
Vicki Davis: Today’s episode 949 is Significant Saturday. I won’t run one of these specials every week, but every now and then, I want to air something a little different — something about the other side of your life. The one where you’re a human being, not a human doing. You are significant, not because of what you produce, but just because of who you are. So today you’ll get a few of the books I have loved that have helped me remember that. So here are 11 book recommendations from me to you. I hope you find one that you enjoy.
Vicki Davis: As we talk about integrating AI thoughtfully into our classrooms, it reminds me that wisdom comes not just from the latest technology, but from timeless truths and continuous learning. Speaking of learning, summertime is upon us, and whether you’re poolside, on a road trip, or just enjoying some well-deserved downtime, I want to share some books that have absolutely transformed my thinking and my classroom. These aren’t just books I’ve read. These are the books I’ve devoured, highlighted, and returned to again and again. In fact, looking at my Readwise library, I’ve highlighted over 6,800 passages from these books combined.
Vicki Davis: Let me start with a book that’s absolutely essential for anyone using AI who wants to honor their Christian faith: The Age of AI by Jason Thacker. He says, quote, “AI is doing things like driving cars around our streets and automating countless jobs that were created for humans. AI is changing everything about our world and society, and we aren’t prepared,” end quote. He then takes two questions to aid the journey of understanding AI from a Christian perspective. For one, what does it mean to be human? And number two, what is technology in AI? Friends, if you’re a Christian educator or business person or parent who wants to use AI wisely and ethically, this needs to be at the top of your summer reading list. Thacker brilliantly addresses the intersection of technology and faith, helping us navigate questions like, how do we maintain human dignity in an AI world? What does it mean to create with integrity when AI can generate content? This book speaks directly to the heart of what we’ve been discussing — using technology as a tool while keeping our humanity and values intact. So book number one, The Age of AI by Jason Thacker.
Vicki Davis: After reading that book, read The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler. They make a point in the book and they say, quote, “every time a technology goes exponential, we find an internet-sized opportunity tucked inside.” Think about the internet itself. While it seemingly decimated industries — music, media, retail, travel, and taxis — a study by McKinsey Global Research found the net actually created 2.6 new jobs for each one it extinguished. There’s a lot of hope as you read this book, and it’ll help you understand the big picture of what things are happening. So my book number two, The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler.
Vicki Davis: Now, let me share a book that’s been a companion to me for many years: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. This is one of my favorite passages. He says, quote, “one of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” Carnegie’s wisdom from decades ago feels more relevant than ever. Carnegie also says the most relaxing, recreating forces are healthy religion, sleep, music, and laughter. Have faith in God. Learn to sleep well, love good music, and see the funny side of life. Book number three, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.
Vicki Davis: For those of you feeling overwhelmed or burned out — and let’s be honest, who isn’t after this school year — I recommend Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud. Cloud opens the book and says, “today may be the enemy of your tomorrow. In your business and perhaps your life, the tomorrow you desire and envision may never come to pass if you do not end some things you are doing today.” This book taught me that sometimes the most life-giving thing we can do is let go of what’s no longer serving us. Cloud writes about how endings aren’t failures. They’re often the doorway to new beginnings. Book number four, Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud.
Vicki Davis: For my author and creator friends, Die Empty by Todd Henry is a must-read. Now, the title sounds morbid, but here is what he says. “The most valuable land in the world is the graveyard. In the graveyard are buried all of the unwritten novels, never-launched businesses, unreconciled relationships, and all of the other things that people thought, I’ll get around to that tomorrow.” He also says there is an over-emphasis on celebrity and recognition in our culture, and it will eventually be the death of us. Cultivating a love of the process is a key to making a lasting contribution. With only one in four people in the world feeling they are living up to their creative potential, he reminds us that your legacy is built one decision at a time. Todd Henry’s message is life-giving. Don’t go to your grave with your best work still inside you. Book number five, Die Empty by Todd Henry.
Vicki Davis: And if you’re looking to build sustainable systems for capturing and organizing ideas — especially important in our information-rich world — Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte revolutionized how I manage knowledge. I’ve done past shows on my personal second brain system that you can see on my Cool Cat Teacher YouTube channel. So book number six, Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte.
Vicki Davis: Friends, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the book that has the most highlights in my entire library: The Complete Work of E.M. Bounds, with 541 highlights. Bounds writes about prayer in a way that changed my life. And he said, quote, “our short prayers owe their point in efficiency to the long ones that have preceded them.” Book number seven, The Complete Work of E.M. Bounds.
Vicki Davis: And for daily encouragement, Springs in the Desert by Lettie B. Cowman offers devotional thoughts that feel like cool water on a hot summer day. As she cared for her husband for many years, who was terminally ill, she and her husband looked for things that encouraged them, and then they put them into this book. From college to now, and anytime I have hard things going on, this book is my go-to devotional book to settle my mind and get some sleep. Book number eight, Springs in the Desert by Lettie B. Cowman.
Vicki Davis: And I love books that encourage me and help me think. John Maxwell has these small books he calls the 101 series. They are perfect for reading a chapter and then having your adult children read it and discuss them at the table. He says, quote, “hoping for a good future without investing in it today is like a farmer waiting for a crop without ever planting a seed.” Maxwell also says, “you can have anything you want, but you cannot have everything you want.” Life’s about choices, isn’t it? So book number nine is actually a book series, John Maxwell’s 101 series. I like the small little individual books because I can share them, even though it’s in a big large book too.
Vicki Davis: And finally, if you’re a teacher and last year didn’t go right in terms of procedures or behavior, there are two books I recommend and give these to first-year teachers: Harry and Rosemary Wong’s The First Days of School for classroom procedures, and Fred Jones’ Tools for Teachers about behavior management and classroom setup. These two books make number 10 and number 11. And you know, as I look at these books — from AI ethics to ancient wisdom about prayer, from productivity systems to letting go — I’m reminded that growth happens when we’re intentional about what we feed our minds and souls. This summer, I challenge you to pick just one or two of these books. Don’t feel like you need to read them all. Choose what speaks to where you are right now. Remember, we’re not just educators or business people, we’re lifelong learners. And the beautiful thing about summer is it gives us permission to slow down and dig deep into ideas that can transform not just our work, but our lives.
Vicki Davis: Thanks for tuning in to the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast. Watch the video version of this podcast and catch my new radio and TV show, Cool Cat Teacher Talk, on YouTube and a radio or TV station near you. Join my Cool Cat Teacher Classroom Matters newsletter at coolcatteacher.com/newsletter. Leave a review if you found this helpful. See you later, educator.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This episode includes some affiliate links. This means that if you choose to buy I will be paid a commission on the affiliate program. However, this is at no additional cost to you. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.
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