Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. ~Groucho Marx
Books have been such a major part of my life that I thought I would devote a whole page of my blog to them. My hope is that I can figure out how to keep up with the categories I’ve started–I am behind on my blog in the first place, so the first thing most people do when they’re behind on one project is to start a new project, right? Anyway, I have been keeping a list of my summer reading (and listening and viewing) on another blog (mercy, did she just write that she has a whole other BLOG? What can’t she do?), but I wanted to move it here so that the other blog can be focused on my AP English Language students and links to their blogs.
This page of my blog will be dedicated to a list of books I have read beginning with the tomes of the summer of 2008 (I use that term lightly–not all of the books I read are very heavy, large, or learned!).
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (July 2009)–Wow! I started this yesterday and finished it today, and it was such a good story that I didn’t want it to end. A bit contrived in places, but I totally forgive that because I loved the story and the characters and the way it was written–it’s what is called an epistolary novel–written in letter-form. It reminds me, because of its form, of a book I loved when I was a kid called Daddy Long-legs that I will now have to re-read. Anyway, I loved the book because it was so multi-layered–there was just so much there! It made me want to write letters, write a novel, and book my trip to Guernsey.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (July 2009)–I read this when it first came out, but I am re-reading it after watching the first five movies just to make sure I am caught up and ready for the sixth movie, which will be released this month. I plan to read book #7 (HP and the Deathly Hallows) after I’ve read a bit more of The King’s Grace and another chapter of The Influencer.
The King’s Grace by Anne Easter Smith (July 2009)–I”m currently reading this as I read other books because this one just hasn’t reached out and grabbed me like the two I read while making my way through this one (see above). The subject matter (English royalty in the 1400s at the time of Henry Tudor’s rise to power) is interesting to me, and it’s really interesting since I’ve been to the Tower of London and the room where it is rumored two princes were murdered so that they couldn’t lay claim to the throne (such treachery and mystery!), but it’s just not holding my attention for long periods of time. It’s a lengthy book at 570 pages, and it’s not an easy read, so I’ll just plug along and read it in between other books. Next up? I think I’ll read Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo. It’s next in the stack!
The Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, et. al (June-July 2009)–I’m reading this one for work, and it hasn’t really struck me yet as to how it’s going to help me. I actually think The Tipping Point was just as cogent, but we’re all reading this one so we can discuss it together. I’m plowing through it whilst (how’s that for a bit of Brit-speak?) reading my other books. It seems that I have three going at any given time.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (June 2009)–I have had this book for quite some time now but just haven’t gotten around to it till now. It’s fascinating. Gladwell looks at trends (or epidemics–it’s semantics) and what causes them to “tip,” or hit the big time. It takes a certain type of person (or a chain of events involving a certain type of person) to make something take off. Gladwell uses the book The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells as one of many examples to prove his point. Wells wrote Little Altars Everywhere first, and it became sort of a cult favorite, but it didn’t really take off. Then some other things happened with Sisterhood that caused it to be a bestseller, and Gladwell explains how this happened. Very interesting look at the sociology of trends/epidemics.
When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman–I can’t get moving on Pillars of the Earth, so I picked up this book after reading it many years ago. It’s about the same time period as Pillars, but I think it’s got a better story line. The historical “stuff” is woven in more realistically. It doesn’t remind me of a ninth-grader’s essay. Don’t know if I’ll end up finishing Pillars. We’ll see. The book I mentioned before–Here Be Dragons–is also by Penman but is not about the same time period, so I just figured I’d stay in Britain in the 1100s for now.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett–This is what I am currently reading–well, listening to– (2/13/09), and I’m very disappointed in it. The characters speak as if they are modern-day teenagers, and the writing is stilted and boring. I feel like I’m in the middle of a medieval soap opera and a ninth-grader’s essay all at the same time. I teach my ninth-graders an organizational pattern of writing called the “8-sentence paragraph.” The first sentence introduces the topic, the second offers the first reason/detail/fact about the topic, the third sentence proves sentence 2; repeat that process for sentences 4, 5, 6, and 7, and then tie it all together in sentence 8. This book reads just like that. Over and over and over. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish it. Since I’m listening to the book on my ipod, it gets ahead of itself sometimes, and I know I’ve missed some plot stuff (when did Agnes die anyway? and how did Tom end up with Ellen?), perhaps it’s just that I’m missing that stuff. But I don’t care enough to go back and find out. And that is pretty telling. I’ve read several books about this time period, and I think I’ll re-read them, starting with Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman.
The Best American Travel Writing 2008 edited by Anthony Bourdain–I’ve just read the introduction by Bourdain and one other essay–but I love these books, so this one is worth your time.
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates–very literary–not a “beach” read–don’t pick it up if you’re not in the mood to ponder the effects of depression and of a life not being lived the way its owner wishes.
Lots of poetry, essays, and excerpts from the Harlem Renaissance era, including “The Weary Blues,” “Harlem,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” “One-Way Ticket,” “Slim Greer Went to Hell,” “All God’s Chillun Got Eyes,” “Laundry Workers’ Choir,” “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
From The Norton Reader: “The Gettysburg Address,” “Terwiliger Bunts One” (Annie Dillard), “Letter to Lady Montagu’s Daughter, the Countess of Bute”
Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads Forty-Three of the World’s Best Poems by Camille Paglia–another literary work that is definitely not for lighthearted reading. I picked it up because it’s always good for me to get someone else’s take on the poetry I love.
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs–funny, insightful, and worth your time. I do know a bit about the Bible and its rules, so this guy trying to abide by all of them was pretty amusing.
Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff–I know meth use is a widespread problem, so I picked this up for that reason. However, it is just as much about a beautiful father/son relationship. I actually listened to this one on my ipod, and the reader did a great job.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin–I’ve devoted a whole post to this one–it’s terrible–don’t waste your time.
Testimony by Anita Shreve (audiobook)–this one is a “beach” read (or listen)–it was different than any other audiobook I’ve ever listened to because it had a whole cast of characters. The story is told from many points of view, so you come at it from different angles. Very interesting.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry–I read this for my Multicultural Lit class–it’s not something I would pick up to read for fun, but it’s great for helping my students understand some history of African Americans as it applies to Brown v. Board, etc.
Essays from The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings: “Just Be Nice” by Stephen L. Carter; “Se Habla Espanol” by Tanya Barrientos; “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan; “Potato Chips and Stars” by Mike Rose; “Meet Joe Blog” by Lev Grossman–I like to keep up on essays because I use so many in my AP English Language class. My favorite one from this group is “Just Be Nice,” an essay about the decline of manners in our society. Carter makes a good point, I think, in that we have come to believe that our preferences are “rights.”
Transforming Classroom Grading by Robert J. Marzano–boring for most folks, but thought-provoking for me.
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros–I use this series of vignettes with my freshmen to help them learn how to be better writers. Cisneros is a great example of “Show, don’t tell,” and I use her writing to help my students begin to incorporate literary devices (similes, metaphors, imagery, etc.) into their own writing.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien–I love this book. I read it every year. It’s a war book, but it’s not about war. It’s about love and friendship and truth and honesty and humanity.
Lots of political essays in my AP Language class — “Democracy” by E.B. White, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, “The Declaration of Independence” by Jefferson and Others, “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and “The Morals of the Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck (9/22– just finished evaluating 30 free-verse poems about characters in the novel, plus sociograms created by students in my Multicultural Lit class)
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson (9/22 — and soon to be reading 54 reviews written by 9th graders)
Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times, Introduction by John Darnton
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (9/22/08: and after today, I’ll be reading 25 rhetorical analyses dealing with Paton’s use of specific rhetorical strategies)
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Drop City by T. C. Boyle
Leave the Building Quickly: True Stories by Cynthia Kaplan
Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin
Now I know you just read Revolutionary Road, and that is at the top of this list. Your implication is that this is your summer reading. Organize better! And at least write a blurb, quick impression type of thing for each book so I know if it’s worth reading. Like categories or something- worth buying, worth borrowing, skip it. You can think of something.