Sarabeth tagged me on this book meme.
One book that changed your life: Savage Inequalities, by Jonathan Kozol. I think this is possibly one of his best works. It's a really nice blend of narrative, interview, and statistics. It impacted me because it made me want to become involved in education, but it also showed me what good nonfiction looks like.
Honorable mention: Among Schoolchildren, by Tracy Kidder. Also hit the teacher nerve and gave me a model for the kind of nonfiction writing I'd like to be able to do.
Both books introduced me to authors I've read over and over again.
One book that you have read more than once: The Mitford Series, by Jan Karon. It's not fancy writing, but it's a wonderful series about endearing characters, everyday struggles, and finding something to live for. It's happy endings more often than in real life, but I need that from a book I'm going to read over and over again.
One book you would want on a desert island: Tough one. I would probably say Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, because it's so LONG that you could read it over and over again and still not remember the whole thing!
One book that made you laugh: I'm a Stranger Here Myself, by Bill Bryson. His observations about life in the United States are just so true! You can't help but laugh -- at the people being described, this quirky country, and yourself.
Honorable mention: Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood, by Jennifer Traig (FUNNY!). A Jewish girl who fights obsessive-compulsive behavior and drives her family crazy (and the reader to hysterics) in the process.
Also recommended: Anything by Bill Bryson; selections by Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris.
One book that made you cry: The Wedding, by Nicholas Sparks. The Notebook was great and all, but this book is just fantastic. I won't say too much about it in case you haven't read it, but oh my gosh. This is not your average romance novel, but it's one of the most romantic novels ever written.
Honorable mention: Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck. 1960's memoir about a woman who finds herself pregnant unexpectedly with her second child. She learns that her new baby will have Down's syndrome and narrates the struggle of her decision to have and keep the baby.
One book you wish had been written: Like Sarabeth, I wish someone had written a book like the ones I want to write -- ones that resonate with or reflect my life in a way existing literature doesn't. It won't be "art," but it will be engaging (hopefully). And perhaps a book that just keeps going -- or hey, maybe that's life.
One book you wish had never been written: I'm staring at my shelves, but nothing's coming to me. Presumably I no longer own a book I really dislike.
One book you are currently reading: I'm actually not working on one right now since I started the new job today, but I finished two this weekend: Riding the Bus with my Sister, by Rachel Simon, and The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards. The former is a nonfiction piece about a women who rides the bus with her sister, who has mild mental retardation. The former is a piece of fiction about a doctor who delivers his own twins one snowy night and gives away his daughter because she has Down's syndrome. He tells his wife that the baby died, though, and the book follows the lives of the family, plagued by this event, and the woman who raises the little girl. Kind of depressing, but good nonetheless. Guess there was kind of a theme here. I also read most of the essays from Writers on Writing looking for good stuff for my students. Some nice stuff in there.
(New) One book you consider to be a work of art: One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's not the easiest book to start, but it's more than worth it in the end. And the last page makes you want to go back to the beginning and start over. Wow.
Honorable mention: Hiroshima, by John Hersey. Fantastic. Utterly fantastic. Good nonfiction writers are just so great.
Now tag five people:
(but I only know three who frequent my blog often enough to make it worthwhile, so...)
Laura at Ramblings
My mom
PennPal
2 comments:
Only one of Bill Bryson's books have made me laugh--A walk in the woods.
I tried some of his others and was not very enthusiastic about his writing. His book about his travels in the south was just too acerbic for me.
And for the work of art--Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.
Responses from PennPal:
One book that changed your life: I suppose The Bible is too obvious, so I’ll say Larry Bird’s autobiography Drive. It was my favorite book in 8th grade (when I was determined to be the first woman in the NBA), and I read it several times. It reinforced for me the importance of plain hard work, determination, and being a team player, all of which carried over into other aspects of my life. Looking back on it today, I realize that Bird was part of a dying breed. Today’s NBA stars seem to rely on their inborn talent and seek to make themselves--not their teammates--look better.
One book that you have read more than once: The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling. Despite being books “for kids,” Rowling’s writings are rich and colorful in their language and plot development. And I defy you to read the whole series and not have strong feelings about all of the major characters.
One book you would want on a desert island: Again, The Bible is obvious. I would say the Riverside Shakespeare, because it would provide many, many hours of diversion and analysis, but (gasp!) I’m not a huge Shakespeare fan. I know; I’m a disgrace to English teachers everywhere. Perhaps C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. It’s short but provides lots of food for thought. Unless I could get a compilation of Lewis’s complete works; I would take that instead.
One book that made you laugh: I must not read many funny books, though Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods did make me laugh. I have also read Me Talk Pretty One Day by Sedaris, but I don’t remember much about it. I would say that most plays by Christopher Durang have laugh out loud moments.
One book that made you cry: You may laugh, but the first one that comes to mind is No Greater Love by Danielle Steele. I read this back in high school during the high point of my Titanic obsession, and her novel really humanized the tragedy for me--much better than the movie that came a few years later.
One book you wish had been written: If I knew this, I would write it!
One book you wish had never been written: Books from which have stemmed violent behavior (like the Koran or bomb-building guides, etc.) come to mind, but I realize that the beauty of freedom in the United States is that anything can be published. People can choose to read or not to read (unless it’s an academic requirement of some sort), and people can similarly choose to use those books for good or for evil.
One book you are currently reading: While on planes and busses during my most recent European excursion, I read several books: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexandra McCall Smith, Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult, Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, and No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark. All were pretty easy reading, the Clark book most of all. I would say my favorite from those four was the Gabaldon book, which was two parts historical fiction, one part romance, and one part science fiction. It’s part of a series, and I have the next installment, Voyager, on hold at the library. I’m also reading Men Read Newspapers, Not Minds by Sandra P. Aldrich in preparation for my upcoming marriage.
(New) One book you consider to be a work of art: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It’s long and spans several centuries, but this epic story of the construction of a medieval cathedral has superb character development and intertwines the characters’ lives in a way that is captivating without seeming contrived. I could--and have--read it over and over again.
Now tag five people:
I no longer have an active blog, so hopefully I won’t break the chain!
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