This is the current pile of books on my bedside table. I must admit that they have been neglected in recent weeks. Though I try to set aside time every day for non-school related reading, it doesn't always happen. And especially not during the months of May and June! This week was especially hectic. It was the last full week for Seniors (they begin exams next week), so tensions were running pretty high by the week's end. There was, however, some time for celebration on Thursday during the school's academic awards evening. So as I get ready to gear up for my last week of teaching (for underclass students) and a week of proctoring Senior exams, I will be looking forward to spending some time making my way through this pile of books.
I did have some time to reread Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried--along with my eleventh graders. This book has proven to be a perennial favorite among all of my students and it was reassuring to see yet another group of students moved, excited, and interested in reading this book. As O'Brien suggests, " but this too is true: stories can save us." Every time I read and teach this book, I am reminded of the power of reading and storytelling. It is especially reassuring to get this reminder when my energy levels are on the brink of absolute depletion.
I am also eager to pick up Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman next week. It will be my eleventh graders' final literature study for the year. I will be very interested to see how they respond to Miller's classic tragic hero, Willy Loman.
I just finished rereading Queen Bees and Wannabes (Rosalind Wiseman) with my Women's Studies class. I'm not a parent (though I plan to be in the future) and I would highly recommend this book to parents of adolescent and teen girls. It really helps parents and other adults understand the realities of "girl" world. Though I have had my own personal experiences with mean girls in the past (circa 1995), Queen Bees and Wannabes (and other books like it Odd Girl Out, Reviving Ophelia, Raising Cain, etc.) has helped me to have a better understanding of the social dynamics in my classroom.
The rest of my pile represents the beginning of my "free" reading for the summer (wahoo!). I am really excited to pick up Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I read her memoir The Glass Castle last summer and loved it. I actually taught the book last fall in my Memoirs class and the students also found it to be riveting. One of my dear colleagues passed it along to me. She also passed along When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. This book is of great personal and professional interest. I suspect that it will likely provide some great material for my Women's Studies class. The final book in this pile is Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker. This is actually a young adult novel that my lovely mother picked up for me when she was on vacation in Texas this past spring. The book is about a young girl who is captured by the Comanche Indians when she is 9 years old. She is recaptured 24 years later and is returned to her white family. At the time of her recapture she is the wife of a chief, two warrior-sons, and a young daughter. The story demonstrates her struggle with re-assimilating into her family's world. I am very intrigued by this text. I've always loved history and read a good deal of historical non-fiction as well as historical fiction. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is also on my list this summer. I do not know much about it, but my good teacher friend Bill recommended it. And when Bill recommends a book, it is a given that the book is a good read. I've been tempted to begin reading it now, but Bill told me that I'll want to begin reading when I have hours of interrupted time ahead of me. Apparently I won't want to put this one down!
I know that this pile will continue to grow over the summer. I usually treat myself to a new pile of books the day after school gets out, so I have a feeling that I will be quite busy reading this summer! And that is just fine by me!
Maureen,
ReplyDeleteThe last book I read that was not a required reading for UNE class work was Michael Patrick MacDonald's All Souls. It's an autobiographical account of his experience growing up in the Old Colony Housing Projects in South Boston. It was interesting to me because I could glean a little perspective into the subculture that exists within the neighborhoods there my students live, but I really read it for the Whitey Bulger connection. I have read every Whitey Bulger story I could find. So much took place in my own back yard, so to speak, and I was completely oblivious to it. Also, My 6th grade girls have been passing around a copy of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. It looks like a quick read, and the girls say it is "stunning". They also report that they cried like babies at the end.
I'm not sure what's written about her, but the Hannah Duston story is pretty amazing and might be interesting for your Women's Studies class. Here's a link to a picture of a statue of Hannah near our public library. Yes, that's a tomahawk in her hand.
http://www.hannahdustin.com/index2.html
Thanks for a great post!
Mike
Hi Mike!
ReplyDeleteThanks for such an excellent comment! Your book suggestions make me want to go to the bookstore and make some purchases immediately! Unfortunately I need to plow through this pile o' grading before I get to my free reading list!
I'm sure that you've seen The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006) if you are interested in Whitey Bolger. I show this film in my Film Studies class and the kids absolutely love it. It is certainly a risk to show it in public school, but the students are twelfth graders and have permission slips signed before viewing. I love the intensity of this film and I think that Scorsese does an excellent job of breathing new life into the crime genre. Jack Nicholson is fantastic as an anti-Vito Corleone and I'm totally impressed with Mark Wahlberg's performance--despite the fact that I remember him as Marky Mark from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He certainly redeems himself from his pant-dropping-underwear-modeling-good-vibrations-days. The kids, of course, love this film. Even though we live in NH, a film about Boston is about as local as it gets (at least in their books), so they love recognizing the background.
Also, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas sounds right up my alley. Ever since I read Number the Stars (Lois Lowry) in the fourth grade, I have been really touched by anything written about the Holocaust. It isn't currently on my bedside table, but I'm in the midst of reading Those Who Save Us (Jenna Blum). My mother passed this along to me. The story alternates between Trudy, a history professor, and her mother Anna, a woman who was living in Germany during the war. When the story is told from Trudy's perspective she is trying to understand her mother's life and her past. Anna's tale is told in the past as she is experiencing the war and developing a relationship with a Jewish doctor.
The Hanna Duston story has always been interesting to me. My teaching partner and I have thought about including her among our American Studies topics, but we just haven't gotten around to it; however, I also love the idea of including her in my Women's Studies class. Thanks for providing the link, too! I have driven by that statue several times (my grandfather lived in Haverhill for the last few years of his life). In addition, I've also seen the Hannah Duston statue in Boscawen, NH (about 20 minutes from my house). Thank you for reminding me of her! The students will certainly be interested to hear her story!
Thanks for such an awesome post! I hope that you are enjoying the weekend! It's been so soggy here in NH today! I just hope that it cools everything down!
Good Luck at school this week!
Maureen
Book talking??? I am so envious. You would think with all of my free time, I would have pulled up a lawn chair and finished my a book from my "pile" over the weekend. I enjoyed your post! I regret not reading more as a young mother and woman.
ReplyDeleteI have but a few suggestions to add to Mike's post which was great to read too. I finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This novel is set in the deep south in the early 60's. It is a book about the culture of whites vs blacks. I moved to NC in the middle of my third grade year. While I enjoyed my time, it was culturally difficult for me to understand the strange sound of the English language and the different manner expected of a 8 year old from Minnesota!
History is another favorite of mine and everyone should read Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. It is a recounting of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I read so much in these courses of the history on the east coast. I thought I would travel your minds out west!
We did a fun display at our library (public) last week. We stacked books (like your photograph) and tried to make the title into a poem. We have had a lot of interest and participation from our patrons. They will change the order of the stack by adding/deleting a title to make some sort of personal meaning. The children have gotten into the activity as well. It has been a very creative use of literature for all ages.
Maureen - I wondered if I could ask you to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo first. I've wanted to read this for some time BUT time is what I don't have. While the normal school year is over, I teach summer school and that starts next week! Reading is like a good meal. It feeds your soul and enriches your mind. Happy reading!!
Sara