Of course, I have my favorite mystery authors, such as books by J.A. Jance (Queen of the Night), P.D. James (The Murder Room), Deborah Crombie (Water Like a Stone), M.C. Beaton (Death of a Gentle Lady), and J.D. Robb (Salvation in Death), besides the easy to read and relaxing romance books by a myriad of authors.
And yet there are many, many more books on my stacks for future reading. I am always reading in the hopes that I will find one worthy of having my students read. For example, when read Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, I knew I had found a winner. This wonderful book tells the story of Paul Farmer. You might ask, who is he? On youtube.com, he is called "The doctor who would cure Haiti" and a choice of 100 items will show you that Dr. Paul Farmer has dedicated his life to working tirelessly for the poor. My students and I have been inspired by this one person who has given so much to the world.At present my students and I are reading one of the long time best sellers by Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed. Not only does Ehrenreich's acerbic voice lay everything on the line about not getting by in America, but she makes us all examine where we are in these economically hard times.
And what about spiritual reading? Ah, yes, after Thanksgiving, my students and I will be reading the ancient book that Pope St. Gregory wrote about St. Benedict. Since we are on the campuses of two Benedictine sponsored schools, we want to read the story of Benedict through The Life and Times of St. Benedict. This tiny, yet ancient book is a delightful read about the great founder of Western Monasticism.
So, what have you been reading lately? Any recommendations to pass on?
OOOH! I read Nickel and Dimed...excellent reading. It gave me a whole new perspective about life for the unemployed. I have been there many times and did temp work. I can't put my comment about how I felt about 99.9% of the jobs I had to do. I just finished Nurture Shock: New Thinking about Children, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. As a teacher, I found in quite thought provoking. I am trying to crunch some of the data to send to my students' parents. One of the huge messages is "GET YOUR CHILDREN TO BED to avoid obesity and ADHD and help their brain process and store what I taught them during the day!!!!!" For a "flush book" I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. That didn't act as a flush book though, it made me wonder if we have progressed since the story was supposed to have taken place. It was well written. My spiritual reading is Wisdom Distilled from the Daily by Joan Chittister,OSB. I have my mom's copy and I have read it several times. I figure I will keep reading it until I don't get anything else from it...it may be awhile.
ReplyDeleteGeraldine