A non-fiction medical mystery. That's all I needed to hear.
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Genre: Autobiography, medicine
Publication date: November 2012
A shocking true story about a twenty-something journalist living in NYC who suddenly goes mad, due to a mysterious disorder that doctors cannot diagnose. Susannah first shows symptoms of madness as she imagines bugs in her Hells Kitchen apartment (not unrealistic) and uncharacteristically and exhaustingly snoops through her boyfriends belongings. Eventually, these small signs develop into grander and more severe signs (paranoia, hallucinations, seizures). She is admitted into NYU's hospital, thought to be psychotic, and losing her mind and most of her facilities.
A Dr. House mystery medical case told from the perspective of the patient. However, this patient loses about a month of her life, as after she has difficulty remembering the trying times in psychosis. She relies on family and friends' recollections, interviews with her doctors, and video surveillance of her time in the hospital. The medical drama is made personal as her loved ones stay by her side and through her recovery, demonstrating how an illness not only affects the patient but those around them.
DD's rating: A
Another book I read in two days. Terrifying and fascinating to read about someone losing their mind, from their perspective. How they dealt with conflicting positions (paranoia vs. reality) and being aware of ensuing madness.
Next read: Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
The Time Traveler's Wife
I was desperately in need for a feel-good/fun, girly and quick book and my Back Mountain library had this available. I had seen the movie a while ago, but the 500+ page novel seemed sure to offer more heart.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi
Publication Date: 2003
Setting: Chicago, 1970s-early 2000s
The charming story about a man, Henry, who lives out of time, and his romance with Clare. Clare meets Henry when she is a young girl, and grows up knowing him. But Henry doesn't meet Clare until he is in his 20s. So who fell in love first? What are the emotional/social implications of a young girl falling for an older man? Of course when Henry meets Clare (when they are both in their 20s) he doesn't have a difficult time falling for her (even though he hasn't yet experienced the history she has with him). Theirs is romance that feeds my love for science fiction.
This book also gets a little deep, as questions about destiny and free will arise. If Henry from the future is meeting young Clare (and they are married), does Clare really have a say in the matter? Can you change the future or is it all pre-determined? And if it is, by who? So far as I know, time travel does not exist and I won't hurt my head trying to think about it too much (or about future Henry and present Henry in bed together, a scene that was not well explained). As well as the predicament of conceiving/pregnancy and genetic testing - would you want your child to have a disorder? would you try to treat them as a child? or wait until they are old enough to make their own decision?
The most interesting theme I found was the loneliness in the relationship - Clare sometimes enjoys when Henry is away in time, but is very happy when he returns. Sometimes you want the other person gone (or better said: you want time to be alone/independent) but that doesn't mean you don't miss or enjoy having them around.
Finished reading: Monday, August 10, 2015
DD's Rating: A-
Another book I read in under 24 hours, which I enjoyed. I wish the author would've taken the issue of genetic testing a little further, to have a real debate, but this is supposed to be chick-lit. Full points for the exploration of free will and determinism. I also find it interesting that, for the most part, the chronology of "present" follows Clare's, although the book is narrated from both perspectives. I guess it is so the novel is as "current" as possible.
Next read: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi
Publication Date: 2003
Setting: Chicago, 1970s-early 2000s
The charming story about a man, Henry, who lives out of time, and his romance with Clare. Clare meets Henry when she is a young girl, and grows up knowing him. But Henry doesn't meet Clare until he is in his 20s. So who fell in love first? What are the emotional/social implications of a young girl falling for an older man? Of course when Henry meets Clare (when they are both in their 20s) he doesn't have a difficult time falling for her (even though he hasn't yet experienced the history she has with him). Theirs is romance that feeds my love for science fiction.
This book also gets a little deep, as questions about destiny and free will arise. If Henry from the future is meeting young Clare (and they are married), does Clare really have a say in the matter? Can you change the future or is it all pre-determined? And if it is, by who? So far as I know, time travel does not exist and I won't hurt my head trying to think about it too much (or about future Henry and present Henry in bed together, a scene that was not well explained). As well as the predicament of conceiving/pregnancy and genetic testing - would you want your child to have a disorder? would you try to treat them as a child? or wait until they are old enough to make their own decision?
The most interesting theme I found was the loneliness in the relationship - Clare sometimes enjoys when Henry is away in time, but is very happy when he returns. Sometimes you want the other person gone (or better said: you want time to be alone/independent) but that doesn't mean you don't miss or enjoy having them around.
Finished reading: Monday, August 10, 2015
DD's Rating: A-
Another book I read in under 24 hours, which I enjoyed. I wish the author would've taken the issue of genetic testing a little further, to have a real debate, but this is supposed to be chick-lit. Full points for the exploration of free will and determinism. I also find it interesting that, for the most part, the chronology of "present" follows Clare's, although the book is narrated from both perspectives. I guess it is so the novel is as "current" as possible.
Next read: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
The Silent Wife
I had to break up my non-fiction streak with some crazy chick-lit. I found some book list on Pinterest that recommended this. It also had a list of other goodies that I will have to resort to checking out hardcopy from my Back Mountain library.
The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publication Date: June 2013
Setting: Chicago, present day
A "thriller" told from the perspectives of man and wife. Man is a womanizing entrepreneur and wife is a dull, albeit intelligent, home psychologist. Man has affair (well he has many, but this last one causes him trouble), and woman gets pissed. Neither character shows much affection to anyone, which makes empathizing with either character impossible.
Finished reading: Saturday, August 1, 2015
DD's rating: C-
I would not call this a thriller nor would I call it suspense... Both narrators are incredibly monotone and display no emotion besides some frustration. The Silent Wife is better than The Girl on the Train but not as good as Gone Girl. Hard to write review because I just didn't care very much about the book, although it was an easy read.
Next read: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publication Date: June 2013
Setting: Chicago, present day
A "thriller" told from the perspectives of man and wife. Man is a womanizing entrepreneur and wife is a dull, albeit intelligent, home psychologist. Man has affair (well he has many, but this last one causes him trouble), and woman gets pissed. Neither character shows much affection to anyone, which makes empathizing with either character impossible.
Finished reading: Saturday, August 1, 2015
DD's rating: C-
I would not call this a thriller nor would I call it suspense... Both narrators are incredibly monotone and display no emotion besides some frustration. The Silent Wife is better than The Girl on the Train but not as good as Gone Girl. Hard to write review because I just didn't care very much about the book, although it was an easy read.
Next read: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Monday, August 10, 2015
Killing Kennedy
I'm still chasing that book-high I got from reading Killing Jesus (which I couldn't find in military-full Killing Patton and Killing Lincoln). Combined with my love for fellow Mass./Cape Cod families. Also, one of my favorite Stephen King books is 11/22/63, so I was interested about a non-fiction version of the assassination of Jack Kennedy.
Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard
Genre: Non-fiction, John F. Kennedy
Publication Date: October 2012
This book chronicles the last few years of Jack Kennedy's life, with some detail on how he became President of the U.S. O'Reilly and Dugard takes us into Kennedy's misadventure in the Navy, his marriage with Jackie, his many affairs, and his policy. The life and ambitions of Lee Harvey Oswald are also displayed, a young man with dreams of being a great man with a legacy.
Difficult to write a synopsis because I've already heard the Kennedy story so much, and he had a very short stint as president (only three years). He was a pained man (with a myriad of diseases and conditions), a playboy, arrogant, tied perhaps too closely to his family (especially Bobby), a doting father, and a socially popular President (with the help of Jackie and their open relationship with the media).
This is a good book for someone unfamiliar with the 35th, but I can't say if it was any more entertaining or informative than the miniseries.
Finished reading: Tuesday, July 28, 2015
DD's rating: A
Who doesn't love the Kennedy's?? However, this book did not present me with any information I had not already heard, either from 11/22/63 or The Kennedy's TV series, thus it does not get a "+."
**BTW 11/22/63 is hitting the little screen as a mini-series and starring James Franco. I am very excited.
Next read: The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison
Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard
Genre: Non-fiction, John F. Kennedy
Publication Date: October 2012
This book chronicles the last few years of Jack Kennedy's life, with some detail on how he became President of the U.S. O'Reilly and Dugard takes us into Kennedy's misadventure in the Navy, his marriage with Jackie, his many affairs, and his policy. The life and ambitions of Lee Harvey Oswald are also displayed, a young man with dreams of being a great man with a legacy.
Difficult to write a synopsis because I've already heard the Kennedy story so much, and he had a very short stint as president (only three years). He was a pained man (with a myriad of diseases and conditions), a playboy, arrogant, tied perhaps too closely to his family (especially Bobby), a doting father, and a socially popular President (with the help of Jackie and their open relationship with the media).
This is a good book for someone unfamiliar with the 35th, but I can't say if it was any more entertaining or informative than the miniseries.
Finished reading: Tuesday, July 28, 2015
DD's rating: A
Who doesn't love the Kennedy's?? However, this book did not present me with any information I had not already heard, either from 11/22/63 or The Kennedy's TV series, thus it does not get a "+."
**BTW 11/22/63 is hitting the little screen as a mini-series and starring James Franco. I am very excited.
Next read: The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison
Sunday, July 26, 2015
The Big Short
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep despite your best efforts? This was an issue for me for a long time, and at around 4am, I would turn on HBO and watch random movies. One night I watched HBO's Too Big to Fail, and fell in love. I have no background in finance or economics (AP Econ was the only AP exam, of 9 AP exams, that I didn't pass), but I loved this movie and probably have seen it over 20 times. Maybe because I love the way Topher Grace explains credit default swaps or maybe I love Paul Giamatti (as Ben Bernanke) eating oatmeal -- Giamatti won an Oscar for this role. For whatever reason, I turn to this movie every time I can't sleep. And I then became obsessed with the housing and credit bubble (and eventual crash).
My boyfriend is well aware of my love for this TV film, and his favorite author is Michael Lewis (who also wrote his favorite book, Moneyball, as well as Blind Side and Liar's Poker). He also was a Economics undergrad and JD-MBA, so clearly he enjoyed and recommended The Big Short. I owed it to William Hurt (Hank Paulson) and my man-friend to explore.
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Genre: Non-fiction, Finance
Publication Date: March 2010
The title refers to individuals who foresaw the housing and credit bubble burst, and bet against ("short") these deals. The individuals are Steve Eisman, a former Wall Street analyst, Michael Burry, ex-neurologist turned hedge fund manager, and Charlie Ledley and Ben Hockett of Cornwall Capital. These odd balls and socially reprehensive men went against the grain and called Wall Street out for what they were - crooks. However, these crooks of Wall Street didn't fully know they were crooks, they were trying to make a profit and believe that the market and raters were right and everything was hunky-dory. Eisman, Burry, and Hockett thought that Wall Streeters were idiots and ignorant, who didn't know what they were doing, lending money to homeowners who were going to default. So these men bet against housing market, they knew the deals/loans being distributed were shitty and bet that Americans were going to default.
I don't know if I can write a review for this book without trying to explain the financial situation, and credit default swaps, and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs, which I still don't completely understand). However, Michael Lewis did a humorous job of depicting the outcasts/outsiders who took a risk, which wasn't really a risk for them, but came up big. These are the men who actually profited from the market crash. These are the guys who had wits to actually question what others were doing, to calling out CEOs on their jiggery-pokery, and then betting against them. To quote, "the lesson of Buffett was: To succeed in a spectacular fashion you had to be spectacularly unusual.”
Finished reading: Friday, July 24, 2015
DD's rating: N/A
I can't rate this book, maybe because I don't understand the bets and CDOs. Maybe because I'm still so flabbergasted that AIG took on so much risk and Howie Hubler lost $9 billion but it still a millionaire. I'm still so intrigued by the situation and amazed that Wall Street doesn't have a clue what they are doing, that they want no government regulation but expect bailouts when their shit hits the fan... Thank you Michael Lewis for feeding my fascination.
Fortunately, The Big Short is hitting the silver screen, with Steve Carrell as Steve Eisman, Christian Bale as Michael Burry, Brad Pitt as Ben Hockett, and Ryan Gosling as Greg Lippman. I predict a double-feature of The Big Short / Too Big to Fail in my future!!
Next read: Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly
My boyfriend is well aware of my love for this TV film, and his favorite author is Michael Lewis (who also wrote his favorite book, Moneyball, as well as Blind Side and Liar's Poker). He also was a Economics undergrad and JD-MBA, so clearly he enjoyed and recommended The Big Short. I owed it to William Hurt (Hank Paulson) and my man-friend to explore.
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Genre: Non-fiction, Finance
Publication Date: March 2010
The title refers to individuals who foresaw the housing and credit bubble burst, and bet against ("short") these deals. The individuals are Steve Eisman, a former Wall Street analyst, Michael Burry, ex-neurologist turned hedge fund manager, and Charlie Ledley and Ben Hockett of Cornwall Capital. These odd balls and socially reprehensive men went against the grain and called Wall Street out for what they were - crooks. However, these crooks of Wall Street didn't fully know they were crooks, they were trying to make a profit and believe that the market and raters were right and everything was hunky-dory. Eisman, Burry, and Hockett thought that Wall Streeters were idiots and ignorant, who didn't know what they were doing, lending money to homeowners who were going to default. So these men bet against housing market, they knew the deals/loans being distributed were shitty and bet that Americans were going to default.
I don't know if I can write a review for this book without trying to explain the financial situation, and credit default swaps, and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs, which I still don't completely understand). However, Michael Lewis did a humorous job of depicting the outcasts/outsiders who took a risk, which wasn't really a risk for them, but came up big. These are the men who actually profited from the market crash. These are the guys who had wits to actually question what others were doing, to calling out CEOs on their jiggery-pokery, and then betting against them. To quote, "the lesson of Buffett was: To succeed in a spectacular fashion you had to be spectacularly unusual.”
Finished reading: Friday, July 24, 2015
DD's rating: N/A
I can't rate this book, maybe because I don't understand the bets and CDOs. Maybe because I'm still so flabbergasted that AIG took on so much risk and Howie Hubler lost $9 billion but it still a millionaire. I'm still so intrigued by the situation and amazed that Wall Street doesn't have a clue what they are doing, that they want no government regulation but expect bailouts when their shit hits the fan... Thank you Michael Lewis for feeding my fascination.
Fortunately, The Big Short is hitting the silver screen, with Steve Carrell as Steve Eisman, Christian Bale as Michael Burry, Brad Pitt as Ben Hockett, and Ryan Gosling as Greg Lippman. I predict a double-feature of The Big Short / Too Big to Fail in my future!!
Next read: Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly
Monday, July 20, 2015
Still Alice
After it took me almost 2 weeks to finish The Blondes piece of trash, I hoped to find something that would be truly entertaining, emotional, and engaging. I knew Julianne Moore won the Oscar for portraying the title character in the film adaptation, so that fact piqued my interest. My grandmother also praised this book as it gave a description of Alzheimer's from the point of view of an intellectual elite. She also recommended that anyone who knows someone diagnosed with Alzheimers/dementia or anyone elderly and afraid of losing their mind should pick this up.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Genre: Fiction, Alzheimers
Publication Date: (self-published) 2007 and later published 2009
Setting: Harvard/Cambridge, 2003-2005
Alice Howland is a 50 year-old esteemed psychologist teaching and doing research at Harvard University, married to an equally distinguished man also teaching and researching (biology) at Harvard. Alice is brilliant, busy, and driven, until one day she goes for a run around her neighborhood in Harvard Yard and can't find her way home. She begins noticing lapses in memory, confusion, and disorientation. Eventually, she discovers that she has early-onset Alzheimers. How could this happen to a 50 year-old woman, who runs 5 miles every day, and is a tenured professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the country? Genetics.
The book is told in the third-person, telling us Alice's thoughts and feelings about the disorder, while I the reader am able to see her lose more of her memory (while Alice has no notice). Initially, she recognizes that she can't remember the words for every day objects and she gets frustrated. But, like the disease, it gets worse. Eventually, she doesn't even realize she can't remember the words. She'll forget what she's forgetting. She'll create questions for herself to answer, and not realize that the answers that she is giving are incorrect. Which is what makes this disease so terrifying, it isn't destroying your body like cancer, it is destroying your mind, which is what makes you you. "I think therefore I am..." but what happens when your cognitive abilities and mental capacities decline and deteriorate? Are you still you? Is she still Alice? Is she still a brilliant Harvard professor even when she has to cease teaching? Is she still a loving mother after she forgets who her children are, or that she has children? Who are you are when you don't have control of your mind.
Finished reading: Sunday, July 19, 2015
Yes, I read it immediately after The Blondes, did not put it down, and finished in under 12 hours.
DD's rating: A
Terrific read. Truly frightening and enlightening to read about how someone as intelligent as Alice can still succumb to a degenerative mental disease. Also gives insight about how loved ones and caregivers may come across to those who have dementia - they are a person before they are a patient.
Next read: The Big Short by Michael Lewis, or possibly something less ambitious and less about my worst subject (economics), like The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Genre: Fiction, Alzheimers
Publication Date: (self-published) 2007 and later published 2009
Setting: Harvard/Cambridge, 2003-2005
Alice Howland is a 50 year-old esteemed psychologist teaching and doing research at Harvard University, married to an equally distinguished man also teaching and researching (biology) at Harvard. Alice is brilliant, busy, and driven, until one day she goes for a run around her neighborhood in Harvard Yard and can't find her way home. She begins noticing lapses in memory, confusion, and disorientation. Eventually, she discovers that she has early-onset Alzheimers. How could this happen to a 50 year-old woman, who runs 5 miles every day, and is a tenured professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the country? Genetics.
The book is told in the third-person, telling us Alice's thoughts and feelings about the disorder, while I the reader am able to see her lose more of her memory (while Alice has no notice). Initially, she recognizes that she can't remember the words for every day objects and she gets frustrated. But, like the disease, it gets worse. Eventually, she doesn't even realize she can't remember the words. She'll forget what she's forgetting. She'll create questions for herself to answer, and not realize that the answers that she is giving are incorrect. Which is what makes this disease so terrifying, it isn't destroying your body like cancer, it is destroying your mind, which is what makes you you. "I think therefore I am..." but what happens when your cognitive abilities and mental capacities decline and deteriorate? Are you still you? Is she still Alice? Is she still a brilliant Harvard professor even when she has to cease teaching? Is she still a loving mother after she forgets who her children are, or that she has children? Who are you are when you don't have control of your mind.
Finished reading: Sunday, July 19, 2015
Yes, I read it immediately after The Blondes, did not put it down, and finished in under 12 hours.
DD's rating: A
Terrific read. Truly frightening and enlightening to read about how someone as intelligent as Alice can still succumb to a degenerative mental disease. Also gives insight about how loved ones and caregivers may come across to those who have dementia - they are a person before they are a patient.
Next read: The Big Short by Michael Lewis, or possibly something less ambitious and less about my worst subject (economics), like The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Sunday, July 19, 2015
The Blondes
This book is another recommendation and borrow from my step-mother. I had high hopes for this work because the cover displays praise from my favorite, Stephen King. I'm gonna have to find a new favorite author, and around the same time that Harper Lee exposes that Atticus is a racist... terrific.
The Blondes by Emily Schultz
Genre: (science?) fiction, epidemic
Publication Date: August, 2012
Setting: NYC and Toronto, present day
Told from the point of view average/tubby, ginger, overall mediocre NYC graduate student (Hazel) as a sudden and mysterious epidemic of rage occurs throughout the world and only affects blonde women. Hazel had slept with a professor at her university and eventually discovers that she is carrying his child. Meanwhile, random "attacks" are occurring all around her of blonde women going nuts and having bouts of aggression towards others. There is no known cause, cure, or method of transmission, but only women who are blonde (even if they are dyed blonde) are afflicted.
Hazel's graduate studies have been focused on femininity and beauty, and coincidentally, it's the blondes who are losing it. I get that this is a satire with deeper meaning, the beautiful blondes are becoming mad, but I'm not buying it. Maybe it's the Biology major in me who can't take this "epidemic" seriously... but I thought World War Z was more believable and far more engaging than this.
Finished reading: Sunday, July 19, 2015
DD's rating: D
Probably doesn't deserve a "D," but I need to counteract the praise that this book receives - "biting satiric wit," "a nail-biter," "Emily Schultz is my new hero." No. The protagonist is unlovable - she is somewhat overweight, kind of pathetic and friendless, feeble, Canadian, and a ginger! I was rooting more for the crazed blondes than knocked-up and lonely Hazel.
This was something you might read when you exchanged first drafts in a sophomore creative-writing course.
Next read: Still Alice by Lisa Genova
The Blondes by Emily Schultz
Genre: (science?) fiction, epidemic
Publication Date: August, 2012
Setting: NYC and Toronto, present day
Told from the point of view average/tubby, ginger, overall mediocre NYC graduate student (Hazel) as a sudden and mysterious epidemic of rage occurs throughout the world and only affects blonde women. Hazel had slept with a professor at her university and eventually discovers that she is carrying his child. Meanwhile, random "attacks" are occurring all around her of blonde women going nuts and having bouts of aggression towards others. There is no known cause, cure, or method of transmission, but only women who are blonde (even if they are dyed blonde) are afflicted.
Hazel's graduate studies have been focused on femininity and beauty, and coincidentally, it's the blondes who are losing it. I get that this is a satire with deeper meaning, the beautiful blondes are becoming mad, but I'm not buying it. Maybe it's the Biology major in me who can't take this "epidemic" seriously... but I thought World War Z was more believable and far more engaging than this.
Finished reading: Sunday, July 19, 2015
DD's rating: D
Probably doesn't deserve a "D," but I need to counteract the praise that this book receives - "biting satiric wit," "a nail-biter," "Emily Schultz is my new hero." No. The protagonist is unlovable - she is somewhat overweight, kind of pathetic and friendless, feeble, Canadian, and a ginger! I was rooting more for the crazed blondes than knocked-up and lonely Hazel.
This was something you might read when you exchanged first drafts in a sophomore creative-writing course.
Next read: Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Into the Wild
I chose this book because I enjoyed the movie (with the always lovely Emile Hirsch) and thought that Chris McCandless reminded me of my wanderlust world-traveling big brother.
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Genre: Non-fiction, biography
Publication Date: January 1996
Setting: 1992
A very bright and idealistic young man discards his past life, identity, and material possessions to explore America and her people. The man was Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. He is from an upper class/upper-middle class family from Virginia, graduated with honors from Emory University and chose a life of rambling to law school or a normal career. After he graduates, he drives his car west until a flash flood causes him to abandon his car and begin life as a nomad, penniless and unconnected. He doesn't tell his family where he is, or even inform that he has chosen to go off the radar. But he wanders around the western US and some of Mexico for a few years. He makes some true friends, those people who take him in and feed him or just share stories or a beer with him. He writes to these people as he continues his wandering (while still not contacting his family).
Eventually Chris makes it to his final destination - Alaska, Yukon territory. It has been his intention to live "in the wild" of Alaska for the summer. He enters the Yukon completely unprepared, with hardly any supplies or weapons. He manages to live in the wild for 100 days, before succumbing to the cruelty of Mother Nature, dying of a combination of poisoning and starvation.
The author is similarly as idealistic as Chris. Those men who fancy themselves in line with Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau - those men who believe that life should be spent in nature. That's a fine idea, in theory, but not very realistic in this millennium. The author comments that Chris's campground in Alaska wasn't really even in the wild, because he was within a few miles of a large town and several hunting cabins. Unfortunately for these men, "the wild" isn't as prevalent in this country as it was 100 years ago. You can't escape
I also did not like Chris's isolation. Humans are social creatures, it has helped us to survive, fight off large predators, maintain the environment for habitation, and reproduce. When Chris decides to wander and living by himself in an abandoned bus, he is rejecting a large part of what makes him human - social interaction. Additionally, he renounces his family, for no particular reason other than to be left alone.
I recognize the appeal to leaving all modern comforts and living off the land and as one with nature. But I don't see the draw in doing so alone or by rebuffing those closest to me. Kudos for the attempt at an adventure Chris, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
Finished reading: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
DD's rating: C+
Krakauer was a bit too enamored with McCandless and his admiration made him a less than objective biographer. I have trouble looking up to McCandless for abandoning and neglecting his family and befriending odd companions on the road (no trouble with the random friendships, but don't forget those who were there from the start and who worry/care about you).
Next read: The Blondes by Emily Schultz
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Genre: Non-fiction, biography
Publication Date: January 1996
Setting: 1992
A very bright and idealistic young man discards his past life, identity, and material possessions to explore America and her people. The man was Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. He is from an upper class/upper-middle class family from Virginia, graduated with honors from Emory University and chose a life of rambling to law school or a normal career. After he graduates, he drives his car west until a flash flood causes him to abandon his car and begin life as a nomad, penniless and unconnected. He doesn't tell his family where he is, or even inform that he has chosen to go off the radar. But he wanders around the western US and some of Mexico for a few years. He makes some true friends, those people who take him in and feed him or just share stories or a beer with him. He writes to these people as he continues his wandering (while still not contacting his family).
Eventually Chris makes it to his final destination - Alaska, Yukon territory. It has been his intention to live "in the wild" of Alaska for the summer. He enters the Yukon completely unprepared, with hardly any supplies or weapons. He manages to live in the wild for 100 days, before succumbing to the cruelty of Mother Nature, dying of a combination of poisoning and starvation.
The author is similarly as idealistic as Chris. Those men who fancy themselves in line with Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau - those men who believe that life should be spent in nature. That's a fine idea, in theory, but not very realistic in this millennium. The author comments that Chris's campground in Alaska wasn't really even in the wild, because he was within a few miles of a large town and several hunting cabins. Unfortunately for these men, "the wild" isn't as prevalent in this country as it was 100 years ago. You can't escape
I also did not like Chris's isolation. Humans are social creatures, it has helped us to survive, fight off large predators, maintain the environment for habitation, and reproduce. When Chris decides to wander and living by himself in an abandoned bus, he is rejecting a large part of what makes him human - social interaction. Additionally, he renounces his family, for no particular reason other than to be left alone.
I recognize the appeal to leaving all modern comforts and living off the land and as one with nature. But I don't see the draw in doing so alone or by rebuffing those closest to me. Kudos for the attempt at an adventure Chris, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
Finished reading: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
DD's rating: C+
Krakauer was a bit too enamored with McCandless and his admiration made him a less than objective biographer. I have trouble looking up to McCandless for abandoning and neglecting his family and befriending odd companions on the road (no trouble with the random friendships, but don't forget those who were there from the start and who worry/care about you).
Next read: The Blondes by Emily Schultz
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Room
I seem to be rotating fiction and non-fiction, and that suits me just fine. After I read a meaty and draining non-fiction work, I like to sit back and enjoy some more comfortable fiction "stories." This one sure isn't really a happy and uplifting one (both Unbroken and Room are about prisoners), but the fiction and un-reality of the book makes it easier to read.
Room by Emma Donoghue
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: September 2010
Setting: A room/shed in someone's backyard (mostly)
What's most notable about this book is not that for half of the work it takes place in one 11x11 room, but that it is written with a 5-year-old boy (raised in said room) as the narrator. Jack and his mother entertain themselves with a routine, including designated TV time, a modified version of physical training, nap time, reading, and screaming at the skylight for help. His mother, kidnapped in college, is the only other person the boy has ever had interaction with and he believes that there is nothing outside of Room. Obviously this boy has some issues, including lack of depth perception because his field of vision is limited to the Room. Jack's whole world is Room and is therefore reluctant to attempt an escape, but no little boy can grow up without playing with Legos or getting kissed by a puppy.
I would be interested to read the book from the point of view of the mother - being kidnapped, being held captive, having a child and raising a child in captivity. How did she come to the decision to keep him out of the loop about the world? How does she night fight tooth and nail every time her captor delivers her supplies? How does this happen to people??
Finished reading: Thursday, June 25, 2015
DD's Rating: B-
Kudos for telling the story from the perspective of a young children, but it was annoying to read his weird language, with fake pancaked words and speaking in incomplete/grammatically incorrect sentences. I recognize that Donoghue took a risk with a different writing style, I'm just not sure it's for me.
Next read: Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Room by Emma Donoghue
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: September 2010
Setting: A room/shed in someone's backyard (mostly)
What's most notable about this book is not that for half of the work it takes place in one 11x11 room, but that it is written with a 5-year-old boy (raised in said room) as the narrator. Jack and his mother entertain themselves with a routine, including designated TV time, a modified version of physical training, nap time, reading, and screaming at the skylight for help. His mother, kidnapped in college, is the only other person the boy has ever had interaction with and he believes that there is nothing outside of Room. Obviously this boy has some issues, including lack of depth perception because his field of vision is limited to the Room. Jack's whole world is Room and is therefore reluctant to attempt an escape, but no little boy can grow up without playing with Legos or getting kissed by a puppy.
I would be interested to read the book from the point of view of the mother - being kidnapped, being held captive, having a child and raising a child in captivity. How did she come to the decision to keep him out of the loop about the world? How does she night fight tooth and nail every time her captor delivers her supplies? How does this happen to people??
Finished reading: Thursday, June 25, 2015
DD's Rating: B-
Kudos for telling the story from the perspective of a young children, but it was annoying to read his weird language, with fake pancaked words and speaking in incomplete/grammatically incorrect sentences. I recognize that Donoghue took a risk with a different writing style, I'm just not sure it's for me.
Next read: Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Unbroken
Well, I tried to read Killing Patton, but I couldn't get into the battles and military movements. Instead, I opted for another WWII non-fiction. Fortunately, I hadn't seen the movie so I was partially ignorant to the story (besides what previews had offered).
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Genre: non-fiction, biography, World War II,
Publication Date: November 2010
Setting: the life of Louie Zamperini (California, Hawaii, the Pacific)
Well, this Zamperini guy is incredible. California trouble-maker becomes an Olympic runner, joins the Army during World War II, works in a B-24 bomber, crashes into the Pacific and survives life at sea with crew mates, then is picked up by the Japanese and enters into several very hostile and extreme POW camps.
I don't know how else I can explain it. But that's the story. This guy, this guy who does not give up, lives an incredible life, and survives! Obviously, he lives, but the story is far from a happy one.
Finished reading: Wednesday, June 24, 2015
DD's Rating: B+
A bit too long at times and like I said, not a happy book. Several times I wished for it to just end and not have to read about all the strife the misery, I did not want to read more. My grandmother also told me to stop reading and end the depression, but I had to finish (at least for the sake of my blog).
Next read: Room by Emma Donoghue
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Genre: non-fiction, biography, World War II,
Publication Date: November 2010
Setting: the life of Louie Zamperini (California, Hawaii, the Pacific)
Well, this Zamperini guy is incredible. California trouble-maker becomes an Olympic runner, joins the Army during World War II, works in a B-24 bomber, crashes into the Pacific and survives life at sea with crew mates, then is picked up by the Japanese and enters into several very hostile and extreme POW camps.
I don't know how else I can explain it. But that's the story. This guy, this guy who does not give up, lives an incredible life, and survives! Obviously, he lives, but the story is far from a happy one.
Finished reading: Wednesday, June 24, 2015
DD's Rating: B+
A bit too long at times and like I said, not a happy book. Several times I wished for it to just end and not have to read about all the strife the misery, I did not want to read more. My grandmother also told me to stop reading and end the depression, but I had to finish (at least for the sake of my blog).
Next read: Room by Emma Donoghue
The Secret History
Oops, I forgot I read this book back while I was student teaching and never blogged about it (you know, being busy educating 92 young minds). I had Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch (before it won the Pulitzer) and I wasn't a huge fan, but I thought I'd try a different one of hers. Also, at the school I was teaching at, teachers display outside of their room what they are currently reading. I displayed this book and one of my students really connected over this book. Reading unites!
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: September 1992
Setting: Hamden College, Vermont, present-day
The story follows Richard, a California boy who transfers to a liberal arts Hampden College in Vermont. Richard manages to join the eclectic Classics program, with a nutty professor and only five other peers who are all obsessed with Greek history and their own egos. Richard comes from a lower-middle class family and he is put in a position where he only interacts with the very wealthy and profligate. Richard hides his modest upbringing and gradually assimilates into the clique as they take frequent and drunken weekends at Francis's lake house.
Richard becomes obsessed with his "friends" and tries to determine their relationships with each other and with him - Bunny is the boisterous bigot, Francis is a closet homosexual in love with bunny, Henry is elusive and pompous, and twins Camilla (a tease) and Charles who are their own clique. One weekend at the lake house, some of the group get into Ancient Greek-inspired trouble, which other members of the group find out about and use as blackmail. Well things go from bad to worse as these kids try to keep their heads above water, and this small clique eventually self-destructs. Other book reviews refer to this work as a Whydunnit instead of a Whodunnit and that is an excellent description - why did these kids do these things, why do they act this way and to each other.
The book is very well written. What I enjoy is the perfect narrator that is Richard. He is the definition of an outsider - from the West Coast, not wealthy, and new in town. But he is somewhat included into this unique, fascinating, and elite group. Therefore, the audience as well, is included into an exclusive club we always wanted to be a part of. It is also fun to read about college characters, for that times allows for a multitude of opportunities of self-discovery and re-invention.
Finished reading: sometime in March?
DD's rating: A
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very well written and better characters than The Goldfinch. I also think I've always fantasized about attending a Northern liberal arts school (in the realm of Bucknell, Vassar, or Colby) and living a very intellectual and antiquated life. Additionally, I became obsessed with the characters as much as Richard did. Two thumbs up.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: September 1992
Setting: Hamden College, Vermont, present-day
The story follows Richard, a California boy who transfers to a liberal arts Hampden College in Vermont. Richard manages to join the eclectic Classics program, with a nutty professor and only five other peers who are all obsessed with Greek history and their own egos. Richard comes from a lower-middle class family and he is put in a position where he only interacts with the very wealthy and profligate. Richard hides his modest upbringing and gradually assimilates into the clique as they take frequent and drunken weekends at Francis's lake house.
Richard becomes obsessed with his "friends" and tries to determine their relationships with each other and with him - Bunny is the boisterous bigot, Francis is a closet homosexual in love with bunny, Henry is elusive and pompous, and twins Camilla (a tease) and Charles who are their own clique. One weekend at the lake house, some of the group get into Ancient Greek-inspired trouble, which other members of the group find out about and use as blackmail. Well things go from bad to worse as these kids try to keep their heads above water, and this small clique eventually self-destructs. Other book reviews refer to this work as a Whydunnit instead of a Whodunnit and that is an excellent description - why did these kids do these things, why do they act this way and to each other.
The book is very well written. What I enjoy is the perfect narrator that is Richard. He is the definition of an outsider - from the West Coast, not wealthy, and new in town. But he is somewhat included into this unique, fascinating, and elite group. Therefore, the audience as well, is included into an exclusive club we always wanted to be a part of. It is also fun to read about college characters, for that times allows for a multitude of opportunities of self-discovery and re-invention.
Finished reading: sometime in March?
DD's rating: A
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very well written and better characters than The Goldfinch. I also think I've always fantasized about attending a Northern liberal arts school (in the realm of Bucknell, Vassar, or Colby) and living a very intellectual and antiquated life. Additionally, I became obsessed with the characters as much as Richard did. Two thumbs up.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me?
Somehow my checkout of Not That Kind of Girl expired, but fortunately I still have Mindy to turn to for a good laugh and chick lit. Which is nice because I prefer Mindy and The Office to Lena and Girls.
Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Genre: Comedy, nonfiction/autobiography
Publication Date: November 2011
Mindy Kaling is the female comedian I (and most of my lady-friends) can relate to. She is upper middle class, family-oriented, not a loser and not popular in high school, earns an Ivy League education, and still enjoys doughnuts and reality TV. The fact that she is a minority (being Indian and bigger than a size 4) makes her even more relatable! Therefore everything she writes about I could see myself saying and agreeing with if I were in her line of work. I am no writer and only have a little bit of comedy in me, but she is the female funny girl who represents me (with darker skin and more meat on her bones).
I enjoyed this book a little bit more than Tina's and Amy's maybe because Mindy is a little less outrageous than Amy Poehler and a little less successful/established than Tina Fey. She is younger, hipper, single, doesn't do drugs, and (like me) gets confused about what "hooking up" actually means. She doesn't do one-night-stands, she doesn't get into the whole LA/NYC celeb party scene. She's like the comedian version of Jennifer Lawrence (who I also want to be my best friend).
Additionally, and probably why I'm so enamored with her, she rates the Will Ferrell scene in Old School where he shoots himself with the tranq dart as one of her favorite pieces of comedy. In outright truth, I rate that as my ALL-TIME FUNNIEST SCENE. Even reading about it has me in a fit of giggles. I'm that my appreciation of humor is on par with Mindy's. Also we both love Dave Chappelle's Racial Draft, but honestly who doesn't?
Now I may actually watch the Mindy Project, after I finish season 3 of Orange is the New Black (obvs).
Finished reading: Monday, June 15, 2015
DD's Rating: A
I would say about on par with Amy Poehler's Yes Please and Tina Fey's Bossypants. She says she is not like her character Kelly Kapoor, but I hear Kelly in her writing, they are a little too similar and she needs to own up to it. But otherwise awesome.
Side note - I would really appreciate it if Alec Baldwin wrote an autobiography (another one, not something mildly depressing about Fatherhood and Divorce), but in the manner of Bossypants and with a Jack Donaghy vibe. I'm begging for this.
Next read: Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. I hope to finish this by Friday, when my awesome and generous man friend will let me borrow his copy of Killing Lincoln.
Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Genre: Comedy, nonfiction/autobiography
Publication Date: November 2011
Mindy Kaling is the female comedian I (and most of my lady-friends) can relate to. She is upper middle class, family-oriented, not a loser and not popular in high school, earns an Ivy League education, and still enjoys doughnuts and reality TV. The fact that she is a minority (being Indian and bigger than a size 4) makes her even more relatable! Therefore everything she writes about I could see myself saying and agreeing with if I were in her line of work. I am no writer and only have a little bit of comedy in me, but she is the female funny girl who represents me (with darker skin and more meat on her bones).
I enjoyed this book a little bit more than Tina's and Amy's maybe because Mindy is a little less outrageous than Amy Poehler and a little less successful/established than Tina Fey. She is younger, hipper, single, doesn't do drugs, and (like me) gets confused about what "hooking up" actually means. She doesn't do one-night-stands, she doesn't get into the whole LA/NYC celeb party scene. She's like the comedian version of Jennifer Lawrence (who I also want to be my best friend).
Additionally, and probably why I'm so enamored with her, she rates the Will Ferrell scene in Old School where he shoots himself with the tranq dart as one of her favorite pieces of comedy. In outright truth, I rate that as my ALL-TIME FUNNIEST SCENE. Even reading about it has me in a fit of giggles. I'm that my appreciation of humor is on par with Mindy's. Also we both love Dave Chappelle's Racial Draft, but honestly who doesn't?
Now I may actually watch the Mindy Project, after I finish season 3 of Orange is the New Black (obvs).
Finished reading: Monday, June 15, 2015
DD's Rating: A
I would say about on par with Amy Poehler's Yes Please and Tina Fey's Bossypants. She says she is not like her character Kelly Kapoor, but I hear Kelly in her writing, they are a little too similar and she needs to own up to it. But otherwise awesome.
Side note - I would really appreciate it if Alec Baldwin wrote an autobiography (another one, not something mildly depressing about Fatherhood and Divorce), but in the manner of Bossypants and with a Jack Donaghy vibe. I'm begging for this.
Next read: Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. I hope to finish this by Friday, when my awesome and generous man friend will let me borrow his copy of Killing Lincoln.
Revival
After spending so much time away from books, I knew I would return to Stephen King soon. I didn't know that I would be reading a vaguely religious book, which makes three religious books of four books that I've read in a week (the others being The Pillars of the Earth and Killing Jesus).
Revival by Stephen King
Genre: Fiction, suspense, "horror"
Publication Date: November 2014
Setting: the life of Jamie Morton, America 1960s-2014
Young Jamie Morton meets and befriends his new minister Charlie Jacobs, a man with a happy family and an obsession with electricity. Something happens to Mr. Jacobs that causes him to lose the faith and focus all of his attention on electricity, convinced there exists a "secret electricity" that is beyond our world.
Meanwhile, Jamie becomes a semi-professional rhythm guitarist and hooks up with bands and eventually gets hooked on the big H. Just as he hits rock bottom, he comes across his old minister who is miraculously able to cure him of his addiction, for good. As we know, all that glitters is not gold, and this cure (along with Mr. Jacobs' other cures) has consequences.
After Jamie is cured he begins a real life, but still monitors his old minister and find that he is a traveling preacher who is curing people with his "secret electricity" around the country. Jamie researchers the cured to see if they display any after-effects and begins to doubt the authenticity and motives of "Pastor Danny." Of course Jacobs is curing for his own purposes (test subjects), but to what end? That's where Jamie comes in, to put an end to the after effects and the future test subjects and close the business of secret electricity once and for all. But if only things worked out they way we want them to. What is done cannot be undone and what is seen cannot be unseen. Something happens.
Finished reading: Friday, June 12, 2015
DD's rating: B-
A little unimpressed by this book from my favorite author. I love Stephen King so much because of his characters, and I just couldn't buy into Charlie Jacobs or Jamie Morton. This book also felt way too much like some of his other books (Under the Dome, Doctor Sleep, to name two), and therefore wasn't original enough. But his writing style can't be beat, and I was never bored (although I could sometimes predict what would happen).
Next read: Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Revival by Stephen King
Genre: Fiction, suspense, "horror"
Publication Date: November 2014
Setting: the life of Jamie Morton, America 1960s-2014
Young Jamie Morton meets and befriends his new minister Charlie Jacobs, a man with a happy family and an obsession with electricity. Something happens to Mr. Jacobs that causes him to lose the faith and focus all of his attention on electricity, convinced there exists a "secret electricity" that is beyond our world.
Meanwhile, Jamie becomes a semi-professional rhythm guitarist and hooks up with bands and eventually gets hooked on the big H. Just as he hits rock bottom, he comes across his old minister who is miraculously able to cure him of his addiction, for good. As we know, all that glitters is not gold, and this cure (along with Mr. Jacobs' other cures) has consequences.
After Jamie is cured he begins a real life, but still monitors his old minister and find that he is a traveling preacher who is curing people with his "secret electricity" around the country. Jamie researchers the cured to see if they display any after-effects and begins to doubt the authenticity and motives of "Pastor Danny." Of course Jacobs is curing for his own purposes (test subjects), but to what end? That's where Jamie comes in, to put an end to the after effects and the future test subjects and close the business of secret electricity once and for all. But if only things worked out they way we want them to. What is done cannot be undone and what is seen cannot be unseen. Something happens.
Finished reading: Friday, June 12, 2015
DD's rating: B-
A little unimpressed by this book from my favorite author. I love Stephen King so much because of his characters, and I just couldn't buy into Charlie Jacobs or Jamie Morton. This book also felt way too much like some of his other books (Under the Dome, Doctor Sleep, to name two), and therefore wasn't original enough. But his writing style can't be beat, and I was never bored (although I could sometimes predict what would happen).
Next read: Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Friday, June 12, 2015
Killing Jesus
After I took a book recommendation from my step-mom I decided to switch referrals and took a recommendation from my father. Dad highly recommended Killing Jesus, along with several other Killing works by O'Reilly (Killing Patton has been recently included in my Kindle library). I also read this as an actual book instead of eBook and it made me nostalgic for the oomph-ness of a tangible piece of literature. I finished this book on the plane from NYC to Austin, and carried it around the airport and shuttle services and many people commented on how much they enjoyed Killing Jesus - people can't comment on eBooks. However, when I finished the book with 70 minutes left in my flight, I was glad to have my Kindle with 5 novels waiting for me in a device that doesn't take up much space in my carry-on.
Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Genre: Nonfiction (crucifixion of Christ)
Publication Date: September 2013
Setting: The Roman Empire, 50 BC - 33 AD
I have previously admitted that my historical knowledge outside of America is pretty limited, but this book did an excellent job catching me up to what was going on before and during the time of Jesus. The authors begin with the murder of Caesar and explain how his assassination lead to the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. In my opinion, the book focused more on leaders who would be threatened by Christ rather than the Son of God himself. The authors detailed the lives and politics of Julius Caesar, Octavian, Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, and Herod Antipas as well as some of the religious figures such as John the Baptist, Mary, Jesus, Mary of Magdala, Judas, and other disciples and the high priests and Sanhedrin (Caiaphas). The work is a global/Roman history of events that lead to the death of Jesus.
The authors do an incredible job of explaining each character and their personalities/motives as well as the politics of the time. The emperors of Rome didn't care much for the Jews, they just wanted to rule, therefore Pontius Pilate was instructed to stay out of Jewish affairs but ensure Judea adhered to Roman rule. Herod the Great and Herod of Antipas wanted to appease Rome while still maintaining control of Judea (therefore Jesus, the King of the Jews, posed a great threat). Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin wanted to religiously rule the Jews, and see Jesus as a blasphemer for claiming to be the Son of God.
And then there is Jesus... just a simple man, carpenter, and devout Jew who lives a good and modest life. The book talks about Jesus from his birth, some of his childhood, and then skips to his baptism and eventual active teachings. It's not until Jesus meets and is baptized by John that he begins to cause trouble for those in power. Jesus only preaches for about three years until he is tried and crucified, yet those three years of teachings, along with his death and rise, shaped our world forever.
The book isn't religious, but is about religion from a historical standpoint. The authors use Biblical and Jewish narratives to explain the world during the time of Christ and the events and individuals who lead to the Passion of Christ. Overall, it is a great book for those curious about the supposed Son of God and the formation of Christianity. I would recommend to anyone, regardless of religious beliefs or backgrounds. As I mentioned, Jesus's teachings and death shaped our world forever, and we would benefit from trying to understand how/why that is.
Finished reading: Monday, June 8, 2015
DD's Rating: A
I have a soft spot for captivating nonfiction and Killing Jesus is just that. I am most interested to hear what my mother, a devout Catholic, has to say about the book, and how accurate it is according to the Church.
Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Genre: Nonfiction (crucifixion of Christ)
Publication Date: September 2013
Setting: The Roman Empire, 50 BC - 33 AD
I have previously admitted that my historical knowledge outside of America is pretty limited, but this book did an excellent job catching me up to what was going on before and during the time of Jesus. The authors begin with the murder of Caesar and explain how his assassination lead to the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. In my opinion, the book focused more on leaders who would be threatened by Christ rather than the Son of God himself. The authors detailed the lives and politics of Julius Caesar, Octavian, Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, and Herod Antipas as well as some of the religious figures such as John the Baptist, Mary, Jesus, Mary of Magdala, Judas, and other disciples and the high priests and Sanhedrin (Caiaphas). The work is a global/Roman history of events that lead to the death of Jesus.
The authors do an incredible job of explaining each character and their personalities/motives as well as the politics of the time. The emperors of Rome didn't care much for the Jews, they just wanted to rule, therefore Pontius Pilate was instructed to stay out of Jewish affairs but ensure Judea adhered to Roman rule. Herod the Great and Herod of Antipas wanted to appease Rome while still maintaining control of Judea (therefore Jesus, the King of the Jews, posed a great threat). Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin wanted to religiously rule the Jews, and see Jesus as a blasphemer for claiming to be the Son of God.
And then there is Jesus... just a simple man, carpenter, and devout Jew who lives a good and modest life. The book talks about Jesus from his birth, some of his childhood, and then skips to his baptism and eventual active teachings. It's not until Jesus meets and is baptized by John that he begins to cause trouble for those in power. Jesus only preaches for about three years until he is tried and crucified, yet those three years of teachings, along with his death and rise, shaped our world forever.
The book isn't religious, but is about religion from a historical standpoint. The authors use Biblical and Jewish narratives to explain the world during the time of Christ and the events and individuals who lead to the Passion of Christ. Overall, it is a great book for those curious about the supposed Son of God and the formation of Christianity. I would recommend to anyone, regardless of religious beliefs or backgrounds. As I mentioned, Jesus's teachings and death shaped our world forever, and we would benefit from trying to understand how/why that is.
Finished reading: Monday, June 8, 2015
DD's Rating: A
I have a soft spot for captivating nonfiction and Killing Jesus is just that. I am most interested to hear what my mother, a devout Catholic, has to say about the book, and how accurate it is according to the Church.
The Girl on the Train
I finished The Pillars of the Earth on the train from Philadelphia to NYC. Upon arriving in New York (visiting my father and step-mom) I saw their large stacks of books scattered around their Upper West Side loft/condo/apt (whatever NYC'ers call their living spaces). My step-mom recommended The Girl on the Train, which I had placed a hold for at my library and was the 2nd person waiting for the book. Fortunately, step-mom had a tangible copy, so for the first time in I can't remember how long, I read an actual book instead of my Kindle.
And I finished it in under 12 hours.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publication Date: January 2015
Setting: London suburbs, 2012 - present
This book was recommended to by Skimm, a fellow teacher, my step-mom, and the New York Times. Needless to say, I had high expectations. However, it fell short of those expectations and turned out to be a less maniacal English-version of Gone Girl. The story was interesting enough and the work was easy to read (that explains the completion time), but it lacked... richness. The girl on the train refers to Rachel, who is a divorced, unemployed, alcoholic and is just a big mess. I kept telling her to get her shit together, put down the damn drink and stop sending crazy messages to her ex. It was disappointing that the main character was so pathetic and I couldn't relate to her.
While this book was for feminists, it was a little too anti-men. Almost all the males the book were bad guys, in some way, while all the females were the silent sufferers of these males. I love girl-power, but not at the expense of tearing down the other gender and making them all misogynistic, apathetic liars.
Additionally, I have a strong distaste for affairs, and this book is full of them. Everyone eyeing someone else or being eyed by someone else and no one can stay faithful. That may be the reality of our world today, but I don't enjoy reading about it.
And apparently, according to Wikipedia, Dreamworks will be making a movie based on this book. I hope I didn't give away too many spoilers...
Finished reading: Saturday, June 6, 2015
DD's rating: C+
It was entertaining enough, it was light, it wasn't fun, but it's a good summer book to read on your vacation travels or while you're visiting family (like I was). This book will not move you, but it will keep you mostly engaged with the desperate behaviors of lonely women.
And I finished it in under 12 hours.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Publication Date: January 2015
Setting: London suburbs, 2012 - present
This book was recommended to by Skimm, a fellow teacher, my step-mom, and the New York Times. Needless to say, I had high expectations. However, it fell short of those expectations and turned out to be a less maniacal English-version of Gone Girl. The story was interesting enough and the work was easy to read (that explains the completion time), but it lacked... richness. The girl on the train refers to Rachel, who is a divorced, unemployed, alcoholic and is just a big mess. I kept telling her to get her shit together, put down the damn drink and stop sending crazy messages to her ex. It was disappointing that the main character was so pathetic and I couldn't relate to her.
While this book was for feminists, it was a little too anti-men. Almost all the males the book were bad guys, in some way, while all the females were the silent sufferers of these males. I love girl-power, but not at the expense of tearing down the other gender and making them all misogynistic, apathetic liars.
Additionally, I have a strong distaste for affairs, and this book is full of them. Everyone eyeing someone else or being eyed by someone else and no one can stay faithful. That may be the reality of our world today, but I don't enjoy reading about it.
And apparently, according to Wikipedia, Dreamworks will be making a movie based on this book. I hope I didn't give away too many spoilers...
Finished reading: Saturday, June 6, 2015
DD's rating: C+
It was entertaining enough, it was light, it wasn't fun, but it's a good summer book to read on your vacation travels or while you're visiting family (like I was). This book will not move you, but it will keep you mostly engaged with the desperate behaviors of lonely women.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
The Pillars of the Earth
I have completed my Master's program and completed my "internship" as a high school science teacher and am now on summer break! My break officially started June 5th, and from then until now I have finished 4 books. I was starved for literature! I had replaced novels with lesson plans and I am happy to be back in the world of the written word (although I miss my Bio babes desperately).
This book was recommended to me, with high praise, from my boyfriend's father. He mentioned that it was long, but I really was not ready for how long (816 pages that felt like over a thousand). But my idle hands found my Kindle and I completed it.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Genre: Historical fiction
Publication Date: 1989
Setting: 1100s England
This work details the building of a cathedral at Kingsbridge. Seems simple enough, but there are several characters at play - Tom the Builder and his family, Philip the Prior, the wicked Hamleighs, a damsel removed from her birthright, and a manipulative bishop. Each character has their own agenda and does their best to achieve their goals. Tom wants to build a cathedral so that he can be employed and support his family. Philip wants to reform Kingsbridge priory to make it prosperous and divine. William Hamleigh (and his parents) wants to become Earl of Shiring so he can take what he wishes (including Aliena, whom he imagines taking by force). Aliena wants her father's earldom returned to her brother. An Bishop Waleran wants to be Pope (or gain as much power in the Catholic Church as he can).
The book is set in 12th century England so it is a bit medieval. It's easy to compare the book to Game of Thrones - there are clear good guys and bad guys, there are castles, there are kingdoms (but there are no dragons or other fantasy elements). From a GoT aspect - William Hamleigh is Ramsay Bolton, wicked and twisted and does detestable acts for amusement. Aliena is Sansa, who is the object of the evil man's eye and whose family is ousted from their castle. Prior Philip is John Snow, someone people overlook, who is bound to duty (and celibacy), and who is clever, but most importantly, good.
Apparently this book is mostly historically accurate, although I wouldn't have a clue because I never paid attention to history outside of America. But it was interesting to read the medieval times and from different characters perspectives/POVs (also like Game of Thrones).
Finished reading: Friday, June 5, 2015
DD's reading: C
It was very average. The writing was alright, although I skimmed a lot of it because it felt so long. I honestly don't care for that time period, architecture, or kingdom/religious politics (I say this but I felt very differently about Killing Jesus). I'd rather finish Dance with Dragons, even with its never-ending character list.
This book was recommended to me, with high praise, from my boyfriend's father. He mentioned that it was long, but I really was not ready for how long (816 pages that felt like over a thousand). But my idle hands found my Kindle and I completed it.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Genre: Historical fiction
Publication Date: 1989
Setting: 1100s England
This work details the building of a cathedral at Kingsbridge. Seems simple enough, but there are several characters at play - Tom the Builder and his family, Philip the Prior, the wicked Hamleighs, a damsel removed from her birthright, and a manipulative bishop. Each character has their own agenda and does their best to achieve their goals. Tom wants to build a cathedral so that he can be employed and support his family. Philip wants to reform Kingsbridge priory to make it prosperous and divine. William Hamleigh (and his parents) wants to become Earl of Shiring so he can take what he wishes (including Aliena, whom he imagines taking by force). Aliena wants her father's earldom returned to her brother. An Bishop Waleran wants to be Pope (or gain as much power in the Catholic Church as he can).
The book is set in 12th century England so it is a bit medieval. It's easy to compare the book to Game of Thrones - there are clear good guys and bad guys, there are castles, there are kingdoms (but there are no dragons or other fantasy elements). From a GoT aspect - William Hamleigh is Ramsay Bolton, wicked and twisted and does detestable acts for amusement. Aliena is Sansa, who is the object of the evil man's eye and whose family is ousted from their castle. Prior Philip is John Snow, someone people overlook, who is bound to duty (and celibacy), and who is clever, but most importantly, good.
Apparently this book is mostly historically accurate, although I wouldn't have a clue because I never paid attention to history outside of America. But it was interesting to read the medieval times and from different characters perspectives/POVs (also like Game of Thrones).
Finished reading: Friday, June 5, 2015
DD's reading: C
It was very average. The writing was alright, although I skimmed a lot of it because it felt so long. I honestly don't care for that time period, architecture, or kingdom/religious politics (I say this but I felt very differently about Killing Jesus). I'd rather finish Dance with Dragons, even with its never-ending character list.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Station Eleven
I had been on the wait-list for this book for over 3 months. I have a fascination with dystopian/post-apocalypse novels like World War Z and The Stand. I was even more intrigued by this book when I was talking to a fellow teacher at my school who said she had just finished it and really liked it. Additionally, when I went to my school's library last week, it was one of the featured books. We also had two snow days last week, giving me a 4-day weekend and a lot of free time trying not to watch House of Cards.
This book reminded me of Walking Dead, but without the zombies. Kristen is Maggie, her beau August is Glenn. The crazed prophet is the Governor. The characters struggle with the new morals and ethics of a changed world - how to keep your humanity when humans have been all but wiped out?
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: science fiction, post-apocalypse
Publication Date: September 2014
Setting: 20 years after Night 0, coastal region of Michigan, Lake Huron + flashbacks
The story begins on Night 0 during a Toronto production of King Leer. The actor playing Leer, Arthur Leander, dies of a heart attack, and the next day the Georgia Flu begins wiping out 99% of the world's population.... The story is told through flashbacks, including random characters who were also involved with Arthur - his first wife Miranda, his former paparazzo Jeervan (who performed CPR on him). To me, the flashbacks past Night 0 are unnecessary. I am far more fascinated with the time after the flu, but the author decides to develop characters and examine relationships when all was normal.
Kristen, who played a daughter of Leer in the Toronto play, has joined the Traveling Symphony that performs along coastal Michigan. She remains intrigued/obsessed with the kind older actor who died in front of her eyes, and collects old tabloids and news clippings pertaining to him. She was a child before the Flu and has some memories of life with technology and light switches, but she has changed significantly in the 20 years since - her parents are gone, her brother died of a minor infection, and two tattoos on her wrist are in rememberence of the two lives she took.
Clark, Arthur's best friend, becomes stranded in an airport with several other flights and these delayed passengers educate the young, hunt, farm, and survive together. Clark creates the Museum of Civilization, where he displays artifacts from the time before the flu: iPhone, stilettos, laptop, passports, etc. All the artifacts have become extinct, along with electricity, the Internet, borders. Clark and the others who are older, struggle with the past - to remember and thus live in sorrow of a time long-gone, or to forget and acceptance the present state of the world.
This book reminded me of Walking Dead, but without the zombies. Kristen is Maggie, her beau August is Glenn. The crazed prophet is the Governor. The characters struggle with the new morals and ethics of a changed world - how to keep your humanity when humans have been all but wiped out?
Finished reading Monday, March 9, 2014
DD's rating: A-/B+
This book is a solid 89.5%. It was too cliche and predictable (finding out who the prophet is, Clark and Kristen) so I can't give it an A rating. I enjoyed the 20 years later (instead of immediately after) aspect of the story and the overarching question of whether it is happier to remember the past or move on to present. And i enjoyed the Traveling Symphony's motto "Survival is insufficient" - there needs to be joy and passion and creative expression, those wonderous parts that make up our soul.
Next read: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Battle of the Books
The high school I teach at is having a Battle of the Books, Classics versus Contemporary. Since several of my homeroom students hadn't read nearly any of the books, they left some brackets (which I took the joyful liberty of filling out).
Here is my bracket:
Classics win! I had the most difficulty figuring out the left (Classics) side and feel like some great works were left out (Faulkner, Tolstoy, Stephen King). I could breeze through the contemporary - Kite Runner, Glass Castle, and Lord of the Rings were the only meaningful books on their side. Of course I read this from a book-lover, adult, and teacher perspective and less from an teenage-entertainment viewpoint.
Perhaps I will make my own bracket...
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Yes Please
I was able to finish this book fairly quickly. My boyfriend, who is my primary source of entertainment, is traveling for three weeks and I am left to my own devices (Kindle device, get it). Due to my lack of cable TV, a promise that to wait to watch House of Cards, and the conclusion of graduate classes, I am able to quickly continue my literature endeavors.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, humor
Publication Date: October 2014
Another amusing celebrity memoirish book. But I absolutely love Amy Poehler, more than her brunette counterpart Tina. Parks & Rec is the best and I still credit the show for making Andy Dwyer (aka Chris Pratt) famous, for introducing America to Nick Offerman and Ron Swanson, and putting Aziz Ansari on camera weekly (because everybody loves RAAAAAAAANDY). And don't even get me started about Jean-Ralphio. Okay, that's enough gushing.
Amy's book is more comedy story than memoir. The story line follows her life, but the narration is from a blonde stoned peppy theater geek. She does break the humor at some points, like when she talks about divorce and childbirth, but the book is very good-natured and jovial. I don't know, it's hard to critique someone's memoir, because it's the author's life. I read the first half of the book in 32 hours, but the rest took some time. I think this would be a great read for aspiring comedians or anyone in Hollywood/show business. But I still enjoyed it.
Poehler name-dropped a lot, on purpose. There were a few sections where she told ridiculous stories that happened with famous people she is friends with. While funny, sometimes these stories seemed unnecessary and braggy. The only name I really cared about were Seth Meyers and Tina Fey (and one pranking involving Julie Louis-Dreyfus). This memoir actually made me want to read Seth and Julie's potential future memoirs.
Finished reading Wednesday, March 4th
DD's rating: A
Very entertaining. I love Amy Poehler, Parks & Rec, and SNL so this was a behind the scenes look into a comedy genius and female superstar. In my opinion, this book was better than Tina Fey's Bossypants because of its style - Poehler had friends and family author some parts of her book, like her mother and my megacrush Seth Meyers.
Next read: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I got excited when I first saw the author's name, Mandel is similar to Mendel, the king of genetics, science nerd is happy... and I'm it's a book by another female!
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, humor
Publication Date: October 2014
Another amusing celebrity memoirish book. But I absolutely love Amy Poehler, more than her brunette counterpart Tina. Parks & Rec is the best and I still credit the show for making Andy Dwyer (aka Chris Pratt) famous, for introducing America to Nick Offerman and Ron Swanson, and putting Aziz Ansari on camera weekly (because everybody loves RAAAAAAAANDY). And don't even get me started about Jean-Ralphio. Okay, that's enough gushing.
Amy's book is more comedy story than memoir. The story line follows her life, but the narration is from a blonde stoned peppy theater geek. She does break the humor at some points, like when she talks about divorce and childbirth, but the book is very good-natured and jovial. I don't know, it's hard to critique someone's memoir, because it's the author's life. I read the first half of the book in 32 hours, but the rest took some time. I think this would be a great read for aspiring comedians or anyone in Hollywood/show business. But I still enjoyed it.
Poehler name-dropped a lot, on purpose. There were a few sections where she told ridiculous stories that happened with famous people she is friends with. While funny, sometimes these stories seemed unnecessary and braggy. The only name I really cared about were Seth Meyers and Tina Fey (and one pranking involving Julie Louis-Dreyfus). This memoir actually made me want to read Seth and Julie's potential future memoirs.
Finished reading Wednesday, March 4th
DD's rating: A
Very entertaining. I love Amy Poehler, Parks & Rec, and SNL so this was a behind the scenes look into a comedy genius and female superstar. In my opinion, this book was better than Tina Fey's Bossypants because of its style - Poehler had friends and family author some parts of her book, like her mother and my megacrush Seth Meyers.
Next read: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I got excited when I first saw the author's name, Mandel is similar to Mendel, the king of genetics, science nerd is happy... and I'm it's a book by another female!
Friday, February 27, 2015
Multiplication is for White People
I actually finished this book (and 36 Children) on-time in terms of my resolution schedule. I just didn't compose a blog post on either (yet) because both books require a 5+ page review for my grad classes. Mutliplication was a required reading for my Methods of Teaching Math & Science course, as it provided a constructivist approaches to instruction and called for some educational reform (against conservative policies and the Common Core). Delpit also wrote Other People's Children before this book, so I may need to pick that one up as well if I want to consider myself competent in education.
Again, this post contains excerpts from my book review.
DD's rating: C+
Had I not had to write a critical book review, my rating would likely be higher. However, through my analysis, I had to second guess some of her assertions and pick apart her works cited. I also don't expect to be teaching in an urban school, so this book wasn't as influential as it could be. However I believe it has helped me develop some racial competence.
Next read: Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Again, this post contains excerpts from my book review.
"Multiplication is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit
Genre: Non-fiction, Education, Race issues
Publication Date: 2012
Setting: N/A, commentary on education
Setting: N/A, commentary on education
About the author: Lisa Delpit received her Masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Lisa Delpit makes the case that America’s educational system is not as balanced as it should be. Although we live in a democratic civilization, our educational policy tends to be antidemocratic, full of corporate contributions, unequal distribution of resources, market model schools, and a emphasis on standardized tests that fail to accurately assess minority students’ performance. Delpit organizes her book by addressing issues that arise at different levels of schooling, incorporating societal ills students encounter in elementary school, high school, and college. She details the problems that different students face and supplements by making recommendations on how educators and policymakers may correct the described imbalances. This book can be read as a guide to teaching black children, but it also enlightens the unintentionally ignorant of social issues embedded in our culture.
A minor problem I have with Delpit’s work is her focus on black students and forgoing of other underserved groups. Delpit fails to discuss Hispanics, English Language Learners, Asian minorities, immigrants, and Muslim students. Delpit only briefly speaks of students with special needs, but she does so in reference to her own daughter. She also addresses students of low socioeconomic status, but it appeared that the students being referenced to were poor and black instead of covering all impoverished students of various races. For the sake of time and space, I understand why she focused predominantly on black students, I am just curious about how issues she mentioned (stereotype threat, microaggressions, etc.) might affect students of other backgrounds.
Lisa Delpit makes the case that America’s educational system is not as balanced as it should be. Although we live in a democratic civilization, our educational policy tends to be antidemocratic, full of corporate contributions, unequal distribution of resources, market model schools, and a emphasis on standardized tests that fail to accurately assess minority students’ performance. Delpit organizes her book by addressing issues that arise at different levels of schooling, incorporating societal ills students encounter in elementary school, high school, and college. She details the problems that different students face and supplements by making recommendations on how educators and policymakers may correct the described imbalances. This book can be read as a guide to teaching black children, but it also enlightens the unintentionally ignorant of social issues embedded in our culture.
A minor problem I have with Delpit’s work is her focus on black students and forgoing of other underserved groups. Delpit fails to discuss Hispanics, English Language Learners, Asian minorities, immigrants, and Muslim students. Delpit only briefly speaks of students with special needs, but she does so in reference to her own daughter. She also addresses students of low socioeconomic status, but it appeared that the students being referenced to were poor and black instead of covering all impoverished students of various races. For the sake of time and space, I understand why she focused predominantly on black students, I am just curious about how issues she mentioned (stereotype threat, microaggressions, etc.) might affect students of other backgrounds.
Delpit’s work is meant as a guide for teaching
black students, but also draws on the
importance of a student-centered and constructivist classroom as the most
effective methods of instruction. I disagree with some of her assertions, such
as teacher quality being the ultimate factor in student performance, but consent
that a low quality teacher does more harm to students than a high quality
teacher does good. I also believe Delpit took a one-sided assault on Teach for
America and I remain apprehensive of the true consequences of the program. I
accept that students of color likely benefit from having a teacher of color and
that, in general, students learn more effectively when they respect and/or
relate to their instructor. Arguments aside, Delpit draws attention to
unconscious racism present throughout our culture: racial smog in our language,
low expectations of students, poor instructional techniques, novice and
homogeneous teachers, stereotypes, lack role models, and dismissal of diversity
and particular needs. By being aware of such hidden and insidious racism, the
reader can confront the issues individually, politically, academically, and
socially. One good teacher may not be enough to change an at-risk student’s life, but a
wealth of purposeful and impactful individuals may collectively change our
society.
DD's rating: C+
Had I not had to write a critical book review, my rating would likely be higher. However, through my analysis, I had to second guess some of her assertions and pick apart her works cited. I also don't expect to be teaching in an urban school, so this book wasn't as influential as it could be. However I believe it has helped me develop some racial competence.
Next read: Yes Please by Amy Poehler
36 Children
As mentioned in the previous post, I finished this book on-time! But I was preoccupied with completing my book analysis for a different subject (Education for English Language Learners). A book analysis was required, but we were able to select our text. I selected 36 Children because of the author, Herbert Kohl. During my Multiculturalism class last semester, I read some of his work I Won't Learn From You, which I enjoyed and found interesting, and so I selected a Kohl text.
The post includes excerpts from my book review (complete with APA in-text citations).
36 Children by Herbert Kohl
Genre: Non-fiction, Education
Publication Date: 1967
Setting: Harlem public elementary school, 1963-1966
Setting: Harlem public elementary school, 1963-1966
About the Author: Undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Harvard University, Masters degree in Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College.
The title is in reference to the thirty-six children that occupy Kohl's sixth grade class in Harlem, NY, his first teaching position. Kohl’s first full school year begins when he
receives his roll book with all of his students’ record cards and the decision
to look at their names and nothing else, for he believed that, “the dullest
child can be transformed into the keenest and the brightest into the most
ordinary when the prefabricated judgments of other teachers are forgotten” (p.
13). Once Kohl became comfortable and confident in
his classroom, he could take student interests and apply them into lessons. He
used student conversations to create a lesson on etymology and the changing of
languages, referring to the lesson as vocabulary and enrichment activity.
Kohl brought his own books into class for the students to read and explore and also created a classroom of authors. The students were permitted (and encouraged) to write during classes, pursuing any storyline they fancied – including autobiography, historical fiction, fantasy, suspense, or a blending of genres. Previously silent students could speak openly and deeply through their writing. The students also collaborated by looking for peer feedback and critical ideas before formally submitting to Kohl. Students inadvertently and individually learned language arts by developing their own stories, characters, plots, and figures of speech. Eventually, the students create their own classroom magazine and take on the responsibility of writing, editing, publishing, and distributing the magazine in and out of school.
After his second year at the Harlem school, Kohl took a hiatus and traveled to Spain for a year, which I interpreted as him quitting – he writes, “I was tired and lacked perspective” (p. 192). Delpit (2012) writes, “first-year teachers are least able to produce positive growth in their students and that teaching quality increases dramatically for the first three years” (p. 114). Kohl taught at the Harlem school for two years, and then left. For those two years, he was honing his teaching skills, but he did a disservice to the school by taking a leave of absence and not teaching during a time when his performance and skill is increasing. In essence, he taught at the Harlem school when he was at his lowest level of quality teaching.
I do agree with Kohl that, “one good year isn’t enough” (p. 205). For teachers and for students, one year is not enough time to make a difference in education. For true change to occur, reform needs to be widespread – all the teachers, administration, policy makers, the community, and society as a whole needs to be informed about the current conditions and the measures that need to be made to correct these disorders. Teachers shouldn’t label students as failures because the student internalizes that brand. All students should be encouraged and believed in. All students should be challenged to meet their utmost potential. Change can’t happen in isolation or at a singular point in time, reform must be persistent. Teachers and students should strive to persevere in the face of hardship and unfortunate circumstances, and have the strength to “fight, falter, and rise again and again” (p.224).
DD's rating: B
I wouldn't have read this if it wasn't for school, but it was entertaining and easy to read. The book also reinforces a constructivist and student-centered classroom.
Kohl brought his own books into class for the students to read and explore and also created a classroom of authors. The students were permitted (and encouraged) to write during classes, pursuing any storyline they fancied – including autobiography, historical fiction, fantasy, suspense, or a blending of genres. Previously silent students could speak openly and deeply through their writing. The students also collaborated by looking for peer feedback and critical ideas before formally submitting to Kohl. Students inadvertently and individually learned language arts by developing their own stories, characters, plots, and figures of speech. Eventually, the students create their own classroom magazine and take on the responsibility of writing, editing, publishing, and distributing the magazine in and out of school.
After his second year at the Harlem school, Kohl took a hiatus and traveled to Spain for a year, which I interpreted as him quitting – he writes, “I was tired and lacked perspective” (p. 192). Delpit (2012) writes, “first-year teachers are least able to produce positive growth in their students and that teaching quality increases dramatically for the first three years” (p. 114). Kohl taught at the Harlem school for two years, and then left. For those two years, he was honing his teaching skills, but he did a disservice to the school by taking a leave of absence and not teaching during a time when his performance and skill is increasing. In essence, he taught at the Harlem school when he was at his lowest level of quality teaching.
I do agree with Kohl that, “one good year isn’t enough” (p. 205). For teachers and for students, one year is not enough time to make a difference in education. For true change to occur, reform needs to be widespread – all the teachers, administration, policy makers, the community, and society as a whole needs to be informed about the current conditions and the measures that need to be made to correct these disorders. Teachers shouldn’t label students as failures because the student internalizes that brand. All students should be encouraged and believed in. All students should be challenged to meet their utmost potential. Change can’t happen in isolation or at a singular point in time, reform must be persistent. Teachers and students should strive to persevere in the face of hardship and unfortunate circumstances, and have the strength to “fight, falter, and rise again and again” (p.224).
DD's rating: B
I wouldn't have read this if it wasn't for school, but it was entertaining and easy to read. The book also reinforces a constructivist and student-centered classroom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)