This is the first book I've read from an author who was dying while writing his story. It is creative non-fiction, a somewhat didactic story that tells it like it is, but because it wasn't super emotional, it was easy to get through. It was actually a required reading book for my eighth-grade students that I tutor privately. I'm glad the teacher assigned the book, and I'm glad I was there to help guide my students through it. It garnered some deep discussions about death, life, and everything in between.
A lot of professors give talks titled The Last Lecture. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didnt have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,…
This children's book for early to middle readers is one of the most unique stories I've ever read. You may have heard of the author, EB White, whose claim to fame was another book, Charlotte's Web. I was late to read The Trumpet of the Swan, another story with talking animals and young people who can communicate with them in some capacity. While the storyline is a bit outlandish, the heart of the book can be tapped into for everyday life, with important life lessons that parents, teachers, and children can discuss. Because I read this book with a private fourth-grade student, I was able to tailor the discussion to his level of understanding. If you have children, or you know some, this is a great first important read. The illustrations are lovely as well.
The delightful classic by E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, about overcoming obstacles and the joy of music.
Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.
Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena's affection—he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him…
Wow. Not even sure where to begin with this Normal Mailer book, winner of both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize in 1969. I have been working on an historical fiction novel, and I needed some reference books relating to the Pentagon Protest of the 1960s. Mailer was there. Not only was he in attendance, he was arrested on the Pentagon steps, though he knew in advance that he would be. That's the reason he went to the protest: If his name got into the papers, along with Abbie Hoffman and other liberal influencers of the era, then maybe the public would take notice and, once and for all, end the Vietnam War. Mailer, in true Mailer form, tells his story unabashedly, from his alcoholic days leading up to the protest, to the wildness of the protest itself, to the time in jail after. If you like literary fiction, or, at the very least, don't mind super intellectual story telling, then this book might be for you. Just be ready to re-read whole paragraphs, and maybe even keep a dictionary handy!
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award
With a Introduction by Adam Gopnik
Fifty years after the March on the Pentagon, Norman Mailer's seminal tour de force remains as urgent and incisive as ever. Winner of America's two highest literary awards, The Armies of the Night uniquely and unforgettably captures the Sixties' tidal wave of love and rage at its crest and a towering genius at his peak.
The time is October 21, 1967. The place is Washington, D.C. Depending on the paper you read, 20,000 to 200,000 protestors are marching to end the war in Vietnam,…
Bright but unassuming Marilyn Jones has some grown-up decisions to make, especially after Mama goes to prison for drugs and larceny. With no one to take care of them, Marilyn and her younger, mentally challenged brother, Carol, get tossed into the foster care system. While shuffling from one home to another, Marilyn makes it her mission to find the Tan Man, a mysterious man from her babyhood she believes holds the key to her family's happiness.
But Marilyn's quest is halted when her daddy, an ex-con she has never met, is chosen by the courts as the new guardian. Caleb Jones wants something more than a father-daughter relationship. He sends Carol far away, where the boy won't be a hindrance to his plans. Marilyn devises a plan of her own: to locate her little brother, kidnap him, and run away.
Independence, however, often comes at a high price.
As Marilyn weathers the unexpected and often brutal storms of her childhood and adolescence, hope becomes her ally as she winds through small Southern towns, wrapping herself around an assortment of hearts along the way. With a little help from a caring social worker, a carnival of misfits, her first true love, and even the elusive Tan Man himself, Marilyn will discover that "family" isn't always what we imagine it to be.
