Top Five Books I'd Read or Recommend

The only problem with this list is that it calls for a mere five. My to-read list is up to about 60 right now, and poring over recommendations from The English Journal is doing nothing to dwindle that number.

1) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher-- This book made it to a few lists and has been on my own to-read list for a while. A girl named Hannah commits suicide and leaves seven tapes on the doorstep of a boy named Clay with instructions to listen and pass them on. Each person addressed on the tapes had played a role in Hannah's death.

2) The First Part Last by Angela Johnson-- This story of a teen father was mentioned in the "Summer 2004" article. Poignant and even amusing at times, this is one I can recommend after enjoying it myself earlier this summer. Told from the father's perspective, this short novel plays out far from what is expected.

3) The Plain Janes by Cecil Castelluci and Jim Rugg-- A graphic novel following a group of suburban high school outcasts seeking to liven up their town through artistic display. The art surely adds to this novel which explores the pressure to conform, self-expression, and the importance of art. This novel was on the graphic novels recommendations list, and as one who enjoys graphic novels (Spiegelman's Maus is a legitimately good novel, although the Sale/Loeb Batman comics are crackin' good reads too!) this is definitely going on my list.

4) Bliss by Lauren Myracle--This book was mentioned in the "Great Reads to Start the School Year" article. Bliss in the Morning Dew, daughter of hippies, starts at a prep school and in the midst of learning to make friends is contacted by the spirit of a former student. As the story goes on, she uncovers secrets about her school and is involved in a plot to free the spirit. As a fan of any sort of ghost story, this sounds like an interesting read to me!

5) The Loser's Guide to Life and Love by A.E. Cannon-- As a fan of A Midsummer Night's Dream, this recommendation from the "Shakespeare and YA Lit" list definitely got my attention. A boy named Ed is whiling away the summer hanging out with his two best friends and working at a movie store with a name-tag that claims he is Sergio. Eventually, a girl falls in love with Ed-- as Sergio-- and his friends develop feelings for each other as well, clearly borrowing plot points from Billy Shakes.

Brevity

Rebecca,

What a great site.  I love that the editor is named after a stew; okay, probably not, but c'mon Dinty Moore!  I also liked their link list!  I haven't made my way through those yet, but could see myself spending time here reading once school is finished.  Thanks!

E :)

Opening Doors with Nonfiction

I read everything: books, magazines, text messages, cereal boxes, and so on. I love fiction because of its ability to transport me anywhere I want to go, even the fantastical places. I could be on a quest to Mordor or playing Quidditch just by opening a book. Nonfiction has its merits as well, taking me other places-- the places of reality significant to people because of the impact on their lives.

Students deserve an opportunity to explore the memoirs, diaries, biographies, speeches, and interviews. Real people with real experiences, written out and waiting to be shared with us. Nonfiction is something we can relate to because it happened. We can work through nonfiction as well to fathom some of history's less believable aspects, such as the Holocaust, the Civil War, or Vietnam. While today it seems ridiculous that so much life was lost, reading diaries or memoirs written during those times makes what students are reading in their history books real.

In addition to the benefits of reading nonfiction, students studying the techniques can write nonfiction on their own. Nonfiction is an entire genre to delve into if poetry, short stories, or fiction don't work out. Nonfiction gives students one more way to find their niche and even be creative in the process.

The Truth is Stranger than Fiction (and More Amusing)

I've never been mountain climbing, or hike- hiking (as in more than just my jaunts around Raccoon Creek State Park), nor camping. While road tripping across America is like a siren song to me, I've never done that either. However, there's something immensely appealing to me about the idea. As such, Bill Bryson's account of his trip following the Appalachian Trail in A Walk in the Woods had me hooked just by reading the blurb on the back of the book.I happened to open up to a funny bit about bears in the middle of it that had me laughing aloud in Barnes & Noble, so I bought it.

Don't judge this book by its cover!

Bryson's book had me in hysterics throughout most of the reading. From his wife's reception of his decision to follow the trail to his trip to the camping store, his inviting his childhood friend Katz and the ups and downs of their journey, Bryson recounts everything as if he's telling it over a cup of coffee in his living room. His intense fear of bears is sprinkled throughout the book providing me with laugh-myself-to-tears moments and the need to run out and share the jokes with my family.

In the midst of Bryson's tale, he writes with a motive beyond sharing his hilarious hike with the world: he is speaking out on behalf of nature in America. He writes for the wildlife, the trees, the national parks, the trails. They're on the way to extinction, and it's the fault of humanity. Bryson, seeing everything first-hand, pleads with his readers to become aware of what's going on so that the problem can be stopped. 

Most of my adventures in non-fiction have been either speeches or essays required for class. I was introduced to David Sedaris through Me Talk Pretty One Day and realized non-fiction could be amusing and entertaining too. People sharing their stories in a creative way cast the non-fiction genre in a whole new light. I encountered more non-fiction in my literary journalism class textbook, The Art of Fact, which consists of magazine-length interviews written almost as if they're short stories.

I think it's important to share with students the joy that can ensue from reading non-fiction. Biographies and essays are fine for those who are into that sort of thing-- but in high school, not many are. Students can study and work to attain their own writing styles to record their personal histories in new ways, whether in a journal or in the style of Bryson and Sedaris. Studying these techniques shows them how to be creative with facts, to spin a web and entertain readers with the seemingly mundane experiences of everyday life.