6.
Amazing Grace by Johnathon Kozol. This is the second book of Kozol's I've read. It is a look at the lives of children living in the South Bronx, exploring issues like education, drugs, crime, living conditions, religion, etc. It was very good, but also pretty disheartening. It's hard to read about all of these problems, and not know any of the solutions. I developed a lot of white guilt whilst reading this book, realizing that just by existing, I contribute to these situations.
7.
Secret Lives of U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brien. I read this book over the summer, mostly while on a cross-country road trip with my mom. My mom and brother also read some of it during the vacation. (It also prompted my mother and I to try to name all 44 presidents. We missed 9. "You forgot Jimmy Carter--you were alive then!" "Yeah, I was, I think I even voted for him!") As a history dork, I totally loved it. I am a suck for silly, random factoids about historical figures.
8.
Bad Sex: We Had It So You Don't Have To by the writers of Nerve.com. This book is pretty much what it sounds like. It was enjoyable. A good summer read.
9.
The Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut. This was a re-read. A very quick re-read. I read it in a day and a half. Vonnegut is one of my favorite writers, and this is sort of an autobiography of his, with his usual random reflections on life.
10.
When You and Your Mother Can't Be Friends: Resolving the Most Complicated Relationship of Your Life by Victoria Secunda. This was passed on to me by my mother, who found it very helpful to reflect on issues in her relationship with her mother. I read it, but didn't relate to really anything, since my mom and I have a pretty good/totally awesome relationship. But, I guess, it was interesting from a sociological point of view, learning about the different types of mother/daughter relationships, and what kind of people those relationships create.
What other Kozol book have you read? I love him and I think he's a fantastic educator for writing about the things he does. These other books are new to me.. but like I have any time to read anyway! ha ha.
ReplyDeleteThe other one I read was Letters to a Young Teacher. It was pretty interesting, but I read it as a pre-service teacher, and I think I should probably re-read it now when it'll be more relevant to me. But yeah, he's great!
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