For the Love of Reading

I just found these great blogs about two of my favorite topics: BOOKS and LOST.

BOOKS: http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/ is the ultimate book blog of lists -- all kinds of recommendations by well-read people. I will certainly be enjoying it!

LOST: Through the aforementioned blog, I found a list of "LOST Required Reading" and followed a link to we heart this. Not only does this blog combine my love of reading and the best television show of all time, it does so cleverly. The web site is also pretty snazzy. Highly recommend.

In other news, I am trying to finish "Emergence" by Steven Johnson (there comes a certain point where my taste for nonfiction wears). And I keep fighting the urge to go to Barnes and Noble or shop for ebooks...I find myself adding many, many books to the "To Read" list.

Next stop, more books:-) (and I'm thinking about watching some LOST...)

~MJ

Finishing a Book - The Impact of Stories

This is one of my favorite things. Call it a sense of accomplishment. I think the more important feeling is that not only is something finished, but a new sense of perspective comes. That landscape is altered just a bit, and for that, I also feel a sense of appreciation.

I just finished "The Green Mile," by Stephen King. Underneath the story of how a death-row prison guard deals with not only an innocent, but incredibly gifted prisoner is a strong meditation on the power of writing, of storytelling. Tim O'Brien had a similar reflection in parts of "The Things They Carried." It's so interesting to me that two very different writers (and who knows how many more) manage to reflect on their process in the midst of writing both fiction and nonfiction.

Both Paul Edgecome (King's narrator), and Tim O'Brien talk about storytelling being an outlet, a kind of therapy. That somehow, by telling their stories, by putting pen to paper, they can find resolution. I think sometimes readers feel this power, too, and they use stories for their own purposes. So, it seems we all have our own agendas, and the story's impact is in the eye of the creator and the beholder.

Now that I've read the book, I can see the movie (a principle of mine), but I know King's words will, in ways, never be fully conveyed on screen. I have heard the movie is good, but I highly recommend the book.

~MJ

Must Reads #1

This is an interesting piece from a NYTimes Magazine issue about my latest favorite series: The Hunger Games. This trilogy highlights all that I love about reading: I love books that are engaging, deep, and thought-provoking (but then again, who doesn't?). The article really discusses the books -- I'm here to tell you a little more about why I consider them "must-reads."

I couldn't put the books down! They tackled issues of war, rebellion, government control, friendship, romance, and still managed to make new and interesting commentaries on pop culture and media. I taught the first book in my 6th and 7th grade classes this year, and also recommended the books to many of my 8th graders. Just the interaction with the text prompted big discussions in my room on all of the above topics, and also got my kids making connections to current events locally and globally, as well as Greek mythology. Books that come with such dynamic results for the reader are why I love reading! I don't make book recommendations lightly -- but, you must read these books.

The biggest disappointment? The trilogy is over. And somehow, I want more...

~MJ