Careful, it's fiction..... but it is truly awe inspiring!
http://www.amazon.com/Mila-18-Leon-Uris/dp/0553241605
http://www.amazon.com/Mila-18-Leon-Uris/dp/0553241605
The Reading Room
- Thread starter FireDancer7905
- Start date
hey I never said I didnt read fiction. Clive Cussler is my favorite auther and his primary works are fiction. he has done a few nonfiction which i would suggest they are quick little sets of reads. The first is The sea hunters, and the second is the sea hunters 2. they are small fiction laced stories with the true hunts that his team has done to find missing items. His team is the one that found the confederate sub the CSS hunley a few years back.
lol, if you read it, let me know how you liked it. Maybe I'll try Cussler again, too. When I taught high school I had a unit called "Crimes Against Humanity" and I used passages from Mila 18 to support Eli Wiesel's Night (a horrifying and true account of a concentration camp).
I also love Sophie Kinsella, and Cecilia Ahern (more poignant, but fun). Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is next in line for me. Have you picked up Lost in Austen? It's a choose your own adventure for grown ups, where you try to marry for love and money! Hysterical!!!
I couldn't read that one, either, I felt physically ill, but my students LOVE it! I think it puts things in perspective for them......
For Suess, Butter Battle is good, but nothing beats The Sneetches!
Wow jensons, I thought I liked to read. The you come along and make me feel like I'm just some picky person who just sorta trys. But I guess you sorta have an advantage in being a teacher. I bet its nice to take something you like to do like reading and turn it into a part of your job.
Aw, Cat.... honestly, I read 3-4 books a week on average. Now, a decent portion of those are Young Adult (so I can talk to my students about them), but I try to get one grown-up book a week. I would rather read than do anything else, except, well, nevermind, this is a family forum! I am incredibly lucky to be able to take part of what I love into my job with me. It's so important for the kids to see someone who is passionate about books of all kinds. I always tell them, "If it's in English, I'll read it." Boy, they have given me some real odd stuff, but it's cool to them to have a teacher who will read what they love, just so they can talk about it. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
i pick up a book every once in a while
The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold
it's a story about a girl who gets raped and murdered(more lighthearted than it sounds).. then she goes to heaven and watches her friends and family figure out and deal with her death then try to go on with their lives and make things normal again as she deals with the fact that she died. i think it interested me because it was the authors idea of what heaven could be like. i liked this book.
Sophie's World- Jostein Gaarder
i started reading this, but didnt finish for some reason.. im gonna pick it back up again soon though.
it's a novel that incorporates the history of philosophy with a story. a girl starts getting letters(the first ones asking "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?") from a mysterious, unseen person who eventually starts telling her about philosophy, but she needs to figure things out as she learns.
Paint it Black- Janet Fitch
girls boyfriend kills himself and she tries to deal with it. it's more than that though, it gets you into the characters heads. i liked how the author wrote, and the book was interesting. i thought it was pretty good.
i dont think im a great book reviewer lol
The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold
it's a story about a girl who gets raped and murdered(more lighthearted than it sounds).. then she goes to heaven and watches her friends and family figure out and deal with her death then try to go on with their lives and make things normal again as she deals with the fact that she died. i think it interested me because it was the authors idea of what heaven could be like. i liked this book.
Sophie's World- Jostein Gaarder
i started reading this, but didnt finish for some reason.. im gonna pick it back up again soon though.
it's a novel that incorporates the history of philosophy with a story. a girl starts getting letters(the first ones asking "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?") from a mysterious, unseen person who eventually starts telling her about philosophy, but she needs to figure things out as she learns.
Paint it Black- Janet Fitch
girls boyfriend kills himself and she tries to deal with it. it's more than that though, it gets you into the characters heads. i liked how the author wrote, and the book was interesting. i thought it was pretty good.
i dont think im a great book reviewer lol
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I loved Lovely Bones! You should pick up her autobiography, Lucky. It's her story about geting raped in college, and how it changed her. Fascinating stuff.
Sophie's World sounds awesome! I'll pick it up on my next trip to the bookstore. Thanks!
Great thread - I like to see what other people are reading. I have pretty eclectic tastes: travel, history, exploration, fiction, science fiction, etc. Some things I've read lately:
The Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Historical novel about parallel searches for the Holy Grail during both present day and in the Middle Ages.
I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
Hysterically funny British novel about a working mother trying to balance her home life with her work in high finance.
The Lost Painting by Jonathon Harr
Novel about a young grad student trying to uncover the mystery of a Caravaggio painting. I really loved this book!
Lying Awake by Mark Salzman (also The Soloist. Actually, anything by Mark Salzman)
Novel about a Carmelite nun who's been feeling like a fraud (doubts her faith). She suddenly starts to have religious visions that finally bring her close to God, and she feels blessed. But the visions are the result of a medical condition - does she opt for surgery to cure her condition (and lose her joyous visions of God?) or ignore the condition and lose her life?
The Soloist is about a musical prodigy who's lost his gift, and the aftermath of his "failure."
The Coffee Trader by David Liss
Historical novel about the burgeoning stock market (and a new commodity - coffee) in 17th century Amsterdam.
The Bounty by Caroline Alexander
Great account of William Bligh's command of the Bounty, and the Fletcher Christian-led mutiny.
The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
Nicely-drawn portraits of the 6 wives.
In the Land of White Death by ? Albonov
True account of explorers trying to survive the Arctic after their ship becomes frozen in the Arctic Sea in 1912. Whenever I think *I'm* having a bad day, I remember these poor guys!
And tons more. So many great books out there, so little time. Oh - and I'm reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to my 5 year old. Possibly one of the best books of all time!
The Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Historical novel about parallel searches for the Holy Grail during both present day and in the Middle Ages.
I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
Hysterically funny British novel about a working mother trying to balance her home life with her work in high finance.
The Lost Painting by Jonathon Harr
Novel about a young grad student trying to uncover the mystery of a Caravaggio painting. I really loved this book!
Lying Awake by Mark Salzman (also The Soloist. Actually, anything by Mark Salzman)
Novel about a Carmelite nun who's been feeling like a fraud (doubts her faith). She suddenly starts to have religious visions that finally bring her close to God, and she feels blessed. But the visions are the result of a medical condition - does she opt for surgery to cure her condition (and lose her joyous visions of God?) or ignore the condition and lose her life?
The Soloist is about a musical prodigy who's lost his gift, and the aftermath of his "failure."
The Coffee Trader by David Liss
Historical novel about the burgeoning stock market (and a new commodity - coffee) in 17th century Amsterdam.
The Bounty by Caroline Alexander
Great account of William Bligh's command of the Bounty, and the Fletcher Christian-led mutiny.
The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
Nicely-drawn portraits of the 6 wives.
In the Land of White Death by ? Albonov
True account of explorers trying to survive the Arctic after their ship becomes frozen in the Arctic Sea in 1912. Whenever I think *I'm* having a bad day, I remember these poor guys!
And tons more. So many great books out there, so little time. Oh - and I'm reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to my 5 year old. Possibly one of the best books of all time!
