8/07/2006

on my nightstand...

Here's what I'm reading right now:
King Leopold's Ghost
Required reading for the World History class that I'm teaching. It's one of those books that shocking--millions of Africans killed to satisfy the greed of a Belgian monarch. Helps put the challenges of post-colonial Africa into perspective.
Survival in Auschwitz
Another read for World History. One man's perspective on life in a concentration camp. This book is almost impossible to put down because of its candid horror and lucid writing. I can't wait to discuss this one with my undergrads.
Plain Living
I'm reading this text as I study Simplicity this month. In addition, I'm reading selections from Simple Abundance
The Water is Wide
This book tells about a teacher on a an impoverished South Carolina island in 1969. His upper-grade students don't know how to read and they think the biggest city in the world is Savannah. A ripping good story by an awesome writer.
Giants in the Earth
It's a classic tale of danish immigrants homesteading the Dakota prairie. I found myself gripping my seat, almost wanting to yell at them, "Get that harvest in NOW" as I knew the crickets would be coming. And they did, in hordes, every year. Protagonists Beret and Pers Hansa felt like friends by the end of this book (I just finished reading it last week). It reminded me of the Kristin Lavransdatter series (another must-read!), though KL is set in an entirely different time and place.

All of these books are probably in your local library, and almost all are available on amazon.com for less than $5 each. You can click on the hyperlinks to read more about them :)
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just finished reading Adventures in Babysitting. I've read it about 75 times, and I am still surpised every time I read it. I never know if the kids will make it home before the parents get back or not.

7:36 PM
Gray said...

King Leopold's Ghost is a very fine book. I wish there was more African history in schools. I learned a lot from it. Important, really worthwhile. I also really liked The Water is Wide, but I have not read any of the others.

For an unusual read, speaking of Euro/African history, I read "Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika" last winter. It features an eccentric cast of characters, and is about the successful British naval efforts to control Lake Tanganyika in World War I. Historical nonfiction. The movie African Queen is loosely based on this conflict. I really love Katharine Hepburn.

-Gray

7:40 AM

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