Spring Break Reads -- Deb Peterson
What are some good books to read over Spring Break?
I heard this question in the cafeteria and was reminded of the wonderful list that the Academy English Department compiled last spring. I was lucky enough to get a copy of the list of their favorite books and much of my summer reading was taken from this list. I especially liked the diversity of genres and tastes represented on the list. The list included books that I may not have picked up on my own.
As I was thinking of ways to share book recommendations amongst the adult Punahou 'ohana, I was reading some library blogs and decided to delve in with one devoted to "He mea hoihoi - Interesting Things." The first post will be devoted to books to read over Spring Break. Please add your own recommendations by adding comments to this post. Please do not give away any endings and do add an annotation about the book and why you enjoyed reading it.
See something you would like to read? See if it is available in Cooke Library or the Hawaii State Public Library.
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
One of my favorites recently is Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Amir and Hassan are young boys in Afghanistan. Amir is from a privileged family and his best friend, Hassan, is the son of servants. The book begins with the two boys participating in the traditional kite running contest in Kabul. What happens that day will haunt both boys and change their friendship.
**"Thanks for including me in this. I just recently finished reading "Kiterunner" and I found it to be riveting. I couldn't put the book down. It gave me some insight into Afghani life from the monarchy to the Talibani periods. Powerful and thought-provoking. Thanks for the chance to comment." - Yukio Hamada
**There is recent news out of Pakistan about the practice of kite running being banned. Check out this article: More than 1,000 detained over Pakistan kite ban. To read more articles, simply go to Google News and put "kite running" into the search box. - Deb Peterson
Pretty Birds by Scott Simon
In war-torn Sarajevo, Irena's family is brutalized as they are forced to flee to the Muslim section of the city at the outbreak of hostilities. Irena is a star basketball player on her school team and her life changes dramatically in the course of a few hours as she leaves her friends behind her as she flees. Irena is recruited to become a sniper and her life becomes a struggle to merely stay alive. Pretty Birds is a novel written by Scott Simon, a NPR reporter.
Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve tells the story of fifteen-year-old Olympia who meets a friend of her father while on vacation with her family. Olympia and John Haskell, a married man three times her age fall in love despite the turn of the century censure of their love. The book also talks of labor movements concerning mill-town workers.
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is a wonderful story told through Reuben Land, an eleven year old with asthma. His father is raising three sons alone in 1960s Minnesota. After Reuben's older brother, Davy, is charged with murder and runs away, the father,Jeremiah, searches for him to keep the family together. There is something about this novel that haunts you long after you finish reading.
Those are some of my picks. Please feel free to "comment" on any of these choices and add your favorites to the list. If you would like to be notified when the blog is updated, let me know. IT assures me that it is easy to do.
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (recommended by Shryl Matias)
Hi Deb,
Thanks so much for doing this. Here's a "blurb" for a book that I found fascinating, DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY:
Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.
"As absorbing a piece of popular history as one will ever hope to find." --San Francisco Chronicle
THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, by Simon Winchester.
Read this about 3 years ago, and it comes to mind whenever I want to recommend an absorbing non-fiction work. Winchester tells the story of the Oxford Unabridged Dictionary, from initial idea through its creation, and one doesn't need to be an English teacher or a librarian to enjoy this book. I never realized the enormity of that undertaking, and I certainly had no idea how long it took once the project got underway - Winchester explains all this, and he sprinkles fascinating facts about the Dictionary as he does. But what elevates this book is the story he tells about the leading contributor to the project - an American, by the way.
I mostly read non-fiction and loved it; Deb mostly reads fiction, and she loved it too.
-Jay Seidenstein