Fall 2009 faculty and staff picks
I was drawing a blank when I was trying to think of my own book choices for this entry. Then I had a request from a teacher for recommendations for free-choice reading for her students with the theme of identity or "who am I". That request combined with the fact that I just read a riveting book (The Bite of the Mango) reminded me of the following biographies of individuals that have been shaped by their experiences in war-torn countries. The subject is grim but they all show the resilience and courage shown by individuals facing difficult situations.
Kamara, Mariatu with Susan McClelland. The Bite of the Mango. 2008. [B K123]
Mariatu is 12 and living in Sierra Leone when her village is attacked by heavily armed rebel soldiers. She is kidnapped and tortured and then child soldiers are ordered to cut off both her hands before leaving her. Be forewarned - I read this book in one sitting. For a fiction book from the point of view of a boy soldier, read Uzodinma Iweala's Beasts of No Nation. [Fic Iweala]
Ung, Loung. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. 2000. [959.6 Un3]
Loung was the child of a high-ranking government official in Phnom Penh. When she was five, her family fled Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army in April of 1975. They moved from village to village hiding their former life of privilege. Loung's story of survival still haunts me long after I read the book.
Bok, Francis. Escape From Slavery: The True Story of My Ten Years in Captivity - and My Journey to Freedom in America. 2003. [305.5 B63]
Seven-year-old Francis was captured by Arab raiders in southern Sudan. For ten years, he lived as a slave until he finally escaped after two other aborted escape attempts. He persevered through prison and refugee camps until finally being granted passage to America. What is the What by Dave Eggers is a novel that tells a similar story of a refugee from the Sudanese Civil War. [F Eggers]
Read on for recommendations from other faculty and staff - hopefully not all grim!
-Deb Peterson
Larsson, Stieg. The Girl Who Played With Fire. 2009.
This is the second in a three part series and the sequel to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Now deceased, the author was an editor at a prestigious Swedish magazine, and he writes about the world of crime and reportage in urban Sweden. This grim but compelling fictional story follows the murder of two reporters who were about to publish an expose involving corrupt policemen and the modern day sex slave trade. The title character is the same socially crippled and brilliant detective he featured in his first book. This is a good mystery with overtones of social commentary, lots of violence, and a couple of visits to Ikea. Seriously.
-Tim Dyke
Crawford, Matthew. Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work. 2009. [331 C85]
I first saw this reviewed as a "contemporary companion piece to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and that's a good, if reductive, description. Written by a motorcycle mechanic with a PhD in philosophy from University of Chicago, the book asks why American culture puts more value on so-called "white-collar" jobs than on jobs where people actually make things with their hands. The book is about what knowledge is, and Crawford argues that people who make are as knowledgeable as people who manage and plan, but that it's a different kind of knowledge. I thought this was a good book for teachers even though it's written for a general audience.
-Tim Dyke
Strout, Elizabeth. Olive Kitteridge. 2008. [F Strout]
This Pulitzer Prize winning story collection offers a series of stories about characters in a small town in Maine. Olive Kitteridge appears in each story, at times as the main character, and at times as one whose involvement is brief but pivotal. The book snuck up on me. By the end I'd realized I'd read a novel disguised as a story collection.
-Tim Dyke
Lehane, Dennis. Shutter Island. 2003. [on order]
A scary story about missing women and crazy sherrifs in a delapidated insane asylum. This would be a great Halloween read.
-Tim Dyke
Krakauer, Jon. Where Men Win Glory. 2009. [B T462]
The author of Under the Banner of Heaven, Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and other books has produced another great read. This book profiles Pat Tillman the Arizona Cardinal defensive back who enlisted in the army and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. A chilling, moving, well-researched story ensues.
-Tim Dyke
Tropper, Jonathan. This Is Where I Leave You. 2009
Wow. This book was absolutely hilarious. It's raunchy and irreverent, but oddly moving at the same time. I'll say no more. If the above description appeals, just read it without knowing the plot, and if raunchy irreverence is not your thing, that's completely understandable. In that case read Olive Kitteridge!
-Tim Dyke
Hampl, Patricia. The Florist's Daughter. 2007. On order
An elegantly written memoir about her father (mostly), capturing the midwestern ethos of St. Paul, Minnesota. It is terse and poetic. One short scene comes to mind. Standing before his workbench, as if in meditation, he stares for one long moment at the colorful mix of cut flowers, arrayed like pick-up sticks. Hampl says, "he held the belief, amounting to religious faith, that there is an underlying something--a law, rule, an innate recognition of rightness--that exists within matter itself and is understood as elegance. It is not something we make but something to we reveal--or even acquiesce to when it is revealed to us." Then in a flash he puts together an impeccably beautiful bouquet, which is also one way to write poetry.
-Joe Tsujimoto
Alexie, Sherman. Flight. 2007. [F Alexie]
A troubled Native American teenager is kicked out of one foster home after another and is on the verge of going berserk. What happens to him next is powerful and moving.
-Susan Clark
Preston, Richard. Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring. 2007. [634.9 P92]
This nonfiction book reads almost like a novel, giving a suspenseful and entertaining account of scientists and adventurers who climb giant redwood trees in California.
-Susan Clark
Bunce, Elizabeth. A Curse Dark As Gold. 2008. [F Bunce]
Winner of the American Library Association's William C. Morris Debut Award, Elizabeth Bunce's A Curse Dark As Gold is a suspenseful retelling of the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale, set in the late 1700s at the dawning of the Industrial Revolution. The story opens with a funeral: plucky and headstrong Charlotte Miller, along with her younger sister Rosellen, have been orphaned. The two daughters are the lone survivors of the Miller clan, the family that runs "Stirwaters", the mill of Shearing Village. Their family enterprise is plagued by financial troubles, as well as an evil curse which has destroyed generations of male Miller heirs. In the face of calamity, however, Charlotte not only assumes the mantle of Stirwaters' miller but also the burden of breaking the black magic, once and for all. A heady brew of fantasy, historical fiction, romance, intrigue, and superstition, this novel delights.
-Lara Cowell
Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese. 2006. [F Yang]
Although I'm not normally a big fan of graphic novels, I was enthralled with Gene Yang's amazing graphic novel, American Born Chinese, a finalist for the National Book Award-Young People's Literature category and winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award. The book encompasses three different narrative threads, all deftly woven together at the novel's conclusion: the story of the likeable Jin Wang, a Taiwanese immigrant struggling with issues of cultural identity, teenage angst, and girl problems; a mythic strand about the fabled Monkey King of Chinese legend, who, fueled by desire to earn the reverence due to a deity, seeks transcendence from his simian roots; and a surreal third strand about an all-American boy, Danny, who is haunted by a visiting relative, Cousin Chin-Kee, an Asian-stereotype incarnate. Suitable for young adults, this novel has style, substance, and heart, as well as an uplifting message about self-acceptance.
-Lara Cowell
Kindl, Patrice. Owl in Love. 1993 [F Kindl]
Owl Tycho is a wereowl - girl by day, owl by night - who falls in love with her science teacher. This novel is touching, funny, and imaginative, and was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
-David Del Rocco
Kent, Rose. Kimchi and Calamari. 2007. [BLC - Kent, Rose]
A heartwarming story aimed at grades 6-8. 14-year-old Joseph Calderaro was adopted into an Italian-American family as a baby but is originally from Korea and knows nothing about his Korean heritage. But one day he needs to write a genealogy report for school. This would be great for middle school students or parents, especially those who have adopted children from other cultures.
-David Del Rocco
Rodriguez, Debbie. Kabul Beauty School. 2007. [305.4 R61]
Debbie Rodriguez set up a beauty school in Kabul for the women of Afganistan who have very limited ways to make their own money and have independence. The book is easy to read and captivating. Debbie shares the lives of the courageous women of Kabul and helps us have hope for their future.
-Kathleen Thomas
Lee, Jennifer 8. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. 2008. [on order]
This book is perfect light entertainment for economy itineraries involving several connecting flights. Jennifer 8. Lee is a New York times reporter who traces the influence of the Chinese restaurant industry in America to disparate elements ranging from Powerball winners to cheap intra-city bus service. The origins and outlook for soy sauce packet producers, Chinese take-out cartons, and fortune cookie manufacturers are detailed. I didn't know what I didn't know about Chinese food in America. An excellent read-and-pass-on book choice for holiday travellers.
-Malia Ogoshi
McDougall, Christopher. Born to Run. 2009. [796.4 M14]
This book is about how the author seeks to overcome his injuries and find his "inner" runner. Along the way he meets some members of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, a mysterious lone runner called Caballo Blanco and many ultrarunners of various sexes and sizes. I found this book inspiring and well as informative and I am ready to get a pair of Nike Frees and go run 10 miles just for the sheer pleasure of running. Highly recommended to all runners and those thinking about becoming runners.
-Melanie Killam
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. 2005. [362.82 W15]
A fascinating memoir about a family whose slightly anti-establishment parents keep the group on the move in what seems, at times, like a state of deliberate homelessness. A remarkable look at the resiliency of children in the face of strange and often difficult circumstances. This book really made me think about my definition of a family and appropriate parenting parameters because, although the author's experience was worlds away from mine, it wasn't necessarily negative and on some levels, it seemed almost liberating.
-Chandra Peters
Hogan, Erin. Spiral Jetta. 2008. [On order]
Erin was a classmate of mine here at Punahou. I remember her from the Speech and Debate team (she was hilarious!). She writes about her trip across the country, in search of "land art." She obviously knows much more about art than I could hope to, so she kind of lost me when she started deeply discussing art at points, but her fish-out-of-water approach to the whole experience of traveling from her urban comfort zone in Chicago to the Wild West was fun and readable. I learned about some cool land art that I'd never known existed, even though I've visited some of the same parts of the West that she talked about.
-Chandra Peters