The Poisonwood Bible

Kingsolver, B. (1998). The Poisonwood Bible. New York:  Harper Perennial.

Sometimes I get very tired of reading the mundane and overdone love stories.  I always enjoy a novel with a different perspective.  When two of my colleagues recommended Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, I decided to give it a chance.  Since Kingsolver is a Kentucky native whom I have never read before, I felt even more pressure.  And once in a while the novel appears on the Literature and Composition Advanced Placement exam.  I always want to find novels to recommend to my students that may assist them for the exam.  So, based on the above criteria, I just had to read The Poisonwood Bible.  And Even though it took several months to read (because of my very busy schedule), I'm so very glad that I read Barbara Kingsolver's amazing novel.

The Book Thief

Zusak, M. (2005). The Book Thief. New York:  Knopf.

There have been many, many books written involving stories of children and adolescents during World War II.  Australian writer, Markus Zusak takes a different approach.  He chooses to write about a young German girl, rather than take a Jewish voice.  This fresh perspective is just what I needed for summer reading.

The Help

Stockett, K. (2009). The Help.  New York:    Putnam.

I have to admit, I'm a very bad reader sometimes. Sometimes I watch a movie then read a book, and sometimes I take a long time to read a book. Both of these confessions are true with The Help. I first watched the movie, which I love, then I bought the book on my e-reader, two years ago.  I was never able to read past the first 100 pages or so. I was determined to finally actually read the novel. And since I'm at a training without TV or real responsibilities, I did. And I'm so glad I did.