Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 John Green is a world-famous author, but he isn't typically known for nonfiction. Instead, Looking for Alaska , The Fault in Our Stars,  and his other works are typically geared toward teen readers. However, this book is different. I started following John Green on Instagram maybe a year or so ago, and enjoyed his reels. There was a definite shift in them after a while, as Green started talking more and more about Tuberculosis. I was fascinated by his perspective on the disease, and so I've wanted to read this book. There are bonus points with this one, because I'm also planning on adding it to my AP curriculum. Everything is Tuberculosis  explains just that: how so many things are tied to TB. Green discusses the history of the disease, how treatments were developed, and (I think) most importantly, the stigma tied to TB. It all started years ago in Sierra Leone, where Green was visiting with an organization he works with. He wasn't there to study TB, but a different cr...

 I picked this book up on Audible because it sounded interesting and didn't disappoint. A Woman of No Importance  describes the incredible true story of Virginia Hall, an American woman who served as an SOE spy during World War II. Virginia, rejecting her family's expectations of a highly advantageous marriage, pursued a career in the State Department. She dreamed of serving her country as an ambassador or in other roles high within the department. Blocked at every turn because of her gender, and then later, as a result of her amputated leg, she left the State Department at the start of World War II. She served as an ambulance driver as the German army advanced across the Maginot Line and into France. From there, Virginia was recruited to SOE - the Special Operations Executive. This secret branch of the British government was formed to conduct clandestine operations in Nazi-controlled territory. Virginia was sent to France as a journalist and spy. She made contacts in the Vich...

 This is a book that was recommended to me by several of my coworkers. I read it for my AP class, as several teachers before me used to use it in that class. If you want to truly know and learn about the horrors of the Holocaust, this is the book for you. Elie Wiesel took a ten-year vow of silence before writing about what he experienced at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. Wiesel describes how the Jews in his village in Romania hoped that the war would pass them by, how they knew that something was happening to Jews in other countries, but they hoped that nothing would happen to them. Wiesel then describes being forced into ghettos, then being taken to Auschwitz, where he was separated from his mother and sisters. Wiesel describes his experiences in the camp and the ending of the war as the Jews in the camps were liberated by the Americans and Russians. This book is chilling. There is no other way to describe it. Wiesel writes in vivid detail and describes the deep fear ...

This is a book I've used as an option in my AP class. It was the only book I hadn't read for the longest time. I finally finished it, and here is my review. The Devil in the White City  covers two true stories. The first is the story of the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. This part of the book follows the story of how the fair was built and the work that went into it by the famous architect Daniel H. Burnham. The second storyline follows the life of America's first serial killer, Dr. H. H. Holmes, who was active at the time of the World's Fair. Both accounts are true and pulled from primary source documents. Larson attempts to use the voices of the actual people involved wherever possible. This book was an interesting account on both sides. The individual stories were interesting, detailed, and as I said, Larson pulled from primary sources wherever possible. He often uses the "characters'" words when recounting their story. I enjoyed this aspect of it...

 This is another book that I read because of my AP class. I do have to admit that I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. The Boys in the Boat  tells the story of the 1936 U.S. Olympic rowing team. This team came from Washington State and was made up of a seemingly rag-tag group of boys. One boy in particular, Joe, came from very humble circumstances. Having been basically abandoned by his family multiple times in his childhood, Joe lacked confidence. By the time he got to the Olympics, his coaches had helped him succeed. I know next to nothing about rowing, but that was not a requirement to understand this book. Daniel James Brown does a great job of explaining the sport, and also introducing the mechanics of the boats themselves. I thought much of the background information he provided about boats and the legendary builder of them fascinating, but at times unnecessary. Joe's story is in many ways inspiring but also heartbreaking. Brown describes his childhood and ho...

 I picked this up because I needed a quick read to get me back on track with my reading goal. It did not have that effect for me. This book (because it's the young reader's edition) is appropriate for about 2nd to 4th grade. While I think it does a fantastic job at what it's trying to accomplish, I would like to get the full version and reread it. This book has been made into a film, and I think its message is excellent. Hidden Figures  follows the story of several African-American women trying to break into the field of aeronautics during and just after World War II. These women started as "computers" which meant that they were checking the math of the predominately white male engineers in other departments. These women were brilliant in their own right, and amazing mathematicians. Eventually, their skills could not be ignored, and many of them were promoted to other departments, and breaking racial barriers that had existed for a century. Based on the intended a...

I first read The Hiding Place  in my 8th grade honors English class. It was a book that I found fascinating and enjoyed at the time. As I was again trying to find books to include in my AP class, this is one that I thought of. I read through it a second time.  Corrie ten Boom was a devout Christian, raised in Denmark. She lived with her father and sister, Betsy, in their clock repair shop in a small Dutch town. As World War II broke out and the Germans invaded, the ten Booms were suddenly very aware of their Jewish neighbors. Corrie and her family begin helping the Dutch underground, helping take in Jews for short periods and hiding them in their home. Eventually, the ten Booms were caught, and Corrie was sent to Ravensbruck. This is a story of survival, faith, and doing what's right. This book is a memoir, with Corrie ten Boom telling the story of her experiences during World War II. The story itself is well-written, and the pacing of the story kept my attention. It was a rel...

This book was recommended to me by one of my teachers as a possibility for AP. I didn't end up going with it, and I don't think I still will, but I very much enjoyed the memoir. I Want You to Know We're Still Here  is Esther Safran Foer's memoir about life after the Holocaust. She describes how her and her parents came to the United States following the end of WWII, and her life following. She is obsessed with discovering her family's history. She describes traveling to Israel and Ukraine to meet with people who knew her family, particularly her father's family. She eventually is able to track down the Ukrainian family who helped hide her father during the war. Through this family, Foer was able to learn about her half sister, who her father had never mentioned. This connection to family is so incredibly important to the author. Overall, I did enjoy this book. The family history side of it particularly drew my attention. In my religion, there is a big focus on f...

 This is a book that I plan to use in my AP Language class next year, and so, needed to read. Unbroken  follows the story of Olympic runner Louis Zamperini. Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of Louie's childhood and the trouble he caused in Torrance, California until he finally discovered running. From there, he competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. As World War II broke out, Louie was drafted and sent to the Pacific. On a rescue mission, Louie's plane went down over the water and the surviving two members of the crew and Louie floated on a raft for more than a month without being rescued. Instead, they landed in the Japanese-occupied Marshall Islands and taken prisoner. As prisoners of war under the Japanese, they were taken back to mainland Japan and placed in prison camps, forced into labor, unfed, and severely beaten. Louie survived two years in these camps, first at Ofuna, then Omori, and finally Noetsu. At the end of the war, the camps were liberated, and Lou...

 This is another book I plan on using next year in AP language. In Cold Blood  by Truman Capote is the story of the Clutter murders in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. Perpetrated by two men who had never met the family, Capote tracks them in the days that lead up to the murders and the months that follow. He follows investigators, family members, and many connected with the case to its ultimate end - the hanging of the two murderers. I loved this book. While this book is completely true, it reads like a mystery novel. Capote masterfully unravels the mystery and carefully reveals the secrets of the case. It was fascinating to read and is amazingly well-written. I feel like my only criticism is that it was a little unclear at first that it was non-fiction. I would have loved something at the end that described how Capote got the information he got. Did he follow the case from the start, or did he do his extensive research afterwards? Regardless, this is a beautifully written book and i...

 I am finally off hiatus... Sorry that was such a long gap! Like I said, 2021 was really tough as far as teaching, and 2022 started off with a student teacher. Because of that, I've been able to read a pretty substantial amount and will be posting hopefully for the next two months consistently. The first book I was able to finish was Out of the Dust  by Karen Hess. This novel is written entirely in verse and follows 14 year old Billie Jo through the trials of living in rural Oklahoma during the dust bowl. Their young family is thrilled because Mama is expecting a baby boy, but that thrill soon turns to despair after an oil accident fatally injures Mama, and eventually the baby as well. As the dust storms get worse, Billie Jo finds herself desperate to leave Oklahoma and start over somewhere else, but realizes that her father is her life, and she ultimately decides to stay. This book was riveting and gut-wrenching. I'm not typically into books written in verse - I've tried s...

This is another book that I use in my classroom. My 10th-grade students enjoy this story. I've read this book a few times, and I enjoy it more every time I read it. Warriors Don't Cry  by Melba Patillo Beals tells the true story of her experience integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Melba was a normal teenage girl. She had friends, went to class, got good grades. She had a tight-knit family at home. Her life was forever changed when she put her name down on a list of students to possibly integrate Central High School. Melba went from a normal school to what she describes as a battlefield. She had to be escorted to every class by a soldier from the U.S. military, she had to watch every corner and staircase, she was beaten, spit upon, and yelled at, and even had segregationists calling her home to try and scare her out of going to school. This book is another narrative that is particularly sensitive in the current climate of racial tensions. I also think this...

This book came up in my free monthly Audible Original. I've been on a British Royal kick (don't judge, but yes, I watch The Crown on Netflix... I may have seen it several times). I don't know a lot about British or European history, and so this sounded like an interesting read. The Life and Times of Prince Albert by Patrick Allitt is not a comprehensive biography of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Instead, it focuses on several places where he had influence. Albert made something of his role as the queen's consort, a position that had little importance before he pushed for change and reform. This book was less of a book and more of a lecture series. Allitt himself does call it that, and since it's from the Great Courses, that's what readers should expect from the start. I personally enjoy history, so I did enjoy the content. It was engaging and interesting. I liked that Allitt was not afraid to show Albert's struggles as well as his successes a...