The Book Bag Blog

I love a good library. The American Fork Library is a beauty, but it's off limits, as I have to PAY. I think all libraries should be free. The library available to me is the Lehi Library. It is not impressive. It is, however, free. I am not overly organized and often don't get my books back on time. I pay a lot of late fees to my library. One day, I would like to slap my card on the desk along with the $2.31 for the late fee, and a list of decent books to buy with that money. I have paid enough in late fees that I could have bought a book or two. If they were thrifty book buyers, they may be able to find some decent books that the American Fork Library is done with and selling at a fraction of the price.

Having said all that, here are a few books I've read lately on my grave shift:

The Road

by: Cormac McCarthy

This book haunted me. It was like reading my worst nightmare. It was written very well, although a little dry in some places. It was the story of a man and his son living in post apocolyptic America. This father constantly struggled with the idea of whether or not he had it in him to kill his son if it came to that. It was an incredibly dark and depressing book, complete with people eating babies. Having said all that, I did like it. I thought about it for MONTHS after reading it.

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Goodnight, Mr. Tom
by: Michelle Magorian

LOVED IT! This was a fabulous story. I believe it is a Young Adult novel which makes it a quick and enjoyable read. It was about a young boy living in London when the war broke out. All the children were sent to live in the countryside to protect them from the bombings. He moved from the home of his abusive single mother to the home of a single, childless, older man. It was also very well written. I really enjoyed it.

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by: Betty Smith

I can't believe I haven't read this before. It was the coming of age story of an girl and her inpovished family living in Brooklyn in the early 1900's. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother worked to support the family. The story is loosely based on the author's life. It was very good and I recommend it.

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Just Another Kid
by: Torey Hayden

If you know anything about me, you know that Torey Hayden in my favorite author. She is a teacher who writes the stories of her self-contained, special ed classrooms. I have read them all >5 times and I still go back to them. She now lives in Whales and has a really interesting website about her writings and a message board.

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Living, Loving and Learning
by: Leo Buscaglia

This book changed my life in college. I still read it when I need to be uplifted. He is also an educator who taught a Univeristy level class on Love in California. He has since died, but his thoughts and this book still influence me today. It is more of a collection of lectures.

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Well, that's all that's in the bag for tonight. Halle and I have been reading the Junie B Jones books together. They are quite funny and I enjoy them. She got a box-set for her birthday and we can get through one book in about a week. They are fun.

I hope these have given you some good ideas, and happy reading!