Wide+Reading

==I often find the school holdidays to be the best time to do some great reading. Below are just some of the books I read over the holidays and would recommend: == =And finally now I am reading //The Hunger Games// by Suzanne Collins which a good friend of mine, who teaches English at another school, has recommended to me, along with many, many students. I am enjoying reading it very much at the moment, but it's hard to put down, which probably accounts for why I am feeling so tired after staying up late reading it!= =What about you guys? What have you been reading lately? What would you recommend to each other and me?=
 * ==//The Tiger's Wife// by Tea Obreht - an interesing and engaging story about a grand daughter searching for the truth behind her grand father's death. This is really beautifully told, wrapped together with aspects of Balkans history, Kipling's //The Jungle Book//, and Yugoslavian folk lore. The folk lore and story telling aspects may be interesting to examine in relation to fairy tales? ==
 * ==//Damned// by Chuck Palahniuk - I love Palahniuk for his dry wit and overtly satirical style. This novel focuses around 13 year old Maddie, who dies and finds herself in hell. She has to work out how to survive for the rest of eternity in the home of the devil. Very funny, but causes contemplation at the same time. It causes us to question the nature of religion and our collective humanity.==
 * =//A Visit From The Goon Squad// by Jennifer Egan - this won the Pulitzer Prize last year and it is beautifully written, with a series of vignettes of different characters who are all connected in some way, flashes throughout like little memories, proving how fleeting life can really be.=
 * =//The Invention of Hugo Cabret// by Brian Selznick - a children's book, told with both the written word and sketches. The book on which the film 'Hugo' is based. Book is much better - I found the film a little disappointing, despite the excellent reviews.=
 * =//One Night// by Margaret Wild - recommended to me by Ms McKenzie, an interesing romance/teen fic/bildungsroman story told in poetry. Quite a good read.=
 * =//Death Comes To Pemberley// by P.D James - recommended to me by Ms Gentile, this is a great book for any of you Jane Austen fans! This is set a few years after the end of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy and Elizabeth are happily married, with 2 young children. They are preparing for a ball, when one rainy night Lydia arrives unexpectedly, claiming that Wickam has been murdered! A lot of fun.=

=//- Mrs Esterman//=

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====Thanks for the ^above books Mrs Esterman, I will be sure to check them out! A guy a work recommended 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' also, he really enjoyed it. It's funny watching children's eyes widen as they take in the thickness of the book, more often than not, they have seen the movie first!====

====**//'The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves. The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience...'//**====

====I would recommend 'Tuesdays With Morrie' by Mitch Albom. This book is about a graduate catching up with his old professor who has been diagnosed with ASL. They meet every Tuesday and talk about life, all the while Morrie's health is deteriorating.====

====I recently read it (a few hours ago!) and fell in love with it. It is just one of those novels that: "you have to read in one sitting." - Well, that's what my co-worker Rachel told me yesterday! She herself read it whilst she was out at a nightclub, she just couldn't put it down. But what pushed me to read 'Tuesdays with Morrie' was a conversation i had with a customer yesterday. She was an older woman (50-60 years old) buying this very book for her daughter's birthday as she herself had enjoyed it so much. When i asked about the novel, she became very passionate and her eyes filled with life as she spoke animately about the novel. I knew then, that i had to read this book if it had the ability to touch this woman so much. It didn't disappoint.====

===='Tuesdays With Morrie' explores many themes such as life, death, marriage, happiness, age, fear...etc. What really intrigued me was the truth to this story: it actually happened. Rachel told me, "I wish i'd known it was a true story when i read it."====

====The whole time i was reading the novel i was mesmerised by the Morrie's perception of the world and his spirit, as he was diagnosed with ASL (-like Stephen Hawking). It's not for everyone, but this novel explores issues that everyone can __relate__ to. I was able to relate to Mitch who lacks life experience (life experience = wisdom) and was brought up in a consumer-driven and money-hungry world.====

====Throughout the novel i laughed and cried. This novel is an international bestseller, and is on Dymock's Booklover's Top 101 Books (yes shameless advertising! lol). It's not written for suspense, or a nicely set up storyline; instead its just tells you the truth; the story of Morrie.====

====-Emily ====