Beginning with this list number seven,
I am adding asterisks after the titles that were particularly compelling to me.
Glow Kids by Nicholas Kardaris, PhD. Non Fiction. *** One of the most profound and disturbing books about the effect of electronics, primarily screens have on our current generation. Fully documented and supported by mental health professionals, historians and others who have witnessed the take-over of technology in our time. I was overwhelmed with the potential for damaging people of all ages who could not resist the constant use of phones, iPads and computers or the over-use of social media sites. I don’t fall for much and readily question statistics of any kind. I am a skeptic at heart but everything I read rang true to me from my own experience observing the evolution of electronics in our lives. I was so taken by the problems of addiction, kids living in basements and refusing to go out and many cases of murder that resulted directly from a child or young person’s continual exposure to video games or bullying on cyber-sites such as Facebook. I bought copies of this book for my adult children and a friend who are currently raising children who have or want phones. These same children want to play video games on iPads or computers with or without permission and into the night. Tom’s experience as a teacher of 40 years is also on record as being made more difficult by the introduction of technology rather than improved by it. I hope my children read their books and I plan to read mine again. I can’t do much about other people but I can protect my grandchildren from access to our computer when they are at our home. HIGHLY recommend.
Angel Unaware by Alissa Parker, Memoir, Non Fiction. *** This is a memoir by the mother of a murdered child. The place of the horrible deed was Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. At first, I didn’t think that I could read it. I was overwhelmed by the emotions connected with the event and by my own remembrance of my children at that age. I put it down before I got to the murders but picked it up again and continued. I am so grateful that I did. Few books have born such a testimony of life after death or of the love a Heavenly Father has for his children. I don’t feel uplifted by everything I read about other people’s faith experiences but this book was amazing. Perhaps it was also that I share a theology with the author and so everything she went through and described made sense to me and I believed her. In fact the Spirit touched my heart profoundly. When it came to the information about the shooter, I could not fathom his actions under ordinary circumstances, but I had just finished reading Glow Kids (above) and that book devoted almost a whole chapter to Adam Lanza and his years of video game addiction including the escalation of what it took to keep him engaged. My daughter read it after I did and said she could not put it down. She cried for hours while she read but felt better for the experience when she had finished. I highly recommend this beautiful book.
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson. Fiction. When Tom taught the book The Crucible, he also had his students read the very short story by Shirley Jackson called The Lottery. I enjoyed all of the “other stories” in this small book as well.
American Jezebel by Eve LaPlante. Historical Fiction.
Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicines by National Geographic and Steven Foster-Rebecca L. Johnson. Reference. ***
The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent. Historical Fiction.
Deadline Artists: America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns by Jesse Angelo, John Avalon, and Errol Louis. History, Journalism.
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Fiction and Netflix Movie.
Holy Ghosts or How a Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer in Things That go Bump in the Night by Gary Jansen. Fiction, Supernatural.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. Historical Fiction.
Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt. Historical Fiction.
The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives by Sasha Abramsky. Current Issues.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. Current Issues.
Hitler: Downfall 1939-1945 by Volker Ullrich. History.
Greyhound, Previous Published as The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester. Fiction.
The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk. History and Current Issues.
Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather. Fiction.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Historical Fiction.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Fiction. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
What Falls Away by Mia Farrow. Memoir.
A Guest at the Shooter’s Table by Rita Gabis. History, Memoir.
