How about a little non-fiction? I had the next book in my pile to read for eight months. And it was a library book. Luckily, it was from the school librarian, and they like me down there because I actually get kids to check out books. Go figure. So I am returning it tomorrow through the slot so I don't have to face them in person.
I know, I'm a biblio-wuss.
Anyhow, once I started reading The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by By William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, I pretty much couldn't put it down. This book is not necessarily intended for a teen audience, but there's no reason at all why you shouldn't read it. And I bet you'd find it to be a page-turner, too.
William is from Malawi. He details his life from early childhood through a crippling famine that struck his community. You know how your parents tell you not to waste your food and not to take all the things you have for granted? This book will explain why, once and for all. The fact that William and his family survived is a miracle. What he did next is beyond belief.
William self-taught himself physics, chemistry, and electrical and mechanical engineering from a couple of science textbooks in a community library. He created a windmill that supplied electrical power to his home. Hos goal was to use the power for irrigation of the family's crops year round so they would never go hungry again.
If this guy doesn't inspire you to be a better person, I just don't know who will.
And since I'm being random today, let's talk poetry. I LOVE poetry. Except for William Carlos Williams. I will never understand the red wheelbarrow, and you can't make me. So there. Sometimes a wheelbarrow is just a wheelbarrow and a chicken is just a chicken.
But reading poetry, in general, leaves me awed and inspired. I have the Poetry Foundation app on my phone, I sometimes I spin it (go and try it right now...it's free) just to read someone's concise and richly worded perspective on some random topic. Poetry rocks.
I'm currently digging into a pile of novels written in verse -- full-length narratives written in poetic form -- to use in a poetry unit with my students. There are many, many great examples, but The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle is the most recent one I've read. This book chronicles the history of Cuba from the late 1800s until present day through the eyes of dictators, refugees, revolutionaries, and survivors. This is one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time about a place that tends to keep its secrets very well. The poems are short, told from the point of view of a handful of recurring characters. You have to pay attention a bit to keep track of who is doing what, but it's well worth it.
This one will make you finish your dinner and take care of your stuff, too.
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