Books that impacted me as a kid, as a teen . . . and look me up if you ever head out to Omaha

I’m writing this after finishing up an online final and my brain is . . . tired.  So, of course, I jump online and blog.  I know this is more classwork, but it’s also enjoyment for me.

To finish up the semester, I want to do a kind of personal laundry list of what books were important to me as a kid and as a teen.  If I think about it very long, I know the list will just keep growing.  With that in mind, I’m trying to not second-guess and not do too much editing.  The course has underscored that books can and should make a difference in the lives of kids.  So onto my three lists.

Kid lit (titles and authors)

Frog and Toad — To this day, Frog and Toad are hardwired in my head.  I like cookies, I make lists, I try and stay brave.

Frog and Toad

Richard Scary — My dad hated Richard Scary books.  As a kid I demanded that he read every word on a page.  And Richard Scary labelled everything.

Good Luck Arizona Man —

Good Luck Arizona Man

This is a little obscure.  It’s a western.  It was funny and suspenseful and smart . . . and published way back in 1972.  I trace a direct line to the literature I like today to this book.  (And I’m not sure if it’s in print.)

The Wind and the Willows — My copy had great illustrations and it was oversized.  It looked and felt like literature.

Middle school

The Hobbit — Never could plow through the Lord of the Rings, but I read The Hobbit.  And I spent a good chunk of junior high playing Dungeons and Dragons.  Trivia — I quit playing D&D largely because it just seemed too nerdy going into high school.  What girl would ever go out with a D&D kid who owns and rolls polyhedral dice?

The Great Brain series — This would be a late elementary school book series (there were seven books.)  The setting was 1890s rural Utah, and the original book was turned into a bad movie starring the youngest Osmond brother.  Very much the case of the book being better than the movie . . . by a lot.

Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl books — I loved all of Roald Dahl, but especially Danny, Champion of the World and a short story collection, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and six More.  Danny and Henry are just good storytelling.

YA Books/Things I read as a teen

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — I saw the BBC TV show on public TV as a kid, then I read the book, then my local NPR affiliate ran the radio series.  They all were funny and clever.  And Douglas Adams should have lived longer.  Must use a quote from the book now — “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” Douglas Adams

Kurt

Slaughterhouse-Five — Kurt Vonnegut’s best-known book, and I’ve written about it on this blog.  He’s a literary hero of mine, and I hear him speak once at UNL.

Autobiography of Malcolm X (I think) — The reason I wrote “I think” is because I’ve read X multiple times and I have a couple of books of the speeches.  I’m almost dead-sure I read the autobiography the first time in early high school, and it’s a stunning work.  Why have I re-read it over the years?  Some people read Horatio Alger for inspiration or those Chicken Soup or Seven Habits stuff.  Me?  I read Malcolm when I’m aggravated and job searching.

* * *

Thanks for reading.  And if you’re ever in Omaha, classmates, I’d buy you a cup of coffee and we can talk books.

Another post about YA concerns; another post about my daughters

In thinking about a longer blog this week, I wanted to add to the discussion about letting people, even young people read, what they want to read.  Blog posting like Grit Lit: Why it is Important and DON’T FORGET THE MID-GRADE!  make points that I like and agree with.

The perspective I’m coming from is at least a little unique for this class.  I’m a guy, a parent (two daughters, a 4^th grader and a kindergartener), and a nontraditional student (read that as “old.”)  I’m also a reader who in junior high decided that if a book was on a banned book list, well, let’s find a copy of that . . . quickly. I’ve written about this in my blog, as well. (Here’s the headline and link to that — I grew up across the street from a library . . .)

What still amazes me is that people, who also sound like parents, think that they need to keep their kids safe from books.  It’s as if they forgot what it was like to be a teen.  And they aren’t embarrassed when they ask “book safety” questions when they talk with an author like Carrie Mesrobian over the radio.  I agree with all of the other bloggers who have echoed Mesrobian’s major point – YA lit is a safe way to address issues difficult teen issues like sex and violence and drinking and drugs and identity.

My first undergrad degree was in journalism, so I’m a big believer in the fundamental American idea that censorship is bad.  Right now, it’s easy for me to state that I will always let my kids read and read and read what they want . . . but I can play a Devil’s Advocate here, too.  What if my 10-year-old brings home Speak because our slightly older neighbor girl said the book is great?  What if it’s not Speak but Will Grayson, Will Grayson, where the authors use believable (and wildly creative) teen profanity?  In my mind, I’d like my kids to be aspiring readers. Right now, I think my 10-year-old would like to read about the 12-year-old female lead character in Rules. Again, from my persepctive, I see that as a way for her to look into the future . . .at least a little bit.

But if Viv brings home a book next week, next month, next summer that makes me and her mother nervous, I think I need to lean on another idea I picked up in journalism classes.  In a marketplace of ideas, those ideas and views that are compelling will find and gain an audience.  Those ideas that fail to measure up will fall away in favor of something else and something better.

My girls are smart.  Books, even those loaded with “bad words,” don’t hurt people.  And the only way for them to learn which ideas are good and worthwhile to hang onto is simply to take in more and more ideas and make informed decisions.  Bring on the stacks of books.

Molly is the kindergartener. Viv is in fourth grade. Picture taken at the zoo here in Omaha.

Blogging about books

In my previous post, I put in hotlinks to author websites.  That’s something I need to do more of.  Creating a greater depth, a richness, in this online space is important, I think.  

While I’m sure only a handful of people have seen this web space so far, I’d like what i’m doing here to be as worthwhile as possible with the start of the spring semester.  LIke anything, I believe if you’re going to do something you should do it well.

Some additional blogging thoughts —

• Right now, I think I’ve managed to connect this blog to my home twitter account.  Is it worth creating a separate school/class twitter for this or not.
• Not sure how the interaction with other student bloggers will work during the spring.  If every student in a class is blogging, sheesh, that’ll be a lot of posting to go through.
• Not sure what a best practice is as far as including off-topic or vaguely on-topics, links, information is in this space.  I did post a couple of quote earlier from authors I like, but is that just wasting the reader’s time?
• Just what is the best length for a post anyway?
• It will be interesting to see how much personal information related to the texts will be included in posts for this class.  I’ve mentioned the memoir class I took years ago.  The level of sharing became, well, interesting (and a little uncomfortable) at times.  Young adult lit on family, personal, and relationship issues is bound to bubble up thoughts.

The next post will be on Rules by Cynthia Lord.  She has an author website too.  It’s simply named —http://www.cynthialord.com.

 

Blog housekeeping

I’m toying with different blog themes, colors, and header images.  Just switched over to the “Skeptical” theme only because of the name.  Wondering just how important layout and design is with a blog focused on thinking about literature.