Ashlee - February

February is Black History Month... and I'm still pondering the idea of resistance.... so I spent some time reading texts having to do with race relations and/or the Civil Rights Movement. With some other issues of discrimination being forefront in the news and my mind, it has been an interesting reading month. So here's what I read....

6) Our Time Together by Carol Burnett ****
(Hollywood, CA - Memoir)
Carol Burnett is by far one of the funniest women in entertainment. Her facial expressions are amazing and her sense of time is impeccable. This was actually her second memoir... but focused more on her career than her first. She talked some about her early life with her eccentric parents, but focused more on the process of her comedy and the shape it took with the people around her. It was fun to hear the more detailed side of some of my favorite sketches of hers. I listened to this one so there were probably times when the people driving next to me wondered what on Earth I was doing as I was laughing so hard down the road.

7) Into the Wild by Jon Krauker ****
(Healy, AK)
This is a story of a man who goes into the wilds of Alaska and, unfortunately, finds his demise. The author tells of others adventurers and the many theories about the young man's death.  I appreciated the research that went into telling this timeline and the ideas of finding peace in God's world.

8) The Explosive Child by Ross Greene ****
Okay... this has 4 stars if you have a child who throws wild and crazy tantrums. It's also a 4 star if you're a psychologist looking for a way to help children who throw wild and crazy tantrums. Other than that, it's probably just a lot of babble. Psychobabble.

9) To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee *****
(Maycomb County, AL - 1001)
I love this book. I love Scout, her innocence, and her sense of justice. I love her trust of Atticus and Jim and her questioning of the 'status quo.' I love that she was a ham. Literally. I just love it. That is all.

10) Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman ****
(Savannah, GA)
This story reminded me some of The Secret Life of Bees but not quite as realistic. I'm not sure why, but it just wasn't. It was set in the 1960s and mentions a few moments of race relations, but doesn't bring it to the foreground like I thought it might. Anyway, it's a sweet story of a young girl reclaiming her life in the care of old southern debutantes. The eccentric neighbors and growing family add unique characters to a fairly simple plot. I also really liked the idea of 'finding your fire.'

11) Black Boy, White School by Brian F. Walker ***1/2
(Hoover, Maine)
I liked this book, but won't recommend it to any of my close friends/family due to language. As it is written, I'm assuming, for young African American males, the language is (in my opinion) stereotypical and derogatory. Unfortunately, it is what I hear more often than not coming out of the mouths of the students I work with. Does that make it good reading for them, as it is something they can relate to? I have mixed feelings. But I did appreciate the story line. Finding a niche in an environment where you are different is a journey of character, and one that I think a lot of people have to take. So would I recommend this book to some of my students? Probably. But with most books I recommend to students, I'd want to have a discussion before, during, and after reading.

12) Sources of Light by Margaret McMullan *****
(Jackson, MS)
This story was set in Jackson, MI in 1963 and is told from the point of view of an adolescent girl. She finds herself in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and is trying to figure out who her friends are and who's right. With some references to photography and finding light in the shadows, it brings a unique analogy to the idea of right and wrong.

13) Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury ***
(Illinois)
I liked the fist 85% of this book... I enjoy Ray Bradbury and his use of imagery and enjoyed the idea of this story. Waging war on the end of summer or waging war on young miscreants... good times. Then there was the last 15%. It was bizarre and completely unrelated. No bueno.