Ugly to Start With

Penned By: John Michael Cummings

Follow Jason through a series of defining moments in his adolesence. Well described details bring to life the characters and scenes so the reader feels as if they are in the room themeselves. Explore a place where history is a way of life and the main characters struggle to live in their own time. Though the book is a series of related short stories the writing smoothly flows and allows the reader to move from one to the next without difficulty.

Quote: "Life, I thought, was like finger-painting with a hopeless mess of gruesome colors. You kept smudging it around until you got it right."

Genus: Literary Minded

Era: Everyone

Difficulty: 2

Determination: Casual read

Series: No

Film: No

Your type of tale? Try these: Holes by Louis Sachar, That Was Then, This Was Now by S.E. Hinton, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Cool Stuff: Publisher's page      Harpers Ferry National Historical Park      Author Interview

The Color Purple

Penned By: Alice Walker

Banned: From day one that this book was published, unsurprisingly it has been challenged. It honestly and unapologetically describes controversial issues such as homosexuality, rape, and racism. Since the argument can be made that these are valid issues to consider in literature and discussion, among other things, people have protested against the book for offensive language, sexual explicitness, violence, man's relationship to God, and it's description of African (the continent) history.
Sources:
Banned Book Awareness: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course
The Color Purple and Its Controversy

The Color Purple is a tale of enduring love, faith, and spirit. In a series of letters the tale of two sisters separated as teenagers is told. The women lead very different lives, one as a much abused housewife and the other a missionary in Africa. Celie, the main character is the "housewife", and so much more. The novel delves into the darker depths of Africa and African-American history, more so it delves into the dark depths of the human psyche and the secrets we keep. This novel is excellent for teaching anyone that has endured hardship and wrongdoing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Quote: "And not being tied to what God looks like, frees us."

Genus: Literary Minded

Era: Older is Better

Difficulty:  3

Determination: Must read

Series: No

Film: Yes

Your type of tale? Try these: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, and Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

Cool Stuff: Official Website      The Musical        A Fanpage

Other Books for Banned Book Week 2011:
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Open Boat

  Photograph by: Amber Murray   (c)

Penned By: Stephen Crane

The height of Stephen Crane's phenomenal description ability is reached in this short story. Rich descriptions are equally met with plot, dialogue, characterization, and self-discovery. This is a tale beautifully composed and should be required reading simply as an example of how wonderful the English language can be. The story itself is enthralling and the reader will be on the edge of their seat wondering what is going to happen to the men in the boat. It will cause you to question your view of the world and open you to new paths of empathy. With even the smallest imagination, the reader will find themselves in the Open Boat, hoping and praying for solid ground.

Quote:
"If I am going to be drowned--if I am going to be drowned--if I am going
to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea,
was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?"

Genus: Literary Minded

Era: Older is Better

Difficulty: 4

Determination: Must Read

Series: No - short story

Film: No

Read The Open Boat here!

Your type of tale? Try these: East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Innocents Abroad or The New Pilgrims' Progress by Mark Twain, and The Storm by Kate Chopin

Jacob Have I Loved

Photograph by: Amber Murray

Penned By: Katherine Paterson

Twins are an intriguing topic and are a common subject in literature. Often twins are seen as almost mystically connected and two halves of one person. Jacob Have I Loved takes the biblical tact and tells a story of twin sisters who are more disconnected than cats and dogs.  If you've ever been that person that is never "cared for", simply because you're capable of taking care of yourself - this is the book for you. One sister coddled and cared for since birth learns to take for herself and the other left to fend for herself, learns to sacrifice. Is it as the "hated" sister sees it? Or is their hardworking parents love equal but different? Step into a world of 70 years ago on a tiny island and discover that family was just as complicated then as it is now.

Quote: "At bedtime Caroline finally remembered that she had a sister."

Genus: Literary Minded

Era: Everyone

Difficulty: 2

Determination: Casual Read

Series: No

Film: Yes, made for TV in 1989

Your type of tale? Try these: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle, My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews (Era: Older is Better)

What do you think of my suggested books? Are there other books you would suggest more?

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