Summertime!

I've enjoyed the first few weeks of the summer and have split my reading time between school-related prep (reading Siddhartha and Things Fall Apart in order to get ready to teach Comparative Literature in the fall) and straight-up pleasure reading.  Here are are some very quick thoughts on the books I’ve read lately.

Life After Life  by Kate Atkinson

A very cool premise very well done.  In short, it’s one woman's story from birth to death with the hook being that our protagonist has multiple births and deaths (and lives), an existence somewhere between Groundhog Day and the underrated Source Code, movie-wise. Some of the scenes are indelible and the book definitely made me think about the fragility and capriciousness of life and death. A last note on this one: I read this on a Kindle and I don’t recommend that format for this book. I found myself wanting to flip back to certain sections to confirm dates and remember names and locations, and this was much harder with an e-reader than with a good old-fashioned paperback.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I remember connecting with this book in high school, and I loved it on my re-reading.  I can’t wait to teach it because I know it will appeal to those young adults who are trying to figure out their place in the world, physically and spiritually (which, of course, is ALL young adults). The book reminds me to strive, to seek, but also to slow down and appreciate.  In our hectic world, it’s instructive to remember that when asked about his skills, Siddhartha replies, “I can think, I can wait, I can fast.” I’m not sure those skills are part of the Common Core, but their simplicity and purpose resonate with me. Listen to and learn from the river, readers!

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

And while we are seeking and striving (and being patient) the world around us is changing.  The  accomplishments of our youth,  the glories of our salad days, they don’t mean much when change comes.   It’s not a conspiracy, it’s just life.  Siddhartha begins to understand and accept this and adapts. Okonkwo, the protagonist in Things Fall Apart, has a harder time with it.  This is another book I can’t wait to teach next year.

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

A stone-cold thriller.  A nearly washed-up special agent, a nearly unsolvable murder…. Sign me up! This was just a perfect chaser to the big questions of Siddhartha and Things Fall Apart.  Sometimes you want to figure out your purpose in life, to question your faith and your family and everything you hold dear.  And sometimes you want to dip into a world where men carry automatic weapons and women wear sultry dresses.  If you want to get your Bond or Bourne on, this is not a bad choice.

Slow Getting Up by Nate Jackson

I loved this book.  Nate Jackson, a six-year veteran of the NFL, tells about life in the league,  not for those 10 to 12 stars on each team the NFL promotes and celebrates,  but for the other 30 or 40 who are scraping for a job.  Of particular sadness – and shame for the NFL – is Jackson’s recounting of the medical procedures and shots and treatment that are de rigueur in the training rooms of the NFL.   Jackson is quick to point out that the players are complicit in this routine --- they want to live the life, after all – but most people will see the athletes as just cogs in the football industrial complex known as the NFL. It’s a funny and inspirational and sad story.