Gobble Up with a Good Book!
Once we talked about books we read, and we learned it happens to the best of us. The weekend before classes started, we just finished the book that was picked up three weeks ago. Upon closing the book, it comes the new dilemma – what to read next. In the recreational reading, the most challenging part of any reading is to pick up a good book and to start reading it. Some people favor the soul reading like the Chicken Soup Series, other preferring heart breaking romantic novels or psychological thrillers with gory horror such as “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley; Chuck Palahniuk or J.K. Gonzalez, with snapshots of topics such as sexual assault, mental illness and homelessness like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic “The Great Gatsby.”
“Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom should make the top of the list of books everyone should read. After graduating and making a life for himself, Albom drifted away from his college professor and mentor. They reconnected years later when the professor has just months to live. Full of wisdom and whirlwind of emotions, this is a vital read for college students.
“Educated” by Tara Westover is an account of struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty, and of the grief that comes from severing ties with those closest to you. Westover has crafted a universal coming-to-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes, and the will make changes.
“In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball” by Mark L. Armour & Daniel R. Levitt is written passionate and candid to let us know that baseball sport is more than balls and strikes. General managers and fans alike have shared with readers on how new ideas and innovations transformed the winning teams of Yankees in 1936, Dodgers in 1963, Reds in 1975, the Giants in 2010 – for the past hundred-plus years. The classic baseball masterpiece gives a look into different cultures and challenges facing professional sports executives.
As we getting in the season of giving, consider the novelty of re-gifting books. Families can donate a Shakespeare play or Mark Twain tale that meant so much to them and their children decades ago to the library to enrich the community that benefits from good gesture and even can spark a greater interest in reading.
Ida Tomshinsky, MLS
Florida National University
Library Director
