So, spring break is officially 1 week away. ONE WEEK. I am giddy. I need this break–I really need it. I have much to accomplish in those beautiful, blissful days of not waking up early and not dealing with teenagers. But, I need your help. Besides cleaning the closet, planning lessons through April (so I can get through my wedding and moving into a house with minimal outside school-related work), and watching my soaps every day–I want to read, man. But not just any reading.
I need a book that is going to inspire me. I need a book that I won’t be able to put down. I need something that will renew my faith in something anything. A book that will make me feel active. A book that will remind my brain that there is a good writer buried deep down in there somewhere. A book that will refresh me from my winter dulldroms.
Books that have done this for me in the past:
Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Small Wonder, Barbara Kingsolver
Bird By Bird, Anne Lamott
Red Terry Tempest Williams
One Writer’s Beginnings, Eudora Welty
Persuasion, Jane Austen
I need your help. What books inspire you? What should I give my precious time to over break?
You know on other blogs they give away great prizes? Yeah, all I’ve got is my eternal gratitude–that’s just as good as a $100 gift card, right?
Brushes With Adulthood 
March 9, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Hmmm…inspiring? I’m not sure I can do inspiring, but here are a few of my favourite books:
1. ‘Wicked’ by Gregory Maguire. My all-time favourite.
2. ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac
3. ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ by Milan Kundera
4. ‘Mila 18’ by Leon Uris
5. ‘The Brothers K’ by David James Duncan (easily the book I’ve laughed harder at than any other)
6. ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy
7. ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. ‘The English Patient’ by Michael Ondaatje
9. ‘The Lover’ by Marguerite Duras (though I wouldn’t recommend reading this in a pre-wedding, relaxation, inspiration-seeking week)
That’s about all I’m coming up with at the moment. Hopefully in there you can find some inspiration. I personally find Mila 18 inspiring, but I’m a student of revolution, so take that with a grain of salt.
March 15, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I have always wanted to read “On the Road”–may have to get tat accomplished. The Great Gatsby is a good one. I may have to reread that since I will likely get more out of it then I did at 17 when I first read it. Also have read “The God of Small Things” in high school. Thank you for all the great ideas!
March 15, 2008 at 9:25 pm
“The Alchemist” by Paolo Coehlo is definitely one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read!
There’s an amazing memoir called “Shutterbabe” by Deborah Copaken Kogen, a photojournalist.
“Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal” by Christopher Moore is my standard fiction recommendation–it is hilarious and of course heartbreaking at times.
March 15, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I have heard of the Alchemist, but only very vaguely. With such a glowing recommendation, I may just have to check it out! (Or at least add it to the to be read list)