claudia, that's the key, finding them now.

I just finished an interesting novel- "The Legend of Fire Horse Woman" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. Perhaps you've read or seen the movie "A Farewell to Manzanar" - the memoirs of the same author of her experience as an internee during the 2nd world war when Japanese Americans were held in concentration camps. The "Legend..." follows a similar theme but includes the historical background of the central character and is a bit more dramatic than the memoirs.

I've just started reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It's very easy to read in short sections (in hookup line - as usual). I'm enjoying it immensely.

Just finished the autobiography of Chuck Yeager. Quite an amazing fellow. The book is entitled simply "Yeager" and is cowritten with Leo Janos. In case you're not familiar with Chuck Yeager, he is the man who is credited with breaking the sound barrier as a test pilot in the US Air Force. He also had quite a colorful career as a fighter pilot in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

I've recently read the Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans, Wicked, 90 minutes in Heaven.

Just finished Cry, The Beloved Country - 1st published in 1948 and now making a come back. Very much worth reading. .

kk - I saw the movie several years ago. It was a very good movie - I'll bet the book was way better. I'll have to put it on my list...

I know I'm not the only one reading in this group. I hope some of you readers will come back and share what you've read. I just finished a gut-wrenching book about the effects of civil war on a young boy in Sierra Leone. Written by Ishmael Beah, it's called "A Long Way Gone - Memoirs of a Boy Soldier." Driven from his home by rebels at the age of 12, his entire family was eventually killed. After wandering from village to village, sometimes alone, sometimes with a small group of peers in the same fix, for nearly a year he is captured by government soldiers and given the choice of becoming one of them or being left for the rebels who had killed his family. He spends three years as a soldier before being rescued by a UNICEF mission to rehabilitate child soldiers. His is a success story, but reading what he had to experience at such a young age will tear your heart out. It's really worth the read.

The Secret Life of Bees (Women), READ IT BEFORE YOU SEE THE MOVIE! Some odd books for the peculiar reader would be My Antonia, and The Last Picture Show. I have read numerous times and would recommend anything from your high school english class like The Great Gatsby, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, As I Lay Dieing, On the Road, Grapes of Wrath, Lord Of The Flies, The Breadwinner, The Kiterunner, A Good Man is Hard to Find, Great Expectations, Of Mice and Men, A Farewell to Arms, The Cathcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Annie John, The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter The Old Man and the Sea Girl With the Pearl Earring, Catch 22, If you are into Memoirs I would read The Liars Club by Mary Karr and Vertigo by Louise DeSalvo. Others are Skinny Legs and All, Babbit, and Winesburg Ohio. There are tons others, but I didnt mention the ones I couldn't remember or the ones that were any good. I was never a huge fan of the Odyssey or any Shakespeare. For those who are adventure driven and are fans of the show Man vs. Wild, I would recommend The Kid Who Climbed Everest by Bear Grylls and his other books. They aren't too intellectually challenging and keep you on the edge of your seat. Sorry this is so long, but if you have any specific questions about any of these books feel free to ask!

I am Currently ready The Mermaid Chair. Some other books that you ladies out there might like are Nicholas Sparks books. They aren't very taxing on the brain. Very easy reads, and they are very romantic. My favorite was Nights in Rodanthe and I would recommend you read that one before you see the movie too. He was also the one to write The Notebook, which I'm sure everyone is familiar with. For parents who are trying to get their daughters in middle school and early high school to read, I would recommend books by Sarah Dessen. She has a TON of books and you can bet that I read every one of those starting when I was about 12. They are what got me reading to begin with. They might be challenging for 6th grade but I would say they are great for developmental levels of about 7th through 9th or 10th grade.

Jes - it's nice to see that you are so into good literature. You've mentioned some of my favorites. If you haven't already discovered them, here are a few novels from a female perspective with a crosscultural bent. Any of the titles by Amy Tan ("Joy Luck Club" "The Hundred Secret Senses" "The Bone-setter's Daughter" are the best) or Gail Tsukiyama ("The Samurai's Garden" "Women of the Silk" "The Language of Threads" "Night of Many Dreams"); Louise Erdrich has written several good novels about native american women, ("Tracks" "Four Souls" "Love Medicine"); some good books from southern Asia are "Tamarind Woman" by Anita Rau Badami; "The Namesake" by Jumpa Lahiri; "The Rice Mother" by Rani Manicka; "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. I hope you keep your enthusiasm for reading. It's a wonderful way to travel.

If you like John Grisham's novels you might like his first work of non-fiction. I just finished "The Innocent Man - Murder and Injustice in a Small Town." Very interesting...

Thanks Dick I will definitely have to try those out. Which would you recommend I start with? I need another one once I finish the one I am already reading.

Here's one you wine lovers might enjoy. I just finished it this morning. It's by Benjamin Wallace. The title is "The Billionaire's Vinegar" - the mystery of the world's most expensive bottle of wine - purported to have once been owned by Thomas Jefferson. It's a very interesting investigation into a scandal that set the rare and expensive wine community back on its heels.

OOOO....Dick, I'm reading that one now. I'm slowly getting through it, but I'm shocked at the injustice that happened. I borrowed it from a friend years ago, and found it when I was cleaning and thought I'd better quick finish it and return it. I doubt he's missing it.

Jes - It's hard to say which of those I've mentioned would be the best to start with, but a couple of suggestions - "The Rice Mother" 'though beautifully written, will make you feel lucky you are living at the time and place that you are. "The God of Small Things" will make you feel good simply because of the beauty of the author's style irrespective of the sometimes disturbing content. If you read Amy Tan's books I'd recommend starting with "The Joy Luck Club," It was her first novel and you get a good sense of the author in reading it. However, my favorite of hers is "The Hundred Secret Senses." Enjoy your journey!

Woo hoo! Thanks!

chilliemander - that story is shocking! There are lots of lessons to be learned from that tale. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that those who need to learn them most have their heads in the sand...
By the way, since you are a music teacher, you might be interested in a book I recently read called "Musicophilia." It was written by Oliver Sacks who also wrote "Awakenings" which inspired the movie "Awakenings" starring Robert DeNiro. The book is subtitled "Tales of Music and the Brain" and is a compilation of case studies written anecdotally about the importance of and the effects of music in the study of individuals with various maladies and afflictions. A good read, especially for a person with a musical background.

Dick, If you are on, I noticed you were in the field of special education and I just so happen to be doing my take home final exam for one of my special education classes. I was wondering if you could possibly help me. I am supposed to list the 5 steps a teacher would follow to identify or classify a student under IDEA. Could I find this in my part 200 regulations for students with disabilities for the state of NY or is there some universal 5 steps? I know it's kind of a weird question and I totally understand if you can't answer it. You can e-mail me if you want, my e-mail is jesnolan@gmail.com, or if you have instant messenger of any kind, I have adium so I can talk to anyone with any messaging service and my screen name is ImDownHere00. I'll be on all night and all morning because its finals week. Thanks so much!

re dick's list from dec 9 - you have given me some good ideas for one of my book clubs next year! thanx. we've been doing a bit of an asian theme - Wild Swans, The Good Earth, just to mention a few as I'm writing this on the couch being very comfortable and am too lazy to go check out my books in the other room!!