Biographies, Graphic Novels, and a Touch of Fantasy

I've done some sporadic blogging throughout my early adulthood.  It was never anything consistent and it definitely never had one cohesive theme or subject with which to guide it.  Nowadays, my life is filled with being a teacher, going to Disneyland, or whatever whimsicality approaches me at any given time, which leaves me with little to blog about lest I resort to the played out teacher blog.  However, there has always been one thing that I will do my whole life no matter what, and that is reading.  With that in mind, I've come to realize that my favorite thing to talk about, whether it be with other people, through writing, or whatever other medium, is books.  So, instead of trying to maintain a dying blog, I've decided to re-brand and try to stick to something more consistent.       

In my other blog, I had a couple posts titled "Ten Books Everyone Should Read."  I thought to myself, "What if I just kept that going and stuck with the idea of doing a monthly or bi-monthly list?"  Then I realized I'd probably run out of books and would be left with another dying blog as I tried to catch up on my reading.  So, five is the new number that I estimate I will be able to keep up with and the following is your first list of five books that everyone should read:

1. Persipolis, by Marjane Satrapi

            This is a graphic novel which tells the story of the author’s childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution.  She effortlessly weaves humor, tragedy, art, and masterful storytelling in this delightful, yet powerful novel.  Also, it’s super short.  You can definitely knock it out in a day or two.

 

2. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

            I used to read a lot more fantasy growing up, and this book was me jumping back into the genre.  Oh my, how I was surprised by so much more than just a fantasy novel!  Gaiman somehow managed to write a brilliant story of mythology and religion as they manifest themselves in the jaded American context.  Spinning tales of a dizzying number of characters as they careen down an inevitable path that hovers somewhere in a palpable mystery throughout the story, Gaiman keeps you on your toes and stays right in your heart as you go on this fantastic journey with Shadow, the main character.  A must read for everyone, not just fantasy fans.

 

3. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, by Neal Gabler

            Now, take this with a grain of salt because I am an admitted Disney fanatic, but this is the best biography I have ever read.  Not only does Gabler give you all the information you could ever hope to know about the indelible man who was Walt Disney, but he does it in a way that is compelling and profound, elaborating on society at large through the lens of Disney as opposed to just a mundane catalogue of his life.  It’s pretty long, so I understand if you really don’t want to read it, but if you’ve ever thought about curling up with a thousand-page book about Disney, this is the book for you.  And the last couple hundred pages are just notes and citations that nobody but a crazed Disney obsessed lunatic would read (*cough).

 

4. The Round House, by Louise Erdich

            There are some books that never really leave you and you can’t tell whether they are haunting your dreams or making them better, but either way you’re kinda okay with it because it makes you a better person in the long run.  This is one of those books.  Erdich is a genius storyteller and her characters become so visceral that you can’t help but feel every joy and every sorrow just as much as they do.  The basic plot takes place on an Indian Reservation in North Dakota and begins when an adolescent boy’s mother is viciously attacked.  We as readers are forced to ponder the unreachable themes of justice and hope alongside the whole family as they grapple with the fear and confusion that plagues them following the incident.

 

5. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire

            Now, this book is ostensibly about education, but it ultimately encompasses sooooooo much more than that.  Freire was an educational theorist from Brazil whose teachings are taught, to this day, in virtually every single educational program out there.  This is, arguably, his most important work.  The basic premise is essentially about how those in power can never truly teach those who are “below” them.  Instead, the oppressors and the oppressed need to work together to break the barriers between the classes so that everyone can be educated.  Told with such knowledge and wisdom, this book not only proposes a theory, but puts forth tangible ways in which to go about putting it into practice.  This guy was incredible and everyone needs to read this book.