|
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard |
|
|
Danny Says: If you have never read anything by Tom Stoppard, you are in for a treat. I rate him as one of the most important playwrights of out time. You may have seen his screenplay Shakespeare in Love. This tale is also set in Elizabethan times and focuses on the mundane daily rituals of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hilarious and original, like all of Stoppard’s works. |
|
Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich, A
by Alice Childress |
|
|
Danny Says: One of the more popular books I have introduced to middleschoolers, this tale of a 13-year-old heroin addict is sure to spark lively classroom discussions. A very honest and vivid look at the harshness of drug addiction. |
|
Daisy Miller
by Henry James |
|
|
Danny Says: Great book for those who are having trouble getting to sleep. I am not a huge fan of Henry James, so I figured I’d recommend one of his shorter books (I believe it was his first big commercial success). Impress people at cocktail parties by discussing Daisy’s flaws abroad (she is like a 19th century sorority girl scampering around Europe). This short book is a tad less painful than some of the film adaptations of James’s other works. |
|
Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia
by Spalding Gray |
|
|
|
Danny Says: One of my favorite monologists, Gray masterfully reminisces about his experiences while shooting the film "The Killing Fields." I hope I can write this well when I reflect on my own travel catastrophes. |
|
How to Eat Fried Worms
by Thomas Rockwell |
|
|
|
Danny Says: This book always makes me cringe happily. Required reading for all fifth graders and adults. |
|
Words You Don't Want to Hear During Your Annual Review
by Scott Adams |
|
|
|
Danny Says: I have been listening to "The Dilbert Principle" on CD to and from work, and I think Scott Adams might be just about the funniest writer in America. His observations rival Douglas Adams, author of the wonderful "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." |
|
Night
by Elie Wiesel |
|
|
|
Danny Says: I just realized that I had not yet recommended this semi-memoir of the Nobel Prize winner's experiences as a 15-year-old concentration camp survivor. If this book is not being recommended to students, there truly is something wrong with our school system. |
|
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong |
|
|
|
Danny Says: The recent passing of the great actor Paul Winfield, who received an Academy Award nomination for his work in the film, made me think of this moving story about
a sharecropper family's resilience through all sorts of tragedy. |
|
Pure Drivel
by Steve Martin |
|
|
|
Danny Says: I wanted to give Steve Martin his props, as I was disappointed that he did not get to host this year's Oscar. I laugh at just about anything this man writes or says. This is a good book to cheer you up, and, at 128 pages, it should cheer you up quickly. |
|
House on Mango Street, The
by Sandra Cisneros |
|
|
Danny Says: Poems and stories about one girl's ability to rise from her dire environment. I especially enjoy a poem called "Four Skinny Trees." It amazes me that it has taken me so long to recommend this book. |
