Nonfiction Books for The Unflinching Reader

The Ones I've Read

War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars (edited by Andrew Carrolll)
           Do you like reading other people's mail? These letters--touching, funny, witty, poignant--gave me a proud and choked-up feeling.

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
          The title of this book had me hooked even before I started reading it! A harrowing true story of cruelty, desperation and a girl's survival of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia during the 1970's.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story
          Portraying both high society and the gritty undersides of life in Savannah, Georgia, this is an account of a 1981 landmark murder case. You'll meet all sorts of interesting people here!

The Ones I Want To Read

True Notebooks
          Mark Salzman chronicles his first years teaching at Central Juvenile Hall, a lockup for Los Angeles's most violent teenage offenders, discussing what his students taught him about life.

On My Own: The Journey Continues
          The author describes the difficulties and accomplishments she experiences as she adjusts to living independently after losing her sight.

Into the Wild
          Tells the story of Chris McCandless, a twenty-four-year-old who walked into the Alaskan wilderness on an idealistic journey and was found dead of starvation four months later. Attempts to discover what led the young man to that point.

Mrs. Helms' Top 25 Favorite Books

Mrs. Helms has this list posted in her room, but she admits it changes a little every year.

The Color of Water -- James McBride
Of Mice and Men  --  John Steinbeck
East of Eden   --  John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird  --  Harper Lee
The Missing Piece Meets the Big O  --  Shel Silverstein
Their Eyes Were Watching God  --  Zora Neale Hurston
The Handmaid's Tale  --  Margaret Atwood
The Color Purple  --  Alice Walker
A Moveable Feast  --  Earnest Hemingway
Sula  --  Toni Morrison
Paradise  --  Toni Morrison
Succulent Wild Woman  --  Sark
As I Lay Dying  --  William Faulkner
Blood Meridian  --  Cormac McCarthy
Fahrenheit 451  --  Ray Bradbury
Atlas Shrugged  --  Ayn Rand
The Book Thief  --  Markus Zusak
Witch Child  --  Celia Rees
The God of Small Things  --  Arundati Roy
The Crucible  --  Arthur Miller
Bless Me, Ultima  --  Rudolfo Anaya
Girl With a Pearl Earring  --  Tracy Chevalier
All the King's Men  --  Robert Penn Warren
The Secret Life of Bees  --  Sue Monk Kidd
Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?  --  Eleanor Updale

The Well-Read Bearcat (Part I)

What do you read? What books do you recommend to others? Everybody has a different "favorite" and here are some we found out about when we asked around the HS library yesterday.

Living Dead Girl  (Cassie)
The Host (Danielle)
Eragon series, Noble Warriors trilogy, Sabriel trilogy (Caleb)

What do YOU think? Give us a recommendation!