Some Fantastic Books

I spent a Saturday morning finishing a novel called Hungry for Home a few weeks ago. This book is special because it was written by a close friend and colleague of mine, 'Asta Bowen. She is my English teacher friend with a classroom just down the hall from mine and is a marvel. She always knows just what I need and always challenges me to see from another perspective. Anyway, her novel is the incredible story of a wolf pack in the Kalispell area. She did a TON of research and has succeeded in providing some great and interesting science along with some very sympathetic wolf characters that the reader adores by the end of the novel. Appropriate for both children and adults, this novel kept me enthralled through the very last word. Kristi, I can see Jacob loving this book!

I recently finished The Brothers K by David James Duncan. This man is incredible. The bio says that he lives in Western Montana, and I would like to find him so that I can just give him a big hug. Several years ago one of my students (Ryan)was trying to convince me that Duncan's The River Why should be part of our book list at school. I always intended to read the book but never got around to it with all of my other teaching duties. Shortly after Ryan graduated he came to me with a battered copy of the book. The note inside the front cover thanked me for my teaching and said that he was giving me his own personal copy of his favorite book as a thank you gift. I cried and immediately started reading! Duncan clearly loves all kinds of people. He is a master. Ryan was right. We should be teaching The River Why. While I do think that some parts of The Brothers K drag a bit, I was very moved by the story, laughing aloud at times and feeling pretty weepy by the end. Duncan is lucky that he wasn't around because I am not sure that he would have survived the hug that would have followed the completion of his novel.

I just started reading a book this morning called Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott. I am already loving it! All of you Little Women Fans had better look again. Ms. Alcott had another side!