Book List: "Up From Slavery"

This story is an autobiography by a slave, during the transition from slavery to freedom. Booker T. Washington, a young boy who was born to a plantation cook, moves away with his family during the emancipation, to work in a coal mine. His dreams of education push him to go to Hampton Institute, finding his way by working for food and board. He gets his education, and begins to teach others after returning to his hometown. He also starts to study speech, and gives speeches to his students in the community. He meets inspirational people, and learns about respect and discipline during the first half of his life, which have a major effect on his later half.

Washington, with his wife by his side, started the Tuskegee Institute. This school was designed to give the flailing negro population with the skills to enter the white man's world. Right at the time of the Industrial Revolution, this school served thousands of students. It taught former slaves proper manners, dress, and etiquette-- this sort of education was particularly needed for those who had grown up as slaves. The book shows the progression of not just Washington's progression from slavery, but it also details society's climb out of prejudice and into acceptance.

Book List: "The Time Machine"

The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, is a remarkable science-fiction book for it's age. It is a perfect "Introduction to Time Travel" for anyone who has never been inside sci-fi. It starts at the "Time Traveler's" House, where several people including doctors and psychologists are gathered for a presentation. It is narrated by one of these such visitors. The entire story occurs here in the Time Traveler's living room and lab, where he shows off his time machine to his friends at a dinner party. The next week, a similar group of people gather at the house again, and the Time Traveler is late for his own dinner party. He walks in, completely exhausted from his adventures of the last hour. He sits down, and tells a long story of traveling into the far-off future, where he lost his time machine and spent eight days searching for it.

Book List: "Red Badge of Courage"

The Red Badge of Courage was written by Stephen Crane in the late 1800's. It is about a young soldier fighting in the Civil War, similar to Rifles for Watie and other Civil War novels. It is, of course, a fictitious narrative, based on actual events and testimonies from Civil War soldiers.

Crane is very loquacious and poetic in his story-telling, going into detail on the main character's thoughts and emotions during his time as a soldier. The character goes from being a young, anxious soldier expecting glory, to a content veteran, happy to never go to war again. He pulls the character through excitement, restlessness, blind fighting, natural fear, shame, intense pride, and sadness throughout the book, and the character's emotions mimic a real situation well. They go up and down within the same paragraph, as though every line of dialogue, every bullet shot had some effect on the young man's internal struggles.

Book List: "Hamlet"

This is the first time I've read Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet! I've always been unusually fond of old-fashioned language, although it's dense and difficult to wade through at times. Thankfully, I have Librivox to read it out loud to me, which makes it much easier. Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels, and he designed his texts to be read aloud. By listening to the play or audiobook, you get a sense of the rhythm he used.

Book List: "Antigone"

The play Antigone by Sophocles reminds me of Shakespeare, without rhymes and poems. It begins with a long-winded discussion between two sisters about the death of their brothers, who killed one another. The King of the city has declared one of their brothers to have an honorable ceremony and burial, but the second brother is to be left out in the street. This order is punishable by death.

May Reading Challenge: Book List

I have decided that I definitely want to do a book-reading challenge during the month of May-- to read ten books during that month, as soon as I'm finished with April's Camp NaNoWriMo! It will be difficult, but it'll be productive enough to be worth it.

Why am I doing this? Because it's almost the end of the school year, and I'm way behind on American History, which involves reading three civil war novels. Also, I'll have just finished my own science-fiction/steampunk novel for NaNoWriMo, and what better way is there to celebrate than by reading books like mine that have come before me? They will help influence my editing process a lot! In addition to History class and NaNoWriMo research, I firgured I should read some of the books that have been sitting on my shelf for a long time.