always rising: NPR Rocks

Thursday, February 15, 2007

NPR Rocks

Thank you, NPR! You'll find three audiofiles from NPR's "This I Believe" series in my shared items today. NPR has called for people to send in essays stating their philosophies of life. This is a revival of an Edward R. Murrow series.

It is a very moving project. If you need a little lift or contemplative moment, just listen to these. I think I'm going to have to incorporate them into my writing classes somehow.

Enjoy!

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Words to Live By

Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathon Safran Foer: His first book is by far the best yet. The language in this book will make you appreciate words as if for the first time. It's side-splittingly funny and powerfully sad, sometimes simultaneously. How like life.
Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger: This book can save your life. I first read this in high school and even then, I felt like I learned something about how to live a life I would be proud of. It made me love Salinger. Even though everyone talks about The Catcher in the Rye, this is always my favorite.
Girl in a Flammable Skirt, by Aimee Bender. This is a collection of stories that puts an American spin on magical realism. The result is delightful and haunting.
In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez. The Mariposas were sisters who, like many ordinary women, became extraordinary when their country became oppressive and cruel. Their bravery reminds us that heroes are the people around us, maybe even us. Wonderful.
The Country Between Us, by Carolyn Forche. This was the first collection of poetry I read about El Salvador. Her experiences in war torn Salvador and her committment to witness the atrocities there are powerful and haunting. I aspire to be this good one day.
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. The story is told by a dead girl, who will break your heart and put it back together with compassion. Impossible to forget.
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Nifenegger: Not at all hokey. The conceit works from the first moment. It made me feel more in love than I already was. I read it twice back to back and wish I could always be reading it.