Adult

July represents the middle of the summer, and one of the best forms of summer relaxation is fishing.  I encourage everyone to read this book, as the writing is simply beautiful.  Robert Redford’s movie is grand, but the book is sheer poetry.

I just read this book last month, and it is delightful.  Madame Esme gives all sorts of humorous anecdotes, practical teaching tips and heartfelt observations, all based on her teaching experiences.

While I am recommending inspirational teaching stories, there’s none better than this classic.  Great movie adaptation, as well (sorry, Twiggy and Poitier do not appear in the book).

While Oprah has made Steinbeck’s East of Eden the second best-selling book of the summer (a young boy wizard occupies the top slot), it is over 600 pages.  This is much more manageable for lazy readers.  Besides, I always loved reading about the relationship between George and Lennie.

Now that I have reverted to classics, I cannot say enough about this RL Stevenson page-turner.  It is part of a series of classics you can buy on Amazon for a buck a book.

You can read this book in two hours.  It is small, with big print.  That captures the gist of this small person who had a big impact.  I think this book has been on the bestseller list for around 200 weeks.

I figured a book about an obsessive teacher is always a good way to start off the school year.  Maggie Smith won an Oscar for her portrayal in the movie.  I read this cover-to-cover while attending a meeting one day.

I still do not know why Achebe never won the Nobel Prize for Literature, as he was one of Africa’s most gifted writers.  This book is for all those interested in blood, violence and suffering (or you could pick up a copy of your local newspaper any day).  

A play in two acts, this masterpiece fascinated me, since I did not know anything about Sir Thomas More beyond Monty Python skits.  Paul Scofield is excellent in the movie version, by the way (for the laziest readers that become the most motivated Blockbuster patrons).

While I am not a huge fan of Hemingway’s penchant for paragraph-long sentences (like the one I am trying to write right now), this is a fairly pleasing story if you just read it and do not search for all of its allegorical references.

I noticed that I was including a lot of “heavy” books this month, so this is for those interested in a book for pure entertainment purposes.  If you love his show, you’ll enjoy the book.

Walter Mosley is one of the most talented writers around, and this collection of stories about Socrates Fortlow is a wonderful look at life in the 'hood.  My students could relate to this book, and I found myself very attached to Socrates by book’s end.

All Californians could use this book about now, especially with the Oct. 7^th recall election looming.  You can find a cheap paperback version of this bestseller at virtually any used book store or garage sale in America.

Probably my favorite of Shakespeare's plays.  I love the soothsayer and Anthony's speech after Caesar is slain.  "Brutus is an honorable man."  This will get your blood flowing when you relate it to modern day politics.  I guess this recall has me thinking political betrayal!

Noticing I included several books already that exceed 200 pages, I decided to throw in a screenplay. This may just be the funniest movie of the last 20 years.  If you dislike Monty Python or cruelty to animals, however, you may want to turn to something less challenging (e.g. watch re-runs of Fear Factor on NBC).