- Go Ask Alice (Anonymous)
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)
- The Great Mortality (John Kelly)
- The Milagro Beanfield War (John Nichols)
The first two are 60's/70's books; a good representation of those years. I read them both in the early to mid-70's. The first, Go Ask Alice, was really profound for me. I was in junior high and very naive at the time. My daughter recently read the book, and I was gratified to find out she enjoyed the book too. I read Jonathan Livingston Seagull when I was 12. I remember reading it at a party my parents went to (and took us kids along) and listening to the soundtrack of Hair, the Rolling Stones and a few other big names that date me. It was fairly philosophical and metaphorical.
The fourth book, The Milagro Beanfield War, if you haven't lived in a desert region, is revealing while entertaining. Water rationing is a way of life in the desert regions. This book was required reading for many
high schoolers in New Mexico way back when. My teacher, on the other hand, had us read A Bell For Adano (John Hersey). This now is my opportunity to catch up on past required reading.
The third book, The Great Mortality, is non-fiction. The book explores the worst pandemic man has known; the Black Plague which decimated 1/3 of the entire world's population in the 1300's. This book discusses what precipitated the Black Plague and what made conditions ripe for such a pandemic, how it traversed the globe, how countries and societies reacted, and then it speculates why a similar pandemic has not occurred since. Sounds dry, but it is one of the most fascinating and captivating books I've ever read. And this is why I added it to the bucket list.
As for adding more non-fiction to the bucket list, I am looking around. I've been trying to figure out how to select non-fictions for the bucket list. Granted, there are a few, but I want to add more to make this a well-rounded list. There are many genres to choose from, and I feel compelled to try to include at least one of each genre. Additionally, I want to add non-fictions that I haven't yet read. It doesn't make sense to add only non-fictions I have already read. It defeats the intention of the bucket list. Yet, I don't want dry reads; you know, those books that read like textbooks.
It is funny. When you are learning history in school you don't really pay attention. The information is presented so dryly it doesn't stick. But when you choose to read about the same subjects (ie, when you are ready to learn), it is so much more interesting and enjoyable. I know we read about and were tested on the Magna Carta when we were in high school. But it wasn't until I read 1215: The Year of the Magna Carta (Danny Danziger) that I truly learned about what led to the writing of this substantial piece of work. Then there was The Little Ice Age: How Climate Changed History (Brian M. Fagan). Believe it or not, we are coming off an ice age; one that lasted over 500 years. What's more, here are some interesting facts I learned while reading this book: 1) festivals were held on the frozen river Thames for many years; 2) it rained for almost two solid years in parts of the world; 3) glaciers in Europe expanded so quickly that entire towns were wiped out in a matter of weeks; and 4) while many are concerned about global warming, before the last Ice Age global temperatures were actually higher than they are now!
There is so much more! While I was reading this particular book I made a realization. The settings of many of the books written between 1300 and 1850, while they seem dark and foreboding to many of us today, that was actually what the climate was like on good days. Imagine that! Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was thought up during a particularly nasty cold spring (it snowed through August that year, then started again in October). So while we read books where the characters complain of the cold, bundle up, etc., there is a reason for all that. It truly was that cold many summers. So, as we pick up books written in this time period, this added nuance contributes to the reading experience.
As promised, the bucket list is growing. I find I am challenged. As I finish a book on the bucket list I seem to add two or three more. I would appreciate your help in identifying non-fiction books for the list. My only requirements are that the book be one you would read or think I would read, be non-partisan (I will not read or add books that are discriminatory - ie, Dems slamming Republicans and vice versa), and no product placement. Comment on this post or email me with your suggestions. Thanks and Happy Reading!
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