Nick’s Comments (group member since Jan 03, 2011)

Nick’s comments from the SQPN group.

Amanda wrote: "Speaking of spiritual reading, I need to find something to read for Lent. Every year I say I will and it all falls apart. I need to find something not real heavy because when I go for the heavy I b..."

I highly recommend Deep Conversion/ Deep Prayer by Fr. Thomas Dubay and Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade.

I teach my 8th graders that when it comes to reading on their own, it is always ok to abandon a book, and they should not feel guilty about it.

Daniel Pennac wrote a tribute to reading called Better Than Life in which he lists the Reader's Bill of Rights:

1. The right not to read something.
2. The right to skip pages.
3. The right not to finish.
4. The right to reread.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to escapism.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to browse.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right to not defend your tastes.

Nancie Atwell, a middle school reading teacher, always discusses this list with her students and they have modified the third right as follows: "The right not to finish, or to read just the ending."

I hate it when my 6th grade daughter jumps to the last page of her book, but I respect her right to do so.

A few books I ready lately that you might like:

Here, There Be Dragons - An excellent young adult heroic fantasy novel with a fun literary twist at the end
Uglies - A young adult dystopian sci-fi novel that explores our obsession with beauty
The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life - Absolutely terrific book by Fr. James Martin, SJ; I would classify it as a "must-read"
A Travel Guide to Heaven - Really helps to break the stereotypes we have of heaven
Deep Conversion/ Deep Prayer - Another excellent work by the late Fr. Thomas Dubay

A few books I plan on reading:

The Help
With God in Russia
Looking for the King: An Inklings NovelThe Golden Age