Hungry for Books
I’ve been having a running conversation with my 10-year-old about why I won’t let her read The Hunger Games. I told her I don’t want her to read it because it’s dark. It’s about teens killing other teens – and I just don’t think a 10-year-old child needs to read about that. I told her if she wants to read about hunger, go read Oliver Twist.
Unfortunately, she seems to have inherited a lurid strand of DNA from my mother’s side of the family (that I also inherited) that I call “the tabloid gene.” It gives you an insatiable appetite for salacious gossip, murder-and-abduction stories, and lurid story-lines. My mom somehow watched The Young and the Restless for twenty years straight, read practically every Harlequin Romance known to womankind, and unapologetically consumed stacks of tabloid trash including the The National Enquirer – even though she had a PhD.
I harbor her same deep and abiding love for tabloids and reality TV shows – the crappier the better: Teen Mom, Hoarders, Intervention, The First 48, Real Housewives – anything that details the true, horrific, depressing problems of others (ostensibly so I can feel better about myself). This includes Super Nanny, which made me feel so much better about my own parenting. I don’t buy tabloids, but I do find myself scanning their shocker headlines at the checkout stand – I’m not proud of it, either. But like I said, it’s in my DNA.
And as a parent, I’m afraid of this side of me.
My voyeuristic bottom-feeder taste in TV shows was one of the main reasons we killed our television. I knew that my late-night addiction to Nancy Grace and murder and abduction stories was making me a vapid paranoiac, and was fueling my fear of underground parking garages. I didn’t want to pass on even more of the tabloid gene (or my fear of parking garages) to my children, and I knew if I kept doing it, I would.
That said, I’m not one of those people who is like a reformed smoker going on about how bad smoking is for you and judging other moms who let their kids watch TV. On the contrary – I wish I could do it in moderation but I can’t – I’m a habitual creature, which means that I was piping Nancy Grace’s stories of murder and abduction into my bedroom every night, even though I could actually feel my brain cells dying.
One of the positive things that came out of killing our television was that I found myself reaching for books more often. I’ve always been a voracious reader – but without the TV I read way more than I was, and I’ve replaced my voyeuristic need for lurid plot lines with books depicting the immigrant experience and the experiences of people who live in cultures I can’t even fathom – Rwanda, Haiti, the Sudan, Nazi Germany, South Africa during apartheid, Alabama in the 1950s – so this particular list is filled with stories like that. I highly recommend each one of them.
I’m reading a memoir called Escape from Camp 14, about one man’s escape from one of the worst prison camps in North Korea. I had told Fiona that she can’t read The Hunger Games - but the other day I found her curled up on the couch with her nose in Escape from Camp 14! And she had gotten to page 39! She said she could not put it down! She said if I didn’t let her finish it that I would be no better than the Nazi book burners!
I won’t let her read about hungry teenagers eating other hungry teenagers The Hunger Games which I should actually take the time to read first before saying no but I am considering letting her read about hungry North Koreans cannibalizing orphans for food during the famine. WTF? Motherhood is full of tricky inconsistencies like that.
Parenting fail? I don’t know yet. She says she’s hooked and is dying to read the whole book – so I told her I would decide if she can read it after I read it.
Books I Could Not Put Down
In no particular order, here’s a list of 10 15 books I’ve read that I could not put down (and it was really hard for me to cut it down to 15):
1. The Orphan Master’s Son by David Ignatius.
2. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi.
3. Nanjing Requium, by Ha Jin.
4. Little Bee, by Chris Cleave.
5. Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Vergase.
6. What Is the What, by Dave Eggers (this is one of my all-time favorite books)
7. The Known World, by Edward P. Jones.
8. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.
9. Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa, by Mark Mathabane.
10. Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer.
11. A Golden Age, by Tahmima Anam
12. The Butcher Boy, by Patrick McCabe.
13. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Housseini.
14. The White Tiger, by Arvind Adiga.
15. The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, by Slavomir Rawicz.
Linking up with Northwest Mommy.
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We must be related because I have that same lurid DNA in me, compelling me to be a closet expert on serial killers (I even did a semester in Criminal Sociology at university and considered a Masters in Criminology), and being obsessed with watching terrible shows like Hoarders and My Strange Addiction.
I have refrained from reading The Hunger Games though. Maybe because I still have a stack of true crime books to get through.
And great list, I need to check some of that out (and I love Dave Eggers, but haven’t read his newer stuff!).
Me, too! True crime is a seriously guilty pastime (I was going to type “pleasure” but that sounds pretty creepy). Also, echoing the love for Dave Eggers. I took “And You Shall Know Our Velocity” to the top of Kilimanjaro just to take its picture at the top! Is that creepy?
That is amazing! You went to the top of Kilamanjaro??? With a book by Dave? Does Dave know this?! I want to read about that adventure…
I suspect Dave is NOT aware (he must’ve lost my email address!), and the pic is either lost to the mists of time (or my imploded old PC) or I’d have to hit up one of my fellow climbers for it. Which is a shame, because there were some AMAZING pics from the trip. A lot of the plants look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, and I loved the starry Southern Hemisphere skies. (Puking underneath said sky with altitude sickness? Not so much.)
Kili itself is kind of depressing. It’s overrun by tourists and is kind of a mob scene. Not exactly a wilderness experience. Although it was great to do the climb (which yes, is a fun story), I actually enjoyed Moshi and the surrounding countryside more.
I’m so glad you have that tabloid gene thing going too, Alison. I knew there was a reason we connected…
I can see why you’d consider letting your daughter read your book but not Hunger Games because the book you’re reading talks about a part of history, whereas The Hunger Games is pure fiction.
I want to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. It’s on my list.
That’s a good point – there is a difference between just reading lurid fiction vs. real-life to learn about other countries around the globe…
I have A Thousand Splendid Suns sitting on my nightstand. This is a great list, Ado. Many here I have not read yet.
Great list of books! I’ll have to get crackin’!!!
A Thousand Splendid Suns was fantastic. I’ve not read ant of the others on your list.
I am blown away by your list of books, some of these I have heard of but have not read. I too, love the reality show garbage on tv but have a really hard time reading real stories of suffering. I think I’m one of the few people who never read and have no idea what the Hunger Games is even about. I am curious about it now though
One of my goals has been to stop watching tv in the bedroom so I’ll read a book before bed instead. Still trying….great list!
Thanks Anna!
I actually really truly don’t like reality TV and have not read or watched any of these popular books, not even Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. I am however eager to read some of the ones on your list and if one of these days I find the time I have a feeling your book will be the one I cannot put down!
(-:
15 Books http://t.co/t9C58pDm via @adothemomalog #MondayListicles
I loved the Book Thief. The first time I tried it, I actually couldn’t get into it and quit reading it. But then a friend of mine told me I had to try again and it is definitely one of my favorites now. I will have to check out a few others on your list that I haven’t heard of!
That’s great that you went back and gave it a 2nd try – so you got to “get” it – what a book!
The Book Thief is one of my all time favorites. Cutting for Stone is way up there too. Verghese is a brilliant storyteller. Great list!
Cutting for Stone and The Book Thief are two of my favorites. And if you like A Thousand Splendid Suns, you should try The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. It is about a woman in 17th Century Persia. While the two books have the same feel, they are definitely different so that you don’t feel like you’re reading the same story twice.
And there is a solid novel about Nazi Germany told from the point of view of a German citizen. I am blanking on the title. I will have to ask Erin. It moved me so much because it illuminated that there were losers on all sides. It is easy and justified to hate what the Nazis did, but not every German citizen agreed, some were just trying to survive. I love how this book brought forth the individual. Tragedy and heroism are sometimes so intertwined that they are difficult to discern.
So this is why Erin and I took the easy way out and made fun of some children’s books. We couldn’t reel ourselves in on our favorites!
BTW, the teenagers in Hunger Games so totally don’t eat each other. Stop spreading rumors from the tabloid heart of yours.
Ellen
Hahaha! See I need to read The Hunger Games, don’t I!
A Thousand Splendid Suns was a book that seriously touched my soul. I remember not being able to put it down, and reading with the tears streaming down my face.
I must admit, the majority of your list is new to me, however I do foresee adding a few to my future library visits!
What a great list. Many unknown to me as well, loved Everything is Illuminated. New things to look for in the book store. Hmm, scarier reading the made up or true stories? Tough question, especially at 10.
Now that’s a really good question – which could be scarier, the real ones or the made-up stories?
You have recommended 2 of my fav books! There are a few here that I haven’t read yet, taking note for vacation time reading.
The only book I have read on your list is “Everything is Illuminated”. I wonder if I should be ashamed. But then again… everyone has different tastes. I will look into some of these those and see if it’s something I’m interested in. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my GOD – wow, Susi – that is amazing we have such similar tastes in books!! Honestly, it is a rather obscure list! Wow!
Ooooh, I gotta check out some of these! Nice list. Have a great week!
Terri
15 Books http://t.co/TUhmXzlx via @sharethis | @adothemomalog
Thank you for the invite to the baby shower….I just adore Alison! My honey bunny has the same tabloid gene. I don’t, but I do love my romance books, but not tabloids or reality TV! I remember my mother reading The Thorn Birds – she was a good Catholic and absolutely SCANDALIZED, but she would. not. put. it. down. She was never a reader by any stretch of the imagination unless it was a cookbook, so I remember it like yesterday!
I knew there would be a great list here! yay! Bookmarking for future reference. I am going through the same thing with my 13 y.o. but with the book ‘Looking for Alaska’ because of the sexual content. I am going to let her read it…but I’m going to read it with her. She wants to read it, we’re going to talk about it. I have less issue with sex than I do with violence…either used gratuitously is the issue for me, I think. Commonsensemedia.org has great reviews on books and other media to get a gauge on things you may be unfamiliar with that your kids want to read/view…you seem to be doing quite well, though.
Have a great week!
I haven’t tackled The Hunger Games yet either… recently read The Road by Cormac McCarthy and need a breather from any further apocalyptic tales of cannibalism.
Love Foer though. reading his Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close right now.
Oh, I was looking for new ideas in terms of books to read. Perfect timing, thanks for sharing
I love this – “I’ve been having a running conversation with my 10-year-old about why I won’t let her read The Hunger Games”. Indeed, I do the same with my little ones in terms of the cartoons they are allowed to watch. No robots and monsters killing each other…
I don’t know many of these titles, but it’s a list I’m going to keep handy when I’m ready for more reading material!
I need to read some of these – the only one I’ve read is Persepolis (which was awesome).
I’m feeling a little bad that I let my 10-year-old read the Hunger Games now
But it was after I read it and felt she could handle it.
Don’t feel bad, I’m on the verge of letting Fi read it. She is reading that N. Korean memoir now.
I have a voracious appetite for reading as well. However, I sit somewhere in between you and your mother. I have read more of the Harlequin romance than anything. I find that I enjoy getting lost in a book that doesn’t leave me wickedly depressed. My own life has seen enough and I have trouble reading the memoirs of others who have survived tragic lives. Maybe I just haven’t picked up the right one.
I totally get that – I have no idea why I get so consumed with other people’s miserable lives. I think it makes me feel instantly grateful for my own or something. I sure got into The Thornbirds though, and I remember reading Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and getting lost in that one!
Phenomenal list: we have very similar literary taste! Dave Eggers…my favorite author of my 20s. Seriously, What is the What is amazing, and Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was one of those books that reminds me of a certain period in my life: amazing writer.
I had a teeny crush on Jonathan Safran Foer: he lives in Park Slope, and I used to see him at one of the local playgrounds with his kids and wife. He’s the small-ish bookworm type, but I was so gaga over him because I love his work. (My husband would puff out his chest and be all, “Whatever. I could kick his ass.”)
I love that story! I love our husband! That is SO funny and is exactly what my husband would do, too!
What’s been fun for Liam as he reads things probably a little too old, a little too hard, is watching him back up and realize – oh wow, these books ALL owe a debt to Tolkien; or oh wow, Big Brother and the Hunger Games…he’s sort of figuring literary family trees as he goes along. I did read HG first — and then all his friends (the ones with older sisters) read it, so I let him go ahead – and we actually had some really fabulous conversations (none of which I’m sure he remembers). And then we saw the movie together, which also sparked some good talking. So…I don’t know. I always read way beyond myself and mostly my mom let me…It makes for some great re-reading experiences, when you realize how much you missed the first time around…
Thanks for that comment Deborah – a lot of my friends who are parents recommend me reading it first then letting her read it, it’s about a 50/50 split. (-:
That’s a really tough dilemma you have with your daughter. We’re starting to experience the same kind of thing with our oldest son who is about to turn 8. I caught him reading the 7th Harry Potter book(he hasn’t read any of the others) and made him put it away, much to his annoyance. I think his reading appetite is just more advanced than he is. We’re plan on reading the first couple with him, but probably wait a while on the others.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is the only one I’ve read on your list, but I was supposed to read Cutting for Stone for my book club and hope to eventually get to it someday. Little Bee is one I’m hearing a lot about and want to get to sooner than later.
Loved your list!