Battle of the Books

Back in December, Trevor joined his middle school's Battle of the Books team. Every two weeks, all of the Battle of the Books participants received a new book, which they needed to read and study. On Battle days, Trevor's school (B. Gale Wilson) and the other 5 middle schools in the district competed against each other in dual meets. After each team had competed against all the others once, there would be a championship meet between the two top teams. The BGW team met twice a week after school to discuss the books in depth and brainstorm questions that might appear. They were well-prepared and worked really well as a team. So well, in fact, that they went into the Championship Battle undefeated.

The Championship Battle, scheduled for April 2, never happened.

Obviously, this is an extremely minor disappointment compared to all the other things canceled due to the pandemic. But I feel bad for those kids who worked so hard and were having so much fun. It was their last year of middle school, so there's no looking forward to next year's team. They hadn't taken their team photos for the yearbook yet, or even posed for a group photo before school was abruptly moved to distance learning. All I have are a few lousy snapshots from the meets.

Why am I bringing up the Battle of the Books now, months later? Because I recently finished reading what should have been the championship book (along with the other three books in the series). I loved it. I loved all of the Battle books. Even though Trevor and the BGW team didn't get to finish their season, they are all better for having read and studied some really great books.

I don't know who selected the Battle books, but they couldn't have made better choices. They're as enjoyable for adults as they are for teens. I loved each of the books enough to search out and read more by each author. Below are affiliate links for all of the books. I highly recommend you give them a read.

When I drafted this post, I mistakenly included one that I'd thought was a Battle book, but was actually from Trevor's book club. It was fantastic. 

Have you read anything great recently? Let me know in the comments. Happy reading! 

Interesting, Fascinating, and Inspirational: My Most Memorable Biographies from A to Z

Steve, Trevor, and I are all avid readers. We regularly have Family Reading Night where we sit in the same room and read. We read individually. We listen to audiobooks in the car when we travel. Trevor belongs to a book club. We discuss the books we read over dinner. The three of us truly share a love of reading.

What we do not share, however, is a preference for the same genres. Steve loves science fiction, fantasy, and thrillers. Trevor gravitates toward fantasy, humor, and books about animals. I am all about memoirs and biographies. We each read some of each other's favorites, and there are plenty of books I could name that all three of us adore. This month, Trevor's book club discussed Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (affiliate link). It's a good example of a book all three of us really enjoyed... enough that we're arguing over who gets to read the next books in the series first. 

While Trevor is at Book Club, I use the time to browse the shelves for interesting memoirs or biographies that catch my eye. An idea popped into my head. I should think back on all the memoirs and biographies I've ever read and pick the most memorable person for each letter of the alphabet. After making my list, I'll fill in any gaps by searching the stacks specifically for those letters. Then in part 2, I'll ask you guys to challenge my list. If you have read a memoir or biography about a person who is more memorable, fascinating, inspirational, or interesting than the one I listed, let me know and I'll read that book and see if it bumps someone off my list. 

To clarify, this is not a list of the most important biographies, nor a judgement about the best literary works in the genre. It is a a list of books that have stayed with me for some reason or another. I am not saying that the autobiographies of Steve Martin and Anne Frank are in any way similar. Obviously they are not. Each is memorable for completely different reasons. On with the list! Full disclosure: Each of the photos is as affiliate link. If you make a purchase after clicking them, I receive a small commission.

On with the list!

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Most Memorable Biographies from A to Z

    A:  Nujood Ali                           B: Anthony Bordain                     C: Julia Child                         D: Tomie dePaola

               

E: Auguste Escoffier                        F: Anne Frank                         G: Chris Gardner                     H: Homer Hickam

                      

                                                   J: Rachel Jeffs                              K: Helen Keller                     L: Jenny Lawson
             
                       


    M: Steve Martin                     N: Dr. Jerri Nielsen                                                                       P: Bill Peet

                

                                              R: Leigh Platt Rogers                      S: Jehan Sadat

              

                                                    V: Karl Vogt                       W: Stanley 'Tookie' Williams              X: Malcolm X 

                

                                                  Z: Louis Zamperini

       

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A few notes about the books I chose:

• It was painful narrowing down some of the letters. I've read a lot of great biographies and many of them could have made the list. But I had to ask myself which one left me thinking, or smiling, or raving about it the longest. 
• There are at least two people on this list I am virtually certain you haven't heard of. Leigh Platt Rogers is a local author who came to my classroom to speak with my students back in my teaching days. What a storyteller! Her books are riveting, but she's even more interesting in person. Karl Vogt is my mom's uncle. He was one of at least 11,000 Germans and German Americans interned by the US government during WW2.
• I have eclectic taste.

OK, I need your recommendations! Have you read any memorable biographies about someone with a last name starting with I, O, Q, T, U, or Y? Let me know in the comments!