Lynda has just started her sixth year as a media clerk at David Gourley Elementary.
What books are currently on your nightstand?
Most of the 2017 Beehive Book Award nominees. I just finished The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart and A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Next up is The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright.
What was the last great book you read?
Echo by Pamela Muñoz Ryan. That book was the complete package! Loved it. It should have taken the Newbery Medal.
The last book that made you cry?
The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau. Terrific book on how to treat others kindly, especially when they are from a different culture.
The last book that made you laugh?
Guess Again by Mc Barnett, the poetry of Roald Dahl, and the Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce.
What kind of reader were you as a child? What childhood books and authors stick with you the most?
Avid and voracious! The first books I really fell in love with were Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I also loved books by Enid Blyton- The Famous Five series and The Secret Seven series. I pretty much read anything and everything!
What is the best book you were required to read as a student?
At Brigham Young University, I was introduced to American Literature. Growing up in Scotland, I had studied many great British classics, but as an adult I fell in love with Will Cather, William Faulkner, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Robert Frost.
What book did you hate reading as a student?
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. To this day I simply do not understand why it’s considered such a classic of modern literature.
What is your favorite book to recommend to children?
Wow! There’s a lot. Right now, it is anything by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Brandon Mull, and Rick Riordan. They are all great writers for kids.
If you could only bring three books to a desert island, which would you pack?
I am going to cheat here!
- A complete set of scriptures- to keep me sane and grounded
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare– to keep my intellect intact
- The complete Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- for pure entertainment and escapism
Thanks for sharing.
Linda, You are such a wealth of information. I take ALL your recommendations very seriously. Also, I love to hear about your author studies–Revolting times was one I used with Roald Dahl this year.
I love that your choices are varied and expansive!
Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions!
Lynda, thanks for your input. It’s fun to read your point of view on books especially from someone who grew up outside the U.S.
I’m also impressed with the work you do with your author studies, the kids at David Gourley are very lucky to have you.
Lynda, I love how you would cheat in taking “three” books to a deserted island, and how in so few words you expounded on your choices. The Honest Truth, and A Night Divided have been some of my favorite reads this year. Thanks for sharing!
Loved that you are cheating and getting a lot of books on to your desert island. I think I want to be on your desert island. Also love the books you recommend to children.
I loved “A Night Divided” and “Little Women” too. I also have enjoyed reading many of the Willa Cather books over the years. I have learned so much about the settling of the midwest from her books.