By Darlene Bowers
The Ada Public Library and the Ada Icon have teamed up to share favorite books from readers of all ages all over the region. Fall is the perfect time to check into the library and check out some books. Follow the Ada Icon frequently to see who is reading what and grab some ideas for your next reading adventure.
"The expression "following suit" is a curious one, because it has nothing to do with walking behind a matching set of clothing. If you follow suit, it means you do the same thing somebody else has just done. If all of your friends decided to jump off a bridge into the icy waters of an ocean or river, for instance, and you jumped in right after them, you would be following suit. You can see why following suit can be a dangerous thing to do, because you could end up drowning simply because somebody else thought of it first."
— Lemony Snicket (The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #5))
Anabel Alexander, 17, 12th grade Ada Schools
Any of the 13 satirical children’s books in The Series of Unfortunate Events collection could be Anabel Alexander’s favorite book.
“Seriously, any book in that series!” shares Anabel. The Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) follow the saga of the Baudelaire siblings.
The beginning pages of book one reveal ‘even though they are charming and clever, they lead lives filled with misery and woe.’ The writing style of these books is easily summarized as comic misery, and they are delightfully filled with many literary jokes and references that possibly only teenage and adult readers will grasp.
However, this takes nothing away from their appeal to younger readers. Handler also gives many lexicographic lessons…a word which here means the author then shares the dictionary meaning. Ha, see what we did there, it’s contagious!
Others have characterized the inclusions as cleverly disguised vocabulary lessons. Each book discloses another stage in the orphan’s saga as they investigate the mystery of their parents’ deaths.
Anabel shares that the series is her favorite, “because it reminds me of my childhood and gives me a sense of adventure.” Possibly Annabel is adopting the use of satire, too, which here means she fondly remembers reading this series as a younger child and is not claiming her childhood was filled with woe and misery. See, it really is contagious!
Anabel Alexander is currently reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. Five other books Anabel recommends are:
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (young adult fiction)
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (young adult fiction)
• Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern (young adult fiction)
• Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (young adult fiction)
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (young adult fiction)
So what are your favorite books? What books do you recommend to others? Join in, fill out the Ada Icon/Ada Public Library Favorite Book Survey (see attachment below or pick one up at the library) and submit your recommendations. Let’s start a reading revolution or at least have a spectacular time sampling all sorts of reads and exploring the Ada Public Library.
