Some Words About This Week's Book Choices

As an aspiring librarian I couldn't let the month go by without marking two very important dates! April 2011 marks the 15th annual National Poetry Month and the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The Academy of American Poets offers 30 ways to celebrate one of which is to read a book of poems. What  great way to commemorate any anniversary! So, before the month is over I wanted to make sure I honored both by reading a book of poetry and a book based on the Civil War. She Walks in Beauty edited by Caroline Kennedy and conveniently published this month was a certain choice since I enjoyed her compilations in The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. My Civil War pick is another story....A few years back I read Gone With the Wind and loved it so much I've been afraid to pick up another civil war story for fear that nothing would be as good as Margaret Mitchell's book.  Would it be North and South by John Jakes or The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane? I debated for 3 weeks while the clock ticked and the 150th anniversary of Ft. Sumter came and went. Turns out it was neither since March by Geraldine Brooks had been on my shelf for, um, 5 years which means it was "free". And it won the Pulitzer in 2006 so it has to be good! March is a fictional story set during the Civil War that tells the story of the absent father, Mr. March, of Little Women. I have a confession to make....I've never read Little Women, but the movie is one of my favorites partly because I also have three sisters. We are nothing like the March girls, but I love them so! I'll save that story for another day because I have a lot of reading to do! Two books in a week is a lot even for this future librarian!