The Battle for Paradise:
Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists Naomi Klein
“A gripping and timely account of classic 'shock doctrine' being perpetrated in Puerto Rico. Naomi Klein chronicles the extraordinary grassroots resistance by the Puerto Rican people against neoliberal privatization and Wall Street greed in the aftermath of the island's financial meltdown, of hurricane devastation, and of Washington’s imposition of an outside control board over the most important U.S. colony." —Juan González, co-host of Democracy Now! and author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. |
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mohsin Hamid
This novel is a complex second person narrative which Skyline IB students read in 12th grade. Smith enjoyed it thoroughly and plans to continue reading Hamid's writing. Read a review of the novel here. Rating: A |
The Wheel of Time (First Six Books)
Robert Jordan
At times The Wheel of Time is one of the greatest fantasy series penned by an American author-- at others it is minutiae-filled and slowly paced. Click here to read a little about the series. Soon to be an Amazon.com show. The first six books are very good. Rating: A- |
Horse Latitudes
Morris Collins
Click here to read the NPR story about the novel. Rating: C... probably because Smith took a couple month break in the middle and broke the narrative. |
The Parade
Dave Eggers
Click here to listen to the NPR story about the novel. Smith liked it so much he'll be testing it out with his 9th graders in 2019. Rating: A |
LAKE SUCCESS
Gary Shteyngart
Curious? Click here to read about the novel Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart. Coming to HBO soon with Jake Gyllenhaal. Rating: B- |
The Future is History: How totalitarianism Reclaimed RussiaMasha Gessen
Click here to learn more about the book and listen to an interview with the author, New Yorker journalist and activist Masha Gessen. Rating: A+ |
Exit West |