Tuesday, December 14, 2010

i want to read this

Calvin College, my alma mater, hosts the January Series every year and I'm always interested in who they find to come speak at a small college in Michigan in one of the coldest months of the year. Maybe they just want to enjoy a little (or A LOT) of snow.

So the list this year is okay - they have one of the cofounders of Kiva which will probably be interesting. But if I were there, I would be sure to see Father Boyle, a Jesuit priest who wrote a book about the work he's done with gang members in Los Angeles. The book is called Tattoos on the Heart - The Power of Boundless Compassion. It's been on the bestseller list for the LA Times for a while. And I love books about sociology. Getting from the library now.

A couple others I've read that I recommend:

Gang Leader for a Day - about a sociology major in South Chicago who gets the inside scoop on drug dealing and gangs

Whatever It Takes - about Geoffrey Canada and his quest for good education in Harlem

Relentless Pursuit - follows a group of new graduates who dive headfirst into teaching through the intense Teach for America program

1 comment:

megs said...

Wow, this threw me off a bit. I've been following your blog for a while now - from Grand Rapids. I grew up around the Calvin area.
Odd to see Grand Rapids mentioned. :)