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Indiana became a state on Dec. 11, 1816, and
to celebrate, Indiana Humanities and the
Indiana Center for the Book created the Next
Indiana Bookshelf, a collection of 13 titles that
have Indiana ties and/or are written by Indiana
authors.
Each title is unique, and as a group they give a
distinctive narrative of our state’s history,
present day, and future.
Morton High School’s Library Media Center
was one of only 55 libraries in the state to
receive this collection, and all reading
selections are in your library now, ready for you
to enjoy.
Check them out!
Art Born Out Of Hard Times
Etheridge Knight, one of Indiana’s best known poets,sharpened
his talent of expression while serving an eight-year sentence at
the Indiana State Prison. Knight was born into poverty in
Mississippi and raised in Indianapolis when his family moved
there. His experience was similar to that of other young black
men there at that time, and at age 16, Knight dropped out of
school to join the U.S. Army. Serving in Korea from 1947 to
1951, Knight returned home with a severe shrapnel wound and a
drug habit; his prison time was the result of a robbery he
committed to fund his addiction. Knight turned to writing as a
way to cope, and he was soon recognized for how his poetry on
poverty, racism, addiction, prison and redemption were
expressed with love and anger, irony and sweetness. Knight’s
poetry is praised worldwide, and he has been recognized by the
National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Society of
America. Knight lived to age 60, passing away in 1991.
A Writer’s Life Through His Letters
Imagine if someone gathered all the emails, posts and texts you’ve
ever written and sent, and published them in one book. Interesting
stuff? You bet. So it goes with Kurt Vonnegut Letters, a book
containing 60 year’s worth of correspondence between this famous
Indiana author and the people in his personal and professional life.
Vonnegut was born into a wealthy and prestigious Indianapolis
family in 1922, but his life was a struggle. Vonnegut’s family lost their
money in the Depression, his mother committed suicide, and Kurt
was drafted into World War II where he became a prisoner of war in
Germany and narrowly escaped death in the firebombing of
Dresden. Writing was Vonnegut’s strength, and Letters details how
his hard work eventually paid off with numerous bestselling novels.
Often compared to Mark Twain, Vonnegut’s writing artfully combines
societal criticism with dark humor. Vonnegut died in 2007 at age 84.
Can She Call Indiana Home?
Syrian immigrant Khadra Shamy is growing up in a devout,
tightly knit Muslim family in 1970s Indiana at the crossroads of
bad polyester and Islamic dress codes. Along with her brother
and her African-American friends, she bikes the Indianapolis
streets exploring the fault-lines between Muslim and American.
Years later, when her picture-perfect marriage goes sour,
Khadra flees to Syria and learns how to pray again. On
returning to America she works on the East Coast, taking care
to stay away from Indiana where the murder of her friend by
Klan violence years before still haunts her. But when her job
sends her to cover a national Islamic conference in Indianapolis,
she’s back on familiar ground. Familiar, yes, but friendly? What
can Khadra expect?
Band of Sisters: In War, Friendship
Author Helen Thorpe follows the real lives of three Indiana
National Guardswomen over 12 years on their paths to the
military, overseas to combat, and back home -- and then
overseas again for two of them. These women become
friends, and we see their families, their lovers, their spouses,
their children. We see them work extremely hard, deal with the
attentions of men on base and in war zones, and struggle to
stay connected to their families back home. We see some of
them drink too much, have affairs, and react to the deaths of
fellow soldiers. And we see what happens to one of them
when the truck she is driving hits an explosive in the road,
blowing it up. She survives, but her life may never be the
same again.
Indiana
Basketball !
Dale Cooper arrived in tiny Invincible, Indiana
determined to coach his way to a better job. He never
bargained for a clueless principal, a bitter star, a racist
point guard, and a town fiercely proud of 49
consecutive seasons of finishing exactly .500. When it
becomes apparent to Dale that neither the town nor his
players have any interest in winning, he devises a way
to turn everyone's expectations upside down. His
gambit forces Invincible to strive for greatness. Both
funny and heartbreakingly serious, Invincible, Indiana
gets to the core of the Hoosier state's love affair with
basketball.
That was Then, This is Now?
Jessie, the central character in Running Out of Time, lives
with her family in the frontier village of Clifton, Indiana, in
1840 -- or so she believes. When diphtheria strikes the
village and the children of Clifton start dying, Jessie's mother
reveals a shocking secret -- it's actually 1996, and they are
living in a reconstructed village that serves as a tourist site.
In the world outside, medicine exists that can cure the
disease, and Jessie's mother is sending her on a dangerous
mission to bring back help. Beyond the walls of Clifton,
Jessie discovers a world even more alien and threatening
than she could have imagined, and soon she finds her own
life in jeopardy. Can she get help before the children of
Clifton, and Jessie herself, run out of time?
Raintree County: An American
Classic Told From Rural Indiana
Throughout a single day in 1892, John Shawnessy recalls
the great moments of his life -- from the love affairs of his
youth in Indiana, to the battles of the Civil War, to the
politics of the Gilded Age, to his homecoming as
schoolteacher, husband, and father. Shawnessy is the
epitome of the place and period in which he lives, a rural
land of springlike women, shady gamblers, wandering
vagabonds, and soapbox orators. A number-one bestseller
when it was first published in 1948, this powerful novel is a
compelling vision of 19th-century America with timeless
resonance today.
John Green: Hit Author From A
State Known For Great Writers
Author John Green, who calls Indianapolis home, has
been a regular on The New York Times bestseller list
with such titles as The Fault in Our Stars and Looking
For Alaska. Paper Towns is another of Green’s novels
that has struck gold. Equal parts literary mystery, classic
road-trip fiction and coming-of-age story, Paper Towns
tells the story of teenager Quentin, “Q,” as he explores
the real and imagined landscapes of suburbia in central
Florida. One month before graduating from high school,
Q is enjoying the predictable boringness of his life. Then,
long-time crush Margo takes him on a midnight
adventure and mysteriously disappears. Without any
help from Margo’s family, Q tries to find out if Margo has
run away or committed suicide.
The Troubles in a Family, the
Richness of the Land
In the rolling hills of southern Indiana, an elderly
couple copes with the fear that their river bottom farm
-- the only home they've ever known -- will be taken
from them by the government through eminent
domain. The river flowing through their land, where
the old man has fished nearly every day of his life,
may be dammed to form a reservoir. Their son,
meanwhile, sinks deeper into troubles of his own,
struggling to determine his place in a new romantic
relationship and the duty he owes to his family’s
legacy. What This River Keeps is a beautiful and
heartfelt novel that reflects upon what it means to love
a place and a family, and the sometimes staggering
cost of that love.
What is the Meaning of Life?
Most of us think about our lives -- more or less. “How am I
going to do in this class? What will I do after high school? What
is the meaning of life?” People who write essays, known as
essayists, also wonder about their lives, but do so in public and
on the printed page. Scott Russell Sanders, distinguished
professor emeritus at Indiana University, is an essayist and his
Earth Works: Selected Essays contains an interesting
collection of thoughts and ideas. In “At Play in the Paradise of
Bombs,” Sanders tells of his family moving to an Ohio military
arsenal where his father found work, and how the experience
of playing around bomb-making machines and bunkers on the
edge of a forest shaped his life. Other essays examine his
father's drinking, his opposition to war, and his feeling for
wildness. Sanders also looks at the disruption of Earth's
climate, the impact of technology, and the mystique of money,
Scratch the Surface, Find a Story
Author Susan Neville opens Sailing the Inland Sea with the
story of a time she began following southern Indiana’s Lost
River -- a river that runs for miles underground, popping up
here and there, showing itself in long stretches or in small
openings in the ground. It’s an entire world mostly unseen
but right under the surface of the land. Sailing is a collection
of essays and interviews that follows the same pattern and
reveals what may not be thought of or considered, but what
carries a strong presence nonetheless.
Neville’s interviews with fellow Indiana authors Kurt
Vonnegut, Scott Russell Sanders and Marguerite Young, as
well as with other literary giants Salman Rushdie, Ray
Bradbury and Toni Morrison, give the reader a new way of
thinking about the art of writing.
Indiana Farms Feed the World
People often think the food revolution is on the East or
West coasts. This beautiful book reveals the rich
heritage and recent accomplishments of Hoosier
farmers. Did you know that the duck breast in most
restaurants comes from Indiana? Or that the bison that
once roamed the Hoosier state are back? Or that one
of the top goat cheeses in the world is made by a
passionate woman in southern Indiana? How farms
heal us, nurture us, and should inspire us is captured in
the wonderful collection of essays and photos of
Indiana farmers, agriculture mentors, and even a foodie
doctor.
This a great book for anyone who is inspired by stories
and great photos of real farmers growing real food.
Poetic Indiana
The Indiana Chant, the only poem in the Next
Indiana Bookshelf, was written by April Pulley
Sayre, a South Bend-based children’s author.
Sayre crafted the poem especially for Indiana’s
bicentennial to celebrate the nature and culture of
our state, and inspire conversation on what
makes us unique.
And the best part of it? A shout-out to Hammond!
A full-length version of The Indiana Chant is on
display in the Library Media Center or available
by visiting the following link:
http://in.gov/library/files/TheIndianaChant.pdf
Stop by the
MHS Library Media Center
with your student ID
to check out any of
these titles.
Morton High School gratefully acknowledges Indiana
Humanities and the Indiana Center For The Book, which
created the Next Indiana Bookshelf.
Book summaries are adapted from:
-amazon.com
-Indiana Center For The Book
-Indiana Humanities
-The New York Times
-Notablebiographies.com
-perma-bound.com
-poets.org
-Drew Ramsey, MD
co-author of The Happiness Diet
-The Seattle Times
Art provided by:
-canstockphoto.com
-wishes-quotes-cards.com
-yopricevillegallery.com