Hey, it's Sean and Bobbie at the Stettler Public Library - we're both reading really awesome books right now in our spare time and thought we would share them:
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
This autobiography recounts Ralston’s experience of being trapped in Blue Canyon in the Utah desert and how he had to amputate his own right arm with a dull knife in order to escape his entrapment by a boulder and survive.
There are a series of flashbacks where he reminisces about his past memories and how he became a man who left his office job for the love of the outdoors and adventure.
Aron is inspiring in his writing and his passion inspires readers to go out into the world and experience life to the fullest.
His book has now become an awesome, Oscar-nominated film, 127 Hours.
Watch the trailer for it here:
- Free as a Bird by Gina McMurchy-Barber
“Born with Down Syndrome, Ruby Jean Sharp comes from a time when being a developmentally disabled person could mean growing up behind locked doors and barred windows and being called names like "retard" and "moron." When Ruby Jean's caregiver and loving grandmother dies, her mother takes her to Woodlands School in New Westminster, British Columbia, and rarely visits.
As Ruby Jean herself says: "Can't say why they called it a school -- a school's a place you go for learnin an then after you get to go home. I never learnt much bout ledders and numbers, an I sure never got to go home."
It's here in an institution that opened in 1878 and was originally called the Provincial Lunatic Asylum that Ruby Jean learns to survive isolation, boredom, and every kind of abuse. Just when she can hardly remember if she's ever been happy, she learns a lesson about patience and perseverance from an old crow.”
This novel is written from Ruby Jean’s own perspective, in her broken yet meaningful language. When you read this book, you are almost able to forget that Ruby Jean has a mental disability and become wrapped up in her moving tale of frustration, mistreatment, and small triumphs.
What are you reading right now? Are you enjoying it, or are you ready to give up on it? Comment and let us know!
