A MUST DO this summer!

I wasn't going to recommend any more cultural activities this summer! I got too busy with my new Reddit, "Ask Me Anything". But then I went to the Library of Congress and saw the exhibit, "America Reads". It is a MUST for every high school student and adult and even junior high school/middle school students seeking a challenge. And while it is primarily available to those of us in the DC area, it can be checked out by everyone in the country on the Internet. The free booklet alone is worth the trip as it has a number of lists of popular books and books that helped shape America.

Here's one interesting example from the free book that accompanies the exhibit:

Books That Shaped America 2012

TOP 25: Favorites in 2012

1. Ayn Rand (1905–1982). Atlas Shrugged, 1957
2. Harper Lee (1926−2016). To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
3. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835–1910). The Adventures of Huckleberry, 1884
4. Thomas Paine (1737–1809). Common Sense, 1776
5. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896). Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, 1852
6. The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, 1788
7. Upton Sinclair (1878–1968). The Jungle, 1906
8. J. D. Salinger (1919–2010). The Catcher in the Rye, 1951
9. John Steinbeck (1902–1968). The Grapes of Wrath, 1939
10. Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism, 1939
11. Ray Bradbury (1920–2012). Fahrenheit 451, 1953
12. F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940). The Great Gatsby, 1925
13. Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, 1868
14. Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949). Gone With the Wind, 1936
15. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel, 1904–1991). The Cat in the Hat, 1957
16. Rachel Carson (1907–1964). Silent Spring, 1962
17. Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862). Walden; or, Life in the Woods, 1854
18. Jack Kerouac (1922–1969). On the Road, 1957
19. Betty Friedan (1921–2006). The Feminine Mystique, 1963
20. L. Frank Baum (1856–1919). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900
21. Herman Melville (1819–1891). Moby-Dick; or, the Whale, 1851
22. Dale Carnegie (1888–1955). How to Win Friends and Influence People, 1936
23. Joseph Heller (1923–1999). Catch-22, 1961
24. Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass, 1855
25. Benjamin Spock (1903–1998). The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, 1946

You can read more about it on the Internet at:

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/america-reads/overview.html

ON ANOTHER TOPIC

Indeed I have become extremely involved in conversation with many hundreds of young people on Reddit, and I'm particularly eager to respond to their desire for inter-generational dialogue at this time,  I think many of you might find the issues they raise extremely interesting.  You might like to take a look at:

My Ask Me Anything on Reddit

and while I have limited my "Culture Blog" this summer, I can't help Ranting and Raving and you can find my latest at

http://www.ronlehkersrants.blogspot.com

Thanks for staying with me.

Ron