I am currently in my final semester at Hope College where I am majoring in Secondary English Education, Creative Writing, and Classical Studies. I live in Allegan, MI, which is where I am currently student teaching, but I originally hail from Ann Arbor, MI. After this semester, I am hoping to find a teaching position …
Category Archives: Big Read 2024
Revisiting Past Perspectives of the Big Read
While we are waiting to launch into our programming for our 2024 Big Read books, we want to take some time to revisit some of the pieces that have been published about our Big Reads of the past couple of years! Whether in places like the Holland Sentinel or published to scholarly databases, the Big …
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Classics Recommendations from the Big Read Lakeshore Team
Here at the Big Read Lakeshore team, we are united by our love for books. During one of our last meetings, the topic of our favorite classic works came up, and it was awesome to see the wide variety of works that have left an impact on our team members in many ways. We decided …
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Why Study The Classics: An Exploration of Dr. Roosevelt Montas’ Life, Lecture, and Book
In order to answer this question of “why study the classics,” first we must define “the classics.” Wai Chee Dimock, English professor at Yale University, states in her article for The New York Times, “classics are classics because we aren’t done with them yet,” or to put it another way, classics are classics because they …
The Books That Made Me: A Personal Literary Timeline From a Lifelong Reader
By Alexandra Goodwin Everyone has a reading story. Whether your reading journey spans weeks, years, or decades, it’s impossible to be unaffected by the things you read. I began reading at the age of six, and while the journey has not been without struggles (did anyone else neglect school or sleep to finish a novel?) …
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A Global Library: Classics from Around the World
Books are not just stories—they are windows into different cultures, times, and experiences. While it’s easy to reach for familiar titles from your own country, reading classic books from other countries offers unique and rewarding insights. If you are interested in traveling or even just to know more about a country, choosing a classic or …
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Is There Still Value in Reading Classics?
Growing up, I assumed that when people talked about “classic” books, they meant any old book. I would hear the same ten or so talked about, mainly by Dickens, Austen, Homer, and a Bronte sister thrown in there. I loved visiting the Barnes and Noble classics table where they had beautiful bound editions of these …
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“That’s Me” The Power of Visual Diversity in Graphic Novels and Comic Books
By Hannah Lever Getting students and people of all ages engaged in books is not simply about a mastery of the mechanics of letters, words, and sentences. Reading is a valuable skill and a fulfilling hobby because human beings are created to create, to understand the world around us, and tell stories. We don’t read …
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