The Amazonian Gateway

So, I browse Amazon.com a lot.  I rarely buy new books because they are too expensive and I am poor.  Most of my books come from consignment shops.  It’s a lot cheaper and it’s like a treasure hunt because you never know what you’ll find.  But, Amazon has been used often as well.  Generally, I just go to the book that I want and don’t mess around more.  But, I stumbled across the “categories” a few months ago.  OOhhh.  How fun.  YA books are split into categories, including social issues.  Social issues are further split into categories such as drugs, sex and depression.  Problem novels at your fingertips!

I also ran across some other books that I want super bad.  For example, Great Books for High School Kids: A Teacher’s Guide to Books That Can Change Teens’ Lives . Someday, I will have money so I can buy such books.  Someday, I will have money so I can have high-speed internet.

Of course, lack of money didn’t keep me from buying Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero or Tori Amos’ American Doll Posse.  And I sure as heck am getting Bjork’s Volta next week.  These are true neccessities.  Thank God I already paid for Harry Potter 7 in February.  Shameless plugs.

1-866-445-6580

Basketball Diaries- Lots of shooting and plenty of scoring

Basketball Diaries- Jim Carroll

Now, I have read of this book being a YA-ish book.  It’s an autobiography of a New York kid, full of dreams and drugs.  I have to say, it’s a bit more graphic then any other problem novels I have read.

There are plenty of books on Amazon.com that reference this book and how to teach it to adolescents.  It is graphic and real.  I think that if kids are going to read it then it is good to have it done in a classroom to give it perspective.  It isn’t “preachy,” it just is.  There is a lesson, but it doesn’t smack you in the face like a pop-up book.  It isn’t the usual obvious YA book, so some kids might not get the message without a bit of guidance.