I am working at the information desk on the fifth floor of Halifax Central Library; it is hot and sunny outside and the rest of my family is off having a lovely day at the beach.
It’s nice and cool where I am and I certainly love hanging out on the the fifth floor, but I’d be lying if I told you that I wouldn’t rather be stretched out on the the sand right now, reading something good.
The next piece I read after I took BANR home with me had me laughing out loud: On the study of physics in preschool classrooms is Matthew Schultz’s deadpan curriculum to introduce toddlers to quantum physics by doing all kinds of impossible activities with them including field trips to the the moon and growing a star in the preschool classrom (beware with this activity -if the star collapses into a black hole there is a risk of students being sucked into the vaccum).
BANR is not all fun and laughter; I jumped ahead to Janine di Giovanni’s Seven days in Syria and was immersed in grim account of the war correspondant’s experiences there as the fabric of the country unravelled around her.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading selections are chosen by two groups of high school students located in Califronia and Michigan, in collaboration with the editor (until 2013 this was Dave Eggers, but in 2014 the journal was edited by Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket). The result is a collection of funny, profound, and thought provoking works of quality writing that will keep you engaged through your entire beach visit.
