What books are on your nightstand?

At the moment I have House of Rain by Craig Childs, The Martian by Andy Weir, Beowulf (Seamus Heaney translation), and Dharma Punx by Noah Levine.

What kind of reader were you in high school?

I was always an avid reader when I was young, but when I hit high school, I started to dislike it. None of my teachers provided us with silent reading time during school, and there was not much of a push to create a community of readers at my high school. After high school I became an avid reader again, though.

 What is the last book that made you laugh?

            I laughed pretty hard and pretty frequently while reading Generation of Swine by Hunter S. Thompson. That dude is a nut and his writing voice is very raw and unbridled.

 If you had to name one book that made you who you are today what would it be?

            When I was in 8^th or 9^th grade I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I think that really helped me cope with the awkwardness of that stage in life. Later on in college, On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Fear and Loathing in America by Hunter S. Thompson provided me with the insight and courage to pursue a life of my own rather than one that others were trying to push me towards.

 If you had to require every AHS student to read a book, what would it be and why?

            For underclassmen, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and for upperclassmen, On the Road. Both of those, in my mind, are coming of age novels, but focus on different stages of growing up, as there are many levels to “coming of age” (much like stairs). 

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers living or no longer living would you invite and why?

            This may be a volatile combination, but I’d be stoked to have a meal with Charles Bukowksi, Jack Kerouac, and Alice Walker. Bukowksi and Kerouac would probably end up getting into a fight, and Alice Walker would probably have to bear the brunt of many of their inappropriate, drunken jokes.

What has been your favorite book to teach students and why?

            Dharma Bums! At a high school level, a lot of students do not realize the near-infinite trajectories available to them in the world, and I think Dharma Bums does a great job glorifying exploration and “spiritual wandering”. There are many ways to incorporate exploration and “spiritual wandering” in a somewhat mainstream occupation though; you do not necessarily need to become a transient, hopping trains in the night/hitchhiking across the country, and cooking meals over small twig fires under bridges, to explore and pursue enlightenment.

What is your favorite book of all time and why?

Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac is one of those books that I read over and over again. Whenever I am backpacking or road-tripping, I have my ratty, taped up copy of Dharma Bums to keep me company. Sometimes I simply read it for the prose, other times I read it for its exploration of applying Buddhism in a grungy, low-impact, open-minded way. Also – you can’t beat climbing a mountain and reading about Kerouac climbing Matterhorn and acting as a fire-lookout on top of a mountain in Northern Washington.