When I was interviewed a few years ago for an article about homeschooling in the New York Times, the journalist writing the story paid careful attention to the books that littered my room. Before asking the obligatory question about socialization and wondering aloud how I studied science, he jotted in his notebook the finding that I read Dale Carnegie, Tony Robbins, and the Complete Works of Voltaire.

A lot can be gleaned about a person from the books they read. That in mind, what books are on the nightstands of grown homeschoolers? To find a good read and explore a few lives in the process, I asked several grown homeschoolers about the books they are currently reading.

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Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Philadelphia, PA
"I’ve been reading Billy Wimsatt's book," says Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, "but I don’t know if you want to plug that in your column!" The lifelong homeschooler, now 25, has a love/hate relationship with No More Prisons, a slim book published by Soft Skull Press that has drawn the attention of many grown homeschoolers in the past year and a half. No More Prisons is an eclectic rant about, among other topics, homeschooling, urban sprawl and the prison system in the United States. Most definitely a thought provoking book about social activism, says Amanda, but Wimsatt has a "beginning journalist, outsider’s perspective" of homeschooling and plenty of ideas worth arguing against. Which is ironic, since Wimsatt is a favorite at Grace Llewellyn’s annual Not Back to School Camp and a driving force behind the Self-Education Foundation, a charity that funds unschooler projects.

For Amanda, No More Prisons is more than a good read. The book is also indirectly relevant to her job as a nonprofit grant manager for the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning. "The book talks pretty persuasively about different issues facing folks coming out of prison," she notes. "A lot of the grant programs we work with also do employment programs for people coming out of prison."

Not that she chose the Wimsatt book for its policy. "I have always been interested in unusual connections. He does a good job creating enough natural connections that you see how his comments on urban sprawl and how development could be managed differently fit in with his perspective on homeschooling and how education could be managed differently."

Sarabeth Matilsky, Brighton, MA
At Sara University—the pet name for Sarabeth Matilsky’s un-college lifestyle—the curriculum includes book discussion and reading aloud to your husband. "We just finished reading Lord of the Rings," explains Sarabeth, age 21. "Personally, I didn’t think that I would ever be able to get through Lord of the Rings if I was reading it on my own—but we read it aloud and talked about it." Sarabeth wanted to read the classic fantasy tale by J.R.R. Tolkien before a new theatrical version of the story arrives at theaters later in December.

Books play a starring role in the self-directed education of Sarabeth, known for her frequent writings in Growing Without Schooling and her bicycle journey across the country at age 17. An interest in cooking led Sarabeth to Paulette Mitchell’s The Complete Soy Cookbook. Then there was the book about electrical wiring, in preparation for construction of a solar house. "But it wasn’t too gripping," she reveals, so they dropped the book. "We wanted, at that point, something more light because Lord of the Rings was pretty intense at the end." Maybe next time Sarabeth and her husband should try Dave Barry?

Lauren Mathis, Aurora, NY
This summer, says Lauren Mathis, one of her greatest finds was Silverlock, by John Myers Myers. The novel, in the tradition of Robinson Crusoe, is a story about self-discovery after an island shipwreck. "It is packed full of so many literary and historical allusions," explains Lauren, an English major at Wells College in Aurora, New York, whole web sites are devoted to uncovering subtle references in the book.

Wading through familiar literary references has helped to rebuild Lauren’s self-confidence, injured this spring after poor grades in—of all subjects—English. "That meant a reexamination of just about everything," says the 20 year old lifelong unschooler known for her voracious books consumption. "I messed up."

Silverlock and science fiction novels such as Elizabeth Haydon’s Rhapsody: Child of Blood, a story about characters who must cope with travelling back in time, have also given Lauren inspiration, and a model for rebounding from the disappointment. "I did badly, but I can still do this—and do it well," she says, "like all of these other characters did when they realized that they messed up, too." For Lauren, novels are a tool to better understand herself and the world around her.

Seth Smith, Columbia, MO
"The book that has had a profound impression on me recently," recounts Seth Smith, a 31 year old grown homeschooler from Missouri, "was a book called Nanda Devi, by John Roskelley. It is riveting, and a great read!" To keep cool in the sweltering heat, this past summer Seth kept a stack of nonfiction about Himalayan mountaineering by his bedside. Nanda Devi, best of the bunch, is the story of a fractious hiking expedition glued together by a young woman who ultimately dies from intestinal complications while attempting the journey.
"Roskelley is not a super writer, but he makes a really profound point at the end about how futile mountaineering can be when it claims such a vivacious, young woman."

Seth is no stranger to the privations of expedition life. Before seeking a master’s degree in library and information science at Columbia College in Missouri, Seth practiced forestry management for many years in Colorado and Alaska. Pausing to collect his thoughts on Nanda Devi, Seth says that "in some ways, it took me back to that time in Alaska. But it also really put me in touch with the types of people who do these kinds of things. I could relate to the characters really well. In my graduate school life, I just don’t come across many mountaineers."

It might be said that books bring balance to Seth’s life. "When I was working for the U.S. forest service, I was reading a lot of philosophical and theological books, which I really don’t touch anymore." Back then, in the midst of backbreaking labor, books such as the acclaimed mountaineering story, Into Thin Air, sat on his shelves. "I didn’t even touch that until I moved back to Missouri and started working indoors." Now, titles such as Nanda Devi are welcome relief for a homeschooler with a strong history of physical exertion in the great outdoors.

Andrea Quarracino, Wilmington, NC
Andrea Quarracino has a lot to learn from Dave Eggers’ memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. "This guy would put down everything," exclaims Andrea, a 21 year old grown homeschooler who is working toward a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. "I find it very hard, as a writer working in nonfiction, to always be 100 percent honest about things I’ve done in my life or to write in such a way where I know I am keeping my integrity to the truth but also protecting myself a little bit." Honesty, coupled with a gripping story, is why the memoir by Eggers is a "must read."

In the memoir, Eggers writes about balancing his own personal grief while raising his 9 year old brother after both parents die of cancer within months of each other. "It is not a light read," warns Andrea, "but Dave takes the situation that he has been dealt and handles it with such humor and wisdom.

"It has made me take a look at how honest I can be," she continues. For Andrea, who has always had a passion for writing, Eggers’ literary handling of a personal tragedy "was definitely a help." Still, "anyone could pick it up and get something out of it."

Brian Walton, River Forest, IL
"All kinds of books cross my desk," notes Brian Walton, "usually going out in other people’s hands." The 22 year old lifelong unschooler works at the circulation department of the Arlington Heights library, near Chicago. Next year Brian will have a master’s degree in library science from Dominican University.

Brian recommends Molly Ivins’ You’ve Got to Dance with Them What Brung You, a political satire about Clintonian politics. "I wasn’t thrilled with the way that the election turned out," he says. "It helps me reaffirm that it is okay to laugh at the system."

Satire also helps Brian stay current with politics, important for a librarian. "Part of being a professional librarian—I am finding out—is staying in touch with the world," he confides. "Only people who do research papers come in and ask about styles of dress in 13th century England—or people headed to the renaissance fair." Humor is "a way to take a look at the world around you without heavy reading. It is a lighthearted, semi-satirical work, rather than a treatise on Arkansas politics."

This article first appeared in the November-December, 2001 issue of Home Education Magazine.