I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.
This week it's a back-to-school freebie. I picked ten books that either highlight teachers in general or include a memorable teacher!
1. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
I can't remember if college president Affenlight actually teaches... but close enough. He does what no teacher or college president should do with one of their students!
2. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
This quiet book follows the friendship of two college professors and their wives.
3. Good-Bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
This is a sweet novella covering the breadth of one schoolmaster's career at a particular boys' school in England. From a fearful young teacher trying to learn the art of discipline, to a doddering but wise old retiree still living across the street from the school grounds, we see how his life and the life of the school are intertwined.
4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Obviously this series isn't strictly about teachers, but there are plenty of memorable teachers at Hogwarts!
5. Matilda by Roald Dahl
This book is about a lot of things, but one of those things is the difference that one special teacher can make.
6. Radical by Michelle Rhee
Rhee's memoir focuses heavily on the importance of teachers — both why effective ones should be better rewarded and why incompetent ones should not be protected.
7. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The characters at the heart of this novel are drawn together by one strange teacher, for whom they have to drop all other classes and only take his.
8. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher
Mrs. Jewls is the main teacher in this book, but throughout the series we get memorable substitutes, including Mr. Gorf, Mrs. Drazil, and Ms. Nogard. In this world, teachers can turn students into apples or steal their voices via a third nostril.
9. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
McCourt is most well-known for Angela's Ashes, but he wrote two more memoirs, including this one about his thirty-year teaching career.
10. To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite
While McCourt was a white Irishman teaching mostly black American students in New York, Braithwaite was born in Guyana and ended up teaching lower-class white children in the "rough" part of London. Both memoirs are worth a read.
What are some other great books about teachers?
Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Infinite Jest and The Labors of Hercules
Five years ago I was reading: Paper Towns
Ten years ago I was reading: The Book of Sarahs
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