In the Shelfari on the sidebar, I’m featuring JEA One Books.

The next featured book, A Curious Mind, sounds really exciting.  According to the JEA website, the book is about the author’s conversations with “some of America’s most intriguing personalities.”  Several movies, one with which I am familiar —  “A Beautiful Mind” — allegedly emerged from such moments of curiosity.

Originally, I hesitated to join the JEA One Book community, because I couldn’t imagine fitting into my schedule one more obligation.

However, I was hooked after trying JEA’s first pick: Amanda Shipley’s The Smartest Kids in the World–and How They Got That Way.  Even though I’m a teacher and help write curriculum for my district, the tugging dread about reading it was that I suspected it was full of pedagogical advice that would put me to sleep.  It was a page-turner from the get-go.

As soon as I heard about the next book selection (Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s All the President’s Men), I felt that needling voice in my mind say, “Is this book really all it’s been hyped to be?”  Well, yes, it is.  Again, I suspiciously opened to the first page, and spent the next three days mesmerized by the story and all the reporting wisdom.

So, I’ve quit questioning which book is selected (there is always a vote on the JEAlistserv) or whether I have enough time to read it.  If, like me, you are a fan of journalism, JEA One Book is a great place to share your enthusiasm.