In Honor Of My Teachers

I've been taking a little break from my computer, as you can tell. I guess it's been about a month, which seems kind of crazy considering how much I'm usually online. That hasn't stopped me from reading, though, so there are some posts on the way. Meanwhile, I'm writing about something else: Two of my favorite teachers retired this year! It is unlikely that either of them will ever see this post, but I want to say a little something about each of them. The more I think about it, though, the less capable I feel of explaining how much they mean to me and what all I have learned from them. So, my solution is to tell you what they taught and name some books and authors to which they introduced me (links from Goodreads). Perhaps that will be enough to leave a lasting impression.

First off, my high school speech and debate coach, who we'll call Mrs. W.
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
A Piece of My Heart by Keith Walker
Dave Barry

Secondly, Dr. T, who taught a couple of my literature classes my junior year of college, as well as an advanced composition class my senior year.
The Iliad
The Odyssey
Confessions of St. Augustine 
Virginia Woolf
The Analects
James Joyce
They Say/I Say by Gerald Graff and Kathy Birkenstein
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

These are just a few of the multitudes of literary masterpieces and authors that I have gleaned from these women, but those stood out to me right now. If there are some you haven't read, I encourage you to pick them up and think of how much inspiration has been passed to others using these works. Thanks for reading, guys! I know I disappear from time to time, but I promise to let you know if I ever decide to leave for good, so keep sticking with me! Book reviews to come!