Surprised Me

filled star filled star filled star filled star star unfilled
mlstweet Avatar

By

I'll be completely honest and say that "Members Only" by Sameer Pandya surprised me. When I had first read the First Read I thought it was interesting so I requested it and was pleased when I got the book. But then it sat on my to be read shelf for awhile. Eventually I made myself read it. I found I enjoyed the section that I had initially read, but then the book dragged on.

It took me almost a month to get through the first section. But once I got past the section that describes Raj's processing of the event into the actual story things took off. In the end I would say this book is a valuable one for a lot of people. I strongly encourage people to read it. One of the best quotes from entire book speaks to why I think the book is valuable and important to read. Raj, speaking to a student he'd been in conflict with previously, says, "The power of dissent is a rich part of who we are. Robert, I respect your opinions, and I show that by critically examining your ideas. That's what we're here for. My job is to show you that ideas are meant to be broken apart and studied. If they're not, they solidify into something nauseating and dangerous. If you remember nothing else from this class, I want you at least to remember how I've taught you to think. And hopefully I've created a classroom environment that allows you to critique my ideas as well" (Pandya, 252-253).