By Darlene Bowers:
Note: Join us this summer as the Ada Public Library and the Ada Icon team up to share favorite books from readers of all ages all over the region. Summer is the perfect time to check out the new library renovation (if you haven’t already) and check out some books. Check the Ada Icon frequently to see who is reading what and grab some ideas for your next reading adventure.

D’Souza family
Manoranjan, Preema, Ethan

“There's a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need," Morrie said. "You need food, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don't need the latest sports car, you don't need the biggest house. The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction?...Offering others what you have to give...I don't mean money, Mitch. I mean your time. Your concern. Your storytelling. It's not so hard.” 
―Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

Names: Manoranjan D'Souza, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Ohio Northern University; Preema D'Souza, Staff, Ada Public Library; Ethan D'Souza, 6th Grader, Ada Schools

The D'Souza family shares:
“It was really difficult to pick one favorite book for each of us since we all love to read so much and each of us has our own individual tastes. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom will always be a special book for our family. Last summer we made a road trip to Nashville and started listening to the book on CD.

We were all silent and just engrossed in the book to the point that it was really difficult to take breaks because we did not want to stop listening. It was one of those books that enthralled all three of us together. Tuesdays with Morrie is a book about the life and experiences of Morrie and the important life lessons he teaches by facing the inevitability of his suffering and death with grace and dignity.

Morrie felt like a grandfather figure to us imparting pearls of wisdom on the last leg of his journey on earth and taught us ...what matters most to us when we are about to die...it’s just  Faith, LOVE and Family.”

Currently the family is reading:
Internal Medicine: A Doctor’s Stories by Terrence Holt (Mano), The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Preema) and Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen (Ethan).

Five other books that Mano, Preema and Ethan recommend are:

Mano−

• Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (non-fiction, history)
• Gandhi before India by Ramachandra Guha (non-fiction, biography)
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (non-fiction, intelligence)
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (non-fiction, psychology)
• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (non-fiction, social sciences)

Preema−
• The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis (non-fiction, health)
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (non-fiction, biography/autobiography)
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (religious fiction)
• Around the World in 80 days by Jules Verne (science fiction)
• The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom (fantasy fiction)

Ethan−
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio (juvenile fiction)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney (juvenile fiction)
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (young adult fiction, fantasy, mythology)
• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (fiction)
• Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan (juvenile fiction)

So what are your favorite books? What books do you recommend to others? Join in, fill out the Ada Icon/Ada Public Library Favorite Book Survey (see attachment below) and submit your recommendations. Let’s start a reading revolution or at least have a spectacular time sampling all sorts of reads and exploring the Ada Public Library.