Each week, members of the WFPL news team spotlight interesting stories we've read and enjoyed, for your weekend reading pleasure:Laura Ellis:Have you seen the blog Letters of Note? They curate correspondence written to or from notable people, or about notable events. It feels a tiny bit voyeuristic, although most of them are from so long ago that the writers and receivers are no longer around to be embarrassed. This week they posted one from Henry Miller to AnaΓ―s Nin. It's one of the most intense love letters I've ever read. Reading this post even inspired me to write a love letter of my own this week, but it won't be public until after I'm dead, when they post it on a future blog called "Facebook Messages of Note." Read Letters of Note: Don't Expect Me to Be Sane Anymore.
Devin Katayama:This week I've begun reading another book authored by a reporter who spent a year inside one of America's failing public schools. In Raising the Curve, Ron Berler was granted access to classes and the school grounds of Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, Connecticut. These books always end up inspiring my coverage of schools and give me new ways to look at reporting on sensitive subjects. I previously read reporter Matthew Tully's book "Searching for Hope," which is about a failing high school called Manuel in Indianapolis. Stay tuned for a conversation with Berler later this month.Joseph Lord:The store portion of a Cracker Barrel is more authentic than you think, though something tells me my grandmother's Hardin County family rarely found Ronnie Dunn special edition CDs at the nearest five-and-dime back in the day. The Atlantic explores. Read Cracker Barrel's Oddly Authentic Version of American History.Bonus: Around here, college basketball fans generally don't rush the court after a big victory. It's a topic of discussion elsewhere. Like in this New York Times essay. Read When College Basketball Fans Flood Floor, Ritual Trumps Peril.
