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Books we're reading at the station and recommend to you.When we're not on-the-air or at our desks, we like to pick up good books. Most of us here at the station are, in fact, avid readers. In the style of NPR's "What We're Reading" (an excellent weekly guide) we, too, decided to share what we've been reading. Here's a list of books recently read by WKMS staff members, student workers and volunteers.Interested in a book on our list? Follow the Amazon link beneath the picture. A small percentage of your purchase of anything on Amazon through this link goes right to WKMS at no additional cost to you!

Good Read: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

12-10 BRYN JONES BOOK REVIEW EDIT.mp3
Brynn's Review

If you're doing some holiday shopping for a young adult or anyone who enjoys a simply good read, consider picking up this week's recommended read, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, from Katherine Farmer, Coordinator of the Racers Children's Preview Collection at Murray State University. Also, hear a follow-up review from WKMS Youth Radio Project's Brynn Jones.

We have all been there. Encountered a person with a physical disfiguration or disability that you can't help but turn away. Witnessed the bullies that can't help teasting those who are different. 

R.J. Palacio addresses these issues and more in her moving debut novel Wonder.

The main character, August Pullman - otherwise known as Auggie, wishes that he was ordinary on the outside as he believes he is on the inside. Halloween is his favorite time of year because it gives everyone a chance to know someone for what is on the inside instead of the outside. These beliefs stem from the fact that he was born with several genetic abnormalities that caused him to have facial disfiguration that one cannot help but notice. His life is further complicated at the age of ten, when Auggie's parents decide after years of homeschooling to send Auggie to regular school. At school, he encounters the trials of being bullied and finds a real kindness among his family and friends that helps him overcome whatever he encounters. 

The novel Wonder with humor and grace follows Auggie through that first year of regular school at first through his eyes and then through the eyes of his sister and others he develops relationships with throughout that year.

To discover more about Auggie and the true wonder that he is, read Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

Katherine Farmer is the Coordinator of the Racers Children's Preview Collection at Murray State University. Brynn Jones is part of the WKMS Youth Radio Project. Special thanks to her dad, Rusty Jones, for recording her review.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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