A couple of years ago, well into the aggressive reading program I began in 2002, I had dinner with a family friend. Their adult son, about 23 years old, was also there. He was an English teacher for one of the more progressive and innovative teaching movements currently getting press in the United States for their success stories.
I had not kept up with contemporary literature so I asked him for recommendations. He made one. He said he was reading books by Tim O'Brien.
Shortly after that, I read my first Tim O'Brien book, Going After Cacciato. I thought it was brilliant. Since then I have read his If I Die in A Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. I have paged through The Things They Carried but for some reason had not yet bought it or read it; it looked very, very good, and I assumed some day I would buy it.
Earlier this month, to my surprise, The Things They Carried was offered on Amazon's Vine Program. I asked for a copy, and was fortunate to get one. I have really, really enjoyed it. I believe it is a new paperback printing and Amazon is marketing this new printing. I'm not sure about that, but that's my thought.
That would be the end of the story, and not much reason to post, except another coincidence this past week. While substituting for an English high school teacher, I saw that excerpts from The Things They Carried were being used as examples in their dialectical journal writing. I was really impressed.
So, there you have it. From a random recommendation by a family friend, to Amazon's Vine Program to our local high school, Tim O'Brien keeps popping up.
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