Johnathan Livingston Seagull

 Jonathan Livingston Seagull

By Richard Bach

Publication: 1973 by Avon Books

Number of Pages: 107

Start Date: June 4, 2026

Finish Date: June 7, 2026

This short read has been around for over 50 years! I had NO idea this story was hat old.  It is broken into three setions and tells the tale of a seagull (Jonathoan Livinston Seagull) who is only concerned with flying ... Perfect flying  He practices all the time; he prefers it to eating. His parents are beside themselves because he does not act like the other gulls, nor does he conform to gull conventions.  Becuase of this, he is banished from the Flock and forced to live alone, beyond the Cliffs even though he believes his flying techniques will help the Flock.

On his own, Jonathan meets with an accident and begins his journey to Nirvana, prue truth, knowledge, and kindness.  He begins teaching others in his original Flock, and that knowledge moves throughout the Flock one gull at a time.  

When you read this novella, you have to keep in mind the time it was written, what "new" beliefs were on the horizon, and how the new Guru movement was cathing fire with the younger genertions.  

There are pieces of knowledge which are still timely and that can be applied today.  I think older generations (like Gen-X and earlier) would understand the teachings and storyline better than newer generations.  

All-in-all, this little read was quick and mildly entertaining.  The idea of animals portraying people who are practicing buddahism is an interesting twist.

Last Day of School/First Day of FREEDOM

June 4, 2026

Today is the last day for students for the 2025/2026 school year, and I am SO excited to get this party started!  This past year has been frouoght with challenge after challenge, but also little victories along the way.  I am getting back to my old teacher self and plan to do some reading this summer; both YA lit and adult lit as well. I am excited about the potential of acutally having reading time and conference time next year and plan to read the Virginia Reader's Choice books for the upcoming shool year over the course of the summer.  There are two books, though, that won't be available until Septmber and January 2027, so they will have to wait.  

I picked up Jonathan Livingston Seagull from the bookcase this morning and will make this my first summer read as I await those Amazonian packages to grace my doorframe.  

Each book will have one new blog post which will cosnsist of pictures of the covers of each book, number of pages, a discussion of how long it took me to read the book, a brief outline of characters, and a non-spoiler summary of the confict, general setting, and an imprtant event or two.

Follow along with me as I go on the journey, yet again, of reading and blogging.