Thursday, October 4, 2007

Oh no, another post about books . . .

After yesterday's blog about Judith Viorst, I asked my husband what he thought. He thought it was "fine," and then followed up with, "To be honest, sometimes, when the post is not about the bub, I just skim it. I don't like the literary ones that much." Obviously, I was overwhelmed by the support and encouragement. I like to know that my daily thoughts and experiences are worth attending to only insofar as they relate to my efforts to take care of his son.

Okay, I just paused right now to ask if he minded being cited in the blog, and he gave me another quote, "Are you writing a new one apologizing for yesterday's lame post that no one wanted to comment on?" Hands off, ladies, he's mine! NTB.

Okay, I just paused once more to ask him if wanted a preview of what I have written so far before I posted it, and he went on the record as saying he wanted to be "surprised."

Now to the real point of this post. I have a literary favor to ask. Many of you know that I have done some tutoring over the past few years. My favorite and longtime student is preparing to go to college next Fall. She is doing high school via distance learning, and I have been, for most intents and purposes, her English teacher for (almost) her entire high school career. The distance learning curriculum she has is good, but now that we have reached senior year, we want to kick things up a notch and fill in the gaps, anything she might have missed out on reading by not attending "regular" school. In terms of typical high school reading lists, we've missed out on Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

And now, the favor . . . If you could take a minute to leave a comment below or to email me, here's what I want to know: Any comments on the titles listed above (no spoilers please)? Did you have a favorite book you were assigned to read during high school? Is there anything you did not read in high school and then got to college and wished you had? (For me, it was The Odyssey.) Or, putting notions of the canon aside, are there any other books you would recommend for my student? Thanks in advance for your insights.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Of the ones you listed, To Kill a Mockingbird was my favorite. I also enjoyed the Great Gatsby but that may be because I remember it being short and that was of course a plus for me in high school.

Anonymous said...

Okay, here's the short take off the top of my head, as of course this is a topic I could explore for hours (and I guess we did for ten or so years, didn't we?) and not really get anywhere.
I too, felt like an idiot for not reading The Odyssey in high school, and also The Scarlet Letter, though I really do think it's beyond most high schoolers. I didn't get to Catcher in the Rye until I was 25, when it was completely meaningless to me. I also feel like most of Dickens is forever lost to me because there's too much there to attempt without a class to help me -- Tale of Two Cities most notably. Surprisingly, the only book you listed that I actually read for a class in hs was Gatsby. I remember really getting into One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest another I wouldn't have picked up on my own. I still think Lord of the Flies is a completely perfectly crafted novel, in terms of being able to discuss all the classic terms/elements of one.
I've always wanted to teach A Prayer for Owen Meany, as you know, but it's too unwieldy for a classroom situation -- maybe you could work with it here? You also know I'm completely partial to The House on Mango Street and teaching writing in connection with it. So there's just a smidge of info.
And by the way, I'm a HUGE fan of your literary posts (as well as the parenting ones)Keep them up, please. I'll start commenting more so you don't feel like they're lame.
E...

Anonymous said...

i love all the books you listed--except i don't think i liked huck finn all that much. of mice and men is still one of my all time favorite novels...which reminds me that i always wished i had read the grapes of wrath (my sister did her renneker book analysis on that book and it remains one of her favorites). the crucible is another of my all time favorites--though i can't remember if i read that in hs or college. loved in cold blood--i actually just made damon read that (and maybe you could do mr. renneker's milk jug demonstration. scary.). and i remember loving QBVII too, though i have no idea what it was about, which means it may not be that great after all... i feel like there's more but this is getting too long i think! msp

Anonymous said...

Grapes of Wrath was my favorite high school read which was, of course, a very long time ago. Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Franny and Zoey also good. I was not a huge fan of The Scarlet Letter maybe I would enjoy it more now. Perhaps your student should read The Odyssey since it was something you regret not having read. Your husband should have read more books to develop his diplomatic skills. M

Anonymous said...

As a fan of your lit posts and as a current English teacher, I feel I must respond to your favor.

Here's my sophomore curriculum:
House on Mango Street--playful language and characters (we do a lot of writing of our own lives based on the book)
Huck Finn--required at school, good book, but I find it to be a slow read (while a satire, the language can still be tough)
Of Mice and Men--a definite must-read! It's so short and compelling and gripping. You can't help but fall in love with Lennie.
Great Gatsby--I loved this one in high school, and I still like it (it's such a soap opera--but with a great writing style)
The Things They Carried--by Tim O'Brien and about the Vietnam War (but really it's about storytelling). It's probably my favorite book of all time, but it comes with a warning: lots of expletives in this one.
A Raisin in the Sun--set in Chicago, good characters, good story.

I've tried The Scarlet Letter with sophomores, and it was dreadful.

When I had freshmen, I taught Lord of the Flies (fascinating to me as an adult, but I don't know if kids always get as into it) and Night by Elie Wiesel. Students loved that one--less than 100 pages of a tragic and gripping life

When I had juniors, I taught Brit Lit. My favorite (and theirs too) was 1984.

I have lots of files and plans on all of these, so let me know.

Good luck!

Sara G.

 
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