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#Post#: 3935--------------------------------------------------
My Lit Class's Reading List
By: Jack Date: February 20, 2018, 4:20 pm
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I've been asked about this several times, so decided now was a
good time to share.
Of course, we've already done or are about to do...
Count of Monte Cristo
Hatchet
Brian's Winter
Mad Scientist Club (Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake)
A Separate Peace - I am hoping we're able to watch the movie
December, from 1991, which examines the attitude of teenagers in
WW2, but it depends on time.
Lassie Come Home - We're going to study some British/Scottish
geology with this, along with a bit about dog breeds (and maybe
actor dogs).
I am hoping to have a solid week left when we finish Lassie, in
which case I want to do
Murder on the Orient Express, though I doubt we'll have time to
watch the movie (the '74, Albert Finney version - I liked the
newer one, but it strayed from the book).
Having spent that time with my students, I will then take Spring
Break to plan out my next steps, but these are the books I'm
planning to use.
My Side of the Moutain
Treasure Island
Swiss Family Robison
Robinson Crusoe
White Fang/Call of the Wild
Outsiders
Where the Red Fern Grows
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Once and Future King
Kim
Tarzan of the Apes
Holes
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker
Maltese Falcon
Murder on the Orient Express
Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys #1)?
Which should take me through about 12 weeks. I am considering a
number of other books, but these are ones that I might want to
do, but need to look at more closely before I decide.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Hound of the Baskervilles
Dracula
Meet the Tiger - Leslie Charteris
39 Steps
Manchurian Candidate
#Post#: 3936--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: David M. Katz Date: February 20, 2018, 4:42 pm
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Some more for your "possible" list:
The Hanging Wood - Scott L. Sanders
Night - Elie Wiesel
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
The Giver - Lois Lowry
#Post#: 3938--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: Jack Date: February 20, 2018, 5:22 pm
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As I've already said, I'm not doing science-fiction or fantasy
(though I supposed you could argue a few of my choices). I'd
already been considering making an exception for The Giver or
possibly Ender's Game. I'm not familiar at all with The
Hanging Wood, though the synopsis of it sounds intriguing.
Night would definitely be a good choice, though I'll have to
read it again to see if it's really something I want to use in
this class. For that matter, despite their female protagonists,
I'm considering using Little House in the Big Wood and Island of
the Blue Dolphin.
#Post#: 3939--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: David M. Katz Date: February 20, 2018, 5:35 pm
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[quote author=Jack link=topic=411.msg3938#msg3938
date=1519168960]
For that matter, despite their female protagonists, I'm
considering using Little House in the Big Wood
[/quote]
If you are looking at doing something by LIW then I would go
with Farmer Boy. It is about LIW's husband's boyhood. It has
male protagonists. Also, if I remember, there are references to
CP in Farmer Boy.
#Post#: 3943--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: db105 Date: February 20, 2018, 6:46 pm
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Thanks for the list. Many books I haven't read there. Let's see
(apart from the ones you already talked about):
Mad Scientist Club (Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake) -> I
never heard of this.
A Separate Peace -> I want to read this one. It's well-known
Lassie Come Home -> I haven't read it.
Murder on the Orient Express -> a perfectly fine Agatha
Christie, but in choosing one I'd go with The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd, with its startling and controversial ending (almost a
century after its release the British Crime Writers' Association
voted it the best crime novel ever), or And Then There Were
None, widely regarded as Christie's masterpiece.
My Side of the Moutain -> I haven't read it, although it's
well-known
Treasure Island -> good choice
Swiss Family Robison -> I haven't read it, although as a kid I
absolutely loved the movie
Robinson Crusoe -> not easy to read, you should be careful with
this one... It's a really old novel, and it shows. The style
might be difficult for the boys.
White Fang/Call of the Wild -> great choices.
Outsiders -> I want to read this one, also well-known
Where the Red Fern Grows -> another children's classic I haven't
read
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -> I haven't read this one,
although I enjoyed the recent movie. Dahl is great and
whimsical, though. I loved The Witches, for example. I don't
know if this one won't be a bit too infantile for your class.
Maybe not.
The Once and Future King -> Good one. Are you going to read just
the first part with young Arthur and Merlin as his teacher or
the whole thing? The first one is more for children. I don't
know how much the boys will get the tragedy with Lancelot and
Guinevere. It will be interesting to see what the boys make of
the rest of the book.
Kim -> I'm ashamed to say I haven't read it. I'd like to.
Tarzan of the Apes -> Burroughs, huh? Interesting choice.
Readable enough, but Burroughs is rather pulpy and not very
literary, and for a pulp exotic adventure I'm not sure there
aren't better choices. King Solomon's Mines, perhaps? Or The
Lost World?
Holes -> brilliant book for boys. Your class will love it.
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker -> yeah, the first Alex Rider book,
they should enjoy this one too. Kind of a junior James
Bond-style spy. For teenage spies I prefer Robert Muchamore's
CHERUB books, but Alex Rider is safer (in the sense that in
CHERUB there might be something that religious or very
conservative parents may object to, nothing too bad, though).
Maltese Falcon -> yeah, if you are going to read an Agatha
Christie, why not complement it with the more hardboiled style
that replaced the traditional British-style mystery? The film
with Bogart is great, too.
Murder on the Orient Express -> oh, we already commented this
one
Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys #1)? -> a bit surprised at this one.
I haven't read it, so I'm not sure, but it's the first book in a
famous boy detective series by the Stratemeyer syndicate,
ghostwritten by several authors, not the best recipe for
literary quality. Also, the versions available today may have
been rewritten to eliminate old racial stereotypes and other non
politically-correct details, and in the process the style may
have been changed. I don't know how well it will hold today, but
I'd be fascinated to know what the boys think of it. I should
take a look at it myself, out of curiosity. I wonder if this
will compare to Enid Blyton's books, which I loved as a boy.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -> I read this one ages ago. Not my
favorite Verne for boys, although one of the best-known. With
Verne, what translation you choose is important.
Hound of the Baskervilles -> Great Sherlock Holmes novel.
Dracula -> I'm ashamed to say i never read it.
Meet the Tiger - Leslie Charteris -> Curious choice. What will
the boys make of this? I hadn't heard of it before now. This
looks like the pulp novels about masked avengers? Or is it more
like a traditional thriller?
39 Steps -> haven't read this one, although I had heard of it.
Sounds fine
Manchurian Candidate -> haven't read this one
#Post#: 3947--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: Jack Date: February 21, 2018, 4:43 am
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Interesting thoughts, Daniel - thanks for the feedback, and
especially for the comment on Robinson Crusoe. I remember
loving this book, but I haven't read it in a long time, so I'll
give it a look before starting it in class.
In general, let me remind you that, while I am teaching a real
class, and I do have things I have to cover, my mine goal is not
'literary books' but love of books. So yeah, some of the books
I'm planning to teach might not be of high quality or great
learning value, but those aren't my only goals. Remember that a
lot of my boys are reluctant readers or reluctant students, so
my choices do consider that, and might sometimes be easy or
immature for their chronological age.
Finally, if you look back at the original post, there is a
question mark after this. In the 90s, Applewood produced a
facsimile edition of the early Hardy Boy novels. This article
has some information on it you might find interesting -
HTML http://hardyboys.us/hbos.htm
As the article states, they quit printing them a while back.
You can find them on eBay, and I was able to find a couple in
some used bookstores (and I have several copies in family, as
well as my original original), but we can't find enough for the
class. I'm looking into the possibility of copies for everyone
to read or something. I think reading this version would give
us some interesting topics of discussion (vis-avis who much
society has changed over the years), but I think being stuck
with the newer version - the boys might be a bit old en masse
for it to hold their attention.
Having said that....
[font=georgia]QUOTE DB105[/font]
Mad Scientist Club (Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake) -> I
never heard of this. I loved this book when I was 12, and when
I rediscovered it (I couldn't remember the name, but finally
found it a year or two ago with the help of Google, and the
author's son bringing the books back into print). I find them
fun, and somewhat anarchic, but in a mostly positive direction.
A Separate Peace -> I want to read this one. It's well-known
There are a lot of things I love about this book, but especially
it's main character. We've all known someone like Phineas, and
I doubt any of us were able to keep from loving and hating him.
This is an exploration of friendship and growing up that I
think everyone should read.
Lassie Come Home -> I haven't read it. I have only read the
edited, children's storybook version lately, but I remember it
being an entralling, adventure book with one of the most joyous
endings ever.
Murder on the Orient Express -> a perfectly fine Agatha
Christie, but in choosing one I'd go with The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd, with its startling and controversial ending (almost a
century after its release the British Crime Writers' Association
voted it the best crime novel ever), or And Then There Were
None, widely regarded as Christie's masterpiece. I am still
considering that. I also considered And Then There Were None,
but I feel the novel was a bit weaker than the movie. The fact
that Roger Akroyd introduces a new literary concept (which you
can't name without spoiling the ending) is a strong point in
it's favor. I honestly thought the variety of characters in
Orient would hold the boys' attention better, which was what has
swung me this way for now.
My Side of the Moutain -> I haven't read it, although it's
well-known Good, but not great. A quick read, and I thought it
would be a nice reflection of Hatchet.
Treasure Island -> good choice
Swiss Family Robison -> I haven't read it, although as a kid I
absolutely loved the movie I loved the novel as a kid, and read
it multiple times. I do need to check the version I selected
and make sure it's as readable as I remember.
Robinson Crusoe -> not easy to read, you should be careful with
this one... It's a really old novel, and it shows. The style
might be difficult for the boys.
White Fang/Call of the Wild -> great choices. Like Hatchet and
Brian's Winter, I chose this pair because they contrast each
other so well, and I want the boys to examine that, as well as
just enjoying the books.
Outsiders -> I want to read this one, also well-known This one
has some great lessons for kids, but it also introduces Robert
Frost, and we'll probably go there for a day or two.
Where the Red Fern Grows -> another children's classic I haven't
read Loved the book, hated the ending. Kids will be mad at me
over this, I wager.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -> I haven't read this one,
although I enjoyed the recent movie. Dahl is great and
whimsical, though. I loved The Witches, for example. I don't
know if this one won't be a bit too infantile for your class.
Maybe not. It's hard for me to judge, because I was a college
level reader in 5th grade, which is when I read it. It is a bit
immature, but I think it's more whimsical and silly than
infantile. I'll probably schedule it after something silly.
The Once and Future King -> Good one. Are you going to read just
the first part with young Arthur and Merlin as his teacher or
the whole thing? The first one is more for children. I don't
know how much the boys will get the tragedy with Lancelot and
Guinevere. It will be interesting to see what the boys make of
the rest of the book. I hope the boys will explore the rest on
their own, but we are going to limit it to Sword in the Stone,
mostly because the entire book is about 700 pages. If there's
enough demand, I might make time to do more.
Kim -> I'm ashamed to say I haven't read it. I'd like to.
Tarzan of the Apes -> Burroughs, huh? Interesting choice.
Readable enough, but Burroughs is rather pulpy and not very
literary, and for a pulp exotic adventure I'm not sure there
aren't better choices. King Solomon's Mines, perhaps? Or The
Lost World? Actually, I want to use this book to discuss the
idea of 'white privilege' and how things were seen in the past.
The idea that a person lost as a toddler and raised by apes
would be able to educate himself from books and fit into English
Society as an earl is so ridiculous, and yet fits in to a world
view that's just not that old. I think it's still a fun read,
but I chose it for that reason.
Holes -> brilliant book for boys. Your class will love it.
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker -> yeah, the first Alex Rider book,
they should enjoy this one too. Kind of a junior James
Bond-style spy. For teenage spies I prefer Robert Muchamore's
CHERUB books, but Alex Rider is safer (in the sense that in
CHERUB there might be something that religious or very
conservative parents may object to, nothing too bad, though).
You've mentioned CHERUB before, but I've not yet sought it out.
Really should. I think Colt and Kenny have read them.
Maltese Falcon -> yeah, if you are going to read an Agatha
Christie, why not complement it with the more hardboiled style
that replaced the traditional British-style mystery? The film
with Bogart is great, too.
Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys #1)? -> a bit surprised at this one.
I haven't read it, so I'm not sure, but it's the first book in a
famous boy detective series by the Stratemeyer syndicate,
ghostwritten by several authors, not the best recipe for
literary quality. Also, the versions available today may have
been rewritten to eliminate old racial stereotypes and other non
politically-correct details, and in the process the style may
have been changed. I don't know how well it will hold today, but
I'd be fascinated to know what the boys think of it. I should
take a look at it myself, out of curiosity. I wonder if this
will compare to Enid Blyton's books, which I loved as a boy.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -> I read this one ages ago. Not my
favorite Verne for boys, although one of the best-known. With
Verne, what translation you choose is important. That's why it's
on the ? list. I want to introduce them to older sci-fi, but
this one also has a number of other things going for it (Indian
independence for one) that are relevant today. On the other
hand, I may consider others of his works or even something by
that other Wells- H.G.
Hound of the Baskervilles -> Great Sherlock Holmes novel. I'm
leaning towards this one, because it's most famous, but many
people Valley of Fear is the best, so I'm going to try to read
that one again before deciding.
Dracula -> I'm ashamed to say i never read it. Not a great
novel, but I think they'll be intersted in seeing how much the
movies changed things.
Meet the Tiger - Leslie Charteris -> Curious choice. What will
the boys make of this? I hadn't heard of it before now. This
looks like the pulp novels about masked avengers? Or is it more
like a traditional thriller? The Saint is an incredible
character - a thief and con-man who helps those in need - while
helping himself. I've not read this before, so I need to check
it before I confirm it.
39 Steps -> haven't read this one, although I had heard of it.
Sounds fine I haven't either, but while I was checking lists for
things I might have forgotten, this one came up over and over
again, so I'm going to try to make time to give it a read.
Manchurian Candidate -> haven't read this one - Same as above,
and in this time of political turmoil, it might be a good
choice.
#Post#: 3951--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: db105 Date: February 21, 2018, 10:59 am
---------------------------------------------------------
With Robinson Crusoe, you just notice stylistic choices from the
18th century that can be difficult for today's readers,
particularly inexperienced readers. Large blocks of text and
things like that. This was published a century before Walter
Scott. More than a century before Dumas and Verne... Yes, take a
look and see what you think.
Very interesting info about the Hardy Boys. Enid Blyton's books
have also been modernized, but certainly not to that extent. I'm
curious about it because my instinct is that a product written
under those conditions (owned by a company and ghostwritten by
several authors for hire) is usually a disposable product that
doesn't age well, but I might be wrong. Did you read any of
those as a boy?
I wasn't aware that some people considered The Valley of Fear
the best Holmes novel. My favourite is The Hound of the
Baskervilles without a doubt. For a novel, because The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, for example, is a fine collection
of short stories. The only "problem" with The Hound is that
Holmes is not in it for most of the story, he is busy with
another case and sends Watson to report to him, but it's a great
story.
#Post#: 3952--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: Jack Date: February 21, 2018, 11:30 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=db105 link=topic=411.msg3951#msg3951
date=1519232348]
Very interesting info about the Hardy Boys. Enid Blyton's books
have also been modernized, but certainly not to that extent. I'm
curious about it because my instinct is that a product written
under those conditions (owned by a company and ghostwritten by
several authors for hire) is usually a disposable product that
doesn't age well, but I might be wrong. Did you read any of
those as a boy?
[/quote]
I read all of them that had been published up to that time as a
boy, and I loved them. I have also gone back and read the
Applewood versions, and I enjoyed them, but not as much. I have
read the modern novels to some of my kids - some were
interested, others weren't, and some of my kids have read the
facsimile editions.
When thinking about the Hardy boy novels, remember two things.
About the first 36 (I say without double checking) were outlined
by the creator of the series, and most of them were all written
by the same author. I think that's why most of them are of
decent quality.
#Post#: 3953--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: jackson Date: February 21, 2018, 2:14 pm
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Will any of Robert Heinlein's juveniles be on your list?
Those are some of his best novels.
#Post#: 3954--------------------------------------------------
Re: My Lit Class's Reading List
By: db105 Date: February 21, 2018, 3:00 pm
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[quote author=jackson link=topic=411.msg3953#msg3953
date=1519244079]
Will any of Robert Heinlein's juveniles be on your list?
Those are some of his best novels.
[/quote]
He's not including any science fiction (or fantasy) in this one.
But yes, Heinlein's juveniles are still very enjoyable.
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