September Reading List
I finally feel like I am back to my old reading self. This month I have more than one book to talk to you about.
1. "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson
-- This book was one that I thought I may like after reading "The Diamond Age: or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer". This book focuses on an alternate world where "maths" have developed as centers of learning, as a cloistered life, and the rest of the world has developed on technology and has ceased learning as I think of it and is increasingly violent. This story was not as interesting to me as "Diamond Age" but I can see that it will appeal to many. All of the math language and discussion about geometry went over my head. Miah, you may like this one, but it is a commitment of over a thousand pages.
2. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
-- I love this book. I am teaching it this year and I always re-read the books I assign to students. The language is captivating, musical. I keep finding more things to love about the writing. Being so far from America, reading this, what is considered The Great American Novel, carries more weight than it has in past readings.
3. "Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale
-- This is one of the books in the TAC library that had not been checked out before. This will be a good one to recommend for girls in early high school who like adventure stories. The writing is engaging, but not overly difficult for English Language Learners. The story focuses on a unique way of communication through rocks, and the protagonist is a young girl that doesn't think she is liked buy the community, but she comes to realize how much of a part of the village she is.
4. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers
-- This book is too self-awarer for me to recommend highly to you. This was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, but, man oh man, it is a hard book to read. This is what I would call a fictional memoir. The narrator character, I can't even call him a protagonist because there is so little plot, reminds me of Holden Caulfield from "Catcher In The Rye"
and I really hate Holdenesque characters. That being said, the book is also a period reflection of the 1990s and the Gen-X phenomenon. It focuses on a life that I was too young to live and am now too old to care about.
So, not a bad month of reading. A gem, a lemon, and two in the middle. For the month of October, I am planning on focusing on lighthearted literature that my students may enjoy. We will see how that goes in a month.
1. "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson
-- This book was one that I thought I may like after reading "The Diamond Age: or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer". This book focuses on an alternate world where "maths" have developed as centers of learning, as a cloistered life, and the rest of the world has developed on technology and has ceased learning as I think of it and is increasingly violent. This story was not as interesting to me as "Diamond Age" but I can see that it will appeal to many. All of the math language and discussion about geometry went over my head. Miah, you may like this one, but it is a commitment of over a thousand pages.2. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
-- I love this book. I am teaching it this year and I always re-read the books I assign to students. The language is captivating, musical. I keep finding more things to love about the writing. Being so far from America, reading this, what is considered The Great American Novel, carries more weight than it has in past readings.3. "Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale
-- This is one of the books in the TAC library that had not been checked out before. This will be a good one to recommend for girls in early high school who like adventure stories. The writing is engaging, but not overly difficult for English Language Learners. The story focuses on a unique way of communication through rocks, and the protagonist is a young girl that doesn't think she is liked buy the community, but she comes to realize how much of a part of the village she is.4. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers
-- This book is too self-awarer for me to recommend highly to you. This was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, but, man oh man, it is a hard book to read. This is what I would call a fictional memoir. The narrator character, I can't even call him a protagonist because there is so little plot, reminds me of Holden Caulfield from "Catcher In The Rye" and I really hate Holdenesque characters. That being said, the book is also a period reflection of the 1990s and the Gen-X phenomenon. It focuses on a life that I was too young to live and am now too old to care about. So, not a bad month of reading. A gem, a lemon, and two in the middle. For the month of October, I am planning on focusing on lighthearted literature that my students may enjoy. We will see how that goes in a month.
I picked up and started to read Heartbreaking in 2006, it having been recommended by a number of my friends and co-workers. I tried to like it. I tried to think it interesting, but I was so bored and frustrated with it that I never finished!
ReplyDeleteUntil reading your message, I've felt so guilty - it being a Pulitzer Prize Finalist and me being a silly English student. I am so glad you wrote this. Guilt be gone!