book reviews – The UnderToad

You might remember that once upon a time I was a high school English teacher. And a damn good one at that.

I just ran across something I posted to Facebook five years ago (also the final year I was paid to stand in front of a classroom). It was a note to my students of my thoughts on the list their school (not me) sent for summer reading choices.

Look at me, still using the public library like it's my job. — Look at me, still using the public library like it’s my job.

I got a chuckle out of it today and I think it is worth reposting here. Feel free to pass this nugget along to any high school student you know who still hasn’t thought about that summer reading assignment due August 24th, especially if that assignment came with a list of classics to choose from.

* * * * *

Ok. Enough of you have written looking for my summer reading suggestions – so here are my PERSONAL thoughts. These are by no means endorsed by anyone but me. My final word is read whatever you want, but read the actual book. Don’t just read a Google summary.

I have not read (or even heard of) all the authors on your list, but it should be noted these are not ALL classics (yay) and many of these authors are still alive (hooray). Not that I don’t support the classics (hell-o, I’m an English teacher.) However, I believe classics are best studied in a group, not read independently – as it is difficult to know exactly what is so great about them without the aid of someone smarter than you telling you what to look for. If you wish to tackle the classics, you are awesome but I encourage you to read one with a friend and discuss together. Just don’t get burned-out and cease to love reading because classics are dense and difficult.

Anyway, I’ll do my best to comment on those I know personally, those I recognize, and those which are popular enough that I should probably get to know them.

Three lists:

#1: Probably worth your time:
– Sandra Cisneros (House on Mango Street is pretty good. Short, easy read and good.)
– Toni Morrison (One of Oprah’s heroes, hah – she writes “out of oppression” type stuff, but she’s generally considered good.)
– Alice Walker (The Color Purple is fabulous and also easy to read. Deals with some tough subjects ie: rape and black oppression, but I think I read it in 8th grade so you can handle it. There’s a copy in my old classroom.)
– Willa Cather (I love O Pioneers, if you are into Little House on the Prairie her stuff is is similar.)
– Cormac McCarthy (The Road is currently on my to-read list. We’ll see. His stuff is often made into movies. I think he’s a little dark and somewhat heavy. Probably a good one for guys. But he has several books published that have all been fairly popular – and I figure, if the general public is reading it and liking it, it can’t be too hard to understand. Come on. Not everyone went to private school.)
– Ian McEwan (similar popularity to McCarthy – also lots of books made into movies – though I’ve never read him my sister loved Atonement and she and I might as well be intellectual twins.)
– Jane Austen (She isn’t as obvious as Nicholas Sparks, but her romance is as endearing, if you can get through the Elizabethan Language. You might try her now, and come back to her in college, because you’ll love her more with experience. Trust me.)
– Flannery O’Connor (I loved Moll Flanders the movie. The book is probably good.)

#2: LONG and DIFFICULT (and worth considering in college because) I loved them anyway:
– Dostoevsky (on a HS reading list this is nuts… he’s Russian and the translation of his books makes all the difference in the world on readability, but even then he’s a toughy. Crime and Punishment GOOD; The Brothers Karamazov. GOOD. The Idiot. GOOD. He is fabulous when you are ready to tackle him.)
– Richard Wright (well, Black Boy is easy to read, and good. The rest of his stuff is a little racy and again, probably better in college. I will say this – Native Son involves a man killing a woman and cutting her up and putting her in a furnace and I had to read it for three different college classes, if that entices anyone.)
– Dickens (better studied with others, but again, I love him)
– Melville (Moby Dick is LONG and much of it takes place at sea, which, ulgh… not for me, but I really liked Billy Budd in college.)

#3: Shorter does not necessarily equal better (in short, snoozes) (no pun intended but don’t I rule?):
– Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness. Painfully short.)
– Hemingway (he’s a hit or miss with me, and usually a miss – personally. Old Man and the Sea? 100 pages? You might never finish it. No I’m serious. It’s another fishing book. Shoot me.)

Anyway, feel free to let me know what you pick. I’m always interested to hear what you are reading.

LOVE YOU ALL,

Mrs. Wait

I like to periodically check in and write about my book life, because like some of my most important relationships, books are a part of me. Plus, when I find someone else with similar reading material tastes, I always like hearing what they have to say. For the pleasure of my reading and non-reading followers alike, I’ll try to keep things short (and just for you Laura, I’ll take the time to imbed some pictures).

Recent Book Club Picks:

This is the third book club I’ve participated in in the last three years. Reasons why I like it the best:

These women not only read the selected books, but actually discuss them, with thought and depth and librarian style enthusiasm.
I am probably the youngest person in attendance, which nearly guarantees I can avoid talking about children, if I want. And when the subject of children does come up, there are enough generations in the room to help me keep a proper perspective on my place in life. It is bliss.
Does anyone from Mrs. Abbott’s English class remember Good Taste Day? It was our favorite book project every semester because the requirement was simply to read a book then bring a food that relates to the book to share with the class. I liked the idea so much that as a teacher, I did it twice a year with my own classes. I have apparently found the adult-non-graded version of Good Taste Day. The only difference is that it is just the hostess (who selects the book as well) who must provide thematically appropriate food, which I look forward to enjoying one Thursday evening of every month.

These are the last two books we read for this book club and I gave both of them four stars. For sure, these are two books I would have never picked up on my own, but I can honestly say they were worth my time.

Finally Came in After Five Months in my Library Queue:

I read Twilight, so you know I had to pick this one up just see if it lived up to the hype. I am proud to announce I place it no where near the reject pile that Twilight ended up in. This book did not blow my mind nor change my life. Truth be told, it didn’t even really make me think. But it was entertaining, and I enjoyed all three hours it took me to read it. If I was a middle school teacher, I’d recommend it to all of my students but I’d never teach it. I’m eager to read the next two in the series and I can’t wait to see it as a movie.

Middle School Teachers Told Me To:

Every once in a while I find myself on a YA Fiction kick, because even as a high school teacher (or especially because of this) I need to have an ever-ready arsenal of good but somewhat easy reads. This is one that is actually pretty widely taught across many middle schools, and I can see why. As a Holocaust story, it is completely untraditional. For the record, parts of it did make me cry, which isn’t completely unusual, but it isn’t a rule with books and me, like it is with movies. This book took me much longer to read than the font and short paragraphs originally seemed to suggest. It was a little slow, but worth the effort.

A Personal Endeavor:

On my shelf currently is a growing list of parenting books. If you know me, you know it isn’t usually my thing to read books that I feel like I could have written. (Most “Continuing Education” requirements currently come to mind.) But I’ve had this idea sort of brooding for several years now that at some point in my life I could probably teach parenting seminars. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not amping up my scholarly reading for lesson fodder, because obviously I haven’t knowingly used any of their techniques or advice so far, but I figure it would be good preparation. When I consider normal parenting reading habits, I’d like to be able to speak to people as though I am one of them and not an enemy. Or something. Mainly, I’m preparing for the questions in my daydreams which go something like, “What do you think of so and so and what he says about…?” (Who knows, I might even end up agreeing with one of them.) Here are the few I’m on the verge of cracking: