- One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- The Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel
- One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
- Bedlam by Greg Hollingshead
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
- The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I would love to hear your thoughts on these novels, so I can make a decision on which to include!
I've only read a handful of those, and my favourite is I Capture the Castle. I think it would be a good one to explore in a classroom context, and plus it's such a fun read. People always assume there's some sort of incompatibility between assigned reading and fun, so it would be awesome to prove them wrong. Also, I guess I'm biased towards picking a novel by a woman, since books by women writers are still so seldom studied outside of classes that focus specifically on gender.
ReplyDeleteI think Ender's Game is one of the best books I've ever read, and has lots to generate discussion. Plus a movie is coming out, so I think kids [sic] will want to read it. My second pick would be #1 but I think #7 has much more discussion potential.
ReplyDeleteThe only one I have read is One Thousand White Women, which I loved, as did my book club. I look forward to seeing what books you choose!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these books, though a few are on my shelf or on my list I would love to take a class with you because you seem to have your finger right on the pulse of all the cool reading material that is out there. I will be interested in finding out what you choose!
ReplyDeleteWait--you haven't read Ender's Game?!?!?!?!?! Scott (my husband who loathes all things written) LOVED the book so much (I read it to him on car trip) that he got all of the rest on audio.
ReplyDeleteI have One Thousand White Women on audio but haven't been able to get into it. The narrator is obnoxious! (not that you would be listening...)
oh quite a few good options...Adored I Capture the Castle, but any of them would do. Haven't read Ender's Game either so I would probably choose that one. For fans of sci-fi we stink for not having read that book, apparently. Or so I've heard :)
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of pulling more contemporary selections into the classroom...I've tried to design my Cold Mountain and The Book Thief assignments around actually reading the text rather than the students spending all their time trying to find the "right answers." On your list I'm partial to Elie Wiesel but I've wanted to read I Capture the Castle as well. This is my 2nd semester with Cold Mountain so it will have to be replaced in the fall. Will be interested to see more about what you choose :)
ReplyDeleteI've only read I Capture The Castle and thoroughly enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has Ender's Game on her syllabus for Freshman Honors Lit next year. I have only read Night by Wiesel and it was incredibly short but powerful.
ReplyDeleteThe Uncommon Reader is a great one for discussing the power of books -- both good literature and just fun reads. I Capture the Castle is really wonderful and has a young narrator, which might be good for a lit class.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of I Capture the Castle, mostly for the opening line. :-D Night is intense. Wait, no. It's INTENSE. Ivan D is grim, and short. Your students would probably love you for that alone. Haven't read the others.
ReplyDeleteOh wait...also read The Uncommon Reader. I think I'm the sole blogger who was underwhelmed by that puppy. Which explains why I overlooked it I thought it was trying to hard to be clever.
ReplyDeleteI've read for of those. I love I Capture the Castle but I think it's more a girl's book, so not for the whole class, maybe.
ReplyDeleteI agree with softdrink, Ivan D. is bleak but short. I found it very interesting, but I'm probably not your students' age!
Good luck with your choice.
Personally, I loved Ender's Game but it doesn't seem to have the same "weight" as some of these other books. Still, if you are trying to get people excited about reading, it would be the way to go!
ReplyDeleteThe Forever War is the only one on this list I have read and it would certainly make for interesting discussion! Also, clearly, I need to read I Capture the Castle.
ReplyDeleteEnder's Game is great, but more akin to juvenile fiction. Count me in as another vote for I Capture the Castle.
ReplyDeleteOooh, Ender's Game is good. I haven't read it in about a billion years, but I remember loving it.
ReplyDeleteMy vote is for The Night Trilogy. I read Night and it was sooo good. In fact, you reminded me how I want to read the other two. Adding to the library list now!
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