Book recommendations?

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Permalink Reply by Gavin on January 14, 2008 at 7:46am

Probably a controversial choice, but "We3" by Grant Morrison would be my recommendation. Yes, it's a comic graphic novel, however it presses all the right buttons with teachers and pupils alike.

The kids get the thrill of doing something heretofore forbidden in the classroom and are totally engaged by the manga-style action as well as the emotional core of the story (always interesting to note how many boys are welling up by the end of it...).

For you, you have the benefit of grabbing their attention with the text and then using it as a springboard for explorations of core concepts (narrative, character, theme and, in particular, language, which is used in a very experimental way in "We3"). It also has huge cross-curricular potential, looking at animal rights, concepts of freedom and repsonsibility within citizenship; then there are the obvious links with art and design in the novel's graphic nature.

This, and a healthy stock of comics, manga and graphic novels in the library, could be just the thing you need to revitalise literacy.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin on January 14, 2008 at 3:15pm

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 seems to interest my students quite a bit with its usage of a futuristic totalitarian society. The students seem to really relate to the novel's issues concerning technology and censorship. It holds enough substance to really delve into thoughtful discussion; however, the futuristic action generally appeals to most students. In general, the novel is very relevant to this generation of students. You also might consider Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Kurt Vonnegaut's Slaughterhouse Five would certainly be cutting edge. The last two are certainly more controversial than F-451. I hope this helps. I could mention more if you would like.

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Permalink Reply by Diane Schawe on March 4, 2008 at 5:37pm

The Center of Everything and Speak are great choices for teen girls. Many guys in my classes enjoyed Walter Dean Myers's Fallen Angels. One of the most powerful and moving books I've ever read is Cormac McCarthy's The Road. We are considering it for several of our junior and senior classes. Have you checked out The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver? It is another one my girls like. I have many other suggestions for nonfiction.

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Permalink Reply by Chris ONeal on March 5, 2008 at 11:07am

Absolutely encourage them to read The Situation in Flushing. I LOVED this book and I think it's perfect for high-schoolers.

~Chris

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Permalink Reply by Suzanne Wargo on March 28, 2008 at 6:36am

I/we recommend "Such a pretty girl" by Laura Wiess. I can't keep it on the shelf. Also the Uglies, Pretties series. by Westerfeld

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Permalink Reply by indigo196 on March 28, 2008 at 10:34am

I am a rather odd duck so here are my 'thought provoking' books:

Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related S... by Bertrand Russel.

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Lyer

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

and one of my personal favorites

Space, Time, and Spacetime by Lawrence Sklar

Some of these are not cutting-edge, but they are an edge that few have bothered to see.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Carmichael on March 28, 2008 at 5:20pm

I've had Sklar on my shelves for years - but never got down to read him, yet. What were the 'igniting' ideas for you in the book?

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Permalink Reply by indigo196 on March 28, 2008 at 5:53pm

Well... my time with the book goes all the way back to 1988 so I am not going to be able to do the topic justice...

The main 'impact' for me was the way in which reality would be defined changed between the concept of Space, Time and Spacetime.

Space, Time holds that time is not an additional dimension but just a different measure. Spacetime holds that time is an additional dimension just like up/down, forward/backward, left/right. The possibilities for one theory are completely different. This book, and my independent study, were the genesis of my thoughts about time being (with no regard to dimension or not) both relative and fixed. Relative in the sense that the way we humans express times passage is relative (different calendars, etc), but time itself is made up of fixed series of infinite moments (lets not go down the Zeno's paradox on that comment) that are all the same duration. It also cemented for me that, assuming God exists, time is not dependant on God's existence (but that is a topic in and of itself).

My interest in time was spurred on by the fantastic sci-fi series Dr. Who and this course brought some 'intellectual' measure to my curiosity.

I hope that was what you were looking for... I feel like I was rambling.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on March 28, 2008 at 6:06pm

Have you ever looked around http://firesidelearning.ning.com. They are reading a book called Courage To Teach by Palmer. The book has caused quite a bit of controversy--you would probably enjoy it!!

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Permalink Reply by indigo196 on March 28, 2008 at 6:08pm

:-) is that because I am controversial?

PS - I joined... but have to get the book now and catch up.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on March 28, 2008 at 6:26pm

No, but you are a great writer, articulate and opinionated. I won't jump into the fray over there---I've parented three sons and hate controversy so much I won't even tell them to put down the toilet lid!!

I bought the book but after the first chapter I said to myself "Done, don't get it!!" The last 10 days, I've read The Appeal John Grisham's new legal thriller, listened to Gorgeous Disaster (the Debra LaFave story--teacher had sex with 14 year old student), listened to Elaine's Circle (story of a teacher and the year she had a kiddo die of cancer) and am now listening to The Informant (the story of the Arthur Daniels Midland price fixing scandal). You can probably see I'm not going to enjoy a book that contains this statement “Truth does not lie in the conclusions we reach about these subjects (how could it be, since our conclusions keep changing?), but in the process of dialogue and inquiry itself, as we keep testing old conclusions and coming to new ones.” What? Not a real deep thinker here!! haha!

Remind me to tell you sometime about my experience in Oprah's online book club, reading A New Earth (or in my case, not reading it)

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Permalink Reply by indigo196 on March 28, 2008 at 6:31pm

You flatter me... my writing is not as good as it should be; I am a much better orator than writer despite having a copy of Strunk and White on my shelf. I freely admit to having no fear in adding my voice and holding strong opinions; though I do hope that I show a willingness to change my opinion when faced with evidence that makes me re-evaluate my previous convictions.

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