Susan Wise Bauer Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 And are they struggling, or enjoying? I'll start: 16 yos: Hunchback of Notre Dame. He's a strong reader and he likes it, but he's currently hung up on a "twenty page description of Paris." 14 yos: Dante's Inferno, the Robert Pinsky translation. He's NOT a strong reader, but he asked to read it because he saw references to it in a computer game. :rolleyes: He's doing pretty well with it in fairly small chunks--about 4 pages per day. I, meanwhile, am reading Shopaholic and Baby. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My 17 year old is reading Mark Twain's Humorous Stories and Sketches. I think she has also started reading The Nazi Officer's Wife since I just finished it and I was telling her about it. I think she is enjoying it. She took it off of her school shelf where it was waiting patiently for its turn to show up on an assignment sheet. I guess I won't need to assign it to her. She is really bad about getting into her literature before I assign it. What a bad girl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My 17 year old non reader son has discovered reading--finally. :D For pleasure he is reading 'I Am Legend.' For school, 'The Autobiography of Ben Franklin' starts on Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 is reading The Inferno, as is my husband. (Ciardi's translation because we own two copies of it!) Additionally, the same son recently ran away with Bryson's latest on Shakespeare from the library bag, which was fine because I am busy with two books: Deep Economy (Bill McKibben) and The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, a truly interesting fantasy/mystery. Oh, I do like the ability to easily underline and use italics--nice feature of the new board! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH Lori Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I'm embarrassed to say that I'm yammering on my 9th grader to read The Diary of Anne Frank. She hasn't yet because she doesn't like "stories that end badly". She's about to start The Iliad, as soon as it comes from the library. She is reading The Well-Educated Mind again. No brown-nosing, Susan, it totally bewilders me because she's already read it once this school year. Having already read Shopaholic and Baby (very cute) I am reading Straight Man by Richard Russo and Key Lime Pie Murder (Joanne Fluke). Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My ds14 is also reading Dante's Inferno, he's doing O.K. with the reading, but he has to analyze it with TOG using a book by Leland Ryken called "Words of Delight." That bit of it is making him a little loopy. For fun he is reading "I Am America (And So Can You!)" It's not entirely appropriate, but it's so funny. I love Colbert's idea of building a big front porch along our borders and manning it with cranky old men who like to yell, "Get off my lawn!", but in this case they would say, "Get off my country!" I guess I'm easily amused. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Wise Bauer Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share Posted January 18, 2008 Oh, golly. Words of Delight? That strikes me as a challenge for a 14-yo boy. Tell him I feel his pain. SWB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Begonia Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My 13 year old is finishing Stanley Lombardo's translation of The Odyssey. It's not my favorite translation (it brings the text down to ordinary speech), but she seems to be enjoying it. Begonia in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 16 yo ds started to read selections of "Divine Meditations" by Donne and then with a tremendous sigh of relief fell on his bed during his lunch hour and grabbed a Star Wars book. Have I failed completely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 It has been extraordinarily beneficial to listen to The Teaching Company's lectures on Dante. This is what has kept us company on the way to and from hockey games during the last few weeks. (Trust me, the dear lad's reading assignments are, um, unique! But from what he tells me, the locker room represents some circle of Hell, based on smell alone!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My ds, 17, is reading The Scarlett Letter (American Lit), Jane Eyre (his choice), and The Practice of the Presence of God (my choice). He is doing just fine. He actually just finished The Scarlett Letter and has written a character analysis of Dimsdale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My 17yo is reading The Great Gatsby. He'd like to know if there is any explanation for why the author (or anyone else) would write (or read) such a book... My 14yo is reading Orestia. He loves to read--but thinks this lacks, um, momentum? I'm not batting a thousand here. I'm still enjoying the depths of Simple Stargazing and The Travels of Marco Polo. Now if we could only have a few nights without clouds... Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in VA Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I Am America (and So Can You) is hilarious! We did skip chapters, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I am busy with two books: Deep Economy (Bill McKibben) and The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, a truly interesting fantasy/mystery. Um, the above is supposed to be in quotations as I was quoting Jane. Obviously I need some practice with the new forum. Jane, I am reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union as well! I picked it up on a whim at the library. I am not very deep into it yet, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I Am America (and So Can You) is hilarious! We did skip chapters, though! Yes, we asked him to skip two chapters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaC Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Both my boys 14 and 15 are just starting The Coral Island and if we remain brave will follow with Lord of the Flies and then will compare and contrast the two books. Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca in TN Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My 18 yo dd is reading poetry for school right now and loving it. In her spare time, the books she is reading are In the Hall of the Dragon King by Stephen Lawhead and The Golden Cross by Angela Hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My teen is reading Dracula and Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower. He is enjoying the former, not so much the latter. I am working on two books at the moment. Age of Innocence and What is the What. Post-football season is the time of year when I can read more than usual and I am enjoying every minute of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in AL Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My 16 yo ds is reading 2 biographies:one on Theodore Roosevelt, one on Shaun Alexander. 15 year old son is reading a biography on Johann Sebastian Bach. (can you tell I assigned them to read a bio?):) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 For a writing class at the community college: finishing up The Souvenir by Steinman (a memoir written by a woman who finds a Japanese flag among her WWII veteran father's possessions after his death) soon to begin The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (linked short stories regarding the Vietnam War era) and for pleasure, as many manga and fantasy books as she can squeeze in with other obligations. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritAnnia Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My dd17 is reading through Jane Austen's novels this year. I think she's currently on Mansfield Park. For fun she just finished Cold Comfort Farm. My ds15 (not homeschooled) is just starting Robinson Crusoe if I don't steal it from him. Neither of us have ever read it. I'm reading The Confederacy of Dunces, selection of short mystery stories called Murder Most British, and reading along with The Fellowship of the Ring audio along with Dh. This is my first post here so... here goes nothin'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 not enough to make me happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedarmom Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 !6yr ds : Just beginning Sir Gawain translated by Tolkein (school reading) The Treasure of Isengard also by Tolkein (his pleasure reading, I think this is his third time he has read it-he is a total Tolkein fan) myself: Sir Gawain The Kite Runner The Bondage of The Will by Martin Luther I am computer illiterate however, so hopefully I did this post correctly. Cedarmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Needleroozer Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My ds, 15, started the Pinsky translation, and didn't like it- stating it was too modern, and not "flowy" enough for his liking. He just finished the Longellow translation and loved it. Is that weird or what?! He is now reading Coghill's translation of Chaucer's Cantebury Tales. Next in line are several Shakespeare plays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Needleroozer Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 !6yr ds : Just beginning Sir Gawain translated by Tolkein (school reading) I am sure he will enjoy it, being a Tolkein fan- my ds read this one in 2 days- loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonia Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My soon-to-be 15yo dd is reading "The Historian." I let her have a 'fun' read after every classic (last one was "Siddhartha"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 17yo is reading Hamlet and Shakespeare and Co. for me. He is reading The Naked Roommate and 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College for himself. We are going to start Paradise Lost in two weeks. He is a very strong reader and isn't struggling with these. He struggled with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - the Tolkien translation, but once we moved up to Shakespeare it has been easier for him. He never thought of Shakespearean English as easy until he started reading Old and Middle English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradostef Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 18 year old is reading Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand (his current passion is Tibetan Buddhism) and my 14 year old is reading Huckleberry Finn (and enjoying it). I am am reading Your Inner Economist (for my college class) and Shadow Music (I admit -- I love good romance novels!). It will be interesting to see how this post turns out -- I love the new format! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My brother played hockey, and I will be a voucher for the fact that there is no worse smell on earth (or below) than a hockey bag (or locker room, I would guesss)!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raders Fan Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Ninth grade ds is laboring through the Old Testament and Herodotus, and reading The Times That Try Men's Souls (historical fiction series covering the Revolutionary War period) for fun. I'm also working on the OT and Herodotus, as well as SWB's History of the Ancient World and The Forgotten Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollyM Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 DD-17 (avid reader) used a PaperBackBookSwap credit to get a reading copy of CS Lewis' Till We have Faces DS-14 (prefers video games) used his Christmas Barnes & Noble card to get MYTHOLOGY - The Illustrated Anthology of World Myths and Storytelling which he is reading like a pleasure book (go figure but I'm thinking there must be a WoW angle in there somewhere) and The Daring Book for Boys which I incorrectly thought might be too young for him. I'm only mildly ashamed to admit that I'm currently reading Ann Coulter's latest. (Not putting the actual title here due to respect for the board rules LOL).:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I have to admit that I'm a bit intimidated by everything your teens are reading! Because I'm simply thrilled that my 16yo ds, who seems allergic literature, is reading, and thoroughly enjoying, a graphic novel, Maus: A Survivor's Tale. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize, so it isn't fluff, but it is a graphic novel. It is the autobiographical story about the author, his father's experience in Auschwitz, and how it shaped their lives together. The Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, and the drawings provide a bit of a buffer from the horrors, though it is a brutally honest story. My ds is discussing it, analyzing it --- he is totally engaged. And I'm thrilled! I'm looking forward to enjoying more of the classics with my younger son, who loves literature. He is a huge fan of mythology and fantasy, though he also loves Sherlock Holmes and James Herriot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 6 yr old dd is reading Herriott's Treasury for children (?), a collection of his short stories, and one of the Betsy Tacy books. I'm working on several books: Pride and Prejudice, Possessing Genius, The Journey of Einstein's Brain, Fox's Book of Martyrs and a frivolous Mrs. Polifax mystery. It all depends on When & Where :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraciebytheBay Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 17 yo just finished a Patrick O'Brian novel and is now reading Edith Wharton's House of Mirth. My ds 15 is reading a book about Bill Belichick (the coach of the Patriots). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Ds18 (junior this year, CC next year, hopefully) is going thru Sonlight's 300 curriculum for history, but we aren't sticking to it too closely. He just finished The Hiding Place, and is now watching several movies about the Holocaust (just finished Schindler's List and Life is Beautiful--up next is Night and Fog). I'm debating what to assign next--probably just Old Man and the Sea for a quickie. See my new thread to leave me some ideas for 1950's related fiction! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in Hawaii Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Both my 15-year-old and my 13-year-old are reading Song of Roland. (Omnibus II) They are not enjoying it! We start Winning His Spurs on Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 The newly non-homeschooled 15 y/o is reading Julius Ceasar. She's starting a new four-year history rotation, which is very cool to have had with mom and now to have with enthusiastic history teachers and mostly interested peers. Here's her teacher's history music website: http://www.atlasfret.com/ That is, if the link posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 just finished Amazing Grace: The Life of William Wilberforce. Before that she read Cry the Beloved Country. She read them easily but didn't really enjoy them that much. She is reading the Hobbit for enjoyment now and is beginning either I Kissed Dating Good-Bye or When God Writes Your Love Story for Health class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 read Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein. He liked both of those and has commented that The Deadliest Monster is really good. He is reading it as part of his apologetics course. He is reading Don't Check Your Brains at the Door on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendra Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 15yo son is reading the selections from Veritas Press Omnibus III, but he is on a C.S Lewis kick right now and has been reading anything and everything by Lewis that he can get his hands on. I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendra Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 John Piper's The Dangerous Duty of Delight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKinTX Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 14yods is reading 1776. He's not enjoying it, but he's a fairly strong reader and I think he'll learn from it. I also got him Hilter's Canary (he's semi obsessed with WW2). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKinTX Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Hmm...this sounds like something my son would enjoy. I'm off to search for it at my library. Thanks, Jennifer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My oldest dd is taking College Composition II at the local community college this semester and John Steinbeck is the primary literary focus -- so she's reading "Of Mice and Men" (which she read several years ago when she was homeschooling full-time) and "Cannery Row". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Both my 15-year-old and my 13-year-old are reading Song of Roland. (Omnibus II) They are not enjoying it! We start Winning His Spurs on Tuesday. My 15yo DS just finished reading this and really enjoyed it. I'm about 70 pgs into it also and enjoying it, and finding it an easy read. Most books are difficult for me to read. (used to be Carole in DE) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 16 yo ds is reading "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. This title, along with Kite Runner, which he just finished, are part of his history/lit school reading for the 20th Century period. I just finished a titled called "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax which is about the growing epidemic of unmovitated boys. I think someone at the WTM forum recommended this title, and I found it eye opening. If you have boys, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnado Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 12 yrs. ds is reading "The Troll King" 9 yrs. ds is reading the "Sugar Creek Gang" I am reading "The Negotiator" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnado Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Great book! I love Piper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 14yo dd just finished North and South (Gaskell). She'll start on an Austen novel next week...probably P&P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 My 15yo is reading Oliver Twist. I think she's enjoying it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.