Laura Corin Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Calvin is enjoying books with powerful or thought-provoking messages and dramatic story lines. He doesn't have the time or patience during term time for slow meditations or extensive descriptions. Recent hits have been To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. Any ideas? These are for him to read on his own. Thank you Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 "Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis A Farewell to Arms or For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton Short stories can be a good way to go when you want short, impactful writing. Flannery O'Conner isn't for everyone, but she is very dramatic and terse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I guess you are looking for shorter books, not thick tomes? Animal Farm (Orwell) Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury) short stories: for dramatic, try Pushkin, Jack London Richard Connell: The most dangerous game Shirley Jackson: The Lottery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 (edited) The Book Thief The Giver Hatchett ETA: Nothing But The Truth by Avi Edited November 21, 2011 by rwjx2khsmj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 A Separate Peace by John Knowles Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky The Stranger by Camus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage A Tale of Two Cities Last of the Mohicans All Quiet on the Western Front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Some of Paulo Coehlo's? Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 How about those Best of SciFi books of short stories? Scifi is often very thought provoking, full of political commentary and "what if" and taking a path to its logical conclusion. That's what we used to read during term time. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 They are larger books, but this past year middle son enjoyed both: Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky Les Miserables by Hugo but the extensive descriptions might not be his cup of tea. Has he read the Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas? That was my all-time favorite from English class many, many moons ago. (Middle son loved that too, but I had him read it years ago.) Or, The Giver? That's a quick one day read in our family. Black Like Me is another I had my guys read that they enjoyed. I apologize for not remembering the author on those last two at this time of the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The Other Wes Moore (this is a fairly new nonficiton book but it is purely narrative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 We're doing American Lit this year, and so far, Mohicans has turned out to be a bust for those who read it. Too far-fetched in parts of the plot, and not very much sympathy for the characters. OTOH, all of my class is really getting into The Scarlet Letter, and I have four guys in the class ranging from 16 - 18. Two of the guys started out heartily sympathizing with the vindictive rage of Chillingsworth, because they could relate to the his loss. Now, not so much, when they see where it has led. It is very interesting watching them move through the emotions and thoughts provoked by the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 I guess you are looking for shorter books, not thick tomes? Animal Farm (Orwell) Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury) short stories: for dramatic, try Pushkin, Jack London Richard Connell: The most dangerous game Shirley Jackson: The Lottery He is taking a lot of exams this year and doesn't have time for 400-page classics. He's read Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451, as well as some Jack London, but I'll look into the others. Thanks Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 (edited) My son's literature class recently read A Separate Peace along with an excerpt from Sigmund Freud (I think) about the unconscious mind, keeping in mind the questions: who was Phineas and did he really exist? It's a page-turner and on the shorter side. Flatland by Edwin Abbott might be good. It's short but takes awhile to get through. Written in the 1800s, it's a commentary on math and philosophy as well as a satire of Victorian England values. My son and his friends who read it loved it. Longer books that are fairly fast reads: Feed by M.T. Anderson Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, my son's second favorite book. I also liked The Book Thief which is long but is not difficult to read. Also longer but thought-provoking: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert Pirsig. ETA three more: Hiroshima by John Hersey. Chilling. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. A bit on the long side. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Edited November 21, 2011 by MBM added more suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Black Like Me is another I had my guys read that they enjoyed. I was going to suggest this, too, but it has been so long since I read it that I wasn't entirely sure of its appropriateness for a teen. It made a huge impact on my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLacey Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Atlas Shrugged is a bit beefy, but it definitely falls in line with your child's described interest. He might also enjoy The Red Horse - it was voted Italian Novel of the decade in the 1990s I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 He's reading Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (lighter) at the moment, then will move on to The Scarlet Letter. I have The Stranger and All Quiet... on order from the library. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind (true story, by someone near his age living in a very different world) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 The Power and the Glory Flannery O'Connor - short stories and/or The Violent Bear it Away Picture of Dorian Gray The Good Earth One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope in God Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (a short read) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (okay, so it seems like a girls book but it is thought provoking though long) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 (edited) Gifted Hands and Think Big - Ben Carson Wonder O' The Wind and Lessons from a Sheepdog - Phillip Keller (Christian content) Up From Slavery Having Our Say - Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany Edited November 25, 2011 by 1Togo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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