Which of these for a less than enthused reader

[Kendall]

My son likes to read, especially well written books with humor. He just learned that he has to read one of these before college orientation and be prepared to discuss and to write an essay exploring the redemptive quality of the book. We are both bummed about this because he really, really needed a summer with no requirements. The last 2 years have been constant evening/weekend/daytime studies, even the summers have been at least most days. He needed a break.

 

Which of these would you recommend (or definitely avoid)

 

Elie Wiesel’s Night;

James McBride’s The Color of Water;

Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River;

Ron Hall’s and Denver Moore’s Same Kind of Different as Me;

Kathryn Stockett’s The Help.

 

 

Thanks!

[Melissa B]

I'd go with Night.

[Paige]

I'd go with Night too. It's a powerful book that I think people should read, and it is super short. He could read it in a day or less without much effort.

[Candid]

I'd look at the online book descriptions and pick the book that most suits his interests.

[Deniseibase]

Night is the shortest, but it's also really depressing and dark. None of these books really have a lot of humor in them, but of that list Peace Like a River is probably going to be the most enjoyable read.

[TravelingChris]

Yes, Night is the shortest but it is the one I wouldn't have him read. It is very depressing.

 

I don't know about the other books, but the movie The Help, was funny in a lot of parts. I would look at reviews of the books on Amazon or other sites. But again, if he wants light, NIght is NOT it.

[LaJuana]

...that is humorous out of the ones that I have read (I've read all but Same Kind of Different) is The Help, but it might appeal more to feminine tastes since all the well-developed characters are female. If he wants humor, though, The Help would have to be the one. It's light, easy reading, hilarious in points, and it captures a bit of the South as it was in the 1950s and 1960s.

 

Leif Enger's book is good. In contrast to The Help, it is filled with male characters. Although the author is from Minnesota, the work has a slight resemblance to works by the Southern "grotesque" authors like Flannery O'Connor, but it's also been compared to To Kill a Mockingbird with a young boy as protagonist. If your son isn't convinced that he needs to read something humorous, I'd recommend he choose Peace Like a River. It's a significant book, easy to read, redemptive, and he'll remember it.

 

Night is good, but so dark and depressing, even though it does show the resilience of the human soul. I don't think The Color of Water is as enduring a work of literature/autobiography as Enger's book will prove to be.

 

Can he sit by the pool and read as if he were reading for the sheer pleasure of doing it?

[regentrude]

We are both bummed about this because he really, really needed a summer with no requirements. The last 2 years have been constant evening/weekend/daytime studies, even the summers have been at least most days. He needed a break.

 

If all he has to do is read the book, it should not take more than a few hours for Night (thought provoking and disturbing) or a weekend for Help (quite a fun read, actually)

I don't know the others, but the two above are both quick reads which would not intrude on his freedom in any significant way.

[amtmcm]

"The Help" has some laugh out loud scenes.

 

DH is NOT a reader. He mostly reads for information (Popular Science, technical journals, etc...). He read "Night" and was very moved by it. It's only 109 pages and 20 years from now your DS will still remember it.

[Kendall]

Thank you so much everyone. The comments have been very helpful and will help him choose. He appreciates them. I think once he gets started he'll be fine. It's just hard giving up that idea that he would not have to do any school all summer. He kept asking that the last few weeks before graduation and I promised him!:) I didn't know about the college requirement. I realized, after his graduation as I started "feeling" the relief of the completion of it, how very constant it has been for both of us for the last 2 years. I don't know what I would go back and change for him, but I will be doing things differently for the others.

[klmama]

Same Kind of Different as Me is a fascinating story. It won't feel like school at all.

[ktgrok]

I loved Night.

[MicheleinMN]

Night is VERY short - 4+ hours unabridged at audible.com, but very sad/depressing.

 

The Help is humorous and much lighter (most of the time), but a lot longer (18+ hours) and very women centered.

 

Peace Like a River is okay, not an outstanding read in my opinion, but definitely has a more masculine focus. (Audible puts it at about 11+ hours.)

 

I haven't read the other two.

 

HTH

[JudyJudyJudy]

The full title of The Color of Water is The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. It is an excellent book. Here is the book description on Amazon:

 

James McBride grew up one of twelve siblings in the all-black housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn, the son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white. The object of McBride's constant embarrassment and continuous fear for her safety, his mother was an inspiring figure, who through sheer force of will saw her dozen children through college, and many through graduate school. McBride was an adult before he discovered the truth about his mother: The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi in rural Virginia, she had run away to Harlem, married a black man, and founded an all-black Baptist church in her living room in Red Hook. In her son's remarkable memoir, she tells in her own words the story of her past. Around her narrative, James McBride has written a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.

Edited July 2, 2012 by JudyJudyJudy