Jean in Wisc Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I've put together a list of literature my son has read (in school and on his own), and I'm trying to pull together a few books for his senior year that will fill in the holes. He's already done short stories and a number of American and British poets. We did a study of many Shakespeare works, watching DVDs and reading summaries of the stories, but we only read one "real" play (Hamlet). We are doing a lot of composition this year and just a few books. I've come up with some possibilities (Canterbury Tales, Time Machine, Orestia, Fahrenheit 451, something by Dickens, Mere Christianity, Our Town, Giants in the Earth, Animal Farm, Man in the Iron Mask, Man Without a Country...), but I'd love to see what you might recommend. Suggestions? He's read: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Beowulf (Seraillier edition) Christmas Carol Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Dracula Epic of Gilgamesh Frankenstein Great Gatsby Hobbit Huckleberry Finn Importance of Being Ernest Invisible Man (H.G. Wells) Last of the Mohicans Light in the Forest Lone Survivor Lord of the Rings Trilogy Macbeth Man Who Was Thursday Odyssey Oedipus Rex Of Mice and Men Old Man and the Sea Pride and Prejudice Prince and the Pauper Red Badge of Courage Robinson Crusoe Scarlet Letter Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Song of Roland Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Three Musketeers To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Sawyer Treasure Island Uncle Tom’s Cabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Lord of the Flies is a quick, interesting read. It's good to contrast the author's idea of how people revert to the primitive/animal/"bad" when out of civilization's reach with the Romantic idea of the Noble Savage. You have a very well-read son! Maybe more ancients? Confessions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Lord of the Flies is a quick, interesting read. It's good to contrast the author's idea of how people revert to the primitive/animal/"bad" when out of civilization's reach with the Romantic idea of the Noble Savage. You have a very well-read son! Maybe more ancients? Confessions? Oh, yes. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hmmm... as a senior I would definitely include something by Solzhenitsyn, and tie it in with current events with his recent death. Maybe One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich or Gulag Archipelago. I would also include something by Doestevsky and/or Tolstoy. Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina would be my picks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 (edited) Hmmm... as a senior I would definitely include something by Solzhenitsyn, and tie it in with current events with his recent death. Maybe One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich or Gulag Archipelago. I would also include something by Doestevsky and/or Tolstoy. Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina would be my picks. The only one of those listed that I've read is Anna Karenina. Hm. Maybe they have been off my radar because I haven't read them! LOL! We have Day in the Life...Thanks. Edited October 2, 2008 by Jean in Wisc Add title Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Well, hmmm. :) I would probably want to read any of those together - there are definitely squeamish parts (the murder in C&P is pretty graphic, so is the adultery in AK).... I guess the huge redeeming quality of these books is the look into the depravity of man and the consequences of behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate in seattle Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 (edited) Do you want to stick with literature, or do you want to include some important works that aren't literature (ie, philosophy?) Some to consider Aeneid - this was actually more influential than the Greek epics, because ability to read Greek was lost for so many years in Western Civ. most quoted work in later literature. Confessions - St. Augustine. Really just a great book. On the Incarnation - Athanasius. Another great book my high school kids enjoyed. Intro by C.S. Lewis. Erasmus - Education of a Christian Prince - Should be required reading for all young Christian men Machiavelli - Prince - Convinced my son he would be best suited for taking over and running a small kingdon Dante - Inferno - lots of classical allusions. not hard to read. Chaucer - Canterbury Tales - at least the Prologue Shakespeare - Much Ado or Henry V. read the play, watch the Branagh movie Milton - Paradise Lost Spenser - Faerie Queene (can read just the first Book) (yes, I LOVE epic, i think one year we will just read all the epics - how FUN would that be!) Kate in Seattle For modern times you might add some of the Russian titles already mentioned - I love Crime and Punishment. My dd loved AK, I haven't read it. You might try some Tolstoy short stories. I find short stories, as a genre, seriously under-represented on most classical lists, and there are so many great ones. You might want to add "Why we can't wait" or Letters from the Birmingham Jail by King. Hope this gives you something to think about - and can find one or two to make it on to his reading list. Edited October 3, 2008 by kate in seattle correct typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 ... Spenser - Faerie Queene (can read just the first Book) If you go this route, I'd recommend this version: Wars and Faithful Loves: Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 If you go this route, I'd recommend this version: Wars and Faithful Loves: Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. Regards, Kareni This looks interesting! Thanks! J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 here are some we read that really stuck in my head: All Quiet on the Western Front For Whom the Bell Tolls The Plague by Albert Camus And something distopian like Brave New World or On the Beach and something by Orwell maybe something like Things Fall Apart by a non-Western author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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