Miss Marple Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I'm putting together the booklist for our last year of Great Books/World Views co-op class. These kids are 11/12th graders. I have a list of "have to cover" books, but I'm looking for a couple of fun books to finish off the class. They should not be overly long because I only have a few weeks available. Also, do you have any movie suggestions for classical books? We would like to have some movie nights in which we watch a good film version of a classic book. I am also putting some book suggestions on a list for summer reading. So some of the books may go on that list. Thank you all so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Pride and Prejudice To Kill a Mockingbird Catcher in the Rye (recommended by dh; I've not read it) Oliver Twist or another Dickens novel Frankenstein (also recommended by dh) The Invisible Man (recommended by my 12 yo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 In addition to others mentioned.. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (not the sci-fi one) Fahrenheit 451 The Great Gatsby or something by F. Scott Fitzgerald Pearl S. Buck novel Shakespeare.... I think instead of specific books I would focus on the notable authors of the past 200 years and pick one book from each era (Enlightenment, Industrial Age (Dickens), etc.) then compare and contrast the styles/messages/intentions of each story. That would be pretty neat! Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Fahrenheit 451 To Kill a Mockingbird Animal Farm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Jane Eyre A Tale of Two Cities The Jungle Crime and Punishment An American Tragedy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Frankenstein Glass Menagerie Things Fall Apart West Side Story Hamlet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 1) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 2) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley along with The Deadliest Monster by Jeff Baldwin 3) something by Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, or Great Expectations?) 4) Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and one (or more) of these: Silas Marner by George Eliot To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald something by Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Jane EyreA Tale of Two Cities The Jungle Crime and Punishment An American Tragedy The Jungle - - most horrifying book I have ever read! I couldn't get certain images and events out of my mind for months upon months after reading it, //shudders//. Excellent book that I often wish I hadn't read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 It looks like Frankenstein, Fahrenheit 451, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Austen are commonly chosen. We've already read Frankenstein and most of the kids will be reading Fahrenheit 451 when they take freshman comp (that's the standard novel here). Do you think there would be an advantage to reading F451 before reading it for comp? Also, which Austen novel do you think is more accessible by fellas? Our class is heavily male - I've read all the Austen books, but I've not had any of my boys read them. If you have sons who have read these, which did they like the best? In thinking back to my high school lit days, all I remember reading were depressing, angst filled tales in 9th/10th (The Lady or the Tiger, The Most Dangerous Game, The Glass Menagerie, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Lottery, etc). I was much happier when I moved into Shakespeare in 11th grade. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I would do Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility over Jane Eyre..I hold JE to be one of my top 5 books, but let's be realistic, it's a romance novel of a higher standard! You've really got to have something by Dickens in there, something by C.S. Lewis (Screwtape letters would be good), Hemingway?, Mark Twain?? Here, check out this website's list (if I chose purely from this list my top 5 would be... http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/23628.html 1. Pride and Prejudice, Austen 2. The Red Badge of Courage 3. The Great Gatsby 4. Invisible Man-Ellison (wonderful look at life for the black man in the civil rights era) 5. The Sound and the Fury 6. Catch 22 7. The Grapes of Wrath okay just add all those with the above, can't you fit 10 books in?? :) Enjoy!! Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 The one that sticks in my mind from my highschool, that hasn't already been mentioned (because P&P and Jane Eyre were important to me) is Tess of the D'Urbavilles. I found that book hauntingly disturbing buy beautiful. Also, although its not "classical", The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart was probably my most memorable book from my early highschool days. It triggered a lifelong passion for all things Arthurian. I prefer it to Sword and the Stone which is considered more a classic. I also studied 1984 in my last year of highschool (1984) and I will probably have my kids read that at some stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 We've tossed around the idea of The Old Man and the Sea or do you like something else by Hemingway? We've actually covered Lewis quite well with our summer book club last year. Several recommend the Invisible Man - I'll give that a look, too. I'm unfamiliar with it but it would fill the bill for a modern day novel. Thanks for the link and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Oh, I had forgotten Mary Stewart! She was one of my favorite authors in high school. I read all her books. And Tess was also one of my favorites (I liked the book so much more than the movie). I'm not sure Tess would work for the boys, but perhaps the Crystal Cave. We were considering Sir Gwain and the Green Knight - maybe I should compare the two... Thanks for the Stewart memories! I spent many hours soaking in the tub with her books :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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