NFLDC Book Club!

[SuperMcGee]

Missed this one since I've been doing my first teaching spell and let that take up too much of my time. Will probably start with the next one.

[Brent]

American Psycho was 2nd place in the last voting. Any other suggestions?

[SuperMcGee]

I have read very few books from the last ten years (mostly just McCarthy, some Palahniuk), if anybody has a suggestion for something recent. I'm currently reading more Philip K. Dick because that's all I do. I'd be fine with Ellis/American Psycho, could be a good one that many of us seemed interested in, if people actually want to do it (said the guy who didn't read the last one)

[WCH]

I just picked up a copy of Old Man and the Sea and I'm going to read it with or without you guys.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by SuperMcGee

I have read very few books from the last ten years (mostly just McCarthy, some Palahniuk), if anybody has a suggestion for something recent. I'm currently reading more Philip K. Dick because that's all I do. I'd be fine with Ellis/American Psycho, could be a good one that many of us seemed interested in, if people actually want to do it (said the guy who didn't read the last one)

If it's going to be Chuck P., I need to read Haunted and wouldn't mind that. If you want to read Ellis, I've read his first three books and am not interested in the others.

[SuperMcGee]

The Palahniuk reference was more to something that I have read, though certainly not everything that he's churned out. The Ellis mention was mostly for American Psycho since we nearly chose it last time. I wouldn't want to read his other stuff for this, either, as I was looking for contemporary authors that I have not read previously. Did his early work turn you off to him, or is there just no interest in the later stuff?

[Brent]

Originally Posted by SuperMcGee

The Palahniuk reference was more to something that I have read, though certainly not everything that he's churned out. The Ellis mention was mostly for American Psycho since we nearly chose it last time. I wouldn't want to read his other stuff for this, either, as I was looking for contemporary authors that I have not read previously. Did his early work turn you off to him, or is there just no interest in the later stuff?

No, I am huge fan of Less Than Zero and American Psycho, but the later stuff just didn't sound interesting.

[Forenci]

So you guys are lame and no longer are doing this? We need to start it back up! I'm having to read a ton of books for my English Education class that would be pretty cool to read as a group.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Forenci

I'm having to read a ton of books for my English Education class that would be pretty cool to read as a group.

Do these books have titles that you could share with us?

[SuperMcGee]

As per usual, I've been on a big post-Christmas graphic novel kick, thanks to my brother. Next book I was going to read was probably Player Piano.

[ImBrotherCain]

Originally Posted by SuperMcGee

As per usual, I've been on a big post-Christmas graphic novel kick, thanks to my brother. Next book I was going to read was probably Player Piano.

Ditto... well at least with the graphic novel kick although I am almost done with what I have so I will be looking for a good book!

[jrdrylie]

I'm currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time in about a decade. I'll probably read the Great Gatsby next. I've never actually read it and I want to before the movie comes out.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by jrdrylie

I'm currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time in about a decade. I'll probably read the Great Gatsby next. I've never actually read it and I want to before the movie comes out.

Two of my all-time favorites; I've had the pleasure including TKAM in my curriculum every year.

[Forenci]

Originally Posted by Brent

Do these books have titles that you could share with us?

NO JERK! But I'll be reading Enders Game pretty soon. I'm currently reading: "Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert." Its quite a good read, actually.

We basically just read Young Adult Lit books all semester. It's great.

And Gatsby and To Kill A Mocking Bird are two of my favorites as well. Unfortunately I feel like a lot of kids in high school didn't enjoy reading Gatsby.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Forenci

NO JERK! But I'll be reading Enders Game pretty soon. I'm currently reading: "Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert." Its quite a good read, actually.

We already did that one!

Originally Posted by Forenci

We basically just read Young Adult Lit books all semester. It's great.

That sounds awful.

Originally Posted by Forenci

And Gatsby and To Kill A Mocking Bird are two of my favorites as well. Unfortunately I feel like a lot of kids in high school didn't enjoy reading Gatsby.

You can't win them all over.

[Forenci]

You don't like YAL? A lot of it's pretty damn good. While I enjoy many of the classics, it can be pretty tedious being forced to read them. There's quite a few interesting young adult lit books. Enders Game just being one of them.

You are correct that you can't win them all over, and while I do understand the need to address and teach from the literary canon, I do believe it's very important to get students to read as many enjoyable and fun books as they can.

Here's the full list of a lot of what I'll (mostly) be reading.

I) REALISTIC NOVELS
1. The Chocolate War – Cormier
2. Speak – Anderson
3. Monster – Myers
4. Nothing – Teller
5. The Skin I’m In – Flake
6. The Fault of our Stars – Green

II) NON FICTION
1. Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert -- Aronson
2. Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice -- Hoose
3. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart – Fleming
4. Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith
5. Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal – the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon – Sheinkin
6. The Elephant Scientist – O’Connell

III) HISTORICAL FICTION
1. Astonishing Life of Octavius Nothing – Anderson
2. The Book Thief – Zusack
3. Countdown – Wiles
4. Flygirl -- Smith
5. Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 – Curtis
6. The Diviners– Bray
IV) VERSE NOVELS
1. Inside Out and Back Again – Lai
2. Out of Dust – Hesse
3. October Mourning – Newman
4. Carver: A Life in Poems – Nelson
5. Crank – Hopkins
6. Bronx Masquerade – Grimes

V) GRAPHIC NOVELS
1. American Born Chinese – Yang
2. Stitches – Small
3. The Stuff of Life – Schultz
4. Smile –Telgemeier
5. Anya’s Ghost –Brosgol
6. The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media –Gladstone

VI) ADVENTURE/MYSTERY/SPORTS

1. Hatchet – Paulsen
2. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi
3. I Hunt Killers – Lyga
4. 13 Reasons Why – Asher
5. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes – Crutcher
6. Boy21– Quick
VII) FANTASY/SCI-FI/SUPERNATURAL
1. Feed – Anderson
2. The House of the Scorpion – Farmer
3. Ender’s Game – Card
4. The Giver – Lowry
5. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman
6. Drowned Cities – Bacigalupi

VIII) SERIES (Book #1 in series)
1. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Clare
2. Divergent: Divergent - Roth
3. Leviathan Trilogy: Leviathan – Westerfield
4. 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones – Riordan & Misc. Authors (subsequently)
5. The Hazelwood Trilogy: Tears of a Tiger –Draper
6. The Mysterious Benedict Society: The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart

IX) CLASSICS
1. To Kill a Mockingbird – Lee
2. Lord of the Flies – Golding
3. The Catcher in the Rye – Salinger
4. The Outsiders – Hinton
5. Call of the Wild – London
6. Diary of a Young Girl – Frank

X) AWARD WINNERS (2012)
1. Dead End in Norvelt – Gantos (Newberry Award)
2. Where Things Come Back – Whaley (Michael L. Printz Award)
3. Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans– Nelson (Coretta Scott King Author Award)
4. The Silence of Murder – Mackall (Edgar Award)
5. Under the Mesquite –McCall (Pura Belpre Award)
6. Graceling – Cashore (California Young Reader Medal)
7. Goblin Secrets – Alexander (National Book Award - Young People’s Literature)

XI) NOVEL/FILM
1. Perks of Being a Wallflower– Chbosky
2. The Golden Compass – Pullman
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - Rowlings
4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Selznick
5. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief -- Riordan
6. The Hunger Games – Collins

[SuperMcGee]

I remember when my little sister and her friends were obsessed with Hopkins' books. In those instance of young adult lit, I very much share Brent's feelings.

[Forenci]

Well that is true, but I can't broadly condemn all young adult lit because of some awful books.

[jrdrylie]

Originally Posted by Forenci

Here's the full list of a lot of what I'll (mostly) be reading.

I) REALISTIC NOVELS
1. The Chocolate War – Cormier
2. Speak – Anderson
3. Monster – Myers
4. Nothing – Teller
5. The Skin I’m In – Flake
6. The Fault of our Stars – Green

II) NON FICTION
1. Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert -- Aronson
2. Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice -- Hoose
3. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart – Fleming
4. Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith
5. Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal – the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon – Sheinkin
6. The Elephant Scientist – O’Connell

III) HISTORICAL FICTION
1. Astonishing Life of Octavius Nothing – Anderson
2. The Book Thief – Zusack
3. Countdown – Wiles
4. Flygirl -- Smith
5. Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 – Curtis
6. The Diviners– Bray
IV) VERSE NOVELS
1. Inside Out and Back Again – Lai
2. Out of Dust – Hesse
3. October Mourning – Newman
4. Carver: A Life in Poems – Nelson
5. Crank – Hopkins
6. Bronx Masquerade – Grimes

V) GRAPHIC NOVELS
1. American Born Chinese – Yang
2. Stitches – Small
3. The Stuff of Life – Schultz
4. Smile –Telgemeier
5. Anya’s Ghost –Brosgol
6. The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media –Gladstone

VI) ADVENTURE/MYSTERY/SPORTS

1. Hatchet – Paulsen
2. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi
3. I Hunt Killers – Lyga
4. 13 Reasons Why – Asher
5. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes – Crutcher
6. Boy21– Quick
VII) FANTASY/SCI-FI/SUPERNATURAL
1. Feed – Anderson
2. The House of the Scorpion – Farmer
3. Ender’s Game – Card
4. The Giver – Lowry
5. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman
6. Drowned Cities – Bacigalupi

VIII) SERIES (Book #1 in series)
1. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – Clare
2. Divergent: Divergent - Roth
3. Leviathan Trilogy: Leviathan – Westerfield
4. 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones – Riordan & Misc. Authors (subsequently)
5. The Hazelwood Trilogy: Tears of a Tiger –Draper
6. The Mysterious Benedict Society: The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart

IX) CLASSICS
1. To Kill a Mockingbird – Lee
2. Lord of the Flies – Golding
3. The Catcher in the Rye – Salinger
4. The Outsiders – Hinton
5. Call of the Wild – London
6. Diary of a Young Girl – Frank

X) AWARD WINNERS (2012)
1. Dead End in Norvelt – Gantos (Newberry Award)
2. Where Things Come Back – Whaley (Michael L. Printz Award)
3. Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans– Nelson (Coretta Scott King Author Award)
4. The Silence of Murder – Mackall (Edgar Award)
5. Under the Mesquite –McCall (Pura Belpre Award)
6. Graceling – Cashore (California Young Reader Medal)
7. Goblin Secrets – Alexander (National Book Award - Young People’s Literature)

XI) NOVEL/FILM
1. Perks of Being a Wallflower– Chbosky
2. The Golden Compass – Pullman
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - Rowlings
4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Selznick
5. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief -- Riordan
6. The Hunger Games – Collins

I have read 7 of those books so I think I'll copy that list. I've planned to read 26 books this year. I've already finished 4 (To Kill a Mocking Bird, Radical by David Platt, The Batman Chronicles Volume I, and Perks of Being a Wallflower) so I'm way ahead of schedule and I'll be needing some good book ideas.

[jrdrylie]

Originally Posted by Forenci

Well that is true, but I can't broadly condemn all young adult lit because of some awful books.

I don't mind young adult lit at all. Harry Potter and Hunger Games are young adult and they are quite good. I'm currently reading the last book in the "Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series and they're pretty good too. Heck, the Narnia and Lord of the Rings series are classified as childrens literature and those are classics.

[Forenci]

Originally Posted by jrdrylie

I have read 7 of those books so I think I'll copy that list. I've planned to read 26 books this year. I've already finished 4 (To Kill a Mocking Bird, Radical by David Platt, The Batman Chronicles Volume I, and Perks of Being a Wallflower) so I'm way ahead of schedule and I'll be needing some good book ideas.

Haha, I feel you. I usually have a hard time sitting down and reading but I recently bought a Nexus 7 and it makes reading a lot easier for me. I just bust it out whenever I feel like reading and have hundreds of books at my disposal - as opposed to carrying them around everywhere.

I enjoy having a book in hand but am getting use to using a tablet to read, especially since I'm able to annotate and make notes using the tablet as well.

[Forenci]

Random and late, just finished reading Enders Game for a class of mine. I really enjoyed it. HOWEVER. And this is spoilers so don't read on if you don't care to see them.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. And when I say ending I mean the VERY ending. Not the fact that he was actually fighting the Buggers when he thought it was a simulation. That was great. I just felt like he could have set up the ending really well for the sequels. I really wanted him to use the time change and have it so Peter was evil/ruling the Earth and Ender had to go back and kick his ass or something. I feel like that would have been way more bad ass.