Skip to main content

Literature PD --Monday meeting SUMMER CHOICE

By

 Monday, Sept. 29 SUMMER CHOICE

Just got the news we have been approved for 20 hours – 2 hours per meeting.  Plan on meeting next Monday to discuss the books and share our summer reading.  The Zoom meeting link is below. 

 

The Nickel Boys bu Colson Whitehead

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern


See Nija's email for Zoom link


I’ve attached a link to a piece in Vanity Fair by Jesmyn Ward. Marcy chose one of her books as a read for this year. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanityfair.com/culture/2020/08/jesmyn-ward-on-husbands-death-and-grief-during-covid/amp


More links from npr:

The Starless Sea:

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/03/775436518/youll-float-away-on-the-warm-waters-of-the-starless-sea


The Nickel Boys:

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742129946/rooted-in-history-the-nickel-boys-is-a-great-american-novel


Sing, Unburied, Song:

https://www.npr.org/books/titles/547855239/sing-unburied-sing


Comments

  1. Brad CraddockSeptember 29, 2020 at 2:30 PM

    Sorry to have missed the discussion. Here's my thoughts about the books...

    Nickel Boys: as an example of historical fiction that hits hard and is well written, I don't think we could have chosen a better summer book--although, I have to admit I am longing for something a little more uplifting than the selections chosen.

    Whitehead is a skilled writer...that much is evident. His characters (Elwood, of course, but also others) are well constructed and recognizeable protagoniists, his scenes gory at times, detailed, and well constructed. Nickel Academy reminds me of some of the rooms I've visted in the district over the years (without mentioning any names) and reminded me of those British boys' school novels like Brideshead Revisited or even a Separate Peace--but with teeth. It's more like if Salo were mixed with Holes or the Chocolate War. Obviously, there's a lot to teach here. I think I'll be adding this one to a reading list this year.

    As for the other two books, I have to admit I haven't finished Sing, Unburied, Sing, but...well, I will. My students were shocked and disgusted by the goat scene. Starless Sea was a delight for a summer read, although I have to admit I found the metaphors a little heavy, but what do you expect from a fantasy?
    Reminded me of a postmodern C.S. Lewis book. This is obvious a book for book lovers and bibliophiles...our fantacist readers would like it, although I'm not sure it's "memorable" enough.

    I'm going to stop typing here...it's weird talking to myself without feedback from others. Here are some links for these books if you need them:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBsUk47hJzw

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acdH3nKXolY

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5E01GVW6gQ

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brad CraddockSeptember 29, 2020 at 2:42 PM

    Oh...and I read a variety of books this summer, but the one "classic" I never read before and then did this summer was Watership Down. Thank god for rabbits that had nothing to do with Covid-19. I watched the Netflix series and had seen the old animated film from the 70s, but never read the book. I'm surprised just how true to the story both those films were. It was a pleasant read that brought me to tears at how pure the world could be and the desperate struggle to live in peace. If only...!

    Anyway, I'd be happy to talk about this book further (or the other ones) but I'm f#ckin' tired.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

September 2024 Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar

By
  According to Goodreads . . . Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle.... But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself. Felix Ever After  is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you d...
3 comments
Read more

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

By
Wonder Questions http://www.shmoop.com/wonder/ What qualities does Auggie's family have that help support him as he struggles to fit in at school? Do you think Auggie ultimately sees himself as ordinary, or extraordinary? Do other people in his life think about this differently? How about his parents? How about Via? How do his friends at school think of him? How about his teachers? Why all the narrators? Why does R.J. Palacio include so many different points of view? What do we learn from different narrators that we wouldn't get from Auggie? Who is your favorite narrator, and why? What role do masks play throughout the story? How do masks help or hurt Auggie? What's the difference between kindness and just being nice, and why does it matter? What does Jack learn through his friendship and betrayal of Auggie? Which characters do you think change the most from the beginning to the end of the story, and why do you think so? How does Auggie overcome his cripp...
2 comments
Read more

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

By
DATE: Monday, March 2, 2:45 Rm. 351 Moderator: Susan Woodhams Robyn Schneider's  The Beginning of Everything  is a witty and heart-wrenching teen novel that will appeal to fans of books by John Green and Ned Vizzini, novels such as  The Perks of Being a Wallflower , and classics like  The Great Gatsby  and  The Catcher in the Rye . Varsity tennis captain Ezra Faulkner was supposed to be homecoming king, but that was before—before his girlfriend cheated on him, before a car accident shattered his leg, and before he fell in love with unpredictable new girl Cassidy Thorpe. As  Kirkus Reviews  said in a starred review, "Schneider takes familiar stereotypes and infuses them with plenty of depth. Here are teens who could easily trade barbs and double entendres with the characters that fill John Green's novels." Funny, smart, and including everything from flash mobs to blanket forts to a poodle who just might be the reincarnation of Jay Gats...
1 comment
Read more