What do you think is the most...

I never liked "a separate peace" just thought it was sorta ok.

Any thing by Ernest Hemingway. Too, boring. Therefore tends to be unappreciated. I would especially not recommend "The Old Man and the Sea" at this level.




Anything by Charles Dickens. "White Jacket" by Herman Melville.

Dickens woodcraft involving character creation and description is masterful.

The latter is a true account of life upon a U.S. man-of-war in 1843, treatment of black slaves that gives incite to the U.S. Civil war and much, much, more!




Anything by Ernest Hemingway

AND

"Bully for Brontosaurus" along with other collections of Stephen J. Gould's essays such as "The Panda's Thumb" These would not hurt a secondary school student to read either.

AND

"Darwin's Dangerous Idea" by Daniel C. Dennett.

Darwin Implied it Dr. Dennett explicitly proposes it: Evolution and, if so accepted, the real world source of Humanity and its contribution to this part of the Universe--Intelligence , literally something from nothing, the sum being greater than the parts and all that jazz. This work by Dennett is the anti-thesis to jail house conversions. To any body who feels humans and their resultant intelligence is special, Dennett gives reason to rejoice. However, those who still desperately cling to beliefs of Intelligent Design (Life as a Design exercise by a deity) will find no handles here to grasp. A great book for class discussion.

JM

overrated
The Cat and the Hat, Holes (I am a middle school teacher), The Scarlet Letter- they just don't get what the big deal was, The Grapes of Wrath ( required reading in high school- I hated it)

High School Students
The Jungle, The Catcher in the Rye, A Boy Called It, and a book that describes all STDs maybe with some pretty graphic pictures and then directions for using rubbers- maybe that one should be required reading in middle school

College

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Giving Tree

A very lite and enjoyable book for every one is "A walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, a novice and his grossly overweight friend attempt to backpack the Appalachian Trail: Philosophy, the human condition, and even murder in the woods thrown into the humorous mix. Actually the lads do quite well for themselves.

Oh, as to my statement:

"Dickens woodcraft involving character creation and description is masterful."

Was really meant to draw attention to Dickens' mastery of the English language regarding his efforts towards literary character creation and less towards his unreported artistic attempts at woodworking. Thus the statement in question would be more coherent and closer to my original intent if the word "word craft " was substituted for that of "woodcraft".

Apologetically,

JM

In high school l hated Tess of the Umbervilles, Lord Jim and Great Expectations...my mind probably being already destroyed by pop culture...

In middle school we read Mary Shelly's Frankenstein...and I hated that too...but we also got to watch Romeo and Juliet..which turned me onto Shakespeare..whom i love...

I tend to like Science Fiction and Fantasy...so I love Heinlein(sp), Donaldson, Goodkind, Herbert, Tolkien, Ellison etc...(never cared much for Asminov)

I tend to hate anything that is required reading...

Definitely a choice should be offered..

Re: What do you think is the most...


Tess of D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy was, I thought, greatly unnecessary. There was no interesting part to that book at all and had no point to it all.

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer was also one I did not really enjoy.

Walden by Thoreau was not a favorite either. A whole chapter about the mooo of a cow!! I must say that I have enjoyed other works by him though.



Night by Elie Wiesel is a very good book about the holocaust.

Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, all Hollywood hurrah aside these are excellent literature

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky

Shakespeare- as much as they can cram in

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George was very good, but I think it falls more into the Junior High age bracket

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson was also very good but on a Jr. High Level




The classics...Agony and the Ecstasy, anything by Dante or Plato, more Shakespeare

Also- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History Book Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

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Oh, Night reminds me of Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning- but that was grad school.

Wow, cool middle school teahers -do- exist! :wink: I had a cool middle school librarian (secret harley babe) but never a cool middle school teacher. I am odd in that I didn't like Catcher in the Rye, thought it was whiny (read when in middle school.) The Jungle as in by Upton Sinclair? That's pretty heavy. We had to read lord of the flies and animal farm which was good for my learning experience. Hah, yeah, I think that wouldn't be a bad idea either. With an emphasis on getting your partner tested before having sex.

Oh, I doubt if my students think I am cool. I teach in an urban setting so- the fact that I listen to "rock & roll" automatically disquallifies me from coolness.
I read The Jungle when I was a freshman in high school- it was not required. It really opened my eyes to the division of weath in America. My family is Italian & Irish and I was amazed at how the immigrant's were treated.

Every school that I taught in is interesting. The teaching staff comes from all walks of life-- maybe that will me another topic .................

While I never liked the Scarlet Letter particularly, I consider Grapes of Wrath a true masterpiece. I make sure to keep a copy of it unread in one case and a tattered copy to enjoy whenever.

Maybe I will take another look at The Grapes of Wrath- maybe I will enjoy it now. Hopefully, I have grown since then.