What's in Your Summer To-Be-Read Pile?

[Ken C]

So, what's your summer pile of books looking like? It's almost time for ready-set-read and I, for one, am psyched, because I get the lion's share of my reading done in July and August (late June, too). This year I hope to read a mix of novels and teacher-type books. Some poetry, too. It's still a work in progress, but so far I know of these:

YA stuff --
Unwind (Shusterman) -- on my list for a long time,
Wintergirls (L.H. Anderson) -- all her stuff is must-read
Classic --
the new translation of War and Peace (Tolstoy) -- for an on-line reading group; I love LT's stuff
Essays --
The Wild Marsh (Rick Bass) -- I'm a sucker for nature writing and Rick Bass is a good one.
Teacher Stuff --
Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action (Harvey and Daniels) -- I liked a book on inquiry by Jeff Wilhelm. Lots of good stuff there that I could use in the classroom. So... I'm digging for more.
Teaching Teens and Reaping Results (Sitomer) -- As advertised on "Discover Writing"
Etc. (stay tuned)

How about you? What's on your summer list -- and why?

[Ken C]

What's interesting is how you often wind up reading different books than you first intended to. Looking back over recent weeks, I see that I chose to fill a Swiss hole in my reading resume by fighting through the new Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of The Brothers Karamazov instead of rereading Tolstoy. I like to do one BIG classic every summer and especially like it if I haven't read it before. For the resume, don't you know.

At Penny's insistence, I read If I Stay, Gayle Forman's account of a kid who survives (barely) an automobile accident that takes the rest of her family. While in ICU, she has an out-of-body experience where she must choose between life (tougher choice) and death (at that point, easier choice). Penny is an aficianado of "uplifting tragedies" (a new genre?) is all I can say.

Another cute YA is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Seems like a 1979 NY City tale narrated by a 6th-grade girl when WHAM! you get hit over the head with a time travel plot. Fasten your HG Wellies.

Got my Civil War fix by reading a YA history text (only 100 pp) called A Savage Thunder by Jim Murphy. It's the Battle of Antietam from A to M (Z was busy).

[Ken C]

Are there "sure things" when it comes to YA lit? Darn close, I think. I'm on the stretch drive of a terrific new book by Rick Yancey (#1 of what's destined to be a series) called The Monstrumologist. Gothic horror written in the old style with a decent vocab, a grab-you-by-the-lapels (T-shirt, skin, whatever you're wearing) plot, and a terrific use of characterization. In a word, 432 pp. of unputdownable.

I have an advance copy for review, but it's due out on 9/22. Mark your calendars and your monsters. If the kiddies don't mind a little blood (who am I kidding, they LOVE it), this monster caper will have them enthralled. It does me, and I had never even heard of Yancey before (apparently he's already an establlished author, but he did the establishing without me).

[Penny Kittle]

Finished The Knife of Never Letting Go this morning after just reading a few pages last night. That is one fast read... and it is going to be the hot new book in my room I'm sure. Glad to hear book 2 is on its way, as I'll have lots of kids ready for it.

Oh, and the best companion for that book? Edy's Take the Cake ice cream. Mighty good.

[Penny Kittle]

I must admit the almost-dead ending was quite the hook. I can't wait to read book 2. Thanks.

[Jason Lilly]

I always use the summer to read the books I had to put off through the school year. Since I will be teaching Life of Pinext year, it is definitely on my list. Here is a rundown on the books I would like to read this summer:

Life of Piby Yan Martel
The Hobbit (and possibly the entire LOTR series) by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hot Kid, Rum Punch, and Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard
All the Pretty Horses and The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
The Bell Messenger by Robert Cornuke
On Writing and Bag of Bones by Stephen King

That's a handful and it may change before the summer even begins. Our local library has a summer reading program and sometimes I sign up for that and choose books according to their categories. If it changes, I wil update this post. :-B

[Jennifer Mueller]

Catch-22...Dracula...Silas Marner...Picture of Dorian Grey

[Jason Lilly]

You will love Catch-22. But it takes a certain sense of humor.

Jennifer Mueller said:

Catch-22...Dracula...Silas Marner...Picture of Dorian Grey