STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

what a great idea. my h.s. teacher did the same thing, and it was my favorite part of the class! as i mentiones before i picked snow falling on cedars.  there were many books on the list such as amy tan novels, memoirs of a geisha, stephen kind, some john grisham, any some more 'literary' 21st century novels.

*Anything by Pat Conroy. His writing style isn't that hard to follow and he's such a talented story teller. I've read everything he's written but my favorite is Prince of Tides (the movie sucked but Conroy's prose throughout the book is breathtakingly beautiful). The Great Santini is also great.

*I think highschool kids might like stuff by Jodi Piccoult. She wrote The Pact and My Sister's Keeper... very interesting, dramatic topics that your students would be interested in.

*Not the least bit highbrow, but I would also recommend mysteries/thrillers by authors like Patricia Cornwell. Kids who like CSI and Law & Order may like these fast paced books and at least they're reading something that interests them and may compel them to read more.

MMmm I love Pat Conroy too.

Also Anne Tyler and Madeleine L'Engle are good and relatable for HS age.

-My Antonia
-Confederacy of Dunces
-The Executioner's Song - controversial topics but a few of my friends read it in high school so it's probably fine for more advanced 11th graders. It's also super long and is technically a "non-fiction novel" but it's riveting.
-Sinclair Lewis - Elmer Gantry or Babbitt
-Heart is a Lonely Hunter
-A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
-Philip K. Dick
-Kavalier & Clay

What about a collection of short stories - if it's a long collection? Like the collected stories of Poe? And Fitzgerald's Jazz Age Stories is about the length of a novel.

-- Edited by cc at 21:59, 2005-07-25

Okay, I don't know if all of these books are allowed in public schools, but here goes...

-My Antonia

-Invisible Man (one of my favorite books of all time)

-Native Son (I read this in high school and I think it made a huge impact on my thinking/life at the time)

-Henderson the Rain King (since Saul Bellow recently passed on this might be a timely one)

-Prayer for Owen Meany

-Beloved

-Another suggestion for your students who might be into Women's Lit is a collection of seminal pieces in Women's Literature like "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "In Search of our Mother's Gardens" etc.

diito on My Antonia- GREAT book!

 

Thank you guys so much! I am seriously copy/pasting all of these onto a list.

theotherjess: they will be allowed to choose any book (as long as it is adult lit. and the author is American), but I need a suggestion list, because these are regular-level (not honors) kids, and I think a lot of them don't even know where to begin in choosing a book.

mckenke: The Yellow Wallpaper is probably my favorite short story of all time! I did it with my freshmen years ago (even though it's above their level) and they loved it, so I already have it planned this year. There's so much depth/creepiness to it, and it translates SO well to American Lit.