dem00n Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Every summer break each grade has to read two books, the school gives you a list of about 6 books and you hunt them down. Now what i do is search for the most small book, which is a good tatic. But the part that pisses me off is how bad and stupid all the books on the list are! They are all about teen drama and sucide, i ****ing hate people and drama. I dont wana read about this! So why dont they allow the kids to choose two books, at the end of the year they bring them to class and the teacher makes sure they are good enough and if they dont have a book they have to take a book from the list. And for the grade the student has to write a two page eassy on both books. Easy! Now ill fail because this book is so unintresting and so ****ing stupid that my IQ has droped to 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 If any of the books are by Kurt Vonnegut, get those, guaranteed awesome-sauce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Oh dem00n...no matter what the book, it always sucks if you HAVE to read it. Find the BEST one, not the shortest...you will be done the best one before you would be done the smallest one if they are not the same book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 Oh dem00n...no matter what the book' date=' it always sucks if you HAVE to read it. Find the BEST one, not the shortest...you will be done the best one before you would be done the smallest one if they are not the same book. [/quote']But they are all about teen drama and sucide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 *shrug* There's still gonna be a best one...or the one that seems the least annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Reeding is dumm. U should just watch tea vee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Now ill fail because this book is so unintresting and so ****ing stupid that my IQ has droped to 10. Don't blame the book.... Well' date=' I like reading so I pick whatever books I like, instead of (like most kids) picking the one thats 100 pages and any six year old could read. <shrug> It's not so bad, if your mind is up to reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 GIve us the list of 6 dem00n...do a poll...let us choose it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrosion of conformity Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Don't blame the book.... Well' date=' I like reading so I pick whatever books I like, instead of (like most kids) picking the one thats 100 pages and any six year old could read. <shrug> It's not so bad, if your mind is up to reading You're an inspiration to all of us. Don't read anything dem00n. Fight the power. Take a stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 The books are. Secret life of bee's- Sue Monk Kidd Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult breathing underwater - Alex flinn (the one i got) a long way gone- Ishamael Bach Twisted- laurie halse anderson (the other one i got) The book thief- markus zusak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 hahahaha boooks suck nowadays...i remember i had to read Night by elie weisel about the freaking Holocaust...who the hell wants to read that saaaad a$$ $hit in the summer? nonetheless i did and it was a powerful book and short...but god im glad im done with school FOREVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Hmmmm.... Never heard of any of 'em. Interesting. I just checked... Argh. Both you got do sound "political." They look more "teaching" than "learning literature." .... Ain't like the old days when you could read stuff like James Fenimore Cooper, Mark Twain, etc... m Breathing underwater "Nick Andreas, a a sixteen year old, is good looking and a popular athlete at his school. His father makes a pretty good living and this allows Nick to enjoy many luxeries. At the start of the year, Nick begins to seek a relationship with Caitlin. Caitlin has always been unpopular until this year. She has lost a lot of weight and is emotionally insecure from a lifetime of obesity. They begin their relatinship. Through a series of events, including jealous statements, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and some physical abuse, Nick crosses the line and almost kills Caitlin during a car ride. He is given a restraining order, forced to go to anger management classes, and write in a journal. He is coninually in denial of his inapporpriate behavior and struggles to face some difficult issues in his life. Nick resists the work in the class and does not consider himself to be an abuser. He struggles to come to terms with his abusive behavior as well as the abuse that he has suffered at the hand of his father. After a tragic event involving one of the other members of the anger management class, Nick is able to understand the seriousness of his actions. " Twisted Look at the very best of literature --- young adult or otherwise --- and one theme re-emerges time and time again, lending an air of truth with each retelling: transformation comes at a cost. The Little Mermaid. Pygmalion. We cannot become something new without giving something up. Maybe it's part of our lives that we didn't need, like emotional baggage. Or maybe it's something more precious, like innocence. But what ultimately tests every person who goes through a transformation is how they deal with what they've gained in the process. In TWISTED, Laurie Halse Anderson presents readers with Tyler Miller, whose transformation from a meek, social Mr. Cellophane to a chiseled, admired "tough guy" sets his world on end. As someone who spends his days unnoticed, Tyler finds himself with more attention than he wanted after he vandalizes school property and, to pay for his crime, takes a summer job doing landscaping. The unforeseen side effect is that he returns the next school year with a brand new bod that's turning heads, most notably the head of Bethany Milbury. But not everything --- even Bethany's advances --- works out well for Tyler. As he struggles to contend with his angry father, a mistrustful faculty and the aftermath of a drunken party, Tyler comes to the painful realization that there's a substantial price tag for his newfound popularity, and juggling the consequences lead him to thoughts of suicide. While the overall story tackles weighty issues such as identity, family and suicide, Anderson masterfully interjects wry humor that always seems to find its mark. There's something very genuine in the portrayal of Tyler's struggle, both as he seeks attention and as he seeks to banish it. His volatile family situation --- especially his relationship with his father --- is familiar without bowing to a stereotypical, dysfunctional family. Despite times when Chip Milbury (Bethany's brother and the bane of Tyler's rebirth) comes across a little cartoonish in his machinations, the characterizations ring true. ================ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 You're an inspiration to all of us. Your sarcasm added so much to this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluezboy Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I'll tell you what i tell my underclassmen friends who complain about summer reading: Sparknotes is your friend. http://www.sparknotes.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 The books are.Secret life of bee's- Sue Monk Kidd Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult breathing underwater - Alex flinn (the one i got) a long way gone- Ishamael Bach Twisted- laurie halse anderson (the other one i got) The book thief- markus zusak I've never heard of any of those. Just be glad that none of them is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. I went through a period several years ago where I decided I wanted to read books that are considered classics that I had never read before and picked up a copy of The Catcher in the Rye and took it with me on a cruise. I wanted to strangle the main character before I was even halfway through.... "I really did!" I finished the book but not without a lot of hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I've never heard of any of those. Just be glad that none of them is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. I went through a period several years ago where I decided I wanted to read books that are considered classics that I had never read before and picked up a copy of The Catcher in the Rye and took it with me on a cruise. I wanted to strangle the main character before I was even halfway through.... "I really did!" I finished the book but not without a lot of hate. The fact that you hate Holden Caufield is a testament to Salinger's great writing. You're supposed to unless you're just like him. Great book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Well, if part of the goal was for Holden to drive me up a wall with him constantly saying I really,, then Salinger did a great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 "Catcher" was required reading for the fourth form when I was in boarding school in New England while Dad was in grad school in the Boston area. Luckily I moved there going into the 5th form - but I still read it regardless. It wasn't really my schtick. Needless to say, I ain't read it again after nearly 50 years. Just the boarding school thing was rough enough. It was more culture shock to a small town kid from a sparsely-populated state in the U.S. than watching grubs cooking in an outdoor market in Korea or making toasts in two languages one only vaguely knows in a dirt-floored saloon in Paraguay... <grin> But frankly I think D's books are poor choices for kids in a lotta ways. It really shows how political some school stuff has become compared to when I was that age. Hemingway and even something like "The Old Man and the Sea" might be a better choice, but... D has no real choice, it appears. Cooper's "Leatherstocking tales" would be a "difficult" read nowadays, but, still might offer a bit different perspective on stuff. Or even something like Thoreau's "Walden." Oh, 6th form is the U.S. name, at least, for what other schools call one's "senior" year in high school. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Artillery, I'll have to agree very strongly with you there--Vonnegut's writing is entertaining, insightful and (at times) perspective-altering. I consider him one of the finest writers of the twentieth century. In addition to being an incredibly entertaining writer, his writing presents a view which is distinctly his own, and content which is deeply moving and acutely thought-provoking. dem00n, the books on the list are all ones that I've heard of, but not read...They seem to be very "current," and very in-line with contemporary thought and issues. Get through 'em, finish your assignments, and get your grades--but reading can be and is fun if you find the right books. My favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Tim O'Brien, Dan DeLillo, Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, but there are a lot of incredible authors and reading materials out there. Don't be opposed to reading just because you've had bad reading experiences in school--I know a bit about struggling through boring books for English classes (although I liked a lot of them, especially in the last two years.) Most of the ones I haven't enjoyed (my least favorites being Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior, and Julia Alvarez's How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents) were marked by self-indulgent writing, sanctimonious sermonizing, and general pedantry, without any subtlety to speak of, and I also wasn't particularly compelled by the characters. But, heck, now I'm rambling again... Good luck with your summer assignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 The Catcher in the Rye - Great, great book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I do feel bad for my sister - she's taking an AP class next year, and has been doing homework for it since school let out in June. She's going from September last year until June next year with no break from homework. A full year of US History, for an AP class that will give you 3 college credits, or taking a three-month college class for the same credit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 hahahaha boooks suck nowadays...i remember i had to read Night by elie weisel about the freaking Holocaust...who the hell wants to read that saaaad a$$ $hit in the summer? nonetheless i did and it was a powerful book and short...but god im glad im done with school FOREVER! I had to read Night... 3 times in high school. I tried to tell my teacher's that I already read it' date=' and trust me, the ending doesn't change! Kurt Vonnegut is (quite possibly) my favorite writer. Get over it dem00n, life sucks. Maybe they make all of the books about teen suicide because they are trying to make a suggestion... (It's a joke, get over it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I do feel bad for my sister - she's taking an AP class next year' date=' and has been doing homework for it since school let out in June. She's going from September last year until June next year with no break from homework. A full year of US History, for an AP class that will give you 3 college credits, or taking a three-semester college class for the same credit...[/quote'] The more important reason for taking AP classes in High School is to be exposed to the rigor of college level work. And keep in mind that college credit is not guaranteed. Your sister will have to take an end of course exam and score a 3 or better, and even then, not all colleges will award credit. Good luck to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I had to read Night... 3 times in high school. I tried to tell my teacher's that I already read it' date=' and trust me, the ending doesn't change! Kurt Vonnegut is (quite possibly) my favorite writer. Get over it dem00n, life sucks. Maybe they make all of the books about teen suicide because they are trying to make a suggestion... (It's a joke, get over it) 3 Times seems kind of excessive and points to a disjointed curriculum or soe type teacher issues. I am a HS drop out, I have read Night though when I found it in the book section of a thrift store. I love reading, but will not read anything that is not interesting to me. I have read some Vonnegut but what escapes me at this time, I think Slaughter House 5. I pretty much only read non-fiction because it is what I like. The school systems of today are lacking I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl M Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Dem00n, I agree with you in that, if you are trying to inspire people to read, leading them toward books that capture their attention is probably a better way. I read a lot, but I probably wouldn't if I had to choose one from 'the list'. I have 3 teenagers who love to read. I feed that hunger by finding out what they are interested in at the time and ordering them a book on the subject. My advice is, take your medecine and read the book. Do some online research about the book which may help you understand and follow it a little better since your mind may tend to wander at times during the reading. Get it done so you can stop dreading it, then reward yourself by reading something you are interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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