Dear Parents and Students,

We are excited to share with you our 2011 Summer Reading List of Lists. 

Our philosophy is simple:  We want students to enjoy reading and to become life-long readers.  We believe it is important for students to learn how to choose books and to develop the habit of reading.  We want students to appreciate books that provide enjoyment, intellectual challenge, and a deeper understanding of life. We leave students with the power to choose their own summer reading titles.

Readers, browse through our lists for inspiration, but feel free to choose titles that do not appear on the lists.  Chat with your friends, your parents, and your teachers about the books they recommend.  Browse the shelves in the library and in book stores.  Read reviews on line. Choose a book that interests you and that challenges you. Download a title if you have an ereader.

Our lists offer a wide range of titles. Use your own good judgment (and consult with your parents and teachers) to determine if the content and reading level of the books you choose are appropriate for your age, interests, and ability.

The Library Learning Commons owns many of these books. You are able to check out our copies for the whole summer. Westport Public Library is another great source.

Enjoy your summer reading
The Staples High School English Department and Library Learning Commons

Directions for Summer Reading Grades 9-12

• Please choose two books you have not read before.   

• Read actively.  If you own the book, you might highlight important parts and write notes in the margin.  Or, you might mark key passages with post-it notes.  If you are using an ereader, use the highlighting feature. Some students prefer to keep a journal to respond to what they read. Come to your English class the first day of classes prepared to write or talk about your books.  If possible, bring the books and any notes you may have taken.  

• If you are taking an AP course those books are listed here also.

Core Texts to Avoid Selecting: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Animal Farm, Catcher in the Rye, The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Odyssey, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet.

AP Texts:
Literature & Composition (see assignment)—The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Language & Composition--choice of 2 (see assignment)--In Cold Blood, American Childhood, The Woman Warrior, This Boy's Life, Black Boy, Liar's Club, A Natural History of the Senses, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Difference, The Devil In White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, Into the Wild, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Assignment)

The SHS Library Learning Commons has copies of most recommended books. Try Westport Public Library and Barnes and Noble for other sources. Links to those and other booklists are listed below the recommendations.

SHS Staff Recommendations

Student & Library Learning Commons Recommendations
 

GENERAL LINKS

SHS LIBRARY LEARNING COMMONS CATALOG

SHS 2010 SUMMER READING LIST

WESTPORT PUBLIC LIBRARY CATALOG

BARNES AND NOBLE

SPECIFIC LINKS

ALEX AWARDS

BEST ADULT BOOKS ENJOYED BY TEENS. LINKS TO LISTS OF WINNERS AND NOMINEES.

BOOK SPLAT

CAN A HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIAN MAINTAIN HER LOVE OF READING WHILE WORKING HER WAY THROUGH EVERY TITLE ON THE SUMMER READING LIST?

BOOKLIST MAGAZINE

BEST OF THE BEST RECENTLY PUBLISHED. SCROLL DOWN LEFT NAV BAR TO FIND MANY GENRE LISTS.

COLLEGE BOARD

100 CLASSIC BOOKS SUGGESTED BY THE COLLEGE BOARD.

NEW CANAAN HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING 2011

TERRIFIC LIST FROM A GREAT NEIGHBOR. PROVIDES BOTH PRINTABLE LIST AND VISUAL, LINKED LIST.

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR TEENS

“Stuff for the Teenage” Includes DVD’s as well as books. why not read and watch?

PEARSON / PRENTICE HALL

Classic books suggested by publisher to support advanced classes.

READING RANTS

SCROLL DOWN ON THE LEFT NAV BAR FOR CATEGORIES. "OUT OF THE ORDINARY" DESCRIPTIONS OF COOL BOOKS.

TEEN READS

MORE THAN CAN BE DESCRIBED. . .TAKE A LOOK AT BLOGS, REVIEWS, LISTS, ETC.

VOYA'S PERFECT 10'S (VOICES FOR YOUTH ADVOCATES)

A PERFECT TEN REFERS TO VOYA MAGAZINE'S RATING SYSTEM: 5 IN QUALITY AND 5 IN POPULARITY = PERFECT 10. RATINGS BY ADULTS AND TEENS.

Advanced Placement Language & Composition   

Summer Reading Assignment

2010-2011

Mrs. Colletti-Houde               Ms. Fulco      Ms. McNamee     Mrs. Radler         Ms. Scheck

Please choose one book from list one and one book from list two. Read. Take notes on the books and also how they're written. As you read, consider how the books are structured and what literary devices, if any, are utilized to help the authors make their points. What gives each book its power? Isolate a scene or a chapter you find most interesting or effective.  Finally, make sure you understand the author’s thesis, or main argument, for each book.  Be prepared to be assessed on your understanding of each of the two texts when you return in the fall.

List 1: Creative Nonfiction

In Cold Blood                                                  Truman Capote

American Childhood                                       Annie Dillard   

The Woman Warrior                                       Maxine Hong Kingston

This Boy’s Life                                                Tobias Wolff

Black Boy                                                        Richard Wright

Liar’s Club                                                      Mary Karr

List Two: Analysis

A Natural History of the Senses                      Diane Ackerman

The Tipping Point:                                          Malcolm Gladwell

How Little Things

Can Make a Big Difference                           

The Devil in the White City:                           Erik Larson

Murder, Magic, and Madness

at the Fair that Changed America

Into the Wild                                                   Jon Krakauer                          

The Emperor of All Maladies:                         Siddhartha Mukherjee

A Biography of Cancer

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks                        Rebecca Skloot

AP Literature and Composition

Summer Reading Assignment

 Welcome to AP Literature and Composition.  Your summer reading assignment is to read and think seriously about four novels:

• One of these texts must be Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things.
• The other three are up to you.  Choose titles of literary value and that you expect to enjoy. 
• Be aware that during the fall semester you will be required to complete the Literary Exploration Paper, a paper which will ask you to focus your reading around a particular idea, author, or theme.  Therefore, it might be to your advantage to choose texts with this in mind. 

We recommend that you keep a journal or otherwise take notes as you read your three chosen texts. 

 We require that you keep a journal for The God of Small Things, a text which we have chosen in part because the novel will challenge your preconceptions of narrative form.

• As you read, pause every twenty-five pages or so to record your thoughts, reactions, and questions. 
• We expect that you will, as we did, encounter some confusion in the first quarter of the novel; rather than resist this, do your best to negotiate it, understanding that it is a valid and necessary part of reading and understanding the book.
• When you have finished the book, you should have a journal that contains roughly 10-12 entries. 
• There are no specific requirements for the content or length of these entries; our only expectation is that it reflects your genuine and thoughtful response to the reading.  The journal will serve to facilitate our class discussions early in the year.
   

           Have a wonderful summer, and we look forward to seeing you early in the fall.