English 429 Advanced Placement English Language

Reading List for Fall 2008

Congratulations on electing to take English 429.  In order to prepare for the class, in addition to the Hoffman Reads 2008 book, The Messenger by Markus Zusak, we ask you to read two non-fiction books over the summer: The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson and a non-fiction book of your choice that is of AP quality.  The Messenger will be tested in the fall.  Both of the AP readings will be tested and referred to over the course of the year and may be referenced on the A.P. Test in May.  As you read, please keep a reader’s log.  This should consist of summary as well as questions, observations, comparisons, important quotes, symbols, motifs and whatever other connections you can make to the literature.  This will serve as a review for both your test in the fall and your Advanced Placement Test in the spring.  You will be required to obtain the books on your own.  You may either check them out from a library or purchase them from your local book store; keep in mind that approximately 100 students could potentially attempt to check out Devil in the White City from the library.  We encourage you to read as much non-fiction over the summer as you can: newspapers, magazines, biographies, and autobiographies.  You may elect to read a variety of sources all on the same subject such as the American Civil War, Iraq, health-care, education, psychology – whatever you are interested in.  The more you read, the better prepared you will be for your senior year.  You might also want to pre-read the texts we will be using during the school year: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, William Faulkner’s Sound and Fury, Albert Camus’ The Stranger; the latter two must be purchased on your own.  At this point, the rigors of AP may seem daunting, but the rewards you will reap will be innumerable.  Enjoy your summer and your readings.  Feel free to contact us if you have questions.

Ms. Laforet                  Mr. Brown                    Mr. Ahn

mlaforet@d211.org     rbrown@d211.com     mahn@d211.org 

Suggested titles for the non-fiction book of choice

Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Home: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
In a rare and mesmerizing account, Beah tells of his experience as a child fighting a war in Sierra Leone.

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences.

As he reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Capote generates suspense and empathy.

Danticat, Edwidge. Brother, I’m Dying.

This is a true-life epic on an intimate scale: a deeply affecting story of home and family — of two men's lives and deaths, and of a daughter's great love for them both.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays and Lectures: Nature; Addresses, and Lectures/Essays: First and Second Series/Representative Men/English Traits/The Conduct of Life.

An anthology of some of Emerson’s best essays and lectures which deal with his Transcendentalist philosophy of life.

Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor.

A fun and practical introduction to literature and literary basics — symbols, themes, and contexts — shows how to make everyday reading experiences more rewarding and enjoyable.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love.

A celebrated writer pens an irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life.

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point.

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild.

This is the extraordinary bestselling true story of a young man's uncompromising pilgrimage to Alaska that ended in tragedy.

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air.

This is the harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse judgment and of heartbreaking heroism.

Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.

This is the astonishing saga of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's survival for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas.

Lamott, Annie. Bird By Bird.

Anne Lamott’s gives her honest appraisal of what it takes to be a writer and why it matters so much.

Prose, Francine. Reading Like a Writer.

The author invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters. She reads the work of the very best writers — Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov — and discovers why their work has endured.

Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

Oddly compelling and often hilarious, Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.

Simpson, Joe. Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival.

While climbing, Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg.  His climbing partner, Yates, tried to lower him to safety, but was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.  Simpson crawled into camp four days later. This is an epic chronicle of fear and friendship.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.

Walden carries a solemn warning against the loss of one's valuables; it advances a good argument for traveling light and trying new adventures.

Wright, Richard. Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth.

This is the powerful account of Wright’s journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment—a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering.

Zinsser, William. On Writing Well.

This is the book for anybody who wants to learn how to write, whether about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself.