The Next Best Book Club discussion

I get a subscription of the School Library Journal and thought that these lists were pretty interesting. Maybe you will too!

Fiction

IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY AUTHOR LASY NAME

The Story of Forgetting - Stefan Merrill Block
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks
Conception: A Novel - Kalisha Buckhanon
Tigerheart: A Tale of the Anyplace - Peter David
Gardens of Water - Alan Drew
Someone Knows my Name - Lawrence Hill
The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent
The Rich Man of Pietermaritzburg - Sibusiso Nyembezi
What Was Lost - Catherine O'Flynn
Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet - Joanne Proulx
What I Was - Meg Rosoff
All Souls: A Novel - Christine Schutt
Homespun - Nilita Vachani

Nonfiction

This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World - Paul Chambers
The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats - Joanne Chen
The Big Necessity - Rose George
Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration - Marcia Ann Gillespie, Rosa Johnson Butler, & Richard A. Long
Women of COurage: Intimate Stories From Afghanistan - Scott Heidler
American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau - Bill McKibben
The Ender's Hotel: A Memoir - Brandon R. Schrand
Your America: Democracy's Local Heroes - John Siceloff & Jason Maloney
Gang Leader for a Day: A Rouge Sociologist Takes to the Street - Sudhir Venkatesh

Good thing I am no longer a teenager. I have not read single book on this list!

Wow. I have not heard of any of those. They are adult novels????

Neither have I that's why I decided to post this I was waiting for someone to shed some light on this LOL

In the fiction list I have heard of People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, it's on my TBR list. She won the Pulitzer prize for her book, March (civil war time period), and she also has a wonderful book, A Year of Wonders, about the plague years in England. Both would be great books for HS.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent is also on my TBR list. It's about the Salem witch trials. Friends who have read it say it is very good. Probably would fit in well in a HS literature/history program.

I also heard that The Heretic's Daughter is excellent. I'm stubbornly waiting for it to come out in paperback. I can see how it could be a good read while learning about that time in history. The author is an actual descendent of the "witch" in the book who is hung for her crimes. I thought that added a bit of intrigue.

That is good to know

'What I Was' by Meg Rosoff isn't an adult novel - it's definitely written for teenagers. I've not read it, but it's shelved with in the Junior Fiction section in my school library and definitely sounds like a teen novel. I recently read 'How I Live Now' by her and I felt that I would have appreciated it more if I was a young teen.

I saw 'What Was Lost' by Catherine O'Flynn on Amazon a while back and have it on my Want To Read list. Other than that, I haven't heard of any of these books, and I'm a high school student! I'm currently reading 'March' by Geraldine Brooks and I've heard of Maya Angelou.

Does it say why these books are recommended to high school kids? And are these books designed to help teenagers who aren't particularly well-read? We have a list of Recommended Books in my school library for students who are studying English but don't read at all.

I've read The Heretic's Daughter and What Was Lost - both we're excellent reads - If I was an English teacher I'd pair The Heretic's Daughter with The Scarlet Letter. And I also plan to read The People of the Book.

This list is supposed to be Adult Fiction but is recommended for YA's.

I'm in Highschool and have not read any of them O.o. hehe oops.

I am reading Someone Knows my Name by Lawrence Hill right now (only it was published as The Book of Negroes in Canada). Otherwise, I haven't read any of the others on that list.

Okay, I finished Someone Knows My Name (The Book of Negroes)by Lawrence Hill and it was excellent. I'd definitely recommend it to everyone.

Definitely To Kill a Mockingbird.

I went to high school back in the dark ages, Emily, but we read, out of your list - All Quiet on the Western Front and The Red Badge of Courage.

I agree with To Kill a Mockingbird. It is a classic and a very good story besides.

I recall that most of us liked it, and we all loved the movie, which they showed us as a reward for reading it.

Yep. And - Gregory Peck!

Conception: A Novel - Kalisha Buckhanon is on my reading list. I have heard really good things about it.

Never heard of any of the other ones.

I think Midwives would be a good transition novel for teens because the narrator is a teenager and the book is interesting, but straight forward.

First "adult" book I read was either Jane Eyre (finished)or Les Miserable (finished half of the entire book).

Lori wrote: "Wow. I have not heard of any of those. They are adult novels????"

Not only have I not heard of any of the books, I havn't heard of any of the authors either. I have my preteen reading books like Swiss Family Robinson. (He already finished the Harry Potter books last year. He's 11)

Emily wrote: "I've only heard of one--People of the Book. Hmm. I'd be interested in knowing what adult books GoodReads users would recommend for high schoolers (I'm a future high school English teacher).

Here..."

I have recently found All Quiet on the Western Front and Red Badge of Courage (for 50 cents each). I havn't read either one yet though.

In highschool we had to read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.