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| My 17 year old son graduated from high school last week, and has been unable to pin down a full-time summer job in this economy. He doesn't turn 18 until the end of summer, by which time he will be off for college. He's doing odd jobs around the neighborhood, but time hangs heavily on his hands. We're looking into volunteer work--but that often has age restrictions, too.
Meanwhile, I told him I would rustle up a summer reading list for him, and he seemed grateful. I recall that an older friend did that for me after I graduated college, and I read a splendid array of literature (while holding down a full-time job) before I went off to college myself. To give you some idea of his taste: He has enjoyed Heart of Darkness, The Great Gatsby, David Copperfield, The Road, and Slaughterhouse Five. He did not like Kate Chopin's The Awakening (assigned reading). He loves movies and has a vague and romantic notion of being involved in the film industry someday. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by chris_in_the_valley (My Page) on Mon, Jun 20, 11 at 17:22
| He might also enjoy Conrad's Youth which has the advantage of being a (rather long) short story. In fact, reading all of Conrad might be a good use of the summer. Or perhaps more Fitzgerald. I've heard Fitzgerald should be read young and I think I agree. After all, Fitzgerald did write for Hollywood, if I recall correctly. Stupidly, I can recall the first line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way." but for the life of me cannot recall the title of that Dickens novel, which your son may enjoy. (And point of pride, I refuse to look up something I know so well. To show what a complete brain shutdown I have, when I go searching for it in my head, my neurons supplied "Torn Between Two Lovers." Forgot to pick up my brain at the door this a.m.)Ah! A Tale of Two Cities comes to me just before I hit Submit. |
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- Posted by connie_in_western_nc (My Page) on Mon, Jun 20, 11 at 19:13
| You might also read something together that started as the written word (literature) and was made into a movie... then compare/contrast the two and WHY they made the cinematography changes they did. Good project to do together... |
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| The Catcher in the Rye - J.D.Salinger A Kind of Loving - Stan Barstow Dracula - Bram Stoker |
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| I would recommend any books by Mark Twain. I remember reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when I was about 18, and loving it. Also, a good choice for that age group is Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. The idea of contrasting books with their movie counterparts could be an interesting summer project for a younger person. He could read something short, like the novel They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and then watch the film adaptation. |
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| chris - Tale of Two Cities would be the title that is eluding you. And I agree with you on that recommendation. kkay - My first suggestion is always The Count of Monte Cristo. I will revisit, I know that there are several contemporary novels that I have read, that I can't find in the memory banks at the moment. If he enjoys non-fiction as well as fiction, I would suggest just about any of McCullough's histories and/or biographies. I enjoyed both 1776 and John Adams. |
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| For a lighter touch , how about A WALK IN THE WOODS by Bill Bryson? It certainly introduced me to the wonders of the Apalachin Trail as well as the highly entertaining Bryson. |
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- Posted by wolf_seeker (My Page) on Tue, Jun 21, 11 at 23:21
| Hi Long time lurker here (dial-up is soo slow!!). I work at local Barnes and Noble, so am asked to recommend books a lot...! Since your son is just out of high school, he might be more interested in books that are not quite like the required reading lists! So here are a few suggestions that he might think are more like 'fun' reads. I would suggest 'Shadow Divers' by R. Kurson, non-fiction that reads like fiction. It's the story of the discovery of a German u-boat off the coast of NJ a few years ago. Seems it was 'unidentified' and no one (Germans) really knew where it went down. It was at a depth that was borderline divable at the time, and took a lot to identify it. The story goes on, but I won't add any spoilers here! It moves very quickly, and keeps you hooked! Also, 'The Book Thief' by Marcus Zusak should appeal to him. It was written by a (then) teenager and is very popular with young adults. Narrated by 'death' and is about two young siblings in Hitler's Germany. The 'Matthew Shardlake' series by C J Sansom is great historical fiction/mystery. If he likes best-seller types, 'Seal Team Six' by Howard Wasdin is really interesting, and everyone seems to either think he's (Wasdin) great, or a total liar. Personally, I haven't quite decided which side I fall on, but am leaning toward the disbelief side. Just a little too full of himself, I think, but he really tells what his training was like, and how tough it was. I haven't yet read 'Unbroken' by Hillerbrand, but I haven't heard anyone say that it isn't anything but really great. Helen |
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| I like The Book Thief too, and also another by Markus Zusak called The Messenger, although the latter is very 'Australian'. BTW, Zusak was 30 I think when TBT was published. I think The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is an interesting book which teens can enjoy (my boys did). |
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| Oooh, thank you all so much! What terrific recommendations. I do like the movie/book connections. The two of us have done that on a few occasions together (I studied film in my youth, too)--including Bram Stoker's Dracula, a favorite of ours. And what a bonus--movies would add up to more mother/son time for me this summer before he leaves (though I'm not sure that's high on his to-do list)! These recommendations are such a great mix--I'm going to cut and paste all of your suggestions and remarks into a document for my son. Helen, thanks for stepping out of lurkdom (where I usually reside, myself) to add your thoughts. And if anyone has any further ideas, I'd love to hear them! What a resource you all are. |
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| Great suggestions above. Also, if he liked The Road you can try, also by Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men which was also made into a movie; done very well, I thought. Manhunt, (author escapes me) is non-fiction about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and is another that reads like a novel, as is Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air about a disastrous Everest expedition. They'd all appeal to a young man. Lonesome Dove won a Pulitzer and was adapted into a TV movie. Oh, and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a modern classic, oft-cited as a life-changing book for some and.. also a movie. :) |
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| Thanks for all those recommendations, Helen. I just checked out Shadow Divers for my husband--that sounds like it's right up his alley! kkay--here are a few others he may enjoy: Meltdown: A Race Against Nuclear Disaster at Three-Mile Island: A Reporter's Story by Wilborn Hampton Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion by Steven Johnson The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman Anything by Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Anansi Boys etc.) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow got a lot of good reviews when it came out. It's on my TBR pile at home. It's about a 17-year-old computer genius who is apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. |
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| Anything written by Ray Bradbury! |
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| Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. I read this my junior year in college...well, the summer before. It remains one of the few books I can remember (some 40+ years later) in great detail. |
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- Posted by twobigdogs (My Page) on Thu, Jun 23, 11 at 12:55
| Hi, A summer reading list is a great idea. I still write one for my "baby" sister... she is 36 years old now. But it has become a tradition and so I continue. I second Dracula, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Book Thief. A few others to consider: more modern non-fiction/adventure stuff: Jon Krakauer Into Thin Air,Into the Wild Robert Kurson Shadow Divers Hope your son enjoys his summer. |
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- Posted by ladyrose65 (My Page) on Thu, Jun 23, 11 at 19:29
| I always recommend the "1000 books to read before you die" its for everyone of young adults to adults. It has a brief summary of all the books. You can get it at the Libray. |
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- Posted by socks12345 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 14:11
| Definitely "Count of Monte Cristo." IMHO there is nothing wrong with "better" videos. I always loved "Scarlet Pimpernel," but not sure how it would go as far as reading. Have you checked out your local humane society, if he likes animals? They often like dog walkers or just people to socialize with the dogs. He sounds like a wonderful young man to be open to a reading list, so best wishes to him in college and may his every dream come true. There are lots of opportunities in the film industry--just watch that list of credits at the end of a movie and figure out what all those people do! Hey, that could be a little research project for him! |
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- Posted by lemonhead101 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 15:23
| I found this "Summer Reading List" from The Guardian newspaper in the UK. It's got some interesting suggestions that your son may be interested in... Just FYI. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Guardian book list.
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