What book should I read?
Its for English, we have these options
im 15. sophomore…
female
which book do you think i would like?
i have a good reading level, so that wouldnt be a problem
… can you also please give me a short summary of what the book is about? (without ruining it for me please)
thank you! 
100 years of solitude
1984
the adventures of huckleberry finn
the adventures of tom sawyer
thee aeneid
all quiet on the western front
and then there were none
angela’s ashes
animal farm
anna karenina
anne of green gables
anthem
as i lay dying
the awakening
the bean trees
beloved
beowulf
billy budd
black boy
bless me, ultima
the bluest eye
brave new world
the brothers karamazov
the call of the wild
candide
the canterbury tales
catch-22
the catcher in the rye
the chocolate war
the chosen
cold sassy tree
the color purple
the count of monte cristo
crime and punishment
the crucible
cry, the beloved country
cyrano de bergerac
david copperfield
death of a salesman
death of socrates
diary of a young girl
a doll’s house
don quixote
dr. faustus
dr. jekyll and mr. hyde
dracula
edith hamilton’s mythology
emma
ethan frome
fahrenehit 451
fallen angels
a farewell to arms
the fellowship of the rings
flowers for algernon
for whom the bell tolls
the fountainhead
frankenstein
the giver
the glass menagerie
the good earth
the grapes of wrath
great expectations
the great gatsby
grendel
gulliver’s travels
hamlet
the handmaid’s tale
hard times
heart of darkness
henry IV part I
henry V
hiroshima
the hobbit
the house on mango street
i know why the caged bird sings
the iliad
the imporance of being earnest
inferno
invisible man
jane eyre
johnny tremain
the joy luck club
julius ceasar
the jungle
the killer angels
king lear
the last of the mohicans
les miserables
a lesson before dying
little women
lord of the flies
macbeth
madame bovary
the merchant of venice
a midsummer night’s dream
moby dick
much abo about nothing
my antonio
narrative of the life of frederick douglas
native son
the new testament
night
the odyssey
oedupus plays
of mice and men
the old men and the sea
the old testament
oliver twist
the once and future king
on flew over the cuckoo’s nest
one hundred years of solitude
othello
our town
the outsiders
paradise lost
the pearl
the picture of dorian-gray
poe’s short stories
a portrait of the artist as a young man
pride and prejudice
the prince
a raisin in the sun
the red badge of courage
the republic
the return of the king
richard III
robinson crusoe
romeo and juliet
scarlet letter
a seperate peace
silas morner
sir gawain and the green knight
slaughterhouse-five
song of solomon
the sound and the fury
the stranger
a streetcar named desire
the sun also rises
a tale of two cities
the taming of the shrew
the tempest
tess of the d’urbervilles
the things they carried
the two towers
their eyes were watching god
things fall apart
to kill a mockingbird
treasure island
twelfth night
ulysses
uncle tom’s cabin
walden
war and peace
wuthering heights
a yellow raft in blue water
10 Responses to “What book should I read?”
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well personally i liked and then there were none by agatha christie. its about 10 people who go to a private island and then one by one they end up being killed and everyone gets scared as they try to figure out who the killer is.
a separate peace was my required reading when i was a sophmore. it was by far my favorite book we read that year. its about these two boys that go to an all boys private school. theyre best friends but ones always perfect and the other has some resentment about that. I don’t want to give anything away but like its a book where u really connect and get emotionally attached to the characters. the ending s a little sad though.
the outsiders i read for 8th grade english so it might be a little on the easy side and you might have even seen the movie with tom cruise in it. its about these greasers and the unequality that they face.
to kill a mockingbird is pretty good as well. Its about alabama when black people are still not fully equal. there are these two kids and its told from their perspective. it also involves a lot their mentally handicapped neighbor that everyone thinks is a ghost. I read it in freshman english.
Im not going to do summaries for the rest but i liked Brave New World, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest, and the Giver. I read Cuckoo’s nest for AP English junior year(this year), brave new world for honors eng sophmore year, and the giver in 8th grade
I Don’t Think It’s In Your List ..
The Name Of The Book Is .. “Fly Girl” By Omar Tyree
A Short Summary About The Book http://www.allreaders.com/topics/info_28410.asp
wow thats alot to chose from but i read like 5 of those books out of all of them. But 2 of the best was “the pearl” and “of mice and men” they were both sad and hav the same athors but they were real gud books.
Also “a rasin in the sun” was ok it kinnda just ended but again it was ok. Jane eyre was pretty good to
If I could, I’d like to put my own book in contention. It’s a fantasy/adventure novel called The Other Side of the Gate, and it was just released. It’s about a 14 year old boy who has been mysteriously spirited away to a strange world where humans have been taken for generations now, and he and his friends are determined to discover why. It’s obviously an adventure story, complete with magic and monsters and the like, but at its heart it’s about searching for meaning in life and struggling to become a part of the world we inhabit.
Anyway, if you want to learn more, there’s a more detailed synopsis of the book on my writer’s blog listed below. There’s also the Barnes and Noble page for the book below that too.
Well, not knowing a lot about your likes/dislikes…. I would go with Much Ado About Nothing. It’s one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Basically there are two plots: one is to separate two young lovers and the other is to get two people that are constantly at odds together.
Book’s I’ve read off that list:
Anna Karina: Russian, very long and rather dry, about a wife who leaves her husband
A Doll’s House: Ibsen play, didn’t really impress me
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King: really good if you like fantasy
The Giver: personally my favorite book on the list, a futuristic utopia that isn’t quite perfect
Hamlet: Shakespeare, about a murdered king, definitely tragedy
Heart of Darkness: really hard to read, I suggest avoiding it
The Hobbit: prequel to the Lord of the Rings, my favorite of his books
MacBeth: another tragic Shakespeare play, not bad but lots of killing
Pride and Prejudice: about love and etiquette and who you should marry
Of Mice and Men: another one I don’t recommend
To Kill a Mockingbird: okay, about racial rights and trials
The Taming of the Shrew: very funny Shakespeare play about the right kind of woman to marry
The Stranger: ick
Scarlett Letter: not bad, about a woman who’s labeled for committing adultery and her daughter is kind of weird
My choices would be:
1.) One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Set in a mental asylum it focuses on a guy who was transferred from a prison work farm. He has been found guilty of battery and plead insanity (falsely) to serve his sentence in the asylum. He has a rebellious influence over the other patients and is constantly antagonizing the tyrannical nurses. A great read!
2.) Angela’s Ashes
Memoir by Irish-American Frank McCourt who’s family are living in Brooklyn in 30s. Following numerous tragedies the family move back to Ireland. The family lives in a dilapidated house which regularly floods. They must share one outdoor toilet with all the neighbors. His father is an unemployed alcoholic and the family are living off welfare. He eventually finds work during WW2 but whatever little money he earns he will drink it away. The family are forced to beg for food and money from the church or townspeople, who are reluctant to give it because they disapprove of their father, especially because he is from Northern Ireland. They are finally evicted and forced to live with a distant relative. As Frank grows up he works and dreams of returning to America.
3.) To Kill A Mockingbird
Set during the Great Depression in Alabama. Narrated by 6 y/o Scout Finch who lives with brother Jem and lawyer father Atticus. Jem and Scout are fascinated by reclusive neighbor Boo Radley. Townspeople are reluctant to speak of Boo and despite the children leaving gifts at the door to lure him out they are disappointed to never see him. Atticus is appointed to defend a black man charged of raping a white woman. Atticus establishes that the plaintiff and her father are lying to cover the fact that the friendless woman made advances towards the black man and her father caught her in the act. The children are taunted for their father’s association with the black man and are attacked one night while walking home from a school play. Jem’s arm is broken in the struggle but amid the confusion the children are rescued by a unknown man, who turns out to be Boo Radley.
All three books are worth a read, and you will have the advantage of watching the movies to help you understand them. Happy reading!
There are a lot of good choices on your list. My personal favorites though:
- Pride and Prejudice
http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Penguin-Classics-Austen/dp/0141439513/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626124&sr=1-1
- Slaughterhouse-Five
http://www.amazon.com/Slaughterhouse-Five-Novel-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/0385333846/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626162&sr=1-1
- Fahrenheit 451
http://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451-Ray-Bradbury/dp/0345342968/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626194&sr=1-1
- The Awakening
http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393960579/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626220&sr=1-4
- As I Lay Dying
http://www.amazon.com/As-Lay-Dying-Corrected-Library/dp/0375504524/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626413&sr=1-1
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
http://www.amazon.com/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God/dp/0061120065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626456&sr=1-1
- The Sound and the Fury
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Fury-Corrected-Text/dp/0679732241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626487&sr=1-1
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
http://www.amazon.com/Sir-Gawain-Green-Knight-Translation/dp/0393334155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626516&sr=1-1
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
http://www.amazon.com/Midsummer-Nights-Folger-Library-Shakespeare/dp/0743477545/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252626570&sr=1-1
- My Antonia
http://www.amazon.com/My-Antonia-Barnes-Noble-Classics/dp/1593082029/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252627160&sr=1-2
Tess of the d’Urbervilles:
The story concerns a simple country girl, Tess Durbeyfield, whose father’s pretensions to social status lead her into the company of the nouveau-riche d’Urberville family. In a scene which suggests rape, though it is open to interpretation, Tess is made pregnant by the rakish Alec d’Urberville. Tess returns home in disgrace, but the child she bears soon dies, leaving her free to leave her village once again to look for work. While employed as a milkmaid, she encounters the morally upright Angel Clare, who falls in love with her. After their marriage, she is honest with him about her past; though Angel is educated, he remains basically naive, and cannot reconcile his real affection for Tess, his wounded pride, and his image of Tess as a semi-pagan Mary figure.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Abandoned by Angel, Tess is lured into a liaison with Alec d’Urberville, who comes back into her life by chance. When Alec lays eyes on Tess once more, he ruthlessly hunts her down, determined to win her back into his life of sin. Tess, influenced by her desperate situation and the perception that her husband will never rejoin her, yields to Alec’s determination and allows him to support her while she lives with him. Eventually Angel returns, repentant, to reclaim her, and Tess murders Alec in order to be with her legal husband. They flee together, but the police catch up with them at Stonehenge, in a memorable finale. Tess is hanged for the murder of Alec.
If I had to choose one book for you to read from that list, I would suggest Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It was an unprecedented literary achievement; my French teacher informed my class that more copies of Les Miserables were found on Civil War soldiers than copies of the Bible. It is incredibly long, but you can read a shorter abridged version and still reap the same effects.
I think the inside jacket of my copy (2008; translated by Julie Rose) describes the story perfectly:
“…A favorite of readers for nearly 150 years, and the basis for one of the most beloved stage musicals ever, this stirring tale of crime, punishment, justice, and redemption pulses with life and energy. Hugo sweeps readers from the French provinces to the back alleys of Paris, and from the battlefield of Waterloo to the bloody ramparts of Paris during the uprising of 1832.
First published in 1862, this sprawling novel is an extravagant historical epic teeming with harrowing adventures and unforgettable characters. In the protagonist Jean Valjean, a quintessential prisoner of conscience who languishes for years in prison for stealing bread to feed his starving family, Les Miserables illuminates one of the grand themes in literature – that of the hunted man. Woven into the narrative are the prevalent social issues of Hugo’s day: injustice, authoritarian rule, social inequality, civil unrest. This new translation brings astonishing vivacity and depth to Hugo’s immortal dramatis personae – the relentless police detective Javert, the saintly bishop Myriel, the tragic prostitute Fantine and her innocent daughter, Cosette, the dashing lover Marius, and many others whom Jean Valjean encounters on his path to sublime sacrifice…”
The story begins with Jean Valjean – a convict who has spent 19 years in a hard labor prison because he stole a single loaf of bread for his starving family during the French Revolution days. When he is at last released, he seeks shelter but is turned away from every inn he comes across due to the stigma surrounding his label as “convict.” A bishop allows him to stay the night in his own home, but Jean Valjean takes advantage of his hospitality by stealing his costly silverware as he sleeps. Valjean is subsequently captured and brought before the bishop, who denies that Valjean stole anything and fetches his other most prized possession – his pair of expensive silver candlesticks. He places the candlesticks in the convict’s hands and claims that with his silver, he is buying man’s soul and giving him back to God. This one act of mercy completely transforms Valjean’s character as he spends the rest of his life doing as much good as he can.
He forges a new identity and demonstrates unconditional acceptance towards society’s outcasts (e.g. a prostitute, an orphaned bastard, etc.) all because of the kindness shown to him when he deserved it least. The novel juxtaposes Jean Valjean’s heart of gold with the man who is bent on ruining him – Inspector Javert. Javert lives his live without breaking a single rule and believes it is his moral obligation to track down this convict who has managed for so long to evade the forces of the law. His monomaniacal obsession makes for an interesting story. Hugo begs the question of who is the better man: the fleeing criminal or the upholder of the law? …How should others be judged? The lessons of compassion and mercy one can learn from this book are astounding.
It might sound like I gave a lot away, but the book is very long, and that is only a synopsis of what it has to offer (the bishop scenes are only at the very beginning). Many, many other events take place, and other themes can also be spotted. It takes place over several years.
I hope this helps. Good luck!