Feature Follow is the day of the week that we get to know each other and make some new friends. This is graciously put on by our hosts Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Each week there is one blog featured by each host and a question to help us break the ice and open discussion. Since I am new to blogging I don’t currently have a preference as to how you follow me. Feel free to follow through bloglovin, email, or GFC. I’m not picky just happy to have the company.
Back to School time! Create a reading list for the imaginary English Lit class you’ll be teaching this semester.
This is very interesting, and I struggled a lot with what to choose. There are so many books by so many different authors that I would love to share. I would love to teach Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver or IT by Stephen King, but other than just being great books I couldn’t really find an academic reason for studying these. So after a lot of thought I think I have a good idea of what I would teach. Here are the books I would teach and why.
1. Study in Scarlett by Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle- I really like this story and it is a good example of a classic detective story. This is written by the fictional character John Watson and told from his perspective. It can possibly raise some good discussion as to what Holmes’s opinion or out look might have been on the same events.
2. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – I figure by this time in the semester it would be fall and around Halloween. This is a short entertaining read for Halloween. It has a poetic style to the writing and there is an old Disney movie adaptation I could show right before fall break around Thanksgiving. This could open discussion on differences between movie and book and where they positive or negative to the story.
3.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- This gives a good portrayal of the Holocaust and has some history of Nazi Germany through out. It is a great story and one I think that would tie history and literature together.
4. Student’s choice- The love of reading and literature can’t be taught in my opinion. It has to be found, that one perfect book is different for everyone and I would like to give my students a chance to find it as the last book for the semester. Then the class can teach each other about their pick as a final presentation.
Brunner's Bar 
Hopping through. i just checked a Study in Scarlet out from the library. I'm excited to read it.My Hop
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I always loved it when my teacher gave us the option to pick. I really need to read The Book Thief!New bloglovin follower.My Follow Friday
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A study in Scarlet is a great book. I really hope you like it.
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I wish my teachers would have eat me pick. I didn't do well with books I was told I had to read and on a set time frame. It was always tough for me to enjoy the reading when it was on some one else's terms.
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Another person awesome enough to think of giving a freebie choice to the student. Yay, you! I read so much in high school, but none of it was anything that my teachers would approve of. I read mostly adult horror and fantasy, lol. Ironically, now I read very little adult books and a lot of YA books.My FF
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Thanks, I read a lot of horror and mystery, but recently a ton of comics. Guess I never did grow out of the comics and I really don't plan to.
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+JMJ+ I've seen a lot of novels which made lists because they were big favourites with the bloggers (well, presumably!) but which didn't seem to have much academic merit. I could be wrong, of course, but I'm not going to admit it until I also see the lesson plans! 😉 Which is to say that I absolutely agree that a book should be taught in English class not just because the teacher likes it or the students will read it, but because a good academic reason exists for its inclusion.
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Love your idea about a choice book and teaching the class about it at the end of the year! Great list :)Amanda @ i solemnly swear
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Love Something Wicked This Way Comes…even the title is great!New bloglovin follower.Kimberly @ Once Upon a YA Book
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I love the idea of a student chosen book. I always found that most of the books read in school weren't that enjoyable. Great list of books too. New follower on bloglovin.My FF~April @ Once Upon a Coffin
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great list! I like that you allowed the students to pick a book too! Makes it not seem so tough that way!new follower!My FF + Giveaway!Amber @Paradise of Pages
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It was tough to decide what to read. I thought about doing the Gunslinger to get a whole new generation hooked on the Dark Tower series, but again not much academic value.
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Thanks, I was almost worried how this list would be received.
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It is one of my favorites. I read it or listen to the audio book Every Halloween. Thanks for checking out my blog.
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Thanks for checking out my blog. I'm pretty proud of this for being a beginner. I always wished that teachers would let me choose a book to study.
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I like that you let the students pick too! I would never even think of that!
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Thanks, I know I always wished I could chose what books I wanted to study so figured other students might enjoy being able to pick too. Based on the comments I've gotten here it seems like a big hit.
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You're the second person in FF that included the Book Thief – I had never heard of it. But now it's on my wishlist.This is a great way to discover new books and bloggers!New follower via GFC.Here's my Follow Friday
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