Oo Kat I totally support the having a party for your 40th. I was going to, and then my MiL got diagnosed with cancer, which kinda put the kibosh on my plans. So then I was going to have a 42nd birthday party, and that just fizzled out. Now I have to wait until I'm 50.
Zoe: Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing? Book: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.
'War Stories'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Burrell - May 14, 2012 7:22:32 pm PDT #18693 of 28326
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
Atropa - May 14, 2012 7:23:56 pm PDT #18694 of 28326
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
Oh, who do I have to bribe so I can have a Night Circus -themed birthday party?
Sometimes, when I'm trying to drift off to sleep, I amuse myself by making up tents for the circus.
Burrell - May 14, 2012 7:31:03 pm PDT #18695 of 28326
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
psssst, Jilli, I think you should try to ribebay atKay
Ginger - May 15, 2012 5:59:07 am PDT #18696 of 28326
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
You are what you read? [link]
Atropa - May 15, 2012 6:38:04 am PDT #18697 of 28326
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
You are what you read? [link]
I'm a vampire who runs away with a circus? Rock on!
Gris - May 16, 2012 4:52:29 am PDT #18698 of 28326
Hey. New board.
The 7th grade English teacher at my school is looking for inspiration. They read To Kill A Mockingbird for the last few years, but that is moving up to 8th grade in the future. She needs to find a novel (or possibly two if significantly shorter than TKAM) that, in her words, has the "hold on to your heart factor" but also some "literary heft". As we are an all-girls school, having an admirable female protagonist or POV character is definitely a plus, but not a requirement.
Our girls are pretty much all reading at or above - in many cases well above - reading level for 7th graders. I thought about Jacqueline Woodson, but most of her books seem to be in the "Grades 4-7" zone, which would probably be dismissed as too young.
Suggestions?
DavidS - May 16, 2012 5:04:09 am PDT #18699 of 28326
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Suggestions?
I don't know, but I will note that Emmett has complained that his reading list this year has been relentlessly depressing as each ethnic group in turn has been crushed by tragic social injustice. Which made me think that yes, there is a tendency for schools to teach books of a certain brand of Realism which can be a drag, especially if you're not a particularly angsty kid and don't need your dark adolescent feelings validated. (He's currently reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.)
Maybe One Hundred Years of Solitude? Can't beat that for literary heft, and it's not the usual social realism and it's also a very enjoyable reading experience. And it's not that dense or difficult to parse.
Gris - May 16, 2012 5:12:53 am PDT #18700 of 28326
Hey. New board.
I think that might be a little too hefty. Not at a vocabulary or parsing level, necessarily, but at a sophistication level. TKAM can be read at a variety of levels, I know, but at it's core it's a pretty simple story and easy to get invested in, which is what grabs the girls. I don't think many of them (still essentially children) are quite ready for Marquez.
JZ - May 16, 2012 5:14:37 am PDT #18701 of 28326
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.
Both very intense and possibly not appropriate for any but a very emotionally mature reader, but Mama Day, or Mister Pip?
eta: Mister Pip is probably way too intense. Skip that suggestion (but read it for yourself).
Gris - May 16, 2012 5:19:38 am PDT #18702 of 28326
Hey. New board.
Well now I want to read both of those... I'll pass the suggestions on to the teacher. Keep 'em coming!