Thursday, June 23, 2011

Summer Reading #1

One of my goals this summer is to read all of the books on my students' summer reading list. They have a list of about 60 books that they get to chose one book from plus one required book. I've read a lot of them, so hopefully I'll be able to complete my goal.

Summer Reading # 1: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood


Okay, okay. So I've already read it, but it's just so good I had to read it again (and I don't usually like books where the author's name is bigger than the title of the book. I mean come on.). The Handmaid's Tale is a story about the U.S. in the near future where women are reduced to being reproduction machines. It sounds feministy, but it's not...totally. The main character is kind of like a mistress, but her one job is to get pregnant by the man of the house so that his barren wife can raise the child. It's an excellent companion to books like Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, two books that my students love. This one is just an easier read and more geared toward girls than most other futurist, dystopic society novels.

I give it:


2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recommendation! Can you email me the list? I'm always looking for reading suggestions.

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  2. oh, oh, oh, I sooo agree. Send me the list, please! I love the idea. PS: Last night I ran by an elementary school in my neighborhood and totally got that 'ol nostalgia feeling. It was unexpected. Never thought I'd want a summer reading list again! Not that we had them in elementary school, but you get what I'm saying, right? A school's a school.

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