Hi

All, I am really pleased to get so many requests for recommended reading as you prepare for English 12 AP in the fall. The following will be a bit of advice, some suggestions, and perhaps a small insight into some of the random connections I see between literature and our lives. Great literature is everywhere. Everything we watch (movies, tv, documentaries), read (books, poems articles, essays poems, graphic novels), or hear (music, stories, spoken word) has some roots in or connections to the great works. Example: Romeo and Juliet = Edward and Bella = Bill and Sookie (ok, R&J are not vampires) I see these connections by looking through a broad lens at theme, character, plot and conflict to find connections. As far as a recommended readings list, I would prefer a recommended exploration list, as I see our learning reaching beyond the printed word. Works we will likely cover: The Iliad by Homer (sections) Beowulf (section) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte The Tempest by William Shakespeare The Color Purple by Alice Walker Obasan by Joy Kogawa Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (if you havent already read it) Authors we will touch on: Joyce, Whitman, Heaney, Mary Oliver, Susan Olds, Auden, Wordsworth, Garcia Marquez, Galsworthy, Thurber, Lawrence, Atwood, Achebe, this could be a long list Some of my favorite books that I refer to often: Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Hamlet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (I also happily profess to loving the entire Harry Potter series)

 If you have time on your hands and want to watch something that have some literary links: Pride and Prejudice (there are a couple of choices, Colin Firth is the one) Bride and Prejudice Bollywood version by the director of Bend it like Beckham. Lost in Austen (British mini-series) Sherlock (recent British remake) Apocalypse Now! (R-rated based on Conrads Heart of Darkness) Troy (they mess with the story but it is entertaining) Restoration (A young Robert Downey) Ten Things I Hate About You Midnight in Paris The Quiet American The Perks of Being a Wallflower (The book is better) I could go on and on I also love recommendations. @mresplen or gesplen@sd35.bc.ca My challenge to you is to try to explore at least one from each section. We will start in the fall with The Old Man and the Sea as our independent read. A second suggestion is to explore our crazy language look at word roots and origins. How do we discover meaning? Find 10 words that you think are amazing. (glossolalia is a current discovery of mine). Have a great summer!