Summer Fun
June 6th, 2016With the school year behind us (or nearly so, for some), it’s time to decompress. Fun with friends, relaxing activities that we only have time for in the summer … there’s a lot to look forward to! But I wonder: when you think about your ideas for summer fun, is reading included?
Some of you are nodding vigorously, eager to dig into books you didn’t have time for during the school year. Others, though, are wondering why in the world we’d include that in our list of fun activities. Reading is something that’s “important” and “good for us,” right? It helps us build vocabulary, polish grammar and understand new concepts, even new worlds.
Many of you have seen the whiteboard in my office filled with book titles that students have supplied, favorites that they urge other students to read. We call it the “Board of Good Books,” and it holds a wonderful array of suggestions. Here are a few:
– My Most Excellent Year
– Pendragon
– Keys to the Kingdom
– The Things They Carried
– House of the Scorpion
– The Giver
– The Beak of the Finch
– The Lacuna
– The Fault in Our Stars
– Brave New World
– The Prince
– Outliers: the Story of Success
– The Catcher in the Rye
– Hunger Games
– 1984
… and many more!
Need suggestions beyond those offered by Shrop Ed advisees? The Lexington Public Library has a list of 50 books recommended for high school students: http://www.lexpublib.org/50BooksInHighschool. For another great list of books to read this summer follow this link: https://www.noodle.com/articles/10-books-every-student-should-read-before-college. Let us know your choices and whether you’d like us to add them to our Board of Good Books.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what I’ve read most recently, it’s The Good Lord Bird, by James McBride. It transported me to a different place and time, with a protagonist so real that I felt I could reach out and touch him. McBride’s writing widened my understanding of both people and history.
“A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it or offer your own version in return.”
–Salman Rushdie
Tagged: Choices, Personal characteristics, Summer
