Most years, for whatever strange reason, there is unifying theme throughout the books I choose to read.
In 2009, I read a number of books that centered on Indian history, culture, and religion. 2010 was the
year of the Young Adult Novel Series. The best, most talked about of these series is The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins. Katya and I read books one and two last year, but when Mockingjay came out earlier
this year, we commited to reading the whole series again.
This is one trilogy I would recommend without reservation. Set in a dystopian future where teenagers are
forced to compete in a televised game for food (somewhat like Battle Royale), the main characters,
Katniss and Peeta, must navigate a physical arena of deadly traps as well as a political minefield against
other players and each other in order to surive. Katniss is fierce and resourceful, but it's Peeta with his
steadfastness and charm who steals the show.
Katya felt that the trilogy would have been better as a stand-alone. She felt that Books 2 & 3, Catching
Fire and Mockingjay, were gratuitous in their violence and grief, but I disagree. Mockingjay leaves the
reader with a more profound feeling of closure than Hunger Games, so I preferred the three together as
a whole.
Another book series I recommend is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. I've added the second book in this
series, Sapphique, to my reading queue for 2011. Like Hunger Games, this is set in a dystopian future in
which society has been intentionally regressed to the Renaissance era so that the government can
preserve stasis and order. At the same time, an experimental prison called Incarceron was created in
order to house and rehabilitate all criminals. Seventy philosophers, doctors, scientests, and teachers
volunteered to enter Incarceron, knowing that they would never be able to leave. Of course, the center
doesn't hold and all systems devolve toward entropy, and that's where the story of Finn and Claudia takes
place.
One trilogy we did not enjoy and would not recommend is the Life as We Knew It books written by
Susan Beth Pfeffer. This post-apocalyptic tale begins as a first-person journal style story told by Miranda,
a sixteen-year-old in Pennsylvania who must survive catastrophic climate changes and food shortages due
to an asteroid that strikes the moon, knocking it out of its normal orbit. Miranda's story has poignant
moments as she must deal with the loss of her friends, disease, and starvation to make it through the
devastating winter. Then came the second and third books, The Dead & The Gone and This World We
Live In. The Dead & The Gone centers on Alex who lives in New York City with his two sisters at the
time of the asteroid's strike to the moon. This book's an okay read, though it contains some plot holes
that would be inexcusable in adult fiction.
Which brings us to the third book in the series, and a trend I've noticed in Young Adult that I find
disturbing. As much as we liked Candor, by Pam Bachorz and loved Something Like Fate, by Susane
Colasanti, they read with the same sparseness as This World We Live In. They feel abridged, like they're
missing something. As a teacher, I worry that the story has been dumbed down to entice a young adult
reader with a lower-than-average reading level. Incarceron does not fall into this category, nor does Neil
Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. These books have real substance and can be enjoyed for their depth as
well as the craft of the storyline.
Three adult contemporary novels I feel everyone would enjoy are The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, The
Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors, by Michele Young-Stone. I
also recommend the two nonfiction books on the list: Connected, by Nicholas A. Christakis and James
Fowler; and Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortensen. One of most enjoyable books we read this year was
the faux-nonfiction book about the world after the zombie apocalypse, World War Z.
But my favorite title on the list this year is The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Narrated by Death himself
(or herself, as I chose to read it), this book has endearing characters who give each other happiness
during one of the darkest times in history. If you haven't read this book yet, go get it. It's the kind of
book that stays with you a long, long time.
Another few worth mention are those on the Eighth Grade Reading List for our school: Something
Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (for the record, I love Bradbury, and I don't care how 'purple'
people say his prose is), The Princess Bride, by William Goldman (Inconceivable!), The Life of Pi, by Yann
Martel (Ohmigosh, read it!), and The Giver, by Lois Lowry (Go, Jonas).
In 2011, the list of to-read books is already growing. Based on friend recs, I'm re-reading Bram Stoker's
Dracula and Catcher in the Rye, by Holden Caulfield. And I have Mansfield Park as the final of Jane
Austen's books to read. So many books... so little time!
In 2009, I read a number of books that centered on Indian history, culture, and religion. 2010 was the
year of the Young Adult Novel Series. The best, most talked about of these series is The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins. Katya and I read books one and two last year, but when Mockingjay came out earlier
this year, we commited to reading the whole series again.
This is one trilogy I would recommend without reservation. Set in a dystopian future where teenagers are
forced to compete in a televised game for food (somewhat like Battle Royale), the main characters,
Katniss and Peeta, must navigate a physical arena of deadly traps as well as a political minefield against
other players and each other in order to surive. Katniss is fierce and resourceful, but it's Peeta with his
steadfastness and charm who steals the show.
Katya felt that the trilogy would have been better as a stand-alone. She felt that Books 2 & 3, Catching
Fire and Mockingjay, were gratuitous in their violence and grief, but I disagree. Mockingjay leaves the
reader with a more profound feeling of closure than Hunger Games, so I preferred the three together as
a whole.
Another book series I recommend is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. I've added the second book in this
series, Sapphique, to my reading queue for 2011. Like Hunger Games, this is set in a dystopian future in
which society has been intentionally regressed to the Renaissance era so that the government can
preserve stasis and order. At the same time, an experimental prison called Incarceron was created in
order to house and rehabilitate all criminals. Seventy philosophers, doctors, scientests, and teachers
volunteered to enter Incarceron, knowing that they would never be able to leave. Of course, the center
doesn't hold and all systems devolve toward entropy, and that's where the story of Finn and Claudia takes
place.
One trilogy we did not enjoy and would not recommend is the Life as We Knew It books written by
Susan Beth Pfeffer. This post-apocalyptic tale begins as a first-person journal style story told by Miranda,
a sixteen-year-old in Pennsylvania who must survive catastrophic climate changes and food shortages due
to an asteroid that strikes the moon, knocking it out of its normal orbit. Miranda's story has poignant
moments as she must deal with the loss of her friends, disease, and starvation to make it through the
devastating winter. Then came the second and third books, The Dead & The Gone and This World We
Live In. The Dead & The Gone centers on Alex who lives in New York City with his two sisters at the
time of the asteroid's strike to the moon. This book's an okay read, though it contains some plot holes
that would be inexcusable in adult fiction.
Which brings us to the third book in the series, and a trend I've noticed in Young Adult that I find
disturbing. As much as we liked Candor, by Pam Bachorz and loved Something Like Fate, by Susane
Colasanti, they read with the same sparseness as This World We Live In. They feel abridged, like they're
missing something. As a teacher, I worry that the story has been dumbed down to entice a young adult
reader with a lower-than-average reading level. Incarceron does not fall into this category, nor does Neil
Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. These books have real substance and can be enjoyed for their depth as
well as the craft of the storyline.
Three adult contemporary novels I feel everyone would enjoy are The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, The
Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors, by Michele Young-Stone. I
also recommend the two nonfiction books on the list: Connected, by Nicholas A. Christakis and James
Fowler; and Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortensen. One of most enjoyable books we read this year was
the faux-nonfiction book about the world after the zombie apocalypse, World War Z.
But my favorite title on the list this year is The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Narrated by Death himself
(or herself, as I chose to read it), this book has endearing characters who give each other happiness
during one of the darkest times in history. If you haven't read this book yet, go get it. It's the kind of
book that stays with you a long, long time.
Another few worth mention are those on the Eighth Grade Reading List for our school: Something
Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (for the record, I love Bradbury, and I don't care how 'purple'
people say his prose is), The Princess Bride, by William Goldman (Inconceivable!), The Life of Pi, by Yann
Martel (Ohmigosh, read it!), and The Giver, by Lois Lowry (Go, Jonas).
In 2011, the list of to-read books is already growing. Based on friend recs, I'm re-reading Bram Stoker's
Dracula and Catcher in the Rye, by Holden Caulfield. And I have Mansfield Park as the final of Jane
Austen's books to read. So many books... so little time!
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