Here are some books I read this summer--you might enjoy looking at them to see if you like them. Also you will need to find a 20th or 21st century novel for your spring research paper. Most of these would work (not the non-fiction ones, though!)
Non-fiction:
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Mao's Last Dancer (autobiography) by Li Cunxin
Happiness and Architecture by Alain de Botton
Fiction:
Kafka on the Shore by Hayuki Murikami
After Dark by H. Murikami
The Windup Bird Chronicles by H. Murikami
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
To the North by Elizabeth Bowen
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
What is the What by Dave Eggers
The Palace of Illusions
The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Add some books that you have enjoyed and wish to recommend!
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Created at Big Huge Lab
Photo of Anaelle matted at Big Huge Lab
Three things I love glommed together: poetry, colors, and a quilt.
I love the cosiness, the clutter of books, the colors, and the sense of history implied in this photo.
image from flickr color pickr
We were in a park near the apartment of my son and his family.
I am holding my granddaughter Elise next to an Etruscan statue
Musings of a sixty-ish woman
poster246510.jpg
Created at Big Huge Lab
Thing #10
Photo of Anaelle matted at Big Huge Lab
About Me
Though I have had my share of blows and buffets, I feel I have led an enchanted life. I have rejoiced in glorious friendships, the intensity of motherhood and grandmotherhood, and now a wonderful companion to share adventures and a beautiful house with.
I grew up in a small town in western Oklahoma, small enough that we never locked our door or took the car keys inside the house. I rode around on my bicycle stopping in parks or a wonderful quiet place called "the agricultural station" where I would daydream under pine trees and imagine myself inside a fairy tale.
Or I played with my dolls and paper dolls in my room, involving them in scenarios fed by my relentless passion for the technicolor extravaganzas I saw at our local movie theater. Living in a building with a doorman in New York City and attending cocktail parties seemed to me then to be the height of sophistication.
Movies actually changed three times a week in that innocent time before television, and I saw nearly everything from the late forties into the fifties and sixties--with my family, and later with friends. Our parents would "drop us off" at the theater, as it was perfectly safe for children to go alone. It cost ten cents for a child under twelve to see a movie.
I also loved cowboys as my brothers and I went to see westerns every Saturday morning. When we were little we had run around the yard shooting pistols at each other and taking turns playing the comic character Gabby Hayes as we could not think of enough heroic cowboys. When I had two sons of my own, I felt completely at home watching them run around making explosion noises with their mouths and crashing toy planes into the floor.
I loved reading too, of course, as I grew up to be an English teacher--Little Women was my favorite novel--and I read it again and again. Later in life, I began to see the thread of characters and stories weaving itself through my whole life down to the stories I buy for, and read to, my grandchildren, and the ones I love discussing with my AP students in high school.
Thing #5 Emily Dickinson in a quilt
Three things I love glommed together: poetry, colors, and a quilt.
Random favorites
- Art museums
- Tea and macaroons at La Duree in Paris
- English novels set between the two world wars
- Fred Astaire's dancing and Ginger Rogers' dresses
- Creating a serene and nurturing environment in my house and in my classroom
- I am currently passionate about Murakami novels--reading Kafka on the Shore
- Names of flowers--gloxinia, hydrangea, phlox, peony, heliotrope, bougainvillea, frangipani ....
- Great musicals--just saw The Drowsy Chaperone
- Fairy tales and names of fairy tales: Rapunzel, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Juniper Tree, The Three Feathers...
- Lavender: the scent, the herb, the flower... and, oh yes, the color
- Divine Nonsense, see the next favorite:
- Oscar Wilde, and the next:
- Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
- Wearing hats
- Teaching my classes--AP English, Shakespeare, and Film Studies
- Breakfast cappucinos
- D.H. Lawrence
- Reading anywhere
- Diane Johnson novels
- Studying French
- Playing with and reading to my grandchildren
- John Keats' odes
- Spending time and taking trips with my boon companion and beau, Hu
- Daydreaming about my childhood...daydreaming period
- Crocheting scarves and baby blankets for my family
- Cooking for my family
- Playing with interesting color combinations
- William Butler Yeats, especially "Among School Children" and "A Prayer for my Daughter"
- Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
- Jean Cocteau's magical film La Belle et La Bete
Blog Archive
Shakespeare and Company
I love the cosiness, the clutter of books, the colors, and the sense of history implied in this photo.
color play
image from flickr color pickr
I am glad you visited my blog. Please write me about your own musings on any topic.
I am an AP English teacher at Memorial High School in Houston, TX. I experience the best of all possible worlds as I get to spend my work days reveling in literature and writing, and enjoying my students who all have so many different talents and personalities.
I enjoy exploring interesting restaurants and movies with my companion, Hu. We also love to take trips to see children and grandchildren and to see some parts of the US and Europe that we love to explore. We are going to take a river cruise down the Rhine this summer and then to to Paris to visit my younger son and his family.
I am fortunate to have two wonderful sons with wives and children whom I adore, as well as five precious children and seven grandchildren of my companion, Hu. I enjoy the love of several very close friends and keep in touch with many of my former students.
I enjoy exploring interesting restaurants and movies with my companion, Hu. We also love to take trips to see children and grandchildren and to see some parts of the US and Europe that we love to explore. We are going to take a river cruise down the Rhine this summer and then to to Paris to visit my younger son and his family.
I am fortunate to have two wonderful sons with wives and children whom I adore, as well as five precious children and seven grandchildren of my companion, Hu. I enjoy the love of several very close friends and keep in touch with many of my former students.
Wearing a hat in Paris with my granddaughter, Anaëlle
We were in a park near the apartment of my son and his family.
Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth
I am holding my granddaughter Elise next to an Etruscan statue
15 comments:
Hi Ann - I love these books, especially Kafka on the Shore!
Thanks for keeping this great blog going. Love, Andrew
I'm really impressed by the information present on your blog. It also seems as though we have a few things in common among being both city girls and enjoying a good read in the shade. Throughout your class I have already picked up a few new tricks and can already feel my writing excelling.
Looking forward to seeing you in class tomorrow!
-Marley M. Period 5
Dr. Williams, I have already learned a lot about how to improve my writing in your class, such as to de-structurize my papers and make them less mechanical. As for the books that you have listed, I have already read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and it was very interesting!
-Rachel W. Period 5
Dr. Williams, I just googled The Last Summer and it looks like a great read! I truly want to read it for my novel in the spring! Thanks!
Kelly Taylor, Period 6
I think my top five (in no particular order) would be:
Heart of Darkness-Joseph Conrad
The Call of the Wild-Jack London
The Stand-Stephen King
Watchers-Dean Koontz
1984-George Orwell
Robert S- 6th Period
Well, over the summer I read the Stephanie Pluma series. They are by Janet Evanovich and they are 14 in all so far. They are fun to read.
Hi Dr. Williams! I really like your blog. I looked through the list of books that you listed and haven't read any of them but i asked my sister and she said The Last Summer was very good so i think i might read that one. I really enjoy your class and feel that all the things you said about writing essays will dramatically improve my writing. My sister also says hi her names Anna Russell she said you were here english teacher too!
See you tomorrow!
-Katie R. period. 6
Dr. Williams,
I am so glad you are my teacher! You seem like you really love this subject and Im really excited to learn everything you know! Just being in your class for the past 4 days, I have already learned soo much about my writing. Now, I know not to bother with the whole thesis sentence or the 3 body paragraph 'middle-school' rule. I am really inspired to write better. I will look up those books you listed! Maybe I will actually begin to read for my own pleasure. See you tomorrow!!
-Caroline Purcell, period 3
Dr. Williams, I have learned more than I ever imagined in the first four days of being in your class. I've learned how to find irony within a passage and how to set up the introductions to my paper in a better way. I am genuinely excited to be in your class and am enthusiastic about becoming a better writer! I will definately look up the books that you have listed and find one that looks like a great read for the spring. I am looking foreward to being in your class this year!
-Ellie H. Period 1
I really enjoyed reading through some of your recent blog posts. I loved the personal essay about your paper dolls, something any person with a hint of humanity could relate to.
The color post is a very fun idea! When my mind stops drawing blanks, I'll be sure to add some.
My favorite book is Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks, not due to any kind of engaging writing, but rather the topic and substance. I'm fascinated by music and the way our brains perceive it.
Thank you very much for the informative blog. It's a wonderful new way for teachers to interact with students.
-Jenny Herzberg, Period 6
Thanks for the list, it helps
Caleb Alexander per 3
Dr. Williams,
I've read part of an Eggers novel, so I'm particularly interested in What is the What. I might look into it for my spring research paper. I'm so glad I was able to get my papers together to stay in your class! I can't wait to improve my writing.
-Lierin P, period 3
Hey Dr. Williams! I have really enjoyed reading through your recent blogs and i feel as though I have already learned many techniques to improve my writing. The books you suggested all appear to be very interesting reads and I look forward to reading one of them! See you tomorrow!
-Morgan Z. Period 6
I love to read other people's recs on books...here are some of my own as well, in no certain order: The Life of Pi, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and most recently read, Crime and Punishment.
Anu Pd. 6
Dr. Williams, in class on Wednesday, I really learned a lot about how to improve my writing. Although it will be difficult for me to get used to the new style of essay writing you suggested, I know it will pay off in the end. In the past, I have always been encouraged to use the five-paragraph essay format with a thesis statement style that you called “limiting,” but I understand how weak and generic those can sound now. Your idea of what a really good essay is seems very interesting, and will surely help me to succeed in your class and other writing assignments to come in the future.
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