The upcoming winter break gives students more free time to sit down, pick up a book, and read. In order to help students crack open the best books, here are a few recommendations from CHS English teachers, as well as some outside-the-school resources:
Lori Lackland, senior English teacher
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood: “Don’t watch the show until you’ve read the novel! It’s a quick read, it’s harrowing, and it’s changing. We do have a few of these texts in the book room, but it’s highly relevant texts to issues of today.”
Yes Please by Amy Poehler: “Her account of her path she followed is inspiring, hopeful, hilarious, and totally enjoyable. If you like Parks and Recreation, read this book!”
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant: “It’s considered a historical fiction, but it’s actually a fictionalization of characters from the Old Testament. Diamant’s interpretation of what life as a woman was like during Biblical times is interesting in a sociological way.”
Samuel Hicks, freshman and senior English teacher
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
The Reivers by William Faulkner
Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition by Nisid Hajari
Jeanne Jarvis, freshman and senior English teacher
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Sarah Widdop, junior AP Language English teacher
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Nothing To Envy by Barbara Demick
Americana Chimanda by Ngozi Adiche
In the library, a couple of new books have arrived, and librarian Johna Christenson suggests some of these new titles, along with some other fine novels.
Dairy Queen by Jaclyn Moriarty
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds Brendan
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
Gone by Michael Grant
At Powell’s City of Books, staff members pick books to highlight:
There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Revenger Alastair Reynolds
http://www.powells.com/staff-picks
From Barnes and Noble — Top 100: Book Bestsellers
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet Series #1) by Madeleine L’Engle
Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books
