<p>Dartmouth will be reading Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli</p>
<p>Knightshield, a previous poster said this about Stanford summer list:</p>
<p>"This year's books are Jealous-Hearted Me, by Nancy Packer; Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir, by Lucille Clifton and The Way to Rainy Mountain, by N. Scott Momaday."</p>
<p>The class of 2010 received these free in a mailing from Stanford, which I thought was pretty classy. Made the tuition bite less:-)</p>
<p>^Similar to that, Columbia gives the freshmen The Iliad every year.</p>
<p>Guys, keep the reading suggestions coming. I'm planning my freshman year composition class, which is always book-based, and I can use the ideas. these are all great--thanks!</p>
<p>calamom,</p>
<p>I agree -- classy move to send the books to the students! While D is out totthe movies to see "Sicko" I think I'll avail myself of one of them!</p>
<p>My D was assigned a great book, "the Death of Innocents" by Sister Helen Prejean. THey get together in groups before classes begin for discussion. I thought she would love this as she is (strike that) was a huge reader. Her reading declined due to the massive amount of required reading in H.S.....took her joy of reading away. Many kids stop reading for pleasure then it is what they do for work so while I realize the value of required reading....sometimes it can backfire on the very thing you want to achieve....reading enthusiasts.</p>
<p>Anyway, I am hoping she will take to it when she reads it. In the meantime, (while it sits here unread) I am going to read it. </p>
<p>Looks like a great book. THe author usually is invited to speak at the New Student Convocation to tie it together....and for other events in the Fall.</p>
<p>I understand that people don't like required reading, but without it, it is kind of hard to have a seminar class/activity. The other option would be to have a theme and then allow people to pick their own book and reference it in a discussion about the theme, but that is a little sophisticated and difficult to pull off IMO. It is hard enough to keep discussions on track about one book. </p>
<p>I just have to read a book for a specific seminar I'm doing that's part of a larger program.</p>
<p>Vassar's incoming freshmen are reading In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien. He will be speaking at Vassar in the fall.</p>
<p>Last year the freshmen read Shalimar the Clown by Salmon Rushdie who was the visiting author.</p>
<p>NYT: Summer Reading Programs Gain Momentum for Students About to Enter College</p>
<p>
[quote]
Summer reading programs straddle the book-club phenomenon, in which people enjoy talking about books, not critically, and academic reading, which students approach very differently, said Barbara Fister, a librarian at Gustavus Adolphus. I think summer books used to be more for self-understanding and individual growth, and lately theyve shifted more into global understanding.</p>
<p>This years hands-down winner seems to be Tracy Kidders Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, an account of a single-minded doctors fight against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Haiti, Peru, Cuba and Russia. It is the pick this year at, among others, Gustavus Adolphus, Carleton College, the University of Florida, Illinois Wesleyan University, Skidmore College, Syracuse University, Baruch College and Fort Lewis College.</p>
<p>Other popular choices have been The Things They Carried, Tim OBriens short stories about a American soldiers experience in Vietnam; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddons tale of an autistic teenager; and The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseinis story of Afghanistans political turmoil and the immigrant experience in America.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>"High school reading lists get a modern makeover" - what students are reading this summer:</p>
<p>link to article:
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0808/p13s01-legn.html?s=hns%5B/url%5D">http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0808/p13s01-legn.html?s=hns</a></p>
<p>Brown Freshmen are reading "How Proust Can Change Your Life." They are to write a letter describing their reactions to the book and email it to their academic advisers by next week. They will have seminar discussions during orientation. The interesting (funny?) thing is that since Brown doesn't have any requirements, they pretty much asked students to read it by saying that 60 administrators and faculty were also reading it and it would be great if everyone else read it too! D read it and really enjoyed it.</p>
<p>First year Hendrix College students are asked to read "Warriors Don't Cry" by Beals. It's about the integration of Little Rock's Central High. A few years ago I remember a story in Time or Newsweek about what books colleges were having their incoming students read over the summer and discovered a great book, "Confederates in the Attic." So, now I use these stories as a list of books for myself.</p>
<p>Chapman U assigned "Field Notes from a Catastrophe" and its Dodge College of Film required all declared majors to make a 2-minute video about themselves to introduce each other; stipulating that you couldn't appear in the video. If a student can't get the equipment at home, they'll make a camera available during orientation, but S did his.</p>
<p>For my son's freshman year at Roanoke the freshman had to read Persepolis. They were mailed the books by the college during the summer. I was just looking on-line to see what this years book was and an article that popped up said it that it was the same book. I don't know if that was a typo or not. This article <a href="http://blogs.roanoke.com/campuswatch/archives/in_the_classroom/schools_out_for.html%5B/url%5D">http://blogs.roanoke.com/campuswatch/archives/in_the_classroom/schools_out_for.html</a> also has a link to a list of books that colleges are using for freshman reading and a list of colleges that have required reading.</p>
<p>Our HS has required reading for AP and honors English classes. A twist on the honors English books are that the students read 4-8 books depending on the teachers assignment and then are tested the first day on one of the books. And they don't know which book until they are handed the test.</p>
<p>That's priceless! They have to read a comic book?</p>
<p>(I loved Persepolis, and I love graphic novels. But you are not going to convince me that standards aren't eroding.)</p>
<p>Amherst sends out a rather large packet, not a reading assignment, to all freshman, with excerpts from novels, articles etc., that freshman are supposed to read, usually about diversity or cultural and/or international understanding. This is used as the basis for group discussion during orientation, to let the kids get to know one another better.</p>
<p>It seems that the books selected for summer reading would make for a nice reading list for all us parents here.</p>
<p>"EK--The Glass Castle is the summer reading choice for the college I work at this year!"</p>
<p>Do you work at MOravian?</p>
<p>No, though my sister lives real near it! :) I work at a college in NJ, but I think that the Glass Castle is a very popular choice for prefrosh readings.</p>
<p>"No, though my sister lives real near it! I work at a college in NJ, but I think that the Glass Castle is a very popular choice for prefrosh readings."</p>
<p>That's what ZG had to read and she adored it. I kind of think it was a lovely choice for young folks heading to a nice private school.</p>
<p>I think that is probably so; on the other hand, the school i work at is full of kids who've gone through hell to get here--I'm not sure it was the right choice for them. I'll find out as I'll be leading an orientation group discussion on it.</p>
<p>JHS--your knock on a poster's kid's school for using Persepolis was unkind and unwarranted (and unworthy of you.) Maybe where you went to college they had summer reading assignments for incoming frosh, but in the rest of the world, when i was in college, no one had these assignments. So how can you maintain that standards are "eroding", when this standard didn't even exist in the past at all? To knock a school for assigning something not quite "weighty" enough, when it's meant as an incoming bonding experience, not a credit-bearing class, seems unfair. </p>
<p>Perhaps you'd be happier if they'd assigned Ulysses, but I bet somehow these students reading Persepolis (which is pictured in the NYT article as well) will somehow soldier on and learn something, even with a " comic book."</p>
<p>I was suprised about Persepolis too but after reading it, I had a new appreciation of graphic novels. In fact, I am the buyer of adult graphic novels for our library. Adult graphic novels are a far cry from the Archie comic books I grew up with or the Batman ones that my husband read. The better, political ones can somehow convey very complex information differently and somehow better then a standard book. Smith (as mentioned earlier) is reading Persepolis this year and Carleton read it last year so there must be something to it. It sort of reminded me of The Kite Runner.</p>
<p>I think it's actually a more intense book then The Glass Castle, which I loved.</p>