GREEN MEADOW WALDORF SCHOOL OUTSIDE READING LIST GRADES 9 and 10 ❖ 2019-2020 REMINDERS: 1) Read as many plays as you wish, but choose only one for a book report. 2) If you choose to write on a work of literature not on this list, you must check with your English teacher first to receive approval. 3) Passing off a previously written book report, yours or someone else’s, will be considered a serious violation of academic ethics and will be dealt with sternly. ❖ FICTION AND BIOGRAPHY ❖ Winesburg, Ohio Anderson Collection of short stories depicting a small mid-western town early in the century. Things Fall Apart Achebe A modern Nigerian makes his way between timeless tradition and modern change. A Man of the People Achebe A young man experiences the inside track of the “People’s Leader” in an African country. A Long Way Gone (B) Beah Ismael Beah tells of his experience as a boy soldier, picked up at the age of 13 by the government army of Sierra Leone. The Exonerated Blank & The authors combine their interviews with people exonerated from (Play) Jensen death row with their own memoirs of how they explored these people’s stories to create a play from the material. Caleb’s Crossing Brooks A fine, well-textured story of early inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard, both white and Wampanoag, as the two cultures influence each other. Vividly set in the 1660s. The Tracker (B) Brown An autobiographical account of a boy who learns how to track animals and live Indian-wise and self-sufficient in the wilderness. Manchild in the Brown Account of a man who grows up in the heart of a NY city ghetto and Promised Land escapes to become an artist. My Antonia Cather An immigrant girl makes her way in the wilds of America’s Great Plains, among immigrants from other parts of the world. The Woman in White Collins A mystery novel set in England in the 19th century—with wild events, guilty secrets. Jungle Love (B) Corbett An autobiographical story of a famous naturalist and hunter that focuses on his knowledge and love of India. Her-Bak de Lubicz Set in ancient Egypt, the story of a young boy determined to learn about ancient mysteries. Hulabaloo in the Desai What happens in a village in modern India when Sampath decides to Guava Orchard live in a guava tree? A warm, bright, hilarious story poetically told. Great Expectations Dickens A classic tale of an orphan boy who becomes a gentleman. Collected Poems Dickinson As the poet herself said, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” These poems are guaranteed to loosen the lid of the mind. The Whistling Season Doig A delightful, humorous, and inspiring story set in Montana in the early 1900s. When a widow arrives to houseclean for a widower and his three sons, many kinds of learning ensue. I Rode with Douglas First-hand account of life with one of history’s greatest generals, Stonewall (B) “Stonewall” Jackson of the Civil War. My Family Durrell An amusing memoir about growing up on the island of Corfu and Other Animals (B) in the middle of an eccentric family. Zeitoun Eggers A gripping and informative book about Abdulrahman Zeitun, the Syrian-American owner of a contracting company in New Orleans who chose to ride out Hurricane Katrina rather than leave town with his family. The Master Butchers’ Erdrich German settlers in northeastern Minnesota after World War I find their Singing Club ways in the new World, while wrestling with strains of the old world. Chasing the Monsoon Frater This travelogue relates Frater’s experience of chasing the monsoons through Delhi, Calcutta, and across Bangladesh to the town where he was born, also the wettest town on earth. Collected Poems Frost A modern, down-to-earth New Englander’s straight-talking perspective on timeless events. Blood Knot Fugard Set in South Africa in the early sixties; two brothers—one light-skinned, (Play) one dark--feel the racial conflicts of their country come between them. Ellen Foster Gibbons A novel narrated in first person by the tough-spirited Ellen, who, on her own at a very young age, does her best to survive while trying to figure out the adults and problems around her. Heart-wrenching and funny. Two Riders of Giono The story of two brothers, peasants on the bleak high plateau of central The Storm France: one a wrestler, the other a champion horse rider. Will they be comrades or rivals in strength? Tiger at the Gates Giraudoux Borrows the basic setting of the Trojan War, but is a modern (Play) interpretation of man’s struggle against destiny. Autobiography of Grealy A local Spring Valley girl, coping with cancer of the jaw and thirty a Face (B) operations over twenty years, comes to understand Beauty. I Never Promised Green A young girl battles her own “demons” to find health. 2 You a Rose Garden Death Be Not Gunther A journalist’s chronicle of his son’s fiercely intrepid battle with Proud (B) cancer. The Big Sky Guthrie A mountain man traps beaver and lives with the Indians in the West during the 1830’s. Motoring With Hansen This travelogue tells of the adventure Hansen had in the late 1970s Mohammed after being shipwrecked on a desert island off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. The story tells of his incredible adventures with his taxi driver, Mohammed. Plainsong Haruf This beautifully crafted novel of small-town life set in eastern Colorado portrays two elderly, bachelor/brother farmers, a high school teacher looking for love, and a pregnant 12-year-old, whose lives intersect. A Bell for Adano Hersey A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel in the style of a documentary about a feisty Sicilian village taken captive during World War II. Green Was The Earth Heyerdahl A combination of memoir, botanical and historical exploration, and on the Seventh Day (B) pure adventure story. Heyerdahl tells the story that precedes his voyage of the Kon-Tiki, when he first visits the Polynesian Islands as a newlywed college student. Someone Knows Hill This impressive novel tells the story of an African woman from her My Name home through her enslavement on the Carolina coast, and her ensuing journey up to Boston, Nova Scotia, England, and finally home. A remarkable story. Lost Horizon Hilton A small group of Westerners finds Shangri-La, a village out of time in the Himalayas. Power Hogan In a potent story set in contemporary Florida, two young women of the nearly extinct Taiga tribe pursue their destinies in relation to the nearly extinct Florida panther. Soldier Boys Hughes The stories of two youths, one from Utah and one from Germany, who enlist in their respective armies during World War II. Toilers of the Sea Hugo An illiterate fisherman seeks to win the hand of a wealthy ship-owner’s daughter by rescuing her father’s unique boat from the rocks on which it foundered—facing terrible seas and a hidden danger in the depths. Enemy of the People Ibsen One idealistic man’s crusade for truth against Norwegian towns- (Play) people’s selfish motives. Halide’s Gift Kazan The story of Halide, who lives in Constantinople during the reign of 19th Century Sultan Abdul Hamid. Her father frees her from illiteracy by defying the edicts of the sultan and sending her to the American school for girls, where she becomes one of the first formally educated Turkish women in history. Historical fiction. 3 The Poisonwood Kingsolver Mix a southern American evangelist with the Congo’s fight for; Bible independence, and you have the recipe for poisonwood. Endurance Lansing The story of the year Shackleton and his men spent ice-locked in Antarctica. Sea Wolf London A well-educated, ship-wrecked journalist gets an education at sea on a seal hunter’s ship. This Side of McCann Richly written New York City story about homelessness, love, inter- Brightness racial marriage, sandhogs who dig tunnels, and the men who build skyscrapers. Angela’s Ashes McCourt The tragic and hilarious story of his growing up in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. The Member of McCullers Twelve-year-old Frankie Adams, with all the agony of dawning The Wedding puberty, completely misunderstands what it means to be a “member of the wedding.” A lyrical and poignant coming-of-age novel, a poetic portrait of adolescence. Born To Run McDougall The amazing true story of a number of the world’s best contemporary long-distance runners (hundreds of miles), including the best of all, the quiet, mysterious Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. The Crucible Miller Dramatizes the Salem witch hunts at the end of the 17th century. (Play) Death of a Miller Classic 20th century family drama. Salesman (Play) Empress Orchid Anchee Min This fine recent novel dramatically recreates the life of a Chinese country girl who ends up becoming Empress in the 1860s; historically valid, well rendered. Mercy Morrison A fine, vividly written novel by our only living Nobel novelist, Mercy is the multi-stranded tale of slavery in Maryland in the 1690s, interweaving native American, African, Dutch, and Portuguese strands potently; what writing! Never Cry Wolf Mowat Chronicle of a man’s extensive study of wolves in their native habitat. Miguel Street Naipaul The novel is made up of childhood stories experienced by the narrator. All of the stories are united by the location of Miguel Street in Port of Spain. Mutiny on the Bounty Nordoff/Hall Captain Bligh pushes Fletcher too far, in the South Pacific.