Why do we require summer reading?
 
        There are several reasons for it, but most simply, it is meant to encourage you to be and become readers -- people who read for pleasure. Summer reading is also assigned because the brain is a muscle, and like any other muscle, it must be exercised regularly to remain strong. Rather than letting your reading and critical thinking skills atrophy during summer vacation, summer reading helps them develop further. It also gives you exposure to books that may be helpful to have read before you get to college, the chance to read books of your own choice for course credit, and a way to pass the time on long road trips or lazy days at the beach this summer.
 

The Assignment:

                During summer vacation, all incoming or returning students at Fermi High School must read and take brief notes on a minimum of two books. Within certain guidelines, the choice of books is up to the student. Copies of the reading assignment will be distributed in class, and they will also be available at the Central Library, Barnes & Noble, Media Play, and Walden's bookstores. When you return to school next fall, you will be required to complete writing assignments based on your summer reading choices -- these assignments will be a substantial portion of your first-quarter grade in any English course you take!

        As you read your two (or more) books this summer, please take brief notes on two of the books to help yourself remember what happens and to prepare yourself for summer-reading projects next fall. Even brief notes will make them much easier! The format of the notes is up to you, but some suggestions include:
 

• Write quotations that seem to connect to the theme or meaning of the book, are generally noteworthy and meaningful, or that simply stand out as you read.
• Jot down information about ways in which the book is related to your own life, your experiences, or anything else you have seen or read.
• Make notes about the people or events in your books that prompt an emotional reaction from you, whether happy, sad, angry, confused, etc.
• Once you are finished, ask yourself: Is the ending of the book satisfactory? What are the implications of the ending and its effect on the main character(s)? Was the main character successful in overcoming adversity? Why or why not? How do you feel about that?
• Learn what you can about the author and their time period, then see if there are any connections between what you learned and what you see in the book.

• Read something you will enjoy. There are literally thousands of books you could select for your summer reading, so don't force yourself to read something you won't enjoy. You have the power to make a choice, so make it an interesting choice!
• Variety is good. Rather than just reading books that are very similar to what you have already read, try something different! A few genres you may want to explore include mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, humor, drama, short story collections, poetry collections, history, non-fiction essays, autobiography, and biography.
• Listen to the recommendations of people you trust. If a friend, parent, relative, or teacher who shares your taste in literature recommends a book they enjoyed, it will probably be worth reading. But don't make the mistake of reading a book you will not enjoy just because someone else said they liked it!
• Challenge yourself. It might be easier to read a simpler book, but you probably will not get much out of it, and you probably will not enjoy it as much as a more challenging work, either.
• Think about why you are reading the books you select. If you have a particular goal in mind (such as preparing for an honors-level course next fall or reading novels that will help you prepare for college), select works that will help you reach that goal.
• Understand that no book is right for every reader. If you determine that the content of a book is too simplistic, or too mature, or simply not interesting enough for you, then stop reading it and find something else to read!
• If you are taking an English course next year with particular reading expectations (such as Critical Writing or AP/UCONN), be sure that the books you read meet the higher criteria of the upper-level course.
• Do not select books that you have already read, or that you expect to read in a class you will be taking during the school year.
• No book will be enjoyable if you rush it! You can ruin even the greatest novel if you try to force yourself to read it during the weekend before school starts, so start your summer reading early and give yourself time to savor those books.

        Rather than give you a list of books to chose from, the English department has scoured the Web for sites that may help you find the books you want. Some of these sites include synopses (brief descriptions of the books), and some will organize books by specific categories, while others will simply list all of the books in alphabetical or chronological order. In addition to consulting these online sources, you may wish to consult book reviews published in newspapers or magazines. Good luck, and have fun!

Outstanding Books for the College-Bound
This is a great place to start. The books on this list will give you the opportunity to see yourself and the world in a new way, to reconnect with memories, and open doors to discovery, knowledge, adventure, and enchantment. Books on this site were selected according to a diverse assessment of readability, cultural and ethnic diversity, balance of points of view, contemporary and classical works, different genres, and availability. You can search for works in each of these categories:

• Fiction
• Biography
• Nonfiction
• Poetry

Modern Library's List of the Top 100 English-Language Novels of the 20th Century
Making a list of the 100 greatest books is bound to be extremely difficult. So when the editorial board of Modern Library came out with a list of the 100 greatest English-language novels of the 20th century, the list was met with considerable controversy. The books on this list are not meant to be considered the 100 greatest novels of all time, but simply one organization's list of the best of one century, and a great collection of novels from which to select.

Amazon.com's Best Books of the Century
Amazon may decide which books get placed on the list based on how many copies they have sold, but readership is sometimes a good way to measure the quality of a book. The most useful feature of this site is that all of the books on it are arranged by decade.

For incoming 9th and 10th graders:

If the books listed at the above sites are a bit too challenging, here are lists a number of recent award-winning books for and about teenagers, as selected by the American Library Association.

American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults
Each year, the ALA selects the eighty-four best new books for young adults, and the list is composed of works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and biography.

 
 

This page was created by Mr. Hauser for the English Department at Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield, Connecticut. Feel free to link to this site for educational purposes, but if you do, please let us know. This site was last updated June, 2004. <