Which one of these books would you rather read and why?

Question

I have to read one of them for the Summer Reading program:
-Black Walter by Joyce Carol Qates
-Collapse: How societies Choose to Fail or Suceed by Jared Diamond
-In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
-Lord of the Flies by William Golding
-Lost in the Amazon by Stephen Kirkpatrick
-My sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
-Native Son by Richard Wright
-Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
-Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
-The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
-The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
-The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
-The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
-Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

Answer 1

In the TIme of the Butterflies! It is one of my favorite books. It is about four sisters, three of whom work for the underground freedom movement in the D.R. They are heroes, but they are also real characters that you can relate to. The story has action and intrigue, but also romance. It's such a page-turner! Although this book is a work of fiction, it is based on actual events and actual persons, which makes it even harder to put down.

Don't get the movie though, it was terrible and had none of the spirit of the book!

Answer 2

Try Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The World is Flat is an extremely thick i.e. long book and every teacher can tell if you actually read Lord of the Flies or watched the movie and copied from there. Same thing goes for Snow Falling on Cedars. The Poisonwood Bible is also long. The Life of Pi is pretty short. HTH, good luck!!!

Answer 3

My Sister's Keeper was my FAVORITE book of 2005... Lord of the Flies is timeless, classic. You HAVE to read Of Human Bondage, again classic then you'll need to read all of Maughm.
I've heard good thing re: Tomorrow when War.... The next bunch are great books, but they're similar in that they're good and you'll like them a lot AFTER you've read them: Life of Pi, Snow falling on Ceders, The World is flat, Kite Runner, Poisonwood Bible. My Sister's Keeper is so great because besides being extremely well written, the protagonist (girl who's parents had her to essentially be a donor for their older daughter who's ill) is sarcastic and caustically funny, does not suffer fools well, has low tolerence for stupidity and it really makes you think about ethics and life itself. Is it better to be alive no matter why you're here? Do the ends justify the means? When do you cross the line when determining how far you'll go to save your children? it was great...

Answer 4

Although I like Lord of the Flies, Life of Pi and Kite Runner - I would pick My Sister's Keeper. Its an awesome book, easy to read and takes you on an emotional roller coaster throughout the book. The author tells the tale from every person in the books perspective, which was very interesting. Great book!

Answer 5

The Poisonwood Bible is good, but the first section is difficult to get through. Lord of the Flies, Native Son, and Of Human Bondage are all amazing.

Answer 6

None of them look that pleasant, but since it's "required" reading...

The only book I've read (from the list) is The Invisible Man. I actually read it "just for fun" a couple of years ago. I thought it was a very good book. I really admired Ellison's writing style. But since I was an English major, classics do go with the territory.

My word of advice, you can't always go by how thick or thin a book is. Or how recently it was written. I'd pick a few and browse before making any final decisions.

Answer 7

I don't know what grade you are in, but if the Lord of the Flies is on your list, you should consider selecting that one. Reading and discussing books really generates differing opinions, but I think this books shows the breakdown of civility to an amazing degree. How the need and will to survive, the social casting, and the urge to reign supreme exists in human nature no matter the age or public veneer. Even if you don't end up with this one, find time on your own to read it. It will definitely give you something to think about. Good luck.

Answer 8

I really enjoyed My Sister's Keeper and The Life of Pi. Both are well respected contemporary novels. If you're looking for a more classic piece then I would go with Lord of the Flies.

Answer 9

The Poisonwood Bible was great, but I liked Prodigal Summer better. Don't read Snow Falling on Cedars, but watch the movie.

Answer 10

I would strongly advise "Lord of the flies" by William Golding, because it is a book about ORDER and CHAOS. A group of boys is stranded on a desert island and try to survive. Some make rules according to their reason, others according to their instincts. What happens in this book looks very much like what we are experiencing at the moment and can help us see things more clearly and maybe take the right decisions.