I am tutoring a 17 yr old boy in English, and he asked me what authors or book he should read, to increase his reading and writing skills. The first thing that came to mind was The Great Gatsby because I read it when I was 17 and I loved the book. Do you this was good advice and can you recommend any other good books he should read?
2007-02-19 22:09:57 · 10 answers · asked by f_jayce 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
i wasn't blown away by that book, not the best author in my opinion. i would remcommend, catch 22, obviously catcher in the rye and the old man & the sea. three great books.
2007-02-19 22:15:04 · answer #1 · answered by pixoncoke 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not certified in English, but I will go off of my own experience. I love to read, and I hated that book in high school. You have to keep in mind that a 17 year old boy will think alot differently then a 17 year old girl, especially during the period you were 17. 1: What is his reading level? Did you do a BRI yet? If you assign a book outside his ability level, he could easily become fusterated. 2: He is a male. Many people would say that the Great Gatsby is a book that is more appealing to a female. Give him a list of choices and let him pick. When students have an active role in choosing the books they read, they will be much more successful. BTW, people above me mentioned Death of a Salesman and Catcher in the Rye. I loved both of those! Of Mice and Men is another good one.
2016-05-23 22:12:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nothing wrong with the GG but it's a bit dated and I never got much out of Catcher.
In the sci-fi or fantasy field might I suggest Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Quartet though he might think it's a bit "young" for him. He might take on "The Lord of the Rings" as well.
In Mervyn Peake's "Titus Groan" the villain starts as a 17 year old. It's a dark fantasy based on the Imperial Chinese court 80 - 100 years ago but there are no dragons and no magic. The series continues with "Gormenghast".
Another fine Le Guin book is "Malafrena" about a fictional country near Austria in the early 19th century and it's struggle for independence and a form of democracy. Hero Itale Sorde starts off as a young man of the minor local aristocracy. Not a fantasy, but a fine historical novel.
Rebecca West -"The Fountain Overflows" is worth reading.
Moby Dick - the greatest novel in English
Middlemarch - the greatest English novel
Pride and Prejudice
All the King's Men by Rob't Penn Warren
LA Confidential is a classic and based on real incidents
"A Town Like Alice" aka "The Legacy" by Nevil Shute is also based on real incidents. Shute was never the greatest writer in the world but this is probably his best work.
"The Wreck of the Mary Deare" by Hammond Innes is a good yarn
Nostromo by Conrad.
Some of the short stories by W. Somerset Maugham. Again a bit dated but there are a few gems among them.
The late Carl Sagan was a good writer and his non-fiction is worth reading. I've read "The Demon Haunted World" twice. It was one of his last books.
Difficult to go past the King James version of the Bible and Shakespeare as they are the foundation of Eng. Lit.
2007-02-20 00:33:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
F. Scott Fitzgerald fits into the literary cannon and as such the book was probably a good choice. If you are looking for authors of that period then you could try John Steinbeck or Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. A little later would be Philip K. Dick; try 'A Scanner Darkly' or 'The Man in the High Castle'.
2007-02-20 00:05:15 · answer #4 · answered by Dr No 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Great Gatsby is a wonderful book, and it still in the curriculum at many schools I believe. It would be a great choice, if he is into that type of story. Another suggestion could be, Animal Farm by George Orwell.
2007-02-20 00:46:07 · answer #5 · answered by paulapop14 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a great idea. If he really likes to learn I suggest, because this is a relatively short novel, to get the version on an audiobook with Frank Muller reading. His voice will absolutely carry you away. He is one of my favorites. I also suggest getting him to read Slaughterhouse-5 and then discussing the book because it may be too deep of a subjest for some to handle. Also try Treasure Island, Sherlock Holmes, Stephen King ( Get The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon or the Shining to start him off). It is important for young people to read the classics made for the young or they may never make it back to them in the future. Oh, I read The Catcherin the Rye as an adult, and I am sure I would have enjoyed it much more as a young adult.
2007-02-19 23:39:03 · answer #6 · answered by chicagonightowl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Er, that largely, and I do mean LARGELY depends on what kind of books he likes. If he's not interested in realistic fiction, he probably won't like it.
You could give him a page like this: http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/grtbloom.html , for example, and let him look through the lists of books so he can find one he likes for himself. There are lots of other lists of classics online, too, by the way.
And that way, you get no blame for picking out a book he didn't like. :)
2007-02-20 00:53:50 · answer #7 · answered by Multi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely Catcher in the Rye
2007-02-19 22:21:51 · answer #8 · answered by Gina C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could also recommend Charles Dickens-"Great Expectations" or Oscar Wilde-"The Portrait of Dorian Gray", maybe even James Joyce-"What Maisie Knew" or "Washington Square"(although Joyce can be really boring if you don't like his style, so ask him in advance). It depends very much on what kind of books he likes, so I suggest asking him and then decide according to that. Hope this helps. Good luck!
2007-02-20 00:23:34 · answer #9 · answered by Valeria M. 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it depends on people's taste.
2007-02-19 22:44:41 · answer #10 · answered by Analyst 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋