What books do you love?

I was thinking how reading is so incredibly important towards our academics, but also, towards the enrichment of our lives.  And so I thought, why not start a thread where we can list some of our favorite reads.  If you don't read for pleasure, here is a list of books that others read for pleasure.  Maybe we can convert you to understanding how reading can be a truly enjoyable activity.

So I'll get this list started:

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Doestoyevsky
Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
Dispatches by Michael Herr
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad


Okay students, you're up.

Work for the week of Nov. 7th - Juniors

Franz von Stuck's Lucifer (1890).

Due Monday Nov. 7th, 2011

Please have a  draft ready for peer editing.

Due Wednesday Nov. 9th, 2011

Please print and read the "Elements of the Gothic Novel." You can find a link here. 

Please find and write up 10 examples of gothic influence in Melville's short stories.

Due Thursday Nov. 10th, 2011 

-Papers are due today.  You will be handing back your copies of Billy Budd as well.   

-Please find and write a COMPLETE definition of "film noir" and be sure to describe what makes this style different from 

other types of cinema.  Please do not cut and paste from the Internet.

Due Monday Nov. 14th, 2011

-Print and read the Cask of Amontillado.  Identify 10 gothic elements of this story.  Be sure to bring this story to class.

Work for the week of Nov. 7th - Freshmen

Due Monday Nov. 7th, 2011

Please have a perfect paragraph ready for peer editing.

Due Wednesday Nov. 9th, 2011

-Please bring in your corrected draft.
-Read Chapter One of 1984.  

To be completed in class:
-Write up the definition of the following terms: 

Proles, Big Brother, The Party, Telescreen, Thought Police, Two Minute Hate

-Answer the following questions for class:

What are Winston’s living conditions?

What is Winston’s occupation?

What is the inherent irony of the names of the Party’s ministries?

What is the motto of the Party?  What does it mean?

Due Thursday Nov. 10th, 2011
-Read chapters two and three of 1984.

-Continue defining terms: 

Thoughtcrime, the Junior Spies, the Golden Country, the Physical Jerks, Oceania, Eastasia, Eurasia

-Answer the following questions for class:

What are the Parson’s living conditions?

What is the significance of the word Shakespeare?

What is the history of the party?

Due Monday Nov. 14th, 2011

-Read chapters four and five. 

-Find a COMPLETE definition of propaganda.  Please write this definition in your own words.

-Please watch the following videos in entirety and be prepared to discuss their contents, particularly their relation to propoganda.  The videos are linked below.

Anti-Communist Cartoon

Anti-Hitler Cartoon

Anti-America Cartoon (This video is not in English but is valuable to our discussion.  Please watch it in its entirety.)

Extra Credit - Freshmen and Juniors

Please read the following story, "Patriotism" by Yukio Mishima.  Comment on this post to receive credit.

Freshmen - Please comment on this story based upon its discussion of confomity to society's standards.  How does this story make you feel?  Are the general and his wife choosing the correct course of action?  Why or why not?

Juniors - Please comment on this story based upon our discussion of rebellion and mutiny.  Is the general an honorable character or a victim of a tragic incident?  Who is the narrator of this story?  Why is it important to consider who is telling this story?

Fall Back Spring Forward

Ladies and Gentlemen, this weekend, at exactly 2 A.M. on Sunday November 6th, 2011.

Please be sure to change your watches, alarm clocks, cell phones, iPods, and microwaves accordingly.

Summer is officially over.  Here comes the cold...

Songs from Show Don't Tell

Freshmen - Here is a list of the songs that we've listened to and some recommendations of other songs to listen to based upon your interest.

Múm - I'm 9 Today

The Zombies - Summertime

Other songs by The Zombies: She's Not There, Time of the Season, Care of Cell 44

Refused - Tannhauser/Derive

Other songs by Refused - New Noise, Liberation Frequency, Blind Date

1 Mile North - In 1983 He Loved to Fly

Grandaddy - A.M. 180

Other songs by Grandaddy - Hewlett's Daughter, the Crystal Lake, Laughing Stock 

Enjoy!

Extra Credit for Juniors

Please comment on the following podcast for extra credit.  Try to connect the discussion of human morality to whether or not we are inherently good, evil, or some strange amalgam of both:

Listen here Morality - Radiolab