The Reading Page

Put yourself on a reading program.
Pick a starting level and just get going. I have put together a list of 10 books to get you all started. They range from very easy to easy to moderate. In fact, good ole Rip Van Winkle has the most robust vocabulary of them all. Read with a dictionary beside you.  They are are worthy of your time. Start the process. The number one skill that college kids lack is the ability to handle complex reading. Reading that makes them work a bit. Have some fire in the belly to get these books done. Then we will move on from here. Join the conversation. Reading can increase the quality of your life and the quality of the life of those around you.

 First 10 Books to Read


Title
Author
Comment


1
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Laura Joffe Numeroff
The first step.


2
Lyddie
Katherine Paterson
What was Lyddie's first book?


3
Anthem
Ayn Rand
The first of four Ayn Rand books we will read.


4
The Little Prince
Antoine de St. Exupery
Become a kid again.


5
Flatland
Edwin Abbott
Can be found online for free.


6
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
The greatest father in the history of literature.


7
Charlotte's Web
E.B. White
Friendship


8
Rip Van Winkle
Washington Irving
We'll read about the headless horseman after this.


9
Frindle
Andrew Clements
What's a frindle?


10
Silas Marner
George Eliot
Must read.



Second 10 Books to Read

Title
Author
Comment


1
If You Give a Pig a Pancake
Laura Joffe Numeroff
 

2
Lily's Crossing
Patricia Reilly Giff



3
Tuck Everlasting
Natalie Babbitt



4
My Antonia
Willa Cather



5
Sarah, Plain and Tall
McClachlan



6
Anne of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery



7
Call of the Wild
Jack London



8
I, Dred Scott
Sheila Moses



9
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle



10
The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexander Dumas






January 2011

Title
Author
Comment
1
Kite Runner
Hosseini Khalid
Recommended
2
Dune
Frank Herbert
Painful. Was glad when it was over. How can it be so highly rated? I'm in the minority on this.
3
Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, The Prodigal Son
Dean Koontz
Held my interest, but ... it's a series and the ending was not complete.
4
Little House in the Woods
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Cleaning up books that I should have read long ago.
5
Dragonfly in Amber
Diana Gabaldon
2nd book in the series. Will likely pick up the 3rd in awhile.
6
Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity
John Stossel
John Stossel gets it. Back up by numerous examples. Big government monopolies hurt us, they do not help us.
7
Gone Tomorrow
Lee Child
Another Reacher.  Reacher rules.
8
The Federalist Papers
Hamilton, Madison, Jay
Hamilton had it all wrong! Thank God for Jefferson.
9
I, Dred Scott
Sheila Moses
A short fictional, but historically accurate, account of Dred Scott's life. Worth reading.
10
Watership Down
Richard Adams
An enjoyable tale.
11
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
42
12
Lily's Crossing
Patrica Reilly Giff
An excellent story. I enjoyed it very much. Should be a must for middle schoolers.

February 2011

Title
Author
Comment
1
Split Second
David Baldacci

2
Crispin, The End of Time (In progress ... )
Avi

3
We the Living (In progress ... )
Ayn Rand
3/4 done - then I CD gave me trouble. May need to finish it the traditonal way.
4
Persuader
Lee Child
Another Reacher. Making my way through all of them.
5
What's So Great About America (In progress)
Dinesh D'Souza

6
Voyager (not yet started yet)
Diana Gabaldon
The Outlander saga continues. Probably will spill into March.
7



8



9



10



11



12



 





 
Jim's Life List of Fiction Books
Author
Title
Level
Published
Comment
Unknown
Beowulf


Just think that it needs to be part of your package.
Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart



Issac Asimov
I Robot


I read it twice. Being a CS major, it must be part of my package. I've got Asimov's Foundation series queued up.
Sherwood Anderson
Winesburg, Ohio


Maybe I did not give this the attention it deserves. Often listed among the best. Not for me.
Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale


A futuristic society where the state controls too much - Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea .... stop the USA from moving in that direction.
Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice


Set in the early 1800s. A bunch of English girls worry about getting married. Gives us an insight about life back then. Not a favorite, but it held my interest for the most part. It adds a tile to my mosiac as I try to understand the world -- past and present. I add that you should read it, because it is part of the general conversation.
Jane Austen
Emma


Emma is no Jane Eyre. More match making in England around the 1800s.
Jane Austen
Persuasion



L. Frank Baum
The Wizard of Oz


I am very glad to have read this. Somewhat different than the movie.
Natalie Babbitt
Tuck Everlasting


Worth the time. Life is full of choices. What would you do?
Judy Blume
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret


Once is enough for me.
Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451


Guy Montag gets it! He figures it out.

Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre


Mandatory reading.
Emily Bronte
Wuthering Heights


Twice read. Difficult for me to rate very highly. However, it is part of the conversation, so you've got to read it. Maybe it reasonates with you?
Pearl S. Buck
The Good Earth


Must read. What a great piece of work. The book will fill you up.
John Bunyan
Pilgrim's Progress


Consider when it was written. It will not be hard to read this one.
Albert Camus
The Stranger


I think I need to re-read this again.
Albert Camus
The Plague


This one too.
Eric Carle
The Very Hungry  Caterpillar


Read it and flip the pages to a pre-schooler.
Willa Cather
O Pioneers!



Willa Cather
My Antonia


Just great. I've read it twice now. Yes. A big yes. Willa can tell a story. Stay with it. Not all books need to have glitz and glamour.
Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote


Started to wear on me a bit. But, I am glad I stuck with it.
Lee Child
Running Blind


Jack Reacher to the rescue.
Lee Child
Gone Tomorrow


"I do not want to be educated, I want to be entertained."
Lee Child
Persuader


Another Reacher. He does the right thing.
Lee Child
The Enemy


Can I be like Jack Reacher?
Lee Child
One Shot


Good ole Jack Reacher. What a guy.
Lee Child
Bad Luck and Trouble


More Jack.
Lee Child
Nothing to Lose


Reacher rules.
Lee Child
Worth Dying For


A nice relief from academic novels. Go Jack Reacher.
Andrew Clements
Frindle


I really enjoyed Frindle.
Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness


The original source for the movie Apocolypse Now. Only it was an African river not a Vietnamese River.
James Fennimore Cooper
The Last of the Mohicans


La Longue Carabine. This book grows on me. I watched the movie after I read the book. The other Hawkeye based books are on my must read list.
Stephen Crane
The Red Badge of Courage


Short book. If you can get a young person to stick with it that would be good. War is never pretty.
Sharon Creech
Walk Two Moons


Coming to grips when things go wrong. A terrific book.
Roald Dahl
The BFG



Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


Near the end, Dahl makes a plea -- through Willie Wonka --- that kids read more. How right he is! Turn the gadgets off. Turn the brain on.
Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe


This book is in the conversation. Get a copy and move yourself through it.
Kate DiCamillo
Because of Winn Dixie



Charles Dickens
Tale of Two Cities


Sidney Carton. What a guy.
Charles Dickens
Great Expectations


Pip and Gargery.
Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist


Making my way through Dickens.
Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol


Don't just settle for watching the movie. Always a favorite.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crime and Punishment


When I read this in college, I could not put it down. I will make time to read it again.
Alexander Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo


An absolute must.
George Eliot
Silas Marner


Everybody needs to read this book.
William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury


Once I got the idea I could follow it. It deserves a re-reading some day.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby


I do not feel this book. Listed by many as one of the greats Hmmm.
Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary


Read it when I was a lot lot younger. Need to give it another shot.
Sid Fleischman
The Whipping Boy


Kind of a Prince and a Pauper type situation.
EM Forster
A Passage to India


Ok I guess. Just did not fill me up like many other books have.
Diana Gabaldon
Outlander


Really enjoyed it. Will need to read the next in the series. Highly recommended.
Diana Gabaldon
Dragonfly in Amber


Two down.
William Golding
Lord of the Flies



Bette Greene
Summer of My German Soldier



Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles


The classic double standard. I am so glad that I read this book. What took him so long?
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter



Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms


I struggle to enjoy Hemingway. Very difficult for me to enjoy him.
Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea



Robert Heinlein
Stranger in a Strange Land



Frank Herbet
Dune


Am I missing something? Help me out here. Why is this on so many people's list? The best that I can say is that I completed it and I have now checked it  off of my list.
Herman Hesse
Siddhartha


Another mandatory read.
S.E. Hinton
The Outsiders


Another wonderful elementary/middle school book.
Victor Hugo
Les Miserables


Probably the greatest hero in the history of literature. Do not let your life pass by without reading this. Make the time.
Victor Hugo
The Hunchback of Notre Dame


Books will outlast buildings. Hugo makes this point. But the book will fill you up. Quasimodo rocks.
Irene Hunt
Across Five Aprils


Yes! Learn a bit of history. Learn how people felt about their education.
Aldous Huxley
Brave New World


You can read this with five other books on this list and have a futuristic extravaganza.
James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man


Well, I got through the first reading. Will make a second pass. There is more there, but I did not give it a fair shake.
Daniel Keyes
Flowers for Algernon


Read it when I was a kid. Saw the movie too.
Hossein Khalid
Kite Runner


I enjoyed this book. It would be worth reading.
Arthur Koestler
Darkness at Noon


So, what always happens when the revolutionaries take over. Still, important for us all to read.
Dean Kootz
Breathless



John Knowles
A Separate Peace


I hated the book in high school. Thirty years later --- the book filled me up. Just great.
E.L. Konigsburg
The View from Saturday


Very nice.
Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird


Atticus is the greatest father in the history of literature. I have read it three times. Just perfect.
Madeleine L'Engle
A Wrinkle in Time



C. S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe


I think the whole series is somewhat over rated.
C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian



C.S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader



C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair



C.S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy



C.S. Lewis
The Magician's Nephew



C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle


Yikes!
Jack London
Call of the Wild


Buck. Just need to read the darn thing.





Lois Lowry
The Giver


Not a favorite.
Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah, Plain and Tall


A nice little book.
Patricia MacLachlan




Yann Martel
Life of Pi

2001

Herman Melville
Moby Dick


You'll get a lesson on all the kinds of whales there are in the world.





Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman



Phyllis Naylor
Shiloh



 
 








Margaret Mitchell
Gone with the Wind



Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables


Must read for any human being. We all need a bit of Anne Shirley within us.
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anne of Avonlea



Lucy Maud Mongomery
Anne of the Island



Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita


Yikes. Painful for me to read.
Laura Joffe Numeroff
If You Give a Pig a Pancake


This is where it all starts. Read all three of them out loud.
Laura Joffe Numeroff
If you Give a Mouse a Cookie



Laura Joffe Numeroff
If You Give a Moose a Muffin



George Orwell
1984


Let's hope O'Bama doesn't continue to push our great country in this direction.
George Orwell
Animal Farm


Napoleon and Snowball. Hugo Chavez should read this book.
Katherine Paterson
Lyddie


Very nice. Lyddie figures it out. Reading is so very important to the quality of your life.
Katherine Paterson
The Great Gilly Hopkins


I struggled with this at first, but I hung with it and I am glad I did.
Katherine Paterson
Bridge to Terabethia


Excellent book. Gosh. I think Katherine Pateson has got it going.
Gary Paulson
Hatchet



Gary Paulson
The Tent



Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar


All books are not meant to entertain. Some are meant to inform.
Richard Peck
A Year Down Under



Chaim Potok
The Chosen



Annie Proulx
The Shipping News


By the end of the book, I was sold on it. I needed to be patient with it, but it did wear well.
Mario Puzo
The Godfather


I was glued to the book before I watched the movie. Shows you how old I am.
Ayn Rand
Anthem


I just think all young people need to read Ayn Rand. It starts with this little book.
Ayn Rand
Fountainhead


Roark. Howard Roark.
Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged


She calls them looters. Ayn Rand has got it right. Mandatory reading.
Wilson Rawls
Where the Red Fern Grows


Everybody should know exactly where the red fern does grow.
Erich Remarque
All Quiet on the Western Front


War is hell - no matter what side you are fighting for.
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone



J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets



J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire



J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban



J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince



J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and



Ivy Ruckman
The Night of the Twisters



Louis Sachar
Holes



Antoine de Saint Exupery
The Little Prince


Do not grow up too fast. Adults need to come back to this book every now and then.





J.D. Salinger
Catcher in the Rye


Holden Caulfield. Part of the conversation, Am glad I read it, but I am not eager to read it again.
Sir Walter Scott
Ivanhoe


Cedric the Saxon is Ivanhoe father.  Read it in 9th grade. Re-read it recently. Most young people would find it too dry. Not me. This book is part of the conversation. Read it.
Anne Sewell
Black Beauty


From the point of view of the horse.
William Shakespeare
MacBeth


What happens when your initiative, ego, and pride drive you too far. Not to mention the pushy wife.
William Shakespeare
Othello


Sometimes we believe the ones we trust a bit too much.
Willam Shakespeare
King Lear



George Bernard Shaw
Pygmalion



Mary Shelly
Frankenstein


You need to read the book. Do not settle for the movie.
Jerry Spinelli
Maniac Magee


Reading these 4th grade books now has been great. Where was I in 4th grade? Newbury award winner. Newbury has never failed me.
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men



John Steinbeck
The Pearl


Steinbeck starts with this book.
John Steinbeck
East of Eden


Wow. Intense reading. I am glad to have read this book. Now I get to see why Steinbeck is rated so highly.
John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath


Get a glimpse of the how folks struggled in the day. Another important book.
Robert Lewis Stepheson
Kidnapped



Robert Lewis Stevenson
Treasure Island



Jonathan Swift
Gulliver's Travels


In one of his travels, Gulliver goes to the land of smart horses. I liked this part of the book the most.
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit


Bilbo Baggins is my favorite in this series. Of the four books, this one is my favorite.
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Rings



J.R.R. Tolkien
The Two Towers



J.R.R. Tolkien
The Return of the King



Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina


Russian gentry. Get a sense of how life was like through the eyes of Anna and all the others.
Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace


Not many people make it through this book. I now have a much better understanding of Napoleon than I did before. Russia gentry.
Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer



Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn



Virgil
The Aeneid



Voltaire
Candide



Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse Five



Evelyn Waugh
Brideshead Revisited



Elie Weisel
Night



Edith Wharton
Ethan Frome


Didn't like it in high school. Not much fun as an adult either.
Edith Wharton
Age of Innocence



E. B. White
Charlotte's Web


Good ole EB White.
E. B. White
Stuart Little



Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie


Yes. Just a short investment in time. Gets you to appreciate how spoiled we are now.
Virginia Wolff
To the Lighthouse


Listed as one the all-time greats. One needs to be in the mood to listen to it. An academic exercise. I'm glad that it is over. The plot is
seemingly not the important issue. Rather, introspective thinking by a variety of characters occurs. As the reader, you get a chance to listen to what people are thinking about as the novel unfolds. Do not expect an adventure per se. The author operates on another level. She is enamoured with her own ability to break down her own private thoughts and, as such, embues her characters with this ability. To me the author must be in a funk. Most of the characters are not happy people. The are unable to enjoy life. They are too busy thinking about little stuff and they are too busy being selfish. Just my opinion.  I am checking this book off of my list and I am not likely to ever go back to it. Life is too short.  Thank God Lily finally finished her painting.
Stuart Woods
L.A. Dead



Stuart Woods
Orchid Beach


I like Holly Barker more than I like Stone Barrington.
Stuart Woods
Fresh Disasters



Stuart Woods
Hothouse Orchid


More Holly Barker.
Stuart Woods
Hot Mahogany



Stuart Woods
Dirty Work