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FA11 Back to School Q&A
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
Jayme your answer can be found in the 10.8 task thread.
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
The Scorch Trials
Thanks
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
No worries, just trying to keep things tidy, so I only have one place to look to remember how I answered task questions :D
![Elizabeth (Alaska) | 13804 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1304966095p1/2026178.jpg)
Math, Science, Government, Psychology ....
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
Math, Science, Government, Psychology ...."
I'm just beginning to make some choices. Being a high school librarian, I need to keep up with my YA reading as well as the adult fiction I enjoy, so I'm hoping to fit some of those in this part of the challenge. I'll post some of my choices here, but I know most of you are more interested in adult titles. I found one for math that might be of interest to all:
Conned Again, Watson! Cautionary Tales of Logic, Math, and Probability
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
Math: Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession
Science: The Book about Blanche and Marie
Psychology: Portnoy's Complaint
Music: Doctor Faustus, The Unconsoled
Philosophy/Religion: The Name of the Rose
Art: What I Loved
![Elizabeth (Alaska) | 13804 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1304966095p1/2026178.jpg)
![Elizabeth (Alaska) | 13804 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1304966095p1/2026178.jpg)
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
![Elizabeth (Alaska) | 13804 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1304966095p1/2026178.jpg)
![Joanna (walker) | 1796 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1195069470p1/620387.jpg)
Math: Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
Science: The World Without Us
History/Gov't: Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa
Psych: The White Hotel
Music: Harlem Summer [note: I couldn't find the lexile score for this, but I don't think it's eligible for style points anyway]
Gym: Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
YA is not prohibited. I looked at the specific book linked in message 5, but I am really terrible at deciding the non-obvious choices; hence asking Rebekah to moderate this section. (She was more lenient than I in some of the choices we discussed while hammering out this sub-challenge). If the book involves real science it fits. I couldn't tell from the synopsis what is the strong connection to science, but am willing to take your word for it.
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
![Deedee | 2161 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1339127316p1/346303.jpg)
15.8 Gym/Health is the one I'm having the most trouble finding a book for. Any suggestions?
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Plague
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
And the Band Played On
Bonk
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
Wintergirls
Eating Animals
Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth
Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century
Someone Like You
Vaguely relevant listopia lists:
Medicine and Literature
Eating Disorder Books
Nutrition
Teen Sex Ed
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
Top Reads for sports fans
YA Sports
Fictional Sports
Tennis
Basketball
Soccer
American Football
Sports History
And one book: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
![Paula | 163 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1245941896p1/1727075.jpg)
I also found the below site, which has a ton of books with math coming into the story. As a fore-warning, not all of the books are about math, some just mention something mathy.
http://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFI...
I'm wondering if "foundation" by Isaac Asimov would be acceptable?
FoundationFoundation
![whimsicalmeerkat](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1694383494p1/4763195.jpg)
There's another math heavy book I've read this year, but I can't remember it right now.
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
agreed
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
Math: Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
Science: The World Without Us
History/Gov't: Mukiwa: A Wh..."</i>
Sounds good! I'm reading [book:Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant now. When explains like how he can figure out math puzzles, I usually have to go back and re-read passages several times to picture it. He also talks about learning foreign languages which sort of ties into it.
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
The Scorch Trials
Thanks"
Karen, I can't tell if the book is about Science, Math or Health or all three? Sounds good though. I know we used lots of science fiction for the "in lab" task we had in the Spring and I think they should all work. examples;
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
The Chrysalids
Flowers for Algernon
Dune
In fact having the word scieince in science fiction should pretty much automatically make it acceptable
Many of the "health books" could fit science too.
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
Also books by Tracy Chevalier such as The Lady and the Unicorn and Girl with a Pearl Earring
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
Also books by [..."
Would books like Susan Vreeland's and Tracy Chevalier's also count for the literature tasks or are those considered popular fiction? By taught in school, do you want classics only? Is there anything else more specific we could use to make the determination?
Thanks!
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
A..."
I was wondering about that myself based on the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" or "What is literature anyway?"
How about we say read a book from one of these lists for the Literature categories. Remember one for your home country and one for World Lit.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/10...
http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/g...
http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html
This list I borrowed from Rhea. Now she can read another book from her list! (smile)
http://www.wannalearn.com/Classic_Lit...
http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/g...
When you post, tell which list you used. Remember the 100 page rule and the Lexile Score rule of 790 still holds
![Liz M](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1492377947p1/442382.jpg)
Rebekah wrote: "When you post, tell which list you used. Remember the 100 page rule and the Lexile Score rule of
Lexile rule is 700, I think Rebekah hit the wrong key.
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
I found two books of poetry I'd like to read on one of the lists, but both are under 100 pages. Could I read both of them to get to 100 pages even though they are by two different authors?
Howl and Other Poems
My House
Thanks!
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
![Karen Michele Burns (klibrary) | 5019 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1707404352p1/3582853.jpg)
![whimsicalmeerkat](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1694383494p1/4763195.jpg)
![Kathleen (itpdx) (itpdx) | 1613 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1432006099p1/558587.jpg)
15.1 – Math
15.2 – Science The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
15.3 – Literature (your country) The Age of Innocence
15.4 – World Literature Heart of Darkness
15.5 – History, Government, Philosophy, Religion Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
15.6 – Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology Blink
15.7 – Foreign Languages
15.8 – Art, Music, Dance Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
15.9 – Gym, Health Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
15.10 – Study Hall
I haven't yet checked the lists to see if my literature choices are there. I would say based on what my kids read in high school that what is taught in school is pretty broad--in a good way.
![Cassandra](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
Math: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Science: The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology or The Double Helix.
Literature: The Classic Slave Narratives
World Literature: In the Time of the Butterflies. Probably not on any of the lists, but I can vouch that it's assigned in schools because I've been assigned it.
Government: Second Treatise of Government
Psychology: Civilization and Its Discontents
Foreign Languages: Selections by Karl Marx
Music: The Marvelous Misadventures Of Sebastian
Health: Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death
Study Hall: Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There
![Joanna (walker) | 1796 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1195069470p1/620387.jpg)
![Rachel Lee (rlcwt9) | 27 comments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1255374672p1/2552905.jpg)
What about this for music? It is fiction about the hiphop industry. Platinum
Is this ok for gym? Sensei: A Thriller
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
I found two books of poetry I'd like to read on one of the lists, but both are under 100 pages. Could I read both of them to get to 100 pages even though they are by two ..."
Yes. I believe that is the usual rule.
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
Since the task requirements mentioned a book that would be taught in high school or college I tried to find lists that appeared to be lists really used by schools to assign in a literature class. Liz came up with more lists like the Pulitzers. I had even thought about adding the 1001 BTRBYD and any book by a Nobel author. I just thought having 12-15 lists would just go over the top. It could get out of hand so that it's almost not worth the effort and just say "anything goes". I was dreading having to judge a book as literature arbitrarily. Since tasks 10.8 and 20.6 had made a broad topic more narrow, I thought the number of lists and number of books on each list would give a wide range. But that would only be from my perspective.
I also thought that maybe using older books that have become tried and true like Pride and Prejudice and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn both of which were popular fiction in their time and even scoffed at by many other authors. Austen books were considered "fluff" by her peers.
So give me some ideas. Should we just do away with any lists and make it anything goes? Would Diary of a Wimpy Kid or The Satanic Verses or Texasville or Murder on the Orient Express or Never Let Me Go or The Kite Runner count? Should we even draw a line? What is the difference between "popular fiction and literature"?
I'm willing to take suggestions. Does someone have other lists we should use? Would using any school's required or suggested reading list work? Maybe that would make it more open. Or how about any book that has won a literature prize? If we did the latter, that would exclude most books written before the previous century which is where most of literature comes from. Or all of the above? Please tell me what you think.
I'm copying part of what Liz wrote me to this post as some more ideas. Hope she doesn't mind!
"I was think winners/nominees of the following:
http://www.powells.com/awards/
The literary awrds, minus "puddly"
plus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_P...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neustadt_In...
Do clunky and broad? As scorekeeper, I will require participants to provide the list/prize that qualifies the book.
Finding the optimal balance between freedom of choice and clear guidelines is so much trickier than I would have thought..... "
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
The first list was from Goodreads. is that what you meant?
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
What about this for m..."
All three would work. When I read the goodreads description of your anthropology book, I thought it was really more a science book but reading the review did help. It sounds like a book I'd really like to read. Now that we are writing reviews, you all are making me add books to my TBR list and here I thought these challenges would help me decrease it!
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
Should we have seperate lists for World Literature?
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
The Bloom's Canon had literature divided by countries and time periods. I thought every region was represented. Also the College Bound List as you scroll down as a wrold literature list and even Bio, science and drama lists. The website with the bloom's canon said Chinese lit was in a "whole other sphere" so it wasn't added but we could add a Chinese list. Since most of us are Westerners, there would probably we more reading English and European lit so that's why there would probably be more leaning this way, although I thought it had a good representation from around the world.
If you have a list that could give a broader scope, that would be great!
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
15.1 – Math
15.2 – Science The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
15.3 – Literature ..."
Both of your literature choices are on the lists
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
Math: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Science: [book:The Eighth Day of Cr..."
Does your school have an assigned reading list we could use?
![Rebekah (bekalynn)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1314923374p1/697922.jpg)
Another good philosphy choice is Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
Books mentioned in this topic
The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse (other topics)The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse (other topics)
And Be a Villain (other topics)
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (other topics)
This Is Your Brain on Music (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Amir D. Aczel (other topics)Stephen Hawking (other topics)
Jostein Gaarder (other topics)
Karl Marx (other topics)
Susan Vreeland (other topics)
More...
Subjects:
15.1 – Math
15.2 – Science
15.3 – Literature (your country)
15.4 – World Literature
15.5 – History, Government, Philosophy, Religion
15.6 – Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology
15.7 – Foreign Languages
15.8 – Art, Music, Dance
15.9 – Gym, Health
15.10 – Study Hall