Reading with Style discussion

Post your questions about Back to School here.

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

For 10.8, do we have to read a book from each list or just one book form any of the lists?

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "For 10.8, do we have to read a book from each list or just one book form any of the lists?"

Jayme your answer can be found in the 10.8 task thread.

Sorry, I put my question in the wrong thread.

Would science include science fiction if the book has a strong connection to science? Here's the book I'm thinking of:

The Scorch Trials

Thanks

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Sorry, I put my question in the wrong thread."

No worries, just trying to keep things tidy, so I only have one place to look to remember how I answered task questions :D

Ok, so what books are you thinking about for some of these subjects?

Math, Science, Government, Psychology ....

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Ok, so what books are you thinking about for some of these subjects?

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

I've started looking through the 1001 Book list for ideas, but haven't gotten very far.

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

We had a task a couple of challenges back that had us reading about a forensic scientist. (Looked and looked for this, I see it was before we became our own group.) I'm guessing this is the sort of thing that would work for the Science category.

I think Susan Vreeland usually writes with a specific painting in mind, so perhaps her books would work for the 15.8 Art, Music, Dance.

Have you seen my message #5 above? I am wondering if I will be able to fit some YA books in this section. No worries if not.

Karen, I was sort of waiting for Rebekah to speak up here. But as far as I know, the semi-restriction on YA applies to all of our tasks, that is, with a Lexile below 700, no style points.

Here's my tentative list:

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

Karen GHHS wrote: "Have you seen my message #5 above? I am wondering if I will be able to fit some YA books in this section. No worries if not."

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.

Thanks for all the answers so far. I'll wait to hear what Rebekah has to say and in the meantime, I've remembered that The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie series had chemistry in it, so I might go with that. I'm curious if science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, etc. fit the spirit of the task because so much of the YAs I need to keep up on are series and genre type books.

I'm thinking of The Solitude of Prime Numbers for 15.1

15.8 Gym/Health is the one I'm having the most trouble finding a book for. Any suggestions?

Some random ideas for Health-related:

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

Gym/sports related lists:

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

I found one I plan to use:
Last Days of Summer Updated Ed

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions might be a good one for the math subject if anyone is interested. Cryptonomicon would also fit, for those feeling ambitious!

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

The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse is another good one. I think she wrote a book about physics too.

There's another math heavy book I've read this year, but I can't remember it right now.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karen, I was sort of waiting for Rebekah to speak up here. But as far as I know, the semi-restriction on YA applies to all of our tasks, that is, with a Lexile below 700, no style points."

agreed

Joanna wrote: "Here's my tentative list:

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.

Karen GHHS wrote: "Would science include science fiction if the book has a strong connection to science? Here's the book I'm thinking of:

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.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think Susan Vreeland usually writes with a specific painting in mind, so perhaps her books would work for the 15.8 Art, Music, Dance."

Also books by Tracy Chevalier such as The Lady and the Unicorn and Girl with a Pearl Earring

Rebekah wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think Susan Vreeland usually writes with a specific painting in mind, so perhaps her books would work for the 15.8 Art, Music, Dance."

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!

Karen GHHS wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think Susan Vreeland usually writes with a specific painting in mind, so perhaps her books would work for the 15.8 Art, Music, Dance."

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

Thank you for the lists Rebekah. I keep forgetting how nebulous "literature" and "classic" are -- I know it when i see it, so surely everyone else sees it the same way? ;)

Rebekah wrote: "When you post, tell which list you used. Remember the 100 page rule and the Lexile Score rule of 790 still holds..."

Lexile rule is 700, I think Rebekah hit the wrong key.

Oh, shoot --- I have to say to myself, "be careful what you wish for" on this one. I was hoping for some designation on Goodreads, because I was hoping to fit in the new Murakami and some others that I consider literary and the kind of books that would be my recommended "treasures" to be taught in school (but I don't want to start any controversy,--just my opinion). I'll be able to find some choices from the lists, though, and I'm sure that will be a lot clearer for approving tasks. Thanks, Rebekah for figuring out and posting so quickly some lists that would work!

I just want to say another big thank you to the moderators for their hard work and help on all of the tasks for the challenge!

Another question, --sorry,
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!

I think I missed something. Exactly how would Murakami not be considered literature?

Because of the nebulous nature of "literature taught in school" I asked about possible more specific ways to know our books would be accepted, rebekah posted some lists for us to now use for the literature and world literature tasks. Some murakami books are there, but not his new one 1Q84. I put it in world languages as a translation. It doesn't come out here until the end of October and its huge, so Iay have to save it for the winter challenge anyway!;)

I am a little worried that the solution to my question may cause problems for those members who have already chosen their books for these tasks, though,

It does seem a rather limited list given the original nature of the task, but hardly my decision and I don't choose books based on this group anyway. I look for where the books I am already reading fit in. I suppose that I can always add a book to the goodreads list anyway. ;)

These are the books that I have lined up so far:
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.

Here's my plans. I'm liking this subchallenge because I can fit in all of my assigned books using it.

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

For world literature, these lists seem really heavy on the western canon front, to the exclusion of great works of Eastern literature. Are we restricted to these lists or are they a guideline?

Would this work for anthropology? Search: A Novel of Forbidden History Based on this review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... it seems to fit.

What about this for music? It is fiction about the hiphop industry. Platinum

Is this ok for gym? Sensei: A Thriller

Karen GHHS wrote: "Another question, --sorry,
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.

Okay, Karen, Deane and Joanna and everyone else. Gee, this is a lot harder than it looks! Glad I'm not a judge on the bench!
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..... "

Hey maybe reading that super long post above should count as reading a book! (smile)

Karen GHHS wrote: "Oh, shoot --- I have to say to myself, "be careful what you wish for" on this one. I was hoping for some designation on Goodreads, because I was hoping to fit in the new Murakami and some others th..."

The first list was from Goodreads. is that what you meant?

Rachel Lee wrote: "Would this work for anthropology? Search: A Novel of Forbidden History Based on this review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... it seems to fit.

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!

Joanna wrote: "For world literature, these lists seem really heavy on the western canon front, to the exclusion of great works of Eastern literature. Are we restricted to these lists or are they a guideline?"

Should we have seperate lists for World Literature?

Joanna wrote: "For world literature, these lists seem really heavy on the western canon front, to the exclusion of great works of Eastern literature. Are we restricted to these lists or are they a guideline?"

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!

itpdx wrote: "These are the books that I have lined up so far:
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

Rhea wrote: "Here's my plans. I'm liking this subchallenge because I can fit in all of my assigned books using it.

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?

Has anyone read God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs That Changed History by Stephen Hawking or The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity by Amir D. Aczel? I actually have the Stephen Hawking book available but it looks pretty hefty and wondered if it was interesting enough to get through to the ending. The second book i'd like to read but I'd have to hunt it down.

Another good philosphy choice is Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder