From a small town in Utah, to Las Vegas, to the University of Idaho, back to Las Vegas and a few stops in between, I have been around. I've reached the age of 29 having had a lot of different jobs in different places. Somehow I have managed to keep my sense of humor and individuality. I have been able to maintain my small town ideals while experiencing the big, bad world. Some people even gave me some awards along the way, including being a national finalist in the SPJ's student awards and twice the first place Idaho Press Club student review writer. I was born on Halloween and have had an affinity for horror movies and books my whole life. Thankfully, I do read and watch other genres, too.

Summer reading, part two: 1984 and a secret

Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at 1:03 PM

Feel free to join in. I'm on page 282.

Sometimes one must change tactics in order to get things done.

Sam, my 13-year-old student, did not care for "The Catcher in the Rye." She stated it was boring and that nothing happened except that Holden, "complained a lot and was always hitting on girls." There is some validity in that statement. At least she somewhat understood what was happening, even if she thought it was nothing.

Since the entire purpose for me being here is to get her to read, I allowed her to set aside Salinger for another book. I gave her summaries of the other books on the list and let her choose.

She picked George Orwell's "1984" and read more in the first day than she did in three weeks of reading "The Catcher in the Rye."

There are common themes in these books: alienation and acting out against authority being the most obvious. They are also from the same post-WWII era. The protagonists each hope for a better world and struggle to make sense of the worlds they inhabit.

According to Sam, "more stuff happens" in 1984. That works for me. She is much more engaged in the material and is able to discuss it in an intelligent and thoughtful manner.

We should finish up in the next day or two and then she is off on her own adventure with other family members. The reading won't end. She has chosen to take "Treasure Island" with her. I told her not to expect Johnny Depp.

Even better than Sam finishing one of our books is that we discovered the sharing of books is not a one-way road. She gave me a copy of "The Name of This Book is Secret" by Pseudonymous Bosch. After going over what a pseudonym is (brought up again when discussing Orwell), I dove into the book and had a great time reading it. It's a middle ground between Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket. It is full of magic and mystery, kids who are too smart for their own good, and adults spanning the gamut from kindly old men to sinister strangers.

It is also the first in a series and kids seem to enjoy their serials these days. The best part about it, though, is that one of the major premises of the book is that the narrator is hiding the true identities of the protagonists. This simple idea should prevent anyone in Hollywood from butchering it.

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I was bored to tears reading that in high school and figured out the beauty of cliff notes.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Tue, Jul 14, 2009, at 3:25 PM
I never did read Catcher in the Rye in school. Somehow I ducked out on it. Sooooo, a few months ago I figured that now I am an "old adult", I should go ahead and read it to find out just what I missed. I did read it - every page, and realized that I didn't miss much. But, I can now say that I did read it.

-- Posted by midea on Tue, Jul 14, 2009, at 11:24 PM
I recently read an article on the web that stated schools (can't remember which but none in Idaho) were going to replace the required reading lists that included the classics to newer books such as Harry Potter in order to get younger generations interested in reading. I was taken back by this article because while some of the books like Catcher in the Rye are not as interesting(to others)as books such as Twiight and Harry Potter that have more action they do not require the reader to actually think about the content or contex of the book. It is a sad thing to dumb down the learning requirements and material. The web article enspired me to take up the books I was not required to read in school. Like midea I am now an adult and figured I should read something to find out what I was missing. Catcher in the Rye was slow but it does take you back to being young again. 1984 was a thought provoking book but I was expecting a different ending. My favorite so far has been To Kill a Mockingbird. I highly advise anyone who has not read it to pick it up. I just started Great Expectations by Dickens today.

-- Posted by pand0ra wells on Wed, Jul 15, 2009, at 10:40 AM
In my Senior year of Highschool, one of the English teacher's started a book club. 1984 was the first book we read, and it was awesome. But the movie kind of made us all blush.

-- Posted by st_anger87 on Wed, Jul 15, 2009, at 9:06 PM
Harry Potter is infinitely easier to read than Catcher in the Rye but I say your point. My senior year, we had to read Crime and Punishment, Dante's Divine Comedy, Catcher in the Rye, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. I still have to ever have a meaningful thought that came from those four books. Maybe it is lost on me but I found a recent root canal more enjoyful than those four. They are a challenge and so I see why they required us to read them.

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Fri, Jul 17, 2009, at 12:57 AM
Correction, "I see your point" not "say your point".

-- Posted by twilcox1978 on Fri, Jul 17, 2009, at 11:25 AM
I loved 1984 when I had to read it in school. It was far better than Catcher-in-the-Rye. I truly did not understand that book but could not but down 1984 until I finished it.

-- Posted by B Mullen on Wed, Sep 2, 2009, at 6:25 PM

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