Summer 2020 reading for TWHS English
The English Department has released the lists for summer reading, and has books for all class levels. See the chart below for information.
2020 Summer Reading
In Conroe ISD, we encourage all students to read over the summer in order to enrich learning and provoke thought. Summer reading strengthens reading skills, increases academic achievement, fosters a love for reading, and empowers students to become life-long learners.
Additionally, students who enroll in an Honors or AP English course are encouraged to engage in summer reading as it prepares students for the upcoming school year and creates an initial common framework for classroom discussion and instruction.
In light of the current public health situation and modified learning environment, we will not be requiring students to complete any accompanying assignment or project for any suggested summer reading for the 2020-2021 school year.
In order to help our students with text selections, our teachers have provided suggestions of particular reading lists or specific genres to best transition into the beginning of the school year.
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Spanish versions:
En Conroe ISD, animamos a todos los estudiantes a leer durante el verano para enriquecer el aprendizaje y provocar el pensamiento. La lectura de verano fortalece las habilidades de lectura, aumenta el rendimiento académico, fomenta el amor por la lectura y permite a los estudiantes convertirse en aprendices de por vida.
Además, se espera que los estudiantes que se matriculen en un curso de Pre AP o AP de Inglés se involucren en la lectura de verano, ya que prepara a los estudiantes para el próximo año escolar y crea un marco inicial común para la discusión en el aula y la instrucción.
There are many ways to access books online for free. See the list below for some available resources to help you gain access to books.
Apps found in the CISD SSO Portal:
Sora
Free access to a variety of e-books and audiobooks
Destiny Discover
Check out E–books and audiobooks from your campus library
Other websites with free resources:
Montgomery County Public Library
E-books and audiobooks: https://montgomerycountymd.libguides.com/elibrary
Get a digital library card: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library/services/registration.html
Open Library
Create a free account: https://openlibrary.org/accoun/create
Popular Titles: https://bit.ly/2XBEwyP
Project Gutenberg
Free E-books: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
Top 100 Most Popular: http:www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top
Audible Stories
Free Audiobooks: https://stories.audible.com/
| Team | Assigned Reading | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual Credit Seniors
2332 & 2333 |
Summer reading is to help you remain actively engaged in intellectual pursuits. Allowing months to creep by without engaging your brain puts you at a disadvantage when the time comes for you to participate in academic endeavors. So, you are highly encouraged to read over the summer. English IV DC (2332-2333) focuses on world literature, so you are to choose a book written by an author from a country outside of the United States or from an author who has immigrated to the United States and who writes about experiences overseas. Reading from the choices below will help you transition into a course focusing on literature from across the globe. The more you read, the more prepared you will be for the course and its demands. So, reading two books is better than reading only one. First, I would like to provide you with a list of works you may not read over the summer, as we will look at these books as a whole class. These are:
The Iliad by Homer The Odyssey by Homer The Aeneid by Virgil Beowulf Hamlet by William Shakespeare Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Suggested titles to read are: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dracula by Bram Stoker Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky The Trial by Franz Kafka The Stranger by Albert Camus To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 1984 by George Orwell A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya The Alchemist by Paulo Celho The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini |
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| Dual Credit Seniors
1301 & 1302 |
Choose one or more young adult/adult novel(s) to read over the summer.
Your choice needs to be of an appropriate reading level (nothing that can be found in the children’s section of Barnes and Noble) and should be of literary merit, which means the writing and development of the story are strong and worthy of literary and rhetorical analysis, and prompts discussion that moves beyond plot. Required readings from previous years will not be accepted. |
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| Dual Credit Juniors
1301 & 1302 |
You are encouraged to read one of the following books this summer.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain East of Eden by John Steinbeck Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith In Cold Blood by Truman Capote The Call of the Wild by Jack London Beloved by Toni Morrison |
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| English IV AP | You are encouraged to read two books this summer: one contemporary novel of literary merit and one pre-20th century novel of literary merit. We will spend a great deal of time on both contemporary literature and pre-20th century literature, so reading a title from each will help you to be ready for this year. Please note that some of these titles (particularly the contemporary ones) have mature themes and/or content, so do your research before selecting a book. The lists below are merely suggestions; feel free to go beyond these lists if you find college-level literary fiction that you would like to read.
Pre-20th Century Novels
Contemporary Literary Fiction
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| English IV Honors | This summer you are encouraged to read a work from a British author. Listed below are some suggested British classics, but feel free to explore other British authors of your choice as well.
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| English IV Level | Browse these titles to find the one that interests you the most so that you can enjoy a great summer read. If none of them grab you, pick a title of your own and settle in the sun with a good book.
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote In what he coined a “non-fiction novel,” Capote brilliantly combines the elements of a fictional murder novel with factual journalism and psychological analysis to show the moral dilemmas surrounding the act of murder. Gritty, suspenseful, and intense.
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud suitor, Mr. Darcy, provides a hilarious glimpse into 19th century English life. Full of wit, banter, and romantic suspense.
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston Set in 1937, this is the story of a mulatto woman in a white man’s world, who fights for an identity not shackled by notions of race, skin color, and even gender, and achieves it. Heartwarming, inspiring and characterful.
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas (Abridged) A revenge epic. At 19 years of age, Edmond Dantes is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and incarcerated in a grim French fortress. His escape and plans for retribution make for a story that is hard to put down. Intense, filled with adventure and hauntingly awesome.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson Idealistic young scientist Henry Jekyll struggles to unlock the secrets of the soul. Testing chemicals in his lab, he drinks a mixture he hopes will isolate – and eliminate – human evil. Instead it unleashes the dark forces within him, transforming him into the hideous and murderous Mr. Hyde.
The Call of The Wild – Jack London Written from the point of view of a Yukon sled dog, this story is about hardships and survival in the harsh climates of the Alaskan wilderness. If you are an animal lover, this book is for you! The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger 16-year-old Holden Caulfield leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York for three days. This 1951 short novel draws the reader into the highly relatable mind of the hero and deals with issues of belonging, connection, loss, and identity.
The Color Purple – Alice Walker Set in the deep South between the world wars, this is the story of Celie, a young black woman born into poverty and segregation, who is separated from her sister and her children but finds a way through to discover the strength and joy of her own spirit. Powerful, honest and forthright.
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte Cathy and Heathcliff are two of the most famous characters in literature, but their love is dark and twisted. Set on the vast, lonely grassland of the Yorkshire moors, and in the gloomy mansions where the characters live, this tale is haunting, intense and decidedly Gothic.
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty does not disappoint. A fascinating and intriguing story written with incredible wit and humor.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Alexander Solzhenitsyn An unforgettable portrait of the world of Stalin’s forced work camps, this book is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union. In 1970, shortly after it was published Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel prize. Gritty, intense, fascinating.
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan Four mothers, four daughters and a world of difference in culture as the four Asian families settle in San Francisco after immigrating to the United States. This book explores the often painful, deep and tender connection between mothers and daughters. Refreshing, fun and poignant.
1984 – George Orwell War is peace; freedom is slavery; ignorance is strength. These are the values of the dystopian world of 1984, conceived in Orwell’s mind in 1949. His work gave rise to novels such as Hunger Games and Divergent. It imagines a future that is still a stark haunting glimpse of what could be. |
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| English III AP | According to the College Board’s AP English Language and Composition Course and Exam Description, contemporary trade books are defined as “investigative journalism, designed for the reading public instead of for the classroom.” These works “generally provide a single, in-depth argument on a single topic.”
Over the summer, you may choose to read one or more of these books depending on your interests. Please note that some of these titles have mature themes and/or content, so do your research before selecting a book. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot |
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| English III Honors | You are encouraged to read a book written by an American author.
The links below may help you find a book that interests you. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2413.100_Best_American_Authors https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3991.Best_Books_by_American_Women https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/730.The_Great_American_Novel |
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| English III Level | Please select a book that interests you to read this summer. Your choice should be at an appropriate reading level for you and should not be one that you have already read. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English II Honors | English II Honors is all about “leveling up” and getting ready for the AP and dual credit courses that you’ll take during your junior and senior year. To support you in getting ready for the school year, we suggest that you pick one of the following options. Please note that some titles contain mature content and/or themes, so be sure you do your research before you pick your book(s)!
Option A. Young Adult and Classic/Non-YA Pairings: This year, we’ll be moving away from studying YA and into studying classics and AP/Dual Credit-prep novels, plays, and nonfiction. We’ll also spend a lot of time making connections across all of the works that we read. To help you get ready, select one of the YA/Classic pairings below. Read both and think through how the works speak to the same issues in different ways. Feel free to make your own pairing, too!
Option B. Nonfiction – Narrative or Informational: Nonfiction and rhetorical analysis are a major component of sophomore honors. To help get ready, consider reading one of the books below or another non-YA nonfiction book.
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| English II Level | Please look over the two lists provided and choose a book that interests you. Required readings from any previous year will not be accepted.
TAYSHAS List: https://txla.org/tools-resources/reading-lists/tayshas/current-list/ YALSA List: |
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| English I Honors | Please choose a book that interests you. Your choice should NOT be a required reading from junior high or any other book that you have already read. Because you are enrolled in honors, we suggest choosing a book from one of these two lists. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English I – Level | Please choose a book that interests you. Your choice should NOT be a required reading from junior high or any other book that you have already read. Here is a suggested list that might help you choose. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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