Summer Reading Requirements—AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

Students will read three required books plus one book of choice from the reading list below.

Required Books for ALL

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Select one of the following

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Summer of ’49 by David Halpern

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Do NOT cheat yourself by using Cliff’s Notes, Spark Notes, online guides or other materials that shortcut the reading experience. Using such sources deprive you of the ability to grow as a reader and interpreter of literature and are a violation of the Jackson Prep Pledge.

As you read, consider the following: Did you like the book? Why or why not? What themes, situations, settings, etc, seemed familiar to you based on your own reading experiences? In other words, of what does this book remind you? How does this book contribute to the universal questions posed by authors you’ve read in the past? Consider the writer’s style, diction, argument, writing focus. Think thoroughly about your experiences and thoughts about your summer reading books.

Expect to write extensively on the works and to be able to discuss in depth and intelligently the works.

OBJECTIVE TEST ON ALL THREE WORKS WILL BE GIVEN THE FIRST FULL DAY OF CLASS

Uploaded 4/30/2008