|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Starting a new thread. Slightly different emphasis.
Summary request: ADULT book recommendations for a 13 year old.
Context: My oldest daughter recently read her first adult book, The Andromeda Strain. Michael Crichton is now her favorite author. She enjoyed watching the movie with me and her little sister afterward and pointing out differences and similarities. I encouraged her to read Fahrenheit 451, which she didn't enjoy all that much. We look forward to watching this movie, as well.
Now she's reading McAffrey's Dragonrider series which I loved as a college student and which she's loving right now.
The Plan: I'm getting dialup access at home, specifically for the kids to use for school and mess around with during the summer. I have no limits on how much time they watch television or play video games or go on the internet. However, I have set some things for them to do. They have to keep the house straight (not clean up, just don't leave it a bigger wreck than they found it); do some extra extras I give them; and they have to read 4 - 6 books during the summer. Not a lot. I don't want to turn them into slaves, but I do want them spending a little time thinking. The actual number they have to read depends on the difficulty of the books they choose, but in the case of the older kid I she must read adult books or books that at least have an adult level. I'm reckoning to keep them busy between one and two hours each day.
Method: I make recommendations for her. We go to the library and bookstore. She examines what I recommend and decides whether it's something she's interested in. I've recommended a lot, but she's only too thrilled with most (DragonRiders is an exception.)
The Mission: Should you decide to accept it. If you had a son or daughter who was an early teen, what would you recommend to them - or if you could, think back to your own self at that age, and ask "What book do I wish I would have read back then that I would probably have actually enjoyed?"
k
(It occurs to me, post facto, that this is not the appropriate category for this inquiry.)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
Keith, I rather think you're asking the impossible. Thirteen-year-olds vary widely in their tastes, level of reading maturity, yadda, yadda.
My only recommendation would be to widen the variety of books that she's exposed to. Give her the gamut. For instance, at thirteen, I would have thought that the Anne of Green Gables type of book would be of interest to her.
But whatever, keep encouraging her to read!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 148
member
|
|
member
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 148 |
I read Lord of the Rings and Hobbit at that age, and enjoyed them immensely. Pretty much anything by Arthur C Clarke; Mary Stewart's Arthur series - Crystal Cave etc... hmm, I'll think of some more, I'm sure 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 56
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 56 |
3 of my 4 kids enjoyed Tokien's The Hobbit and then progressed to The Lord Of The Rings.
As an aside, i personally prefer to read the book prior to watching the movie adaption. My youngest daughter however (14) has left the third part of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy until after she watches the final films release later this year as she "doesn't want to spoil the ending."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
I have always been a lazy reader, seldom reading the works one should, but I would recommend Wodehouse and Ngaio Marsh, both of whom I was reading at that age. Wodehouse because he's uncomplicated fun, but still manages to gently lampoon his subjects, and Marsh because her detective novels are primarily a vehicle for conveying her passion for the theatre, and for Shakespeare in particular, and reading them persuaded me that the Bard was worth looking into.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
i read Pearl Buck's The Good Earth at that age.. i thought it was the raciest book i had ever read! (after all there was all that stuff about concubines!) with their background, they might find Buck too simple, or just wrong.. but it would be a starting point-- My Antonia and if you can find the Freman's book Mrs Mike its a great read.. a young girl with pluresie, is sent west, to the wilds of yukon for her health.. the relatives back east are uncertain that even the pure air of the west can heal her lungs, but once in the west, she is expected to 'pull her own weight'.. The Light in Forest is another book that stirs my memory.. its set in the mid 1800's, and its about a boy who was 'kidnapped' by indians (that is the western veiw--his perceptions are different) at the age of 7 or so, and is 'recovered' to his original family age 18.
all three books are about cultural perceptions; one is Ms Buck's perceptions of China, the other two are about teen agers who are changing their perception of the world... because all the things they think they know have been changed...
The Chosen is another choice.. its about the small insulular world of orthodox Jews.. from the outside world, these religious jews often look the same to non jews, but from their perpective, small details speak of large differences.. and since these kids are growing up in NY in the 1950/60's..(baseball figures alot in this book, if she like baseball, it will help hook her!--i liked it even though i am not a baseball fan)
Bronx Boy is another great growing up book.. semi autobiographical, it is funny-- set in prewar NY(well the bronx!) its about the adventures about a boy who runs away from home.. only to find, he brings it with him, where ever he goes.
i guess i fit into the truism, that girls will read books about boys, (where as most boys will not read books with girls as main character)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 148
member
|
|
member
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 148 |
I suddenly remembered I didn't mention Victor Kelleher - he's Aussie, so I don't know how available he is over yonder, but he writes semi-scifi stuff with teenagers as protagonists, usually... he's just fantastic, tackles hard stuff, etc. And very captivating. And, of course, The Princess Bride the book is excellent - better than the movie.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
>And, of course, The Princess Bride the book is excellent - better than the movie.
I agree, although the movie was far from shabby.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
Jane Austen's novels (except maybe Mansfield Park) -- I was only a couple of years older than that when I first discovered them.
Almost anything by Mary Renault -- The King Must Die, The Last of the Wine, Fire From Heaven, The Persian Boy
Classic SF -- Asimov, Heinlein etc.
If she hasn't read it already, I second (third, fourth, whatever) the motion for Lord of the Rings.
Bingley
Bingley
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 725
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 725 |
At thirteen I enjoyed reading books and short stories by Jack London: The Call of the Wild, White Fang.
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555 |
I read a lot of Daphne du Maurier at that age. Glass Blowers, Rebecca, Frenchman's creek all are excellent books. Glass blowers, is a delightful tale set in the midst of the French revolution and will give her both an engrossing read and a bit of history.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"Give her the gamut."
That's what I want to do, Cap, but I don't know that my own reading experiences are sufficiently eclectic.
"Anne of Green Gables"
I'll point it out to her next time we're out and ask what she thinks.
Thanks!
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"I read Lord of the Rings and Hobbit at that age, and enjoyed them immensely."
I read Hobbit to her for story two (maybe three) years ago. LOTR is on our list.
"Pretty much anything by Arthur C Clarke;"
I recommended some of his short stories to her, but she didn't take the bait.
"Mary Stewart's Arthur series - Crystal Cave"
Of course! These are brilliant! These go on the list for sure!
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
" i personally prefer to read the book prior to watching the movie adaption."
Lapsus,
My oldest daughter and I are the same way. It's a really big thing for us to watch a show after we've read a book through - a time of bonding maybe. We talk about the stuff for days afterward.
Youngest doesn't care though.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"Wodehouse and Ngaio Marsh"
This is exactly the kinda thing I was hoping to get.
I've heard of both these and read neither of them.
Excellent.
thanks,
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
of_troy,
Great suggestions. It's been 25 or 30 years since I read The Good Earth.
I've heard of a few of the others, but not read any of them. Light in the Forest sounds like something in which she'd be particularly interested, but I'll mention all of these to her and let her make up her mind.
thanks,
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"Jane Austen's novels" and "Mary Renault"
Very good choices. I'm thinking of reading Jane Austen myself (P and P is on my list). Maybe we could do this one together.
I've recommended the sf greats to her, but I hadn't thought of most of these, btw.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"At thirteen I enjoyed reading books and short stories by Jack London: The Call of the Wild, White Fang."
For a while, JL was her favorite author. TCOTW I read to her once and she read to herself 3 times! White Fang she has not read yet.
"Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer."
She's read TS, but not HF. I also read her a few of the short stories when she was younger. She's particularly fond of The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. She used to love when I'd say "an' 'e heisted 'imself up, like a Frenchman" over and over and over.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
All of these are great recommendations.
Feel free to add to the list any time.
I suspect she'll continue on into the school year.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
Books I read between ages 10 and 14. Dad had an extensive library - we are, after all, a newspaper family! < The Scarlet Pimpernel -Baroness Orczy (sp?) Jayne Eyre The Collected Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant especially the one about the pearl necklace! The Casebook of Sherlock Holme - Conan Doyle All th P.G. Wodehouse stories... I laughed at Bertie and wished I had Jeeves to help me! If you can find it : "Born In Paradise" by Armine von Tempski - the first volume of an autobiography by von Tempski - set in time when she was a young girl growing up on Maui, Hawaii. Originally published in 1940. ISBN : 0-918024-34-X The 1985 reprint in large format paperback is by Ox Bow Press, Woodbridge Connecticut < Newer books I have given to youngsters: "Mistakes That Worked" Charlotte Jones with Illus. by John O'Brien - (from silly putty to penicillin and Post-Its!) If you want to go for the Big Bucks -$40.- "Fairie-ality :The Fashion Collection from the House of Ellwand" by Eugenie Baird. A great Christmas gift for a young girl. My 13-year old granddaughter is getting it this Christmas. Superb quality throughout. And finally, for Dad : "101 Secrets a Good Dad Knows" by Walter Browder and Sue Ellen Browder - rescue baby birds, throw a curve ball, skip rocks, build acampfire, slide into second etc. etc. etc. Some of these books I found when I started to get the Bas Blue catalogue http://www.basblue.com Good stuff you would have to browse for days to find in a bookstore! That should be enough to be going on with ....
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 87
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 87 |
I'd second the "Jane Eyre" recommendation, possibly "Gone With the Wind" and absolutely "To Kill a Mockingbird" - if she hasn't already read those. My mother wouldn't let me read "The Grapes of Wrath" at that age; I don't know exactly why since I'd read some other things by then that weren't any more sexually explicit.
I also recommend Ngaio Marsh - her writing is very good and so are the mysteries. Dorothy Sayers is another mystery writer of about the same ere, along with Agatha Christie. Dorothy Gilman writes some very entertaining mysteries with Mrs. Pollifax (a Miss Marple sort of older worman but with a more physical take on her activities) which go to other countries and therefore include some cultural info that is interesting.
I read lots of mysteries....a good writer can teach lots in such a story and make it fun to learn!
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? -Ursula K. Le Guin, author (1929- )
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Let her run through the library shelves a couple times a week. That's what I enjoyed most at 13--just having an hour or so to go along all the shelves and pull out whatever I wanted, which was most always an odd collection. There are librarians there who could guide her if she wanted to ask--I never did--but there's some great power in knowing you can check out as many books as you like on as many varied subjects as you want and there is no rule that states that you must read every single page of everything you check out.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"The Scarlet Pimpernel -Baroness Orczy (sp?)
Jayne Eyre
The Collected Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant especially the one about the pearl necklace!"
etc.
Good suggestions, all of them.
thanks,
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
I've recommended these at other times, and though they're not strictly adult books, I have loved them, and count them among my favorites, as has my 12 year old son.
Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen by Garth Nix. a fabulous trilogy.
I would second the mystery idea, Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie would be great summer reading.
I assume she's read Watership Down?
oh, almost forgot: Duncton Wood. the author's name escapes me at the moment... even better than Watership, I think....
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
My Friend Flicka , The Green Grass of Wyoming, and Thunderhead a trilogy by Mary O'Hara
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
My two cents for now.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
I recommended Watership Down and The Plague Dogs. She's not byting on either of them, so far.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
Watership Down and The Plague Dogs
Definitely not teenager books, Keith. She needs a reasonably wide experience to understand, never mind enjoy, books such as these.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
I first read Watership Down in the 8th Grade, it changed my life. it led me to the Hobbit and LOTR. I have yet to make it through Plague Dogs, much too disturbing. I should probably try again. Shardik I finally got through on the second try...
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Reference: Watership Down and The Plague Dogs
"Definitely not teenager books, Keith. She needs a reasonably wide experience to understand, never mind enjoy, books such as these."
I didn't read it myself until college, but Watership Down is on the Fairfax county recommended reading list for rising eighth graders. I added The Plague Dogs because I think the books are comparable - with the exception noted by the next poster that it's probably more disturbing.
OTOH, it could be she innately understands that she needs a wider experience to appreciate them. I've mentioned WD to her several times and she's balked in each instance. Guess I'll give the Adams books a rest. When she's ready, though, I think she'll love them.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"I have yet to make it through Plague Dogs, much too disturbing. I should probably try again."
It is extremely disturbing. But it's a great book, if you can make it all the way through. I can't remember how WD ends, but I remember how The Plague Dogs ends!
"Shardik I finally got through on the second try..."
I have this one, but haven't read it. On my list, but it will probably be years before I get around to it. I waved it under her nose, but no bites.
Update: She now has about 6 books to carry her through the summer.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 171
member
|
|
member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 171 |
I'm not sure this trilogy would appeal to a young lady, but it surely had me enthralled during my early teens:
"The Bounty Trilogy" by Nordhoff and Hall ("Mutiny on the Bounty"; "Men Against the Sea": "Pitcairns Island.").
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"The Bounty Trilogy" by Nordhoff and Hall ("Mutiny on the Bounty"; "Men Against the Sea": "Pitcairns Island.").
It takes me only a few minutes for her to browse the covers and a few pages!
thanks,
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Let her run through the library shelves a couple times a week.
When I was a kid the public library was only about 1.5 - 2 miles away from home - easily walkable. I would walk nearly every weekend and spend hours and hours there. But for us, it's about 6 - 8 miles away. I'd have to take her. It's not practical for us more than a few times a month, but we do get there.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"bike"
This is northern va, I don't even bike to work - no consistent bike trails.
Things just aren't like they were when I was a kid. It's good and bad.
k
|
|
|
|
|
