Book Recommendations

Great start to the class blog!  Thanks to everyone who contributed your ideas about what makes a good book. Feel free to add to that discussion at any time or share how your thinking evolves on that topic.  But now let's get specific.  What have you read recently that would you recommend to others with similar reading interests?

I'll get us started:

One great new book I read this summer was The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen.  I was intrigued when I found out this book was coming out because not only had I just started running again myself, but I had also recently read and really enjoyed Van Draanen's earlier book, Runaway (a story about a teenage girl who left home to figure out how  to make it on the streets alone).  What could be better than a book by a trusted author on a topic of personal interest? So I put in my request for The Running Dream at my local library and, when I finally got my hands on a copy, I was not disappointed.  In The Running Dream, Van Draanen shares the story of a girl named Jessica who loses a leg in a car accident on the way back from setting a record at a high school track meet.  We get to follow Jessica's inner thoughts as she comes to terms with her tragedy and searches for a way to run again.  While the style of The Running Dream is a little more traditional than that of Runaway (which is made up of the main character's journal entries), both books share similar subject matter as they both include main characters who are teenagers dealing with intensely difficult and unusual situations.  One of the reasons I like Van Draanen's books is that they help me build empathy for those whose lives are much harder than my own.  I think a lot of you would enjoy The Running Dream or Runaway for similar reasons.

What else can you all recommend? 

What Makes a Good Book?

Last week, students were given reading surveys in which they responded to the question: "Do you like to read? Why or why not?"  There were many interesting comments about why we like to read.  Here are just a few:

"It's like watching a movie, but I can visualize it in my own way."
"It makes me think about how my life compares to the characters' lives."
"It takes me into another world."
"It takes me to new places and expands my vocabulary."
"It's a good way to pass the time."
"It inspires me to write."

However, by far the most common response to the question was something along the lines of:

"I like to read, but only if I'm reading a good book."

So what makes a book a good book?  How do you find one?  Leave comments with your responses.
(Try to add something new to the conversation or expand on what others have written.)