catapult magazine

I had been getting frustrated with some of my students who are not reading challenging enough literature for their quarterly book reports. Then I picked up the [u:94ddf5a5b3]Cloister Walk[/u:94ddf5a5b3]by Kathleen Norris and started reading that for the umpteenth time (though I had never finished it). I’m discovering, though, that I’m enjoying it far more than I ever had before. I think that I am finally to a point where I can appreciate and understand her writing and it’s exciting me. (I’m looking forward to trying Annie Dillard again as well). I’m also understanding why some of my students want to continue reading young adult fiction instead of high school aged literature, though I still want to push them.
Has anybody else had similar experiences with a particular author or genre? Something that you’ve grown into?

Well Norbert, at the risk of re-offending you again i shall respond to this post. First while i think that reading is an important thing to do daily, i think the whole idea of book resports in a classroom setting is just any easy way for a teacher to come up with an assignment. I mean, how hard is it to think up “OK class, pick a book, read it, and spit it back to me in a 3 page paper.” Hmmm. Tough one. The problem with that is, some will pick a challenging book because they like to read but the others will pick the easiest read becasue they HAVE to. and that is the entire point. Giving kids book report assignments is NOT the way to instill in them a love of lit, a passion for reading, and more importantly, a quest for knowledge. I think the kids drift furthur away from literature. My take.

As for Annie Dillard. Not real hard to enjoy her writing. Why would you have to revisit that? I know not. Easy read.

Eddie,

You might want to consider that a book report is a very good tool for both the student and the teacher. For the student, it presents the opportunity to show that they have a grasp of the various themes, character development, message, moral conclusions,etc that the author is presenting. In addition, it gives them an opportunity to interact with all of the above by giving their own opinion on what occurred in the book. This sharpens their critical thinking and rhetorical skills. For the teacher, a book report is the easiest way to determine if student even read the book in addition to how well they comprehend the material. The teacher also has the opportunity to critique their writing skills. All in all, a pretty useful pedagogical device.

Norbert,

I had a similar experience with Allan Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind. I started that book more times than I care to remember. But my problem may be different than yours. It sounds like you may have learned more and grown since your previous readings which then prepared you for a later attempt. My mind has become less supple and more ossified, and it takes me much longer to digest densely written sentences than when I was in college (many moons ago). In addition to the simple results of aging, I also think part of the problem is that we are increasingly becoming a reactive society that is losing its ability to concentrate and contemplate. We are inundated with distractions. We have very short attention spans. Neil Postman was right. At any rate, I agree with that we should get out of our comfy cocoons and continue to go back to those books with which we have struggled.

I’ve mentioned this book before here, but Antonin Artaud’s “The Theater and Its Double” is one I keep coming back to. Every time I read it I get more out of it. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been able to let the ideas in the book percolate in my head for a few months or if it’s just life experience illuminating some of the more difficult passages, but it just gets better and better. It becomes less about theatre and more about its double (life).

Thanks for the reply guys. Even eddie.
Eddie, I think you assume too much that my book reports might be counter productive. You have no idea how I teach, who I teach or how I structure my book reports. But here’s to free speech right? Cheers.
The Theatre and It’s Double is another one I should take a look at Jason. I tried reading it in college and I just didn’t click with it. I’d like to try it again. And just to clarify, my original post wasn’t necessarily about the difficulty of a book and my inability to grasp what was going on (though that does happen with certain books—the Silmarilliion for example). I think Annie Dillard is a heavy writer not in the difficulty of her writing but in the beautiful, unassuming style in which she writes. She crafts her ideas and paragraphs beautifully, as does Kathleen Norris. I don’t think I could appreciate them in college though I could understand them. That was my intention. I’m simply finding that several genre’s are opening up to me now and I like that.

A book I’ve avoided for years but am now 1/3 of the way finished with is Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.” I have no idea anymore why I’ve snubbed my nose at it since high school, but I’m really enjoying it now. Okay, I can probably toss out a guess as to why I’m liking it now versus high school and that’s because of the economic and philosophical underpinnings of the book. I’m much more interested in this kind of stuff now, as opposed to age 17.

Norbert,

I missed your distinction in the original post. Thanks for the clarification. When I was younger, I read Jane Austen and thought of her works as stuffy romance novels. I returned to them several years ago, when they regained a surge in popularity mainly due to several theatrical releases. I found her art of conversation unsurpassed. While I recognize some of the advantages of our contemporary directness of speech and conduct, we have also lost much in terms of nuance, subtlety, civility and ambiguity as we have cast convention aside.

For those of you that are fans of Austen, you may be interested in Peter Leithart’s Miniatures and Morals:The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

I considered this an assumption:

i think the whole idea of book resports in a classroom setting is just any easy way for a teacher to come up with an assignment. I mean, how hard is it to think up “OK class, pick a book, read it, and spit it back to me in a 3 page paper.” Hmmm. Tough one

My apologies. Now, back to my original intent with this thread. Do you have certain books, plays or other pieces of literature that you have found to be more enjoyable or entertaining now Eddie?

Norbert

i think i will just agree to disagree on this one. I mean, everything i say there is some sarcasm or assumption or sleight of hand. I mean seriously. If you didnt have questiuons about yourself as a teahcer, or more importantly your assignments, why would react with such distain?

I will continue to light you up on other posts though. Happy stewing.

Edd.

The book I’ve rediscovered is Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”, the original. I’m reading it after reading Nietzsche’s “The Gay Science” and I can see now how Nietzsche was influenced by American thought, by the idea of America—the anti-historical newness and naive freshness of America, the individual as God etc. I never understood Whitman in high school, but I knew that he was worth reading as an American. Looking back, I suppose it was good that I learned of him in high school and had some historical background knowledge and developed the tools to finally rediscover that what I learned (or hadn’t yet learned) in high school was actually true in ways I could never have imagined when I was 16 years old. Maybe book reports are good for initiating students into books, authors or genres they would never have encountered without such an opportunity. Kind of like when we studied Citizen Kane my senior year and I hated it. Then I was forced to do an assignment analyzing it, which forced me to watch it three more times, each time seeing more and more, thus beginning a love affair with film that continues to this day.

thought i would add my two cents …

there is something to be said for forcing yourself to read something you’ve put off and growing as a reader. like right now i am reading three books, depending on my mood when i feel like reading, that i have put off reading for sometime; [i:63e291c9a5]the republic[/i:63e291c9a5], anne bronte’s [i:63e291c9a5]tenant of wildfeld hall[/i:63e291c9a5], and ginzburg’s [i:63e291c9a5]the cheese and the worms [/i:63e291c9a5]. all three very good books that i’ve been exposed to at various times in class but never really took the time to read. that said, i’ve always found book reports to be a reading kill joy and a far cry from an inspiration to read something more difficult just so i can demonstrate to the teacher how smart i am. not to throw aspersion on your teaching skills Norbert; i don’t know anything about them, but book reports, based on what i did and many of the people i knew did, may not be the best indicator of what your students are capable of reading or like to read.

i know that when i did book reports it was usually a book i was familiar with and could easily spin out a three page paper on its argument, motifs, blah, blah, blah, so they certainly never represented books i was pushing myself to read at the time or books i was just enjoying. i’ve found that when i have to read a book all of the joy, excitement, and sense of fulfillment that i otherwise get from reading a book are sucked out when i have to write a paper on it and entire exercise is meaningless. granted for some, book reports may be the measure of their interest and skill particularly at the very edges of the class, i.e. the overachievers and underachievers, but it may very well be for many just another assignment on the long list of other things they have to do.