Fall 2016 Reading Ladder – August 31st to November 30st
In Order of Least to Most Recent
- The Glass Menagerie – Tennessee Williams (115 pages)
- “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge (77 pages)
- The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon (482 pages)
- Macbeth – William Shakespeare (249 pages)
- “Beautiful Chaos” – Robert M. Drake (181 pages)
- “A Brilliant Madness” – Robert M. Drake (275 pages)
- As You Like It – William Shakespeare (263 pages)
- “David” – Earle Birney (8 pages)
- Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte (507 pages)
- Anthem – Ayn Rand (105 pages)
- Night – Elie Wiesel (120 pages)
- Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte (507 pages)
- The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho (197 pages)
- The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (522 pages)
- “The Tracery of Trees” – Various Authors (392 pages)
Total Pages Read: 4,000 pages total. 4,000/13 weeks of reading = 308 pages per week. 308/7 days a week = approximately 44 pages per day.
Once again, I wish that I could have been reading more this month – despite being only 8 pages less in my daily reading rate than I was last year. I did better this month than in the previous two and I was able to manage my time more effectively between the school musical, classes, reading, and AP work. Still, the amount of schoolwork I have – combined with a multitude of extracurriculars – means that my reading time is being eaten up by other obligations. While I know that I will have less time to read now that I am well into the school year, it’s still saddening to look back at my Reading Ladder and see how little I have been able to read. In my upcoming Winter Reading Ladder, I hope to see my reading rate rise – especially considering that I will have two weeks off of school, during which time I can lose myself in the paradise of paper and ink.
Top Three Books: The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon), Macbeth (William Shakespeare), and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte).
- The Shadow of the Wind: This book was written beautifully. Every line felt as though
it was deliberately hand-crafted in its relevance and eloquence. I literally could not put it down. I spent many sleepless nights with Daniel, my eyes eagerly devouring the words so that I might keep up with his mysterious adventure. As the reader of an obscure novel written by Julian Carax, Daniel finds himself swept up in a thrilling discovery of Carax’s life and writing. For me – an avid reader who loves nothing more than to lose herself in words – this book was perfect. I loved reading about the life of a failed author, because even though he never found success, those who did read his books found them to be life-changing. There was a magic to The Shadow of the Wind, which earned it a spot on my list of favourite books. - Macbeth: This is one of those classic plays that you hear about and you know you have
to read. Once I did read it, I was astounded by the depth of the main characters. Lady Macbeth, in particular, caught my attention. Through her words and the word of others regarding her, it can be interpreted that she is a failed mother – either barren or having miscarried. This idea captured me and even inspired a poem. Throughout this play, each of the main characters can be seen to have the same depth to them, in terms of their backgrounds, their desires, and their regrets. While the writing was, of course, brilliant, the most incredible part of it truly was the strong establishment of characters. - Jane Eyre: I loved this book so much that I reread it twice before the month was over. This
story was unbelievably compelling, and Jane as a character was so complete and relatable that when I finished the novel, I simply could not let go of her, instead opting to reread it. While I found the beginning to be a bit slow the first time I read it, it became clear to me when I reread it that everything was set up with intention. I really loved that Jane’s growth and maturation was so tangible, making her a character who really resonated with me. The love story, of course, was thrilling – I honestly found myself falling in love with Mr. Rochester to the point where Jane’s choice to leave him left me truly distraught. Other things I loved were the setting and the symbolism. It was incredibly clever, in my opinion, that Bronte had Jane change locations every time her emotional capacity matured, having her only stay in one place long enough to learn a lesson, and staying until she had grown as a person enough to leave. I also appreciated that Bronte had an indoor and outdoor location for each setting so as to demonstrate freedom vs. confinement and society vs. nature. In regards to symbolism, the biggest thing that captured my mind was the interplay between fire and ice throughout the novel. These symbols are used both to illustrate companionship vs. isolation as well as passion vs. reason – and I must say that this idea really stuck with me, even after I had closed the book the last time, inspiring me to the point where I wrote a blog post about it. Overall, Jane Eyre is undoubtedly the best book I have read this semester and has become an all-time favourite of mine.
Currently Reading: “Leaves of Grass” – Walt Whitman
Goal for next term: Even though I must adjust my expectations, I will not lower the standards of my goal. I will get through all of the required readings for Advanced Placement English, and in addition at least seven novels and three plays by the end of Term 3. These novels, short stories, and plays may be selected as the term progresses or may be chosen from the following list: I Am Malala (Malala Yousafzai), The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini), Anthony and Cleopatra (William Shakespeare), The Bean Trees (Barbra Kingsolver), All The Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr), Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad),Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain), The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury), Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain), The Hero’s Walk (Anita Badami), The Tempest (William Shakespeare), The Cellist of Sarajevo (Stephen Gallaway), The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (James Thurber), On a Rainy River (Tim O’Brien),The Glass Roses (Aldan Nowlan), Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe), Flowers in the Attic Series (V. C. Andrews), Shawshank Redemption (Stephen King), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey), and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon).
Citations:
“Book-Art.” Annemarieke Kloosterhof. WordPress, 09 Oct. 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. <https://annemariekekloosterhof.com/book-art/>.
Wolkoff, Katherine, and Megan Wilson. “Jane Eyre.” Book Cover Archive. Internetland & Eric Jacobsen, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2016. <http://bookcoverarchive.com/book/jane_eyre/>.
@Wanninayaka. “Macbeth – William Shakespeare.” Nanda Wanninayaka. WordPress, 14 June 2012. Web. 22 Dec. 2016. <https://wanni.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/macbeth-william-shakespeare/>.
Zafón, Carlos Ruiz, and Lucia Graves. “The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1).” Goodreads. Goodreads Inc, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2016. <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1232.The_Shadow_of_the_Wind>.
