List of Offerings for Fall 2013 Book of Choice Program
You don't have to join the wiki to edit the wiki. It is a public wiki. Thanks so very very much for volunteering to work with us!
Click the Word EDIT above; be sure to click SAVE when finished.
Add the following information: Your name/Department; Title/Author; Categories under which to advertise the book; a 2 or 3 sentence "teaser." The Student WIKI is in the works at this site. As you add your entries, I clean them up and place standardized versions on the student wiki.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach. From Amazon.com: "Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way." This is recommended for rising 11th & 12th grade students, and especially students taking the summer Criminal Investigation class. Moderator: Lacy George, Science.
Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem. From amazon.com: "Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives." Moderator: Lindsay Porter, Science.
Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. From amazon.com: What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it? In this groundbreaking work, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle provides parents, teachers, coaches, businesspeople—and everyone else—with tools they can use to maximize potential in themselves and others. Whether you’re coaching soccer or teaching a child to play the piano, writing a novel or trying to improve your golf swing, this revolutionary book shows you how to grow talent by tapping into a newly discovered brain mechanism. Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research gathered on journeys to nine of the world’s talent hotbeds—from the baseball fields of the Caribbean to a classical-music academy in upstate New York—Coyle identifies the three key elements that will allow you to develop your gifts and optimize your performance in sports, art, music, math, or just about anything." Moderator: Tad Sahara, Foreign Language.
think about talent, but equip you to reach your own highest potential.
Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin. If you want to be a truly exceptional performer/student/athlete, what do you need? Join us to read about both dramatic examples and research that suggest that talent may be overrated. Moderator: Kris Muir, Foreign Language.
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It) by Robert Lupton. With four decades of inner city service, minister and advocate for the poor Bob Lupton argues that our philanthropic urges might not always find the most appropriate way to channel our help, a way that would affirm the dignity and provide true help for the poor. Read and see if he has a valid argument about transformational charity vs. toxic charity. Mr. Carrington suggests reading this if you are involved in Woodward's Service Leadership group, or if you have a passion for helping others. Moderator: Mark Carrington, Associate Dean of Student Life.
The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy. Fictional superwriter turns to memoir in this piece as he remembers the time he spent as a teacher among underserved students on Daufuskee Island off Carolina's coast. A story of humor and pathos. Moderator: Stuart Gulley, Academy President.
1. Peggy McNash/English Department; Sense and Sensibility/Austen; Romance/comedy/satire. What should be the balance in a young girl's life? Should she be sensible and realize that young men of fortune cannot marry their true loves or should she believe passionately that true love will conquer all relatives' and society's objections. This novel by the author of Pride and Prejudice follows the lives of two dower-less sisters as they learn to love truly and to value one another best of all. While the story is a romance, you will also laugh as Austen ridicules teenage angst and society's snobbery and greed.
2. Jim Hampton/Language Department; and Doug Fleming/History; In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. from amazon.com
4. Joanne Baker/George C. Carlos Library; The Fault in Our Stars/John Green; Contemporary/realistic. "Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life."
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The setting is World War II in Germany and the narrator is Death himself. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. Moderator: Jeannie Hixon, Librarian.
TheFault Is in Our Stars by John Green. From amazon.com: "Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life." Moderator: Joanne Baker, Librarian.
Insurgent by Veronica Roth. The second book in the Divergent series, Insurgent continues the story of Tris Pryor as she "must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so." (from Amazon.com). Moderator: Jenny Green, English.
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. From Amazon.com: "A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how 'reaaally big' God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit 'shoots down power' from heaven to help us." Moderator: Fritz Hutchinson, History.
Sarah's Keyby Titiana de Rosnay. From amazon.com: "Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life." Moderator: Sherry Boynton, Counseling.
The Host by Stephanie Myer.In this tantalizing SF thriller, planet-hopping parasites are inserting their silvery centipede selves into human brains, curing cancer, eliminating war and turning Earth into paradise. But some people want Earth back, warts and all, especially Melanie Stryder, who refuses to surrender, even after being captured in Chicago and becoming a host for a soul called Wanderer. Moderators: Carri Carver, Math, and Kelli Stanyard, Foreign Language.
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle. He is the deadliest American sniper ever, called “the devil” by the enemies he hunted and “the legend” by his Navy SEAL brothers. From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyle's kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time. SEAL Team 3 Chief Chris Kyle served four combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere. For his bravery in battle, he was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation. Additionally, he received the Grateful Nation Award, given by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Following his combat deployments, he became chief instructor for training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual. Moderator: Ethan Greenberg, Science.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel. From amazon.com: "After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years. Universally acclaimed upon publication, Life of Pi is a modern classic." The differences between novel and movie will be an interesting element of discussion. Moderator: Kelsey Emerson, English.
6. Ethan Greenberg / Science; American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.
He is the deadliest American sniper ever, called “the devil” by the enemies he hunted and “the legend” by his Navy SEAL brothers . From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time. SEAL Team 3 Chief Chris Kyle served four combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere. For his bravery in battle, he was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation. Additionally, he received the Grateful Nation Award, given by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Following his combat deployments, he became chief instructor for training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual.
7. Dana Jefferson/MS History/ The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
From the book jacket:"Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year of each other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimore neighborhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police. How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the other ended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence?" (Dana has yet to approve this teaser).
8. Pam Ambler US/ College Counselor/ Will take over load book.
9. Kris Muir/ US/ Foreign Language Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else Geoff Colvin Non Fiction
If you want to be a truly exceptional performer/student/athlete, what do you need? Join us to read about both dramatic examples and research that suggest that talent may be overrated
10. Fritz Hutchinson/ History; Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent.
From Amazon.com: "A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how 'reaaally big' God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit 'shoots down power' from heaven to help us."
11. Brian Keith Jackson/ History; Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother; Amy Chua. The author praises the Chinese method of parenting as she describes in a humorous and sparky way her own childhood as a first-generation Chinese-American and her current choices for her own children. This non-fiction work is a fun read but raises important questions for any who hope to become parents. Non Fiction; humor.
12. Ronda Zents / English / A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. If you think one person cannot make a difference, read this contemporary novel and become a believer in the power of the individual. Here's the tease from Irving's website: "In the Summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire.One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hit the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying." Fiction: coming of age.
13. Tim Hamling/ English/ any overload book.
14. Scott Crook/ English/ The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons/ Colquitt and Walter Kennedy are living the American dream in the suburbs of Atlanta until construction begins on the new home in the empty lot next to their home. What is wrong with the house next door, and why do such strange events happen to those who live there? The author has a great connection to GMA and Woodward (as a visitor to campus during GMA days and as a current advisory board member) and grew up in Fairburn, Georgia. Readers will recognize the Druid Hills setting for this novel of horror. GOTHIC/MYSTERY FIcTION.
15. Wonder R J Palacio Erica Pendleton Counselor; Jenifer Baro English Department; Bob Lawrence Chaplain;Jane Graham will take an overload section and Jennifer Green will as well.
August has a significant facial deformity. As he starts regular school for the first time 5th grade, how will the public react to him? August tells his story for most of this thought-provoking and heart-touching novel. Readers find themselves, sometimes to their horror, in the reactions of those around August, from his family members to school friends to school adversaries.
16. Carolyn Haldeman English Silas Marner George Eliot Silas is a lonely, embittered cottage weaver whose life changes dramatically when an abandoned child wanders into his life. Eliot discusses the factors of change for people, places, and morals in Victorian England. This short novel was made into a movie, called A Touch of Fate and starring Steve Martin called A Touch of Fate. It was filmed partially at Woodward.
17. Stacey Sandifer Math Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Edwin Abbott Who would have thought that a math book would also be an allegory and a book that raises questions about the nature of reality.
18. Stephane Allagnon Moliere The Would Be Gentleman. A satiric comedy, this play discusses the rising middle class of France as members attempt to enter high society. Posers and hypocrites, beware! Fiction and Drama, Comedy
19. Lori Wiseman Foreign Language something by Bill Bryson
After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens--as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item.
20 Maggie Berthiaume Debate Any overflow book
21. Leigh Shelor Based on his father's bestselling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean Covey applies the same principles to teens, using a vivacious, entertaining style that includes real-life stories of teens who have overcome obstacles to succeed, and step-by-step guides to shifting paradigms, building equity in "relationship bank accounts," creating action plans, and much more. Some of the habits include the following: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win-win; seek first to understand, then to be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw. Covey's humorous and up-front style is just light enough to be acceptable to wary teenagers, and down-and-dirty enough to really make a difference.
22. Linda Wyatt History any overflow book
23. Lindsay Porter Science Survival of the Sickest Sharon Moalem Non Fiction
From amazon.com, "Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives."
24. Rachael Syzmanski English The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood Is the male narrator in The Odyssey your least favorite memory of the classic? See what modern-day writer Margaret Atwood does with the tale of the man of tricks and turns when his wife and other women become the speakers. Irony abounds in this re-telling. Fiction, Satire
25. Monica Kuhlman - The Carbon Diaries- "It's the year 2015, a time when global warming has begun to ravage the environment. In response, the United Kingdom becomes the first country to mandate carbon rationing--a well-intentioned plan that goes tragically awry. This story of one girl's attempt to stay grounded in a world where disaster has become the norm is told in short diary entries."
26 Hilpert deleted
27. Rebecka Kushner in defense of food Science Confused about all the science and pseudo-science out there about our diets? Read this book that amazon.com notes bring light to our addled brains by giving us "seven simple but liberating words: 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.'" Written so that we can understand the mysteries and statistics, this book will entertain and enlighten us to a new way to think about food and the food industry.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Billy Pilgrim has a problem: he has become unstuck in time. In Vonnegut's sci-fi comic masterpiece Slaughterhouse-five, time travel, aliens and World War II all have a place. Written with Vonnegut's famous wit and humanity, follow Billy Pilgrim as he makes his way through the war, a distant planet and the future. Moderator: Thomas Moore, English.
28 Hunter Smith (History Department): Into Thin Air by John Krakauer (nonfiction)
From the New York Times review (1997): "The particular descent ahead of those on the ''hill'' on May 10, 1996, resulted in the greatest loss of life in the history of mountaineering on Everest. As news spread of the nine deaths (including that of Hall, who spoke to his wife in New Zealand by radiophone as he lay stranded in a snowstorm on the summit ridge), a barrage of questions resounded: What went wrong? Why was the approaching storm ignored? And, most emphatically, why are ''tourists'' with more money than expertise being taken up Everest in the first place? Jon Krakauer was one of the survivors, and in ''Into Thin Air'' he relives the storm and its aftermath, trying to answer those questions. As he sees it, essentially nothing ''went wrong,'' at least in terms of the storm, which struck with little warning. Instead, the root of the problem lies in the famous explanation George Mallory gave when asked why he wanted to climb the mountain, an explanation that still holds true, albeit with a slight amendment. People climb Mount Everest because it -- and the money -- is there."
29. Hayley Bowers (English Department): Divergent by Veronica Roth Divergent/ Veronica Roth; dystopian Science Fiction. In a future dystopian Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice must choose among five predetermined virtues to define her identity for the rest of her life. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
30. Thomas Moore (English Department): Kurt Vonnegut'sSlaughterhouse-Five( FICTION--Fantasy and Science Fiction and FICTION--Humor) Billy Pilgrim has a problem: he has become unstuck in time. In Vonnegut's sci-fi comic masterpiece Slaughthouse-five, time travel, aliens and World War II all have a place. Written with Vonnegut's famous wit and humanity, follow Billy Pilgrim as he makes his way through the war, a distant planet and the future .
31.Helen Shean/English/Shane/Schaefer/Coming of Age; The archetypal westernwith a mysterious hero coming to champion the cause of the small farmer in opposition to the rich cattleman. Think Clint Eastwood! (reserved for rising 9th).
32. Lindsey Porter, Science Survival of the Sickest Sharon Moalem Non Fiction
From amazon.com, "Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives."
33. Lacy George (Science Department): Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach. Non-fiction
From Amazon.com: "Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way." This is recommended for rising 11th & 12th grade students, and especially students taking the summer Criminal Investigation class.
34. Alexis Horder (English Department): Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. Fiction. Mean Girls meets Groundhog day In this young adult novel and creates a story that readers will not soon forget! Samantha Kingston is high school senior that thinks she has it all--hot boyfriend, best friends, and a comfortable position as one of her high school's "It" girls. But then (in Chapter 1!), Sam dies. Sam relives her last day, February 12, in each chapter of this book, trying to get it right and learning secrets about her friends, the people she may have overlooked in the past, and most importantly, about herself. Please do not sign up for this book if you have read it before.
35. Stuart Gulley/Academy President/ ConroyThe Water is Wide/ Fictional superwriter turns to memoir in this piece as he remembers the time he spent as a teacher among underserved students on Daufuskee Island off Carolina's coast. A story of humor and pathos.
36. Life of Pi Kelsey Emerson English From amazon.com "After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years. Universally acclaimed upon publication, Life of Pi is a modern classic."
37. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
This book is an excellent thriller that discusses the many aspects of a viral disease outbreak and its implications in this new world where people can travel all over the world in a matter of hours. It also discusses the possible origins of HIV and some other interesting topics including how we were on the verge of a massive outbreak from the presence of a very deadly virus called Ebola in our own country in Reston, VA. It is written for the layperson, but it has the potential to turn the layperson into a well-informed, disease-hunting epidemiologist, or an obsessive reader at the least. David Alvord, Science department teacher, leads this discussion.
38.Charles Bryant/History/Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders/Vincent Bugliosi: The 1960s hippie culture, the Beatles, California . . . and murder. Why are we so easily led to kill our fellow man? Why do cults have so much power? The #1 best selling crime book of all time. Non Fiction
39. Carri Carver Math Fiction-Science Fiction The Host, Stephanie Myer' Kelli Stanyard Foreign Language In this tantalizing SF thriller, planet-hopping parasites are inserting their silvery centipede selves into human brains, curing cancer, eliminating war and turning Earth into paradise. But some people want Earth back, warts and all, especially Melanie Stryder, who refuses to surrender, even after being captured in Chicago and becoming a host for a soul called Wanderer.
40.
41. Ken Kirschner Math The House of Silk Andrew Horowitz From amazon.com "Once again, THE GAME'S AFOOT... London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society."
42. Angela Stephenson Ordinary People by Judith Guest: A remarkable book about an ordinary family's response to an extraordinary tragedy; it was so popular in its time precisely because the Jarretts could be any American family and what happened in their family could happen in anyone's family. Well, maybe not in anyone's family; most Americans aren't wealthy enough to live in a McMansion in an upper-middle-class bedroom community nor do most families own a boat; but income aside, the Jarretts are like most people one knows: a hardworking father, a mother who wants the best for her family, and two teenage sons, one outgoing and confident, the other quiet and retiring, living in his older brother's shadow. A freak boating accident leaves the older brother dead by drowning, and the family devastated. The parents, Cal and Beth, and their younger son Conrad, are left to cope with the aftermath. "Ordinary People" is the story of how they cope - or fail to.
43.Unsolved Mysteries of American History: An Eye-Opening Journey through 500 Years of Discoveries, Disappearances, and Baffling Eventsby Paul Aron. From amazon.com: "In a collection of 30 articles, Unsolved Mysteries of American History takes some of the most notable quandaries of the American past and tries to offer some solid answers, or at least alternate explanations. Paul Aron takes on the serious ('Why did Truman drop the bomb?') as well as the frivolous ('Did Babe Ruth call his shot?"). The book is written to entertain, but Aron provides a bibliography for further reading at the end of each essay, and steers readers to heavier tomes if they wish to dig deeper into the various subjects. Moderator: Marianne Lecesne, Math.
44. Jeanne Ann Ratliff/US English: Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly (non-fiction/history)
It is Good Friday of April 1865. Washington, D.C., is in the midst of exuberant celebrations marking the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the end of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and two guests decide to take in an evening play at Ford's Theater. John Wilkes Booth, one of the nineteenth century's most charismatic and best-known actors, will also be there--playing his role as murderer of the president and architect of a three-pronged plot to topple the entire American government. This thrilling page-turner recounts the night of horror and the manhunt which follows, turning Booth from matinee idol to America's most-wanted and -hated fugitive.
45. Mark Carrington, Associate Dean of Student Life, Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It) Robert Lupton
With four decades of inner city service, minister and advocate for the poor Bob Lupton argues that our philanthropic urges might not always find the most appropriate way to channel our help, a way that would affirm the dignity and provide true help for the poor. Read and see if he has a valid argument about transformational charity vs. toxic charity. Mr. Carrington suggests reading this if you are involved in Woodward's Service Leadership group, or if you have a passion for helping others.
46.
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. In a series of letters to an unknown friend, 9th grader Charlie shares his experiences during his first year of high school. He develops from an observant wallflower into a person of action over the course of the novel, and takes on topics such as love, friendship, and alienation. Moderator: Lorri Hewett, English.
47. Timothy Hipp, Computer Science Department: Learning to Change the World: The Social Impact of One Laptop Per Child.UNESCO estimates that eleven percent of primary school–age children—seventy-two million worldwide—are not enrolled in or attending school. Children who do attend may find themselves in schools that lack adequate space, facilities, or resources—impossible situations for learning. It is against this backdrop of profound need that One Laptop per Child (OLPC) emerged in 2005. The mission of the organization is to “empower the children of developing countries to learn.” They created the first affordable netbook specifically built to withstand harsh climates and the handling of young children—the bright green and white XO. At the 2005 World Economic Forum, Nicholas Negroponte, the MIT researcher who co-founded the Media Lab and OLPC, introduced the XO laptop to the world and described a new approach to changing education in developing countries.
48. Jenny Green/ English: Insurgent by Veronica Roth: Dystopian / Young Adult. The second book in the Divergent series, Insurgent continues the story of Tris Pryor as she "must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so." (from Amazon.com).
49. Sherry Boynton/ Counselor: Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay. Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. Mean Girls meets Groundhog day In this young adult novel and creates a story that readers will not soon forget! Samantha Kingston is high school senior that thinks she has it all--hot boyfriend, best friends, and a comfortable position as one of her high school's "It" girls. But then (in Chapter 1!), Sam dies. Sam relives her last day, February 12, in each chapter of this book, trying to get it right and learning secrets about her friends, the people she may have overlooked in the past, and most importantly, about herself. Please do not sign up for this book if you have read it before. Moderator: Alexis Horder, English.
50. Kelli Stanyard / US Foreign Language The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST
is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.
51. Jennifer Willis Mawson's Will is the dramatic story of what Sir Edmund Hillary calls "the most outstanding solo journey ever recorded in Antarctic history." For weeks in Antarctica, Douglas Mawson faced some of the most daunting conditions ever known to man: blistering wind, snow, and cold; loss of his companion, his dogs and supplies, the skin on his hands and the soles of his feet; thirst, starvation, disease, snowblindness - and he survived.
52. cHRIS sILVERS hOLMES hOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.
Is there a monstrous beast on the moors near the Baskerville estate? Is the family doomed by an ancient curse. Sherlock Holmes with aid from Dr. Watson seeks the answers to these questions and more 53. Give and Takeby Adam Grant
From the web site giveandtake.com ...
Give and Take changes our fundamental ideas about how to succeed—at work and in life. For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But in today’s dramatically reconfigured world, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. Give and Take illuminates what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common.
Using his own groundbreaking research as the youngest tenured professor at Wharton, Grant examines the surprising forces that shape why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom. In professional interactions, it turns out that most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.
54Out of Nowhere/Ouida Sebestyen—“Left on the desert to fend for himself after his free-spirited mother runs off with the owner of a BMW, 13-year-old Harley joins forces with four other cast-offs, namely Ish, a pit bull dumped by his owner; May, a recently divorced 70-year-old woman; Bill, who finds himself facing eviction after he is released from a hospital; and Singer, a young drifter. Making a home for themselves out of the run-down brick house inherited by May, the [members of this] unlikely quintet help one another learn rules of survival as they weather various crises” (Publishers Weekly). Jane Webster Foreign Language
The Would-Be Gentleman by Moliere. The Would Be Gentleman. A satiric comedy, this play discusses the rising middle class of France as members attempt to enter high society. Posers and hypocrites, beware! Moderator:Stephane Allagnon, Foreign Language.
APrayer for Owen Meanyby John Irving. If you think one person cannot make a difference, read this contemporary novel and become a believer in the power of the individual. Here's the tease from Irving's website: "In the Summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire.One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hit the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying." Moderator: Ronda Zents, English.
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi. The 1960s hippie culture, the Beatles, California . . . and murder. Why are we so easily led to kill our fellow man? Why do cults have so much power? The #1 best selling crime book of all time. Moderator: Charles Bryant, History.
You don't have to join the wiki to edit the wiki. It is a public wiki. Thanks so very very much for volunteering to work with us!
Click the Word EDIT above; be sure to click SAVE when finished.
Add the following information: Your name/Department; Title/Author; Categories under which to advertise the book; a 2 or 3 sentence "teaser." The Student WIKI is in the works at this site. As you add your entries, I clean them up and place standardized versions on the student wiki.
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach. From Amazon.com: "Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way." This is recommended for rising 11th & 12th grade students, and especially students taking the summer Criminal Investigation class. Moderator: Lacy George, Science.
- Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem. From amazon.com: "Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives." Moderator: Lindsay Porter, Science.
- Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. From amazon.com: What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it? In this groundbreaking work, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle provides parents, teachers, coaches, businesspeople—and everyone else—with tools they can use to maximize potential in themselves and others. Whether you’re coaching soccer or teaching a child to play the piano, writing a novel or trying to improve your golf swing, this revolutionary book shows you how to grow talent by tapping into a newly discovered brain mechanism. Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research gathered on journeys to nine of the world’s talent hotbeds—from the baseball fields of the Caribbean to a classical-music academy in upstate New York—Coyle identifies the three key elements that will allow you to develop your gifts and optimize your performance in sports, art, music, math, or just about anything." Moderator: Tad Sahara, Foreign Language.
- Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin. If you want to be a truly exceptional performer/student/athlete, what do you need? Join us to read about both dramatic examples and research that suggest that talent may be overrated. Moderator: Kris Muir, Foreign Language.
- Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It) by Robert Lupton. With four decades of inner city service, minister and advocate for the poor Bob Lupton argues that our philanthropic urges might not always find the most appropriate way to channel our help, a way that would affirm the dignity and provide true help for the poor. Read and see if he has a valid argument about transformational charity vs. toxic charity. Mr. Carrington suggests reading this if you are involved in Woodward's Service Leadership group, or if you have a passion for helping others. Moderator: Mark Carrington, Associate Dean of Student Life.
- The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy. Fictional superwriter turns to memoir in this piece as he remembers the time he spent as a teacher among underserved students on Daufuskee Island off Carolina's coast. A story of humor and pathos. Moderator: Stuart Gulley, Academy President.
1. Peggy McNash/English Department; Sense and Sensibility/Austen; Romance/comedy/satire. What should be the balance in a young girl's life? Should she be sensible and realize that young men of fortune cannot marry their true loves or should she believe passionately that true love will conquer all relatives' and society's objections. This novel by the author of Pride and Prejudice follows the lives of two dower-less sisters as they learn to love truly and to value one another best of all. While the story is a romance, you will also laugh as Austen ridicules teenage angst and society's snobbery and greed.think about talent, but equip you to reach your own highest potential.
2. Jim Hampton/Language Department; and Doug Fleming/History;
In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. from amazon.com
4. Joanne Baker/George C. Carlos Library; The Fault in Our Stars/John Green; Contemporary/realistic. "Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life."
6. Ethan Greenberg / Science; American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.
He is the deadliest American sniper ever, called “the devil” by the enemies he hunted and “the legend” by his Navy SEAL brothers .
From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.
SEAL Team 3 Chief Chris Kyle served four combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere. For his bravery in battle, he was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation. Additionally, he received the Grateful Nation Award, given by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Following his combat deployments, he became chief instructor for training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual.
7. Dana Jefferson/MS History/ The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
From the book jacket:"Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year of each other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimore neighborhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police. How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the other ended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence?" (Dana has yet to approve this teaser).
8. Pam Ambler US/ College Counselor/ Will take over load book.
9. Kris Muir/ US/ Foreign Language Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else Geoff Colvin Non Fiction
If you want to be a truly exceptional performer/student/athlete, what do you need? Join us to read about both dramatic examples and research that suggest that talent may be overrated
10. Fritz Hutchinson/ History; Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent.
From Amazon.com: "A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how 'reaaally big' God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit 'shoots down power' from heaven to help us."
11. Brian Keith Jackson/ History; Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother; Amy Chua. The author praises the Chinese method of parenting as she describes in a humorous and sparky way her own childhood as a first-generation Chinese-American and her current choices for her own children. This non-fiction work is a fun read but raises important questions for any who hope to become parents. Non Fiction; humor.
12. Ronda Zents / English / A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. If you think one person cannot make a difference, read this contemporary novel and become a believer in the power of the individual. Here's the tease from Irving's website: "In the Summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire.One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hit the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying." Fiction: coming of age.
13. Tim Hamling/ English/ any overload book.
14. Scott Crook/ English/ The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons/ Colquitt and Walter Kennedy are living the American dream in the suburbs of Atlanta until construction begins on the new home in the empty lot next to their home. What is wrong with the house next door, and why do such strange events happen to those who live there? The author has a great connection to GMA and Woodward (as a visitor to campus during GMA days and as a current advisory board member) and grew up in Fairburn, Georgia. Readers will recognize the Druid Hills setting for this novel of horror. GOTHIC/MYSTERY FIcTION.
August has a significant facial deformity. As he starts regular school for the first time 5th grade, how will the public react to him? August tells his story for most of this thought-provoking and heart-touching novel. Readers find themselves, sometimes to their horror, in the reactions of those around August, from his family members to school friends to school adversaries.
16. Carolyn Haldeman English Silas Marner George Eliot Silas is a lonely, embittered cottage weaver whose life changes dramatically when an abandoned child wanders into his life. Eliot discusses the factors of change for people, places, and morals in Victorian England. This short novel was made into a movie, called A Touch of Fate and starring Steve Martin called A Touch of Fate. It was filmed partially at Woodward.
17. Stacey Sandifer Math Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Edwin Abbott Who would have thought that a math book would also be an allegory and a book that raises questions about the nature of reality.
18. Stephane Allagnon Moliere The Would Be Gentleman. A satiric comedy, this play discusses the rising middle class of France as members attempt to enter high society. Posers and hypocrites, beware! Fiction and Drama, Comedy
19. Lori Wiseman Foreign Language something by Bill Bryson
After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens--as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item.
20 Maggie Berthiaume Debate Any overflow book
21. Leigh Shelor
Based on his father's bestselling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean Covey applies the same principles to teens, using a vivacious, entertaining style that includes real-life stories of teens who have overcome obstacles to succeed, and step-by-step guides to shifting paradigms, building equity in "relationship bank accounts," creating action plans, and much more. Some of the habits include the following: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; put first things first; think win-win; seek first to understand, then to be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw. Covey's humorous and up-front style is just light enough to be acceptable to wary teenagers, and down-and-dirty enough to really make a difference.
22. Linda Wyatt History any overflow book
23. Lindsay Porter Science Survival of the Sickest Sharon Moalem Non Fiction
From amazon.com, "Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives."
24. Rachael Syzmanski English The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood Is the male narrator in The Odyssey your least favorite memory of the classic? See what modern-day writer Margaret Atwood does with the tale of the man of tricks and turns when his wife and other women become the speakers. Irony abounds in this re-telling. Fiction, Satire
25. Monica Kuhlman - The Carbon Diaries- "It's the year 2015, a time when global warming has begun to ravage the environment. In response, the United Kingdom becomes the first country to mandate carbon rationing--a well-intentioned plan that goes tragically awry. This story of one girl's attempt to stay grounded in a world where disaster has become the norm is told in short diary entries."
26 Hilpert deleted
27. Rebecka Kushner in defense of food Science Confused about all the science and pseudo-science out there about our diets? Read this book that amazon.com notes bring light to our addled brains by giving us "seven simple but liberating words: 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.'" Written so that we can understand the mysteries and statistics, this book will entertain and enlighten us to a new way to think about food and the food industry.
28 Hunter Smith (History Department): Into Thin Air by John Krakauer (nonfiction)
From the New York Times review (1997): "The particular descent ahead of those on the ''hill'' on May 10, 1996, resulted in the greatest loss of life in the history of mountaineering on Everest. As news spread of the nine deaths (including that of Hall, who spoke to his wife in New Zealand by radiophone as he lay stranded in a snowstorm on the summit ridge), a barrage of questions resounded: What went wrong? Why was the approaching storm ignored? And, most emphatically, why are ''tourists'' with more money than expertise being taken up Everest in the first place? Jon Krakauer was one of the survivors, and in ''Into Thin Air'' he relives the storm and its aftermath, trying to answer those questions. As he sees it, essentially nothing ''went wrong,'' at least in terms of the storm, which struck with little warning. Instead, the root of the problem lies in the famous explanation George Mallory gave when asked why he wanted to climb the mountain, an explanation that still holds true, albeit with a slight amendment. People climb Mount Everest because it -- and the money -- is there."
29. Hayley Bowers (English Department): Divergent by Veronica Roth
Divergent/ Veronica Roth; dystopian Science Fiction. In a future dystopian Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice must choose among five predetermined virtues to define her identity for the rest of her life. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
30. Thomas Moore (English Department): Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five( FICTION--Fantasy and Science Fiction and FICTION--Humor) Billy Pilgrim has a problem: he has become unstuck in time. In Vonnegut's sci-fi comic masterpiece Slaughthouse-five, time travel, aliens and World War II all have a place. Written with Vonnegut's famous wit and humanity, follow Billy Pilgrim as he makes his way through the war, a distant planet and the future .
31.Helen Shean/English/Shane/Schaefer/Coming of Age; The archetypal westernwith a mysterious hero coming to champion the cause of the small farmer in opposition to the rich cattleman. Think Clint Eastwood! (reserved for rising 9th).
32. Lindsey Porter, Science Survival of the Sickest Sharon Moalem Non Fiction
From amazon.com, "Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth. Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives."
33. Lacy George (Science Department): Stiff: The Curious Lives of Cadavers by Mary Roach. Non-fiction
From Amazon.com: "Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way." This is recommended for rising 11th & 12th grade students, and especially students taking the summer Criminal Investigation class.
34. Alexis Horder (English Department): Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. Fiction.
Mean Girls meets Groundhog day In this young adult novel and creates a story that readers will not soon forget! Samantha Kingston is high school senior that thinks she has it all--hot boyfriend, best friends, and a comfortable position as one of her high school's "It" girls. But then (in Chapter 1!), Sam dies. Sam relives her last day, February 12, in each chapter of this book, trying to get it right and learning secrets about her friends, the people she may have overlooked in the past, and most importantly, about herself. Please do not sign up for this book if you have read it before.
35. Stuart Gulley/Academy President/ ConroyThe Water is Wide/ Fictional superwriter turns to memoir in this piece as he remembers the time he spent as a teacher among underserved students on Daufuskee Island off Carolina's coast. A story of humor and pathos.
36. Life of Pi Kelsey Emerson English From amazon.com "After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years. Universally acclaimed upon publication, Life of Pi is a modern classic."
37. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
This book is an excellent thriller that discusses the many aspects of a viral disease outbreak and its implications in this new world where people can travel all over the world in a matter of hours. It also discusses the possible origins of HIV and some other interesting topics including how we were on the verge of a massive outbreak from the presence of a very deadly virus called Ebola in our own country in Reston, VA. It is written for the layperson, but it has the potential to turn the layperson into a well-informed, disease-hunting epidemiologist, or an obsessive reader at the least. David Alvord, Science department teacher, leads this discussion.
38.Charles Bryant/History/Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders/Vincent Bugliosi: The 1960s hippie culture, the Beatles, California . . . and murder. Why are we so easily led to kill our fellow man? Why do cults have so much power? The #1 best selling crime book of all time. Non Fiction
39. Carri Carver Math Fiction-Science Fiction The Host, Stephanie Myer' Kelli Stanyard Foreign Language
In this tantalizing SF thriller, planet-hopping parasites are inserting their silvery centipede selves into human brains, curing cancer, eliminating war and turning Earth into paradise. But some people want Earth back, warts and all, especially Melanie Stryder, who refuses to surrender, even after being captured in Chicago and becoming a host for a soul called Wanderer.
40.
41. Ken Kirschner Math The House of Silk Andrew Horowitz From amazon.com
"Once again, THE GAME'S AFOOT... London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society."
42. Angela Stephenson
Ordinary People by Judith Guest: A remarkable book about an ordinary family's response to an extraordinary tragedy; it was so popular in its time precisely because the Jarretts could be any American family and what happened in their family could happen in anyone's family. Well, maybe not in anyone's family; most Americans aren't wealthy enough to live in a McMansion in an upper-middle-class bedroom community nor do most families own a boat; but income aside, the Jarretts are like most people one knows: a hardworking father, a mother who wants the best for her family, and two teenage sons, one outgoing and confident, the other quiet and retiring, living in his older brother's shadow. A freak boating accident leaves the older brother dead by drowning, and the family devastated. The parents, Cal and Beth, and their younger son Conrad, are left to cope with the aftermath. "Ordinary People" is the story of how they cope - or fail to.
43.Unsolved Mysteries of American History: An Eye-Opening Journey through 500 Years of Discoveries, Disappearances, and Baffling Events by Paul Aron. From amazon.com: "In a collection of 30 articles, Unsolved Mysteries of American History takes some of the most notable quandaries of the American past and tries to offer some solid answers, or at least alternate explanations. Paul Aron takes on the serious ('Why did Truman drop the bomb?') as well as the frivolous ('Did Babe Ruth call his shot?"). The book is written to entertain, but Aron provides a bibliography for further reading at the end of each essay, and steers readers to heavier tomes if they wish to dig deeper into the various subjects. Moderator: Marianne Lecesne, Math.
44. Jeanne Ann Ratliff/US English: Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly (non-fiction/history)
It is Good Friday of April 1865. Washington, D.C., is in the midst of exuberant celebrations marking the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the end of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and two guests decide to take in an evening play at Ford's Theater. John Wilkes Booth, one of the nineteenth century's most charismatic and best-known actors, will also be there--playing his role as murderer of the president and architect of a three-pronged plot to topple the entire American government. This thrilling page-turner recounts the night of horror and the manhunt which follows, turning Booth from matinee idol to America's most-wanted and -hated fugitive.
45. Mark Carrington, Associate Dean of Student Life, Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It) Robert Lupton
With four decades of inner city service, minister and advocate for the poor Bob Lupton argues that our philanthropic urges might not always find the most appropriate way to channel our help, a way that would affirm the dignity and provide true help for the poor. Read and see if he has a valid argument about transformational charity vs. toxic charity. Mr. Carrington suggests reading this if you are involved in Woodward's Service Leadership group, or if you have a passion for helping others.
46.
47. Timothy Hipp, Computer Science Department: Learning to Change the World: The Social Impact of One Laptop Per Child. UNESCO estimates that eleven percent of primary school–age children—seventy-two million worldwide—are not enrolled in or attending school. Children who do attend may find themselves in schools that lack adequate space, facilities, or resources—impossible situations for learning. It is against this backdrop of profound need that One Laptop per Child (OLPC) emerged in 2005. The mission of the organization is to “empower the children of developing countries to learn.” They created the first affordable netbook specifically built to withstand harsh climates and the handling of young children—the bright green and white XO. At the 2005 World Economic Forum, Nicholas Negroponte, the MIT researcher who co-founded the Media Lab and OLPC, introduced the XO laptop to the world and described a new approach to changing education in developing countries.
48. Jenny Green/ English: Insurgent by Veronica Roth: Dystopian / Young Adult. The second book in the Divergent series, Insurgent continues the story of Tris Pryor as she "must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so." (from Amazon.com).
49. Sherry Boynton/ Counselor: Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay.
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
50. Kelli Stanyard / US Foreign Language The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST
is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.
51. Jennifer Willis
Mawson's Will is the dramatic story of what Sir Edmund Hillary calls "the most outstanding solo journey ever recorded in Antarctic history." For weeks in Antarctica, Douglas Mawson faced some of the most daunting conditions ever known to man: blistering wind, snow, and cold; loss of his companion, his dogs and supplies, the skin on his hands and the soles of his feet; thirst, starvation, disease, snowblindness - and he survived.
52. cHRIS sILVERS hOLMES hOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.
Is there a monstrous beast on the moors near the Baskerville estate? Is the family doomed by an ancient curse. Sherlock Holmes with aid from Dr. Watson seeks the answers to these questions and more
53. Give and Take by Adam Grant
From the web site giveandtake.com ...
Give and Take changes our fundamental ideas about how to succeed—at work and in life. For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But in today’s dramatically reconfigured world, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. Give and Take illuminates what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common.
Using his own groundbreaking research as the youngest tenured professor at Wharton, Grant examines the surprising forces that shape why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom. In professional interactions, it turns out that most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.
54Out of Nowhere/Ouida Sebestyen—“Left on the desert to fend for himself after his free-spirited mother runs off with the owner of a BMW, 13-year-old Harley joins forces with four other cast-offs, namely Ish, a pit bull dumped by his owner; May, a recently divorced 70-year-old woman; Bill, who finds himself facing eviction after he is released from a hospital; and Singer, a young drifter. Making a home for themselves out of the run-down brick house inherited by May, the [members of this] unlikely quintet help one another learn rules of survival as they weather various crises” (Publishers Weekly). Jane Webster Foreign Language