A Watertown High School Teacher Book List
During the summer of 2003, English staff members were asked to consider what things might
increase reading and enjoyment of books by students.
We decided to compile a list of some of the books we enjoyed most. Most are novels – Some are
short story collections – A few are non-fiction – Some are plays. Many are considered “classics”
and all have entertained us and enriched our lives. We consider these books to be worthwhile, of
varying levels of challenge, and generally clean for young people to enjoy.
Mrs. Hanson:
A Lost Lady The Four Zoas
Empire Grill Winesburg, Ohio – Sherwood Anderson
A Boy's Will -
The House of Mirth Cold Mountain Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Seuss
The Old Man and the Sea – John Steinbeck
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mr. Hillesland:
Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, The Hideous Strength, Mere Christianity, The
Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia series, by C.S. Lewis
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Anna Karenina, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A Thurber Carnival by James Thurber
Ogden Nash's poetry
The Bible
Mr. Holmquest:
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
Cyrano DeBergerac– Edmond Rostand
Dune – Frank Herbert
The Hobbitt & Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkein
The Hatchet Gary Paulsen
A River Runs Through It – Norman MacLean
Night – Elie Weisel
A Wrinkle in Time (series) - Madeline L’Engele
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell Selling the Invisible – Harry Beckwith
Short Stories – Irwin Shaw
The Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge
Don Quixote Miguel DeCervantes
The Discoverers – Daniel Boorstein
Crazy Horse – Mari Sandoz
“The Book of Mark” – The Bible
1984 & Animal Farm – George Orwell To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Natural – Bernard Malamud
Welcome To the Monkey House, Kurt Vonnegut
Doctor Zhivago – Boris Pasternak
The Pearl, Of Mice & Men – John Steinbeck
The Thurber Carnival – James Thurber The Heart is A Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
Short Stories - Ernest Hemmingway
Flowers for Algernon (novella) – Daniel Keyes
& all of the C.S. Lewis books that Cal Hillesland recommended above.
Mrs. Johnson:
Fox in Socks - Dr. Suess
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
An American Tragedy - Theodore Drieser
Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald Huck Finn - Mark Twain
Autobiography - Alice Walker
Death of a Salesman (play)- - Arthur Miller
The Importance of Being Earnest (play)- Oscar Wilde
Native Son - Richard Wright
Mrs. Kludt:
Tom Clancy
Patrick Robinson
Richard Marcinko
Steve Pieczenik
John Garder
Nicholas Sparks
Vince Flynn
Stephen Coonts
John Grisham
W.E.B. Griffin
Ian Fleming
Margaret Truman
David Hagberg
Mrs. Manley:
The Bluest Eyes - Toni Morrison
Catcher in the Rye -J.D. Salinger
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
See Jane Date - Melissa Senate
The Bible
Fish
My Sergei - Ekaterina Gordeeva
The Education of Little Tree - Forest Carter
A Child Called It, The Lost Boy & A Man Named David - David Pelzer
Mr. Mittelstedt:
The Shining, - Stephen King
The Reason Why, - Cecil Woodham-Smith
Hiroshima - John Hersey
2001: A Space Odyssey (series) - Art Clarke.
Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking.
Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, - Kathleen Norris.
Ms. Moulton:
Tom Jones – Fielding
Bridget Jones Diary
The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexander Dumas
Winston Churchill – William Manchester Charles II - Frasier
Western Art - Sister Wendy
How to Read and Why & Genius - Bloom
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Outlaw Bible of American Poetry
Dracula - Bram Stoker
I, Claudius - Graves
The Art of Acting – Mortimer J. Alder
any Geo. Will, Wm Buckley, P.J. O'Rourke
How to Read Literature Like an English Professor -Foster
Mrs. O’Brien:
Dune - Frank Herbert
Dibs In Search of Self –Virginia Axline
Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
Lord of the Flies – Stephan Golding
1984 – George Orwell
The Broken Cord – Michael Dorris
Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt
The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom
Ender’s Game series - Orson Scott Card
The Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
The Catcher In the Rye – J.D. Salinger
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
Mr. O’Brien:
A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Cider House Rules - John Irving
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
American Pastoral - Philip Roth
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
Native Son – Richard Wright
Ender’s Game series – Orson S. Card
Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut
- Tom Robbins
Bright Lights, Big City - Jay McInerney
Searching for Bobby Fischer - Fred Waitzkin
Kingdom Come - Mark Waid & Alex Ross
Ms. Overmoe:
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank
She Stoops to Conquer
The Bible
Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
Any Shakespeare
The Stand, Stephan King
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
Killer Angels
Sophie's Choice, William Tryon
Long Days Journey Into Night
Beowulf
Any Tennessee Williams
Mr. Shephard:
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
A Separate Reality - Carlos Castenada
Macbeth -Shakespeare
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
The Magus - John Fowles
The Life of Pi
American Caesar: A Biography of Douglas MacArthur - William Manchester
Sophie's Choice - William Styron
Mr. Walker:
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
Catcher In the Rye – J.D. Salinger
A Brief History of Time – Stephan Hawking
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Searching for Bobby Fischer - Fred Waitzkin
The Wind In the Willows, Ken Grahame
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Hariett B. Stowe
Chaos – James Gleick
Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy – Frank Brady
Do you have a list of favorites? If so, please send your list to Mr. Holmquest,
holmquej@wtn.k12.sd.us and we’ll add your picks to the next list.
Enjoy!
In addition, we asked teacher friends from other departments and other schools for their “favorite”
book nominees. We also welcomed favorites of our students. These are typed below:
Mr. Sherrill (Watertown Social Studies):
Without Remorse – Tom Clancy
(Any) - Stephan Ambrose
Garrett (series) – Glen Cook
(Any) - Clive Cussler
Allen Lewrie (series) Dewey Lampdin
(Any) - Allen Dean Foster
Basil Brokentail (series) – Chris Rowley
The Sinister Pig (series) – Tony Hillerman
Lovejoy (series) – Jonathon Gash
The Demon Princes (series) – Jack Vance
(Any) - Dave Weber
Iron Gate – Richard Herman
WW 2 series – Ian Slater
Mrs. Moeller (Brookings High School, Jr. English teacher and interp coach):
Into the Wild – Jon Jrakauer
Breaking Free – Judy Blunt
Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom
The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk
The Teacup & the Universe
Friday Nigh Lights – Bissinger
Peace Like A River – Leif Erger
Skinwalker – Tony Hillerman
Blessings, One True Thing – Anna Quindlen
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
Witness of Combines – Kent Meyers
The Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien
The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck
To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Snow Falling on Cedar – Peter Guterson
Mr. Roberts (WHS retired debate/English teacher, author, and mystery fan):
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald The Black Echo – Michael Connelly
The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood Time’s Witness – Michael Malone
Harry Potter (series) J.K. Rowling
Ender’s Games (series) – Orson Scott Card
Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
The Best & The Brightest – David Halberstam
Them – Joyce Carol Oates
Schindler’s List – Thomas Keneally
Enemy Women – Paulette Jiles
Sister Carrie – Theodore Drieser
Native Son – Richard Wright
The Incident of the Dog in The Nightime – Mark Hadden