Cardinal Gibbons High School
Summer Reading List 2013-14
English 9 and 9 Honors
The titles listed below under “Recommended Reading” indicate those works which are taught in class by
various teachers. There is no way to identify EXACTLY which novels a student should read to “get ahead” for
the next school year since there are multiple teachers at each level and not all teachers will study the same works
in great depth. However, choosing any titles from the recommended list is a good idea. The recommended list
represents titles that any college-bound student should have in his /her background.
The titles listed as leisure reading are suggested titles that may not be studied in class, but are “good reads.”
Teachers often put their favorite titles in this category or titles they cannot teach because of time constraints but
that they would like to introduce to the students. These titles change from year to year.
Recommmended Reading - Honors
Recommended Reading – College Prep
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare
Fast Food Nation – Eric Schlosser
A Separate Peace – John Knowles
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
Night – Elie Wiesel
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Night – Elie Wiesel
Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare
The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
Leisure Reading
Cold Sassy Tree – Olive Ann Burns
The Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane
My Antonia – Willa Cather
A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansbury
Ellen Foster – Kaye Gibbons
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Julius Caesar – William Shakespeare
Cardinal Gibbons High School
Summer Reading List 2013-14
English 10 and 10 Honors
The titles listed below under “Recommended Reading” indicate those works which are taught in class by
various teachers. There is no way to identify EXACTLY which novels a student should read to “get ahead” for
the next school year since there are multiple teachers at each level and not all teachers will study the same works
in great depth. However, choosing any titles from the recommended list is a good idea. The recommended list
represents titles that any college-bound student should have in his /her background.
The titles listed as leisure reading are suggested titles that may not be studied but are “good reads.” Teachers
often put their favorite reads in this category, or titles they cannot teach because of time constraints but which
they would like to introduce to the students. These titles change from year to year.
Recommended Reading – Honors
Recommended Reading – College Prep
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller
The Road – Cormac McCarthy
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
Leisure Reading
Puddinhead Wilson – Mark Twain
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
Native Son – Richard Wright
The Natural – Bernard Malamud
House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
My Antonia – Willa Cather
Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane
The Good Earth – Pearl Buck
Cardinal Gibbons High School
Summer Reading List 2013-14
English 11 and 11 Honors
The titles listed below under “Recommended Reading” indicate those works which are taught in class by
various teachers. There is no way to identify EXACTLY which novels a student should read to “get ahead” for
the next school year since there are multiple teachers at each level and not all teachers will study the same works
in great depth. However, choosing any titles from the recommended list is a good idea. The recommended list
represents titles that any college-bound student should have in his /her background.
The titles listed as leisure reading are suggested titles that may not be studied but are “good reads.” Teachers
often put their favorite reads in this category, or titles they cannot teach because of time constraints but which
they would like to introduce to the students. These titles change from year to year.
Recommended Reading – Honors
Recommended Reading – College Prep
Beowulf – Seamus Heaney
1984 – George Orwell
1984 – George Orwell
Macbeth – Shakespeare
Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
Macbeth – Shakespeare
Beowulf – Seamus Heaney
Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
Prince Caspian – C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian – C.S. Lewis
Leisure Reading
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner – Alan Sillitoe
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy –Douglas Adams
Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
Peace Like a River – Leif Enger
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
Grendel – John Gardner
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Cardinal Gibbons High School
Summer Reading List 2013-14
English 12 and 12 Honors
The titles listed below under “Recommended Reading” indicate those works which are taught in class by
various teachers. There is no way to identify EXACTLY which novels a student should read to “get ahead” for
the next school year since there are multiple teachers at each level and not all teachers will study the same works
in great depth. However, choosing any titles from the recommended list is a good idea. The recommended list
represents titles that any college-bound student should have in his /her background.
The titles listed as leisure reading are suggested titles that may not be studied, but are “good reads.” Teachers
often put their favorite reads in this category, or titles they cannot teach because of time constraints but which
they would like to introduce to the students. These titles change from year to year.
Recommended Reading – Honors
King Lear – William Shakespeare
Kaffir Boy – Mark Mathabane
Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
Hamlet – William Shakespeare
Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse
Inferno – Dante (Robert Pinsky Translation)
An Enemy of the People – Henrik Ibsen
A Doll’s House – Henrik Ibsen
Crime and Punishment – Fydor Dostoyevski
The Stranger – Albert Camus
Oedipus Rex – Sophocles
Hedda Gabler – Henrik Ibsen
Othello - William Shakespeare
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
Waiting For Godot – Samuel Beckett
Recommended Reading – College Prep
Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse
Kaffir Boy – Mark Mathabane
An Enemy of the People – Henrik Ibsen
A Doll’s House – Henrik Ibsen
Inferno – (Robert Pinsky Translation)
Oedipus Rex – Sophocles
No Exit – Jean-Paul Sartre
Cry, the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
Leisure Reading
A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Nickel and Dimed – Barbara Ehrenreich
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Dai Sijie
House of the Spirits – Isabelle Allende
The Agony and the Ecstasy – Graham Greene
Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
Slaughter-House Five – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
An Inconvenient Truth – Al Gore
The Botany of Desire – Michael Pollan
In the Time of the Butterflies – Julia Alvarez
Summer Reading List and Assignment
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition-Senior Level
2013-14 Session
Mrs. Sokash
Listed below are four works which are required reading during the school year for all Advanced Placement English students.
Each book has been selected on the basis of its literary merit as well as its interest level. We will use these works for indepth discussion and writing assignments during the 2013-14 school year. They will be studied according to the schedule
listed; please understand that the months listed for the study of each work are “ballpark” targets. I try to stay as close to the
schedule as possible and my goal is always to study Inferno during the Lenten season. If you have read any of the works, it
would be wise of you to reread them so that you are familiar with the details. Because the AP reading load is typically
heavy and there will be other major works – novels and plays – that will be assigned throughout the year, I ask that
you begin reading these works over the summer. There will be a reading check on each work before we begin the
discussion. DO NOT BUY any of the books listed. All of them are readily available from the public library. You will
receive a copy of each required book on the first day of class. This practice ensures that we are all working from the same
text and avoids confusion when we reference pages during class discussions.
THE MUST READS FOR THE SUMMER:
You absolutely must come into class in August having read The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and Le
Misanthrope by Moliere. These are both dramas: one a 20 th century American tragedy, the other a 17th century French
satirical comedy. We will begin the second week of school with a discussion of these works and my practice is to begin the
discussion of any work of literature with a reading test.
WORKS WE WILL STUDY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
There are several translations of Dante’s Divine Comedy; some are in one edition and others are published as three separate
books. The edition that we have at school is translated by Mark Musa. We will be using this translation for our study of
Dante. It is not necessary for you to buy this book; you will receive the book in August on the first day of class. We will
focus most of our attention on Inferno and then will read selected sections from Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is unfortunate
that we do not have the time to devote to an in-depth study of the entire Comedy; however, it is one of the greatest works of
Catholic literature and merits some extra attention.
I hope you have an enjoyable summer relaxing and reading! I look forward to seeing you in AP English in AUGUST.
Mrs. Sokash
Beloved – Toni Morrison} September
We Were the Mulvaneys – Joyce Carol Oates } April
Crime and Punishment – Fydor Dostoyevsky} October
Divine Comedy – Dante} –Inferno, - March
Purgatorio, Paradiso (we will read selected cantos)
Discussion Focus Questions
I recommend that you become an active reader of literature. As you read, make note of passages that seem important; i.e.
give strong characterization, create vivid images in settings, use symbols, etc. Make notes on post-it notes. Write down
questions that come to mind as you read. Try to write your understanding of the theme in a sentence or two. Your notes
need not make the reading laborious- remember, this is summer – but you should always have some reaction to what you
read; making notes when you come to the end of a chapter would be appropriate and would help you recall your reaction to
the work.
Below you will find a series of questions or topics to consider as you read the major works that we will discuss in class. While I will try
to give as much depth to our discussion as I can, you must understand that we are always under time constraints and we have much to
read, discuss and write about. WE WILL NEVER DISCUSS THE PLOT OF THESE WORKS i.e., who, what, where and when. We will
discuss the why of many things in each work; therefore, I have given you some questions to consider for each work that will, hopefully,
make your summer reading more productive than simply reading the book. Know that the questions / topics below do not constitute all of
what we may say about the work, but these topics should give you some idea of the main focus of our consideration of the work.
Beloved
Toni Morrison is a popular and well-respected contemporary novelist. This particular novel delves into the tragedy of
slavery from a very personal perspective. When you read this novel, you need to approach it with some maturity; Morrison
gives us a perspective of the slave’s life from the slave’s reality which makes for an intense experience of the horrors of
slave life and after the consequences of slavery. Our discussion of this novel will focus on narrative and narrative voice,
symbolism, the destructive effects of slavery on the family and attempts to rebuild a sense of family by displaced and freed
slaves.
Crime and Punishment
This is a fascinating novel as it takes us into the mind of a criminal – similar to the popular TV shows like Criminal Minds
and CSI. It’s a long read, but most classes enjoy the novel once they get into it. Our discussion will focus on the following:
an author’s use of the device of dreams in a literary work, the process of an individual’s journey from sin to redemption,
what happens when a character’s actions or beliefs are in conflict with his society or even his own background, the reader’s
perception of a character, the importance and function of minor characters and the theme of alienation.
We Were the Mulvaneys
This is a novel written by one of our most prolific and respected contemporary female authors. In our discussion we will
consider her representation of the American family, its dynamics and dissolution. We will also consider how one event
which directly involves just one person affects every family member. As you read, consider the tensions and joys
represented in the family and to what degree the Mulvaneys could be “every family.” How effectively and to what end does
Oates weave details of the four decades that the novel covers into the lives of the characters? What themes do you identify
as you read about the characters in this novel and the events that shape individuals as well as a family?
Divine Comedy
This is poetry, so it may be challenging to those of you who do not care for poetry; however, once you get into the rhythm
of the stanzas, you should find it manageable. A bit of advice: when you read poetry, PAY ATTENTION TO THE
PUNCTUATION, NOT THE LINE ENDS. If you read according to the way it is punctuated, it should seem as if you are
reading prose, and you should be able to follow ideas better. The challenge here will be inverted word order and all of the
allusions to people and times of Dante. In our discussions we will concern ourselves with sin, the nature of sin, and
Dante’s use of language as we work our way through the Comedy.
As you read, take notes on the following: In Inferno (the only canticle that we will read in its entirety) what kinds of sin
does Dante describe, on what level is each sin placed and why; what is the contrapasso (divine justice) of each sin? We will
discuss elements of the structure, etc., but you need not concern yourselves with that in your reading. However, pay
attention to diction and the ways Dante uses language for different purposes.
If you are so inclined, you really should read Wuthering Heights. It has appeared on the AP Exam open-ended question
almost more than any other title. That should give you an idea of the depth and richness of this work. It is an extremely
important work to have in your background and I will use it early in the first quarter to generate timed writing exercises. It is
not necessary that you read the novel for these timed writings; short passages from the novel will be provided for you to
respond to, based on a prompt.
Summer Reading List
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition-Junior Level
2013-2014 Session
Mr. Friedman
Required summer reading for AP English Language and Composition is 1984 by George Orwell. DO NOT BUY any of the
works listed. All of them are readily available from the public library. You will receive a copy of each required book on the
first day of class. This practice ensures that we are all working from the same text and avoids confusion when we reference
pages during class discussions.
First Book Assignment—Novel
The school year will begin with an assignment on the following book:
1984 by George Orwell
As students read this text, they should annotate it by using a highlighter and/or post-it notes, or handwritten notes if they are
using their own copies. Pay particular attention to passages which illustrate the author’s increasing awareness of the
importance of identity and voice in writing.
Although the major focus in AP English Language & Composition is on non-fiction works, we will read and discuss some
of the following works during the school year. Copies of those selected texts will be distributed at the start of each
semester. . If students wish to get a head start, they may begin reading the following texts during the summer. They will be
expected to have read the texts before we discuss them in class.
1984—George Orwell - Required
Macbeth—William Shakespeare