Name ______________________________________________
English IV (Biber/Rendzia/Fagan/Jarvis)
Block _______
2014 Research Paper Book Options ***Homework***
Your homework is to use the Internet to learn a bit about each of the books below and choose 4 that you might
consider reading for your research paper. If there is a novel or play that is not on the list that you would like to
read, you may include it as one of your choices; however, you are not guaranteed that it will be approved.
Step 1 - Start with a Google search and read several reviews and summaries of the stories to
determine if they are books that might interest you. You may also want to stop by Barnes and Noble
to read a few lines from a few of the books to be certain you are comfortable with the language
and writing style.
1. Oscar Wilde – The Portrait of Dorian Gray
2. Richard Wright – Black Boy
3. Sherman Alexie - The Absolutely True Diary
of a Part Time Indian
4. Stephen Crane – The Red Badge of
Courage
5. Tim O’Brien - The Things They Carried
6. Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre
7. Bram Stoker - Dracula
8. Jeanette Walls – The Glass Castle
9. Nick Hornby – A Long Way Down
10. James Frey – A Million Little Pieces
11. Augusten Burroughs – Running With
Scissors
12. D.H. Lawrence – Sons and Lovers
13. Edith Wharton – Ethan Fromm
14. Frank McCourt – Angela’s Ashes
15. George Bernard Shaw – Pygmalian
16. George Orwell - 1984
17. Hanif Kureishi – My Beautiful Laundrette
18. Emma Donoghue - Room
19. Helen Fielding – Bridget Jones’ Diary
20. Ian McEwan - Atonement
21. Jean Rhys – Wide Sargasso Sea
22. Jodi Picoult - Nineteen Minutes, My Sister’s
Keeper
23. John Gardner - Grendel
24. John Howard Griffen – Black Like Me
25. John Steinbeck – The Grapes of Wrath
26. Kathryn Stockett – The Help
27. Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day
28. Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner, A
Thousand Splendid Suns
29. Monica Ali – Brick Lane
30. Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale,
Oryx and Crake
Step 2 - Once you have surveyed the books, list your top four choices and explain briefly what they
are about and explain why they might be good choices for you to read for the research paper. List
the books in order of preference – starting with the book you like the most as #1. You must choose 4
possible books and complete this entire worksheet to get credit for the assignment.
1st choice book title and author:
Provide a 2-3 sentence summary of the story
Explain why this book appeals to you. Why do you think you would enjoy reading this book?
2nd choice book title and author:
Provide a 2-3 sentence summary of the story
Explain why this book appeals to you. Why do you think you would enjoy reading this book?
3rd choice book title and author:
Provide a 2-3 sentence summary of the story
Explain why this book appeals to you. Why do you think you would enjoy reading this book?
4th choice book title and author:
Provide a 2-3 sentence summary of the story
Explain why this book appeals to you. Why do you think you would enjoy reading this book?