Wednesday, November 11, 2009

What Are You Reading?

After my mission, whenever I would meet up with my mission president, and get in a conversation with him, he would always end up asking, "What are you reading now?". I always felt a little put on the spot, but he was a good example to me of being well read. I don't read as much lately as in the past, but I think that's partly because I am busy with seminary, but is also partly because I haven't found a book that really grabs me. Most of my books that I'm reading now are ones that I CAN put down. :)

My 11 year old son's teacher sent me an email the other day, and in it she mentioned that he got the highest reading score in the class. He tested at a 12.8 grade reading level. The problem is finding books that challenge him. She had a son who was very similar, and he gravitated toward Stephen King books. She suggested that with my permission, my son might like to read Stephen King books. I'll be honest, I'm not happy with the thought of my 11 year old reading gorey, scary books that are filled with swear words. I don't really want him to read those books, but we are getting to the point that we need some suggestions for books he can read.

Right now he is reading "Lost World", having already read Jurassic Park. He also read "The Golden Compass", and is on book two in that series. He's read the Harry Potter series too many times to count, and I'd rather he move on. He read Holes, and started Ender's Game, but his older brother snagged the book before he could finish it.

Do you have some suggestions for books that he could read that aren't too adult? He hasn't shown too much interest in the classics, but I'm going to try to get him to read Treasure Island. What books would you suggest for him?

10 comments:

Lindsay Logic said...

Has he read the Twilight series? I love John Grisham's books. I read them at age 12-14, too. I think kids think a lot older than we give them credit for. :)

Fromagette said...

Lord of the Rings (series)
Artemis Fowl (series), Eoin Colfer
Redwall (series), Brian Jacques
The Phantom Toll Booth, Norman Juster
The Hobbit
The Bronze Bow, Elizabeth George Speare
The Dark is Rising (series), Susan Cooper

That's at least a start. I love young adult literature! I'll also try to get some suggestions from my sister. She is a 7th grade english teacher.

Looney said...

C.S. Lewis: Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy.

If he likes Treasure Island, you can do other Robert Lewis Stevenson books like Kidnapped and The Master of Ballantine.

Delirious said...

I'm glad you mentioned Chronicles of Narnia Looney. I am not thrilled with the Golden Compass simply because I read that the author wrote this books for the opposite reason CS Lewis wrote his. CS Lewis wrote his to help teach children of the reality of God. My son seems unaffected by the golden compass though.

Nene said...

Here's some books he might be interested in that I read in the past year:
Fablehaven (Series) by Brandon Mull
The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
InkSpell by Cornelia Funke
InkDeath by Cornelia Funke

The Secrets of the Infamous Nicholaus Flamel Series by Michael Scott:
The Magician
The Alchemyst
The Sorceress

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The City of Ember by Jean DuPrau
The People of Sparks by Jean DuPrau
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jean DuPrau

Gilbert Girl's daughter has been reading some of them, as I pass them on to her. :0)

Mediocre Renaissance Man said...

When I was in high school I also read Jurassic Park and The Lost World and loved them. You really can't go wrong with anything by Crichton. I think your son might also enjoy Timeline and Prey by the same author.

Also around that time I fell in love with Ender's Game. I believe the author, Orson Scott Card is a member of the church. There are a few more books in that series, but the first is the best and is the lightest read.

Finally, I enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time and The Haunted Mesa, among many others. It's good to hear that he loves reading so much, and there's nothing better to keep him at it like a bunch of good books. :D

Becky said...

My sons love the Orson Scott Card books. I read the Ender's Game and it was fine, but I'm just not into that genre.

I recently read "Nick of Time" by Ted Bell and really enjoyed it. It's a time travel novel written for children.

My boys also enjoyed "Eragon" and "Brysingr" by Christopher Paolini.

Hope this helps! It is a challenge.

Amber said...

I agree with Mediocre, I think he would love Timeline by Michael Crichton, I also loved the Wrinkle in Time series at that age, and Treasure Island was really good, maybe even some Sherlock Holmes? Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie, and if you wanted to read a little less scary Stephen King he could read The Eyes of the Dragon, ooo or Farenheit 451 was a favorite at that age too!

Inklings said...

Wow, everyone has suggested some great books. I think he should go back to Ender's Game, but have him skip over Xenocide and Speaker for the Dead for now, but go into Ender's Shadow and those sequels. I loved them, and I think there are about 8 Ender books. (I'm guessing. I have read them all but didn't count as I went.)

By the way, I used to read Stephen King when I was younger, but after about 3 books he creeped me out too bad and I quit.

Mr. Giggles said...

I would also suggest...
Any books by Chaim Potok (i.e. The Chosen, etc.)
Any books by Alexander Dumas (i.e. the Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo)
The Earth-Sea Trilogy, by (I think) Ursula Leguin
The Fablehaven Series is for teens, but I like it.

Whatever you do, keep him AWAY from the House of the Seven Gables, or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or Moby Dick. We don't want to scare him away from books...