Tuesday 3 September 2013

Top Ten Tuesday (#8)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish, where bloggers get together and list the top ten things related to that week's topic.

Top Ten...Contemporary Books That Would Be Great Paired With A Required Reading Book / Books That You Wish Were Taught In Schools


I'm going to do half-and-half this week!
  1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare/Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - Warm Bodies is a semi-retelling of Romeo and Juliet anyway, so I think that these books would go hand-in-hand with one another.
  2. 1984 by George Orwell/The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Cliché, I know, I know! But I like the different interpretations of dystopian stories, and I think it'd be interesting to study an older interpretation with a more modern one.
  3. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee/Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman - I'm really smug about this choice, why am I not an English teacher? I'd love to see the comparisons made between these two novels, as they basically tackle the same subject but in very different ways.
  4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte/Looking for Alaska by John Green - These two books both have very strong heroines, with the guys sort of floundering around them.
  5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath/Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen - Quite similar books, but I'd like to see them studied together as Kaysen went to the same hospital that Plath was in, just at a later time. (Note to self: read these two back-to-back at some point)

  1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Did you honestly expect me to pick anything else? This book needs to be read by everyone, and what better way to do that then through school?
  2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - I chose this for similar reasons as above, but also because it revolves around starting high school. Chbosky brings up a lot of tough issues for teens, and by getting a range of teenagers to study it, I think it could make the high school experience far less painful.
  3. Wonder by R. J. Palacio - This is one of the most wonderful books I have ever read. It teaches the reader so much about prejudice and acceptance and just READ IT. PUT IT SYLLABUSES NOW.
  4. Divergent by Veronica Roth - Divergent isn't for everyone - but then again, neither is Lord of the Flies, but my school made me read that! Boys, suck it up and learn to love it.
  5. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - I think teenagers would find it interesting to study the world of the Shadowhunters. It would certainly make for interesting essays.
So what books did you choose? Leave a comment below for me to check out your blog!

Follow on Bloglovin

12 comments:

  1. I did only books I wish were taught in schools. I like your pairings though, I couldn't have thought of them! I agree with The Fault in Ours Stars and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, they're such an inspiring books :)

    My Top Ten Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh dear. I think I left off Fault. Off to remedy that!

    Here are my thoughts on the Best Required Reading!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haha I had To Kill a Mockingbird/Noughts and Crosses as one of my pairing too (I was feeling pretty smug about it as well, great minds must think alike). They would totally make an awesome pairing in terms of discussion!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting choice for the Romes Juliet sub - Warm Bodies is a book I enjoyed and read twice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never knew Warm Bodies was a semi-retelling of Romeo and Juliet at all! But that makes me all the more inclined to get it, because: ZOMBIES. And love. Heh. And yes - I totally agree with Perks being a required read. I didn't add that to my TTT, but it's a book I think all teens should read. Great list!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great TTT! Perks and Divergent are on my list too, but have great lessons for teens:)

    TTT @ Eveline's Books

    ReplyDelete
  7. Man I am behind on my TBR list, I haven't read many of these! I loved your description of the Wuthering Heights pairing "strong heroines, with the guys sort of floundering around them." hahahaha!

    I had no idea that Girl, Interrupted went to the same hospital as Plath! It's been years since I read it though, so perhaps I've just forgotten. I've never read anything by Plath, but I've been meaning to and reading those back to back sounds like an excellent idea!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice pairing of Romeo + Juliet with Warm Bodies. I think that would definitely give the students a more updated, and interesting, look at a young tragic love story.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Man it would be so interesting to see essays done on Shadowhunters!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Fault in Our Stars, for sure! Great list. :)

    My TTT:

    http://qaisracetusbookblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/top-ten-tuesday-9313.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like your pairing of To Kill A Mockingbird and Noughts and Crosses. Both are amazing books and they'd be really interesting to study together. Thanks for stopping by my list this week! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. There are several on your list that I need to read, but the books that I have read, I totally agree with. Good choices! Thanks for visiting my TTT.

    ReplyDelete