HHS Staff Favorite Summer Reading
Not assigned, assessed, or associated with actual assignment
HIllsboro Staff Favorite Books
With the goal of encouraging Summer Reading for our students, the Hillsboro Staff is working to compile a list of Memorable Summer Reading Books that we have read in the past. This a list to help students & teachers continue to cultivate a love for reading. These books aren't for everyone, so find the one that speaks to you and read!
Scott Bennett
English Teacher
1. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A graphic novel without the graphics.
2. Kafka on the Shore Paperback by Haruki Murakami
There are no words to describe. #OMG
3. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
This is about power and truth. Who has it, really? *Your parents will hate me for giving you the Vonnegut gateway text. Better tell them your ex recommended it.
4. The Dharma Bums Paperback by Jack Kerouac
If this doesn’t make you want to throw you iPhone into the Cumberland and walk away from it all, your soul is already lost.
For More of Bennett's Summer Reads follow the link.
Vanessa Campbell
English Teacher
Me Talk Pretty One Day. David Sedaris. A series of hilarious memoirs.
The Secret Life of Lobsters. Lobsters are much more interesting than you’d expect.
The Goldfinch. Donna Tartt. Theo steals a painting, loses his mother, and gets involved with seedy undesirables.
Amy Cate
Dean of Students
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Piscine ends up on a boat in the middle of the ocean. How does he survive? And oh yeah…there’s a tiger on board too. Things aren’t always as dark as they seem and life is wonderous even when it’s hard.
2. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A white father forces his family (all daughters) to move to Africa as “missionaries”in the 1950s. Life is different and so is the way each daughter approaches her stay in Africa. This book has my most favorite quote from all literature: “There are more words in the world than ‘no’ and ‘yes’.” Pretty beautiful love story there too, for the record.
3. The Voyage of the Dawntreader by CS Lewis
Adventure! Yes, it’s from the Narnia series. And it’s great. Most of all, heros aren’t always the biggest and the strongest but they do what needs to be done with a happy and courageous heart. If I ever taught you, you know what hero I’m talking about.
Joyce Claassen
Librarian
Between Shades of Gray by Rutas Sepetys I'm a nut for an Historical Fiction. This book led me on a quest to read all of her books including:
- Out of Easy Saucy New Orleans story from the 50s involving who's my dad, a brothel, murder, mystery, & books :-) Who could ask for anything better!
- Salt of the Sea World War II story of escape based on actual events.
Skink, No Surrender by Carl Hiassen- Fun read because I love Florida and a good adventure!
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway- A book that I've challenged myself to read every summer. Easy enough to read at one day at the beach.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt to help me understand my roots.
Summer of Reading "War Books" went like this:
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway Because I read "The Paris Wife" and wanted to learn more about Ernest Hemingway.
- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - This book was a part of the First Public Burning of Books by Hitler. So naturally I had to read it.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand First book I finished at 3 am because I couldn't put it down. DON'T WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST
My Summer To Do list for me:
- Read more Wendell Berry
- Read Harry Potter Series
- Read the "Actual Assigned" Summer Reading for students.
Emarie Elliott
Spanish Teacher
Wonder: I read it in Spanish, it's awesome
The Return : a novel about the Spanish civil war and the Franco dictatorship
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Chiveis Trilogy :The Sword, The Gift, and The Kingdom -- amazing trilogy set in Europe 400 years from now, post apocalyptic type situation where everything has gone back to medieval times
Seriously I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
Christine Ginsberg
Photography/Journalism/Yearbook
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland
Missy Humphrey
Math Teacher
The Art of Racing in the Rain- Garth Stein
Story told from a dogs perspective. Simple read, emotional book. Great for dog/animal lovers. Life lessons in the book.
Cynthia Lyles-Scott
English Teacher
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Light in August by William Faulkner
Carrie, It, Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King
The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Hamlet, Macbeth, Much ado about Nothing, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (pretty much anything by Willie Shakes, except the sonnets and historical plays)
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Dawn Marek
CTE Audio Visual Teacher
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a 2010 non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand, author of the best-selling book Seabiscuit: An American Legend. Unbroken is a biography of World War II hero Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic track star who survived a plane crash in the Pacific theater, spent 47 days drifting on a raft, and then survived more than two and a half years as a prisoner of war in three brutal Japanese prisoner-of-war camps
Alison Palumbo
The Moth Collections- Short stories written by average people, celebrities, athletes, etc. In case you need a reminder that no matter what you're going through, chances are someone else has been there, too.
Lolita- Because it's the greatest novel ever and you'll get some weird reactions from people if you read it in public.
Any Ron Rash short story collection - This guy manages to complete the entire story arch in the space of a few pages. I guarantee you'll never be able to predict the endings.
Commonwealth or Little Fires Everywhere- great beach reads to remind you that every family is just a little bit crazy.
Any Vonnegut- I recommend cat's cradle, but any of it should satisfy that bourgeoning feeling of teenage angst.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - Because it's cheaper than a plane ticket to South Africa to visit Mr. Bennett. Get the audio book version!
At the very least, just read something other than social media feeds please.
Paul Troy
Humanities Teacher
The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier by Jakob Walker
Ever wondered what life was like for all the people in history that helped the people in history? Think about that next time you join a cause or serve under someone. The diary is full of vivid imagery as you follow one soldier in Napoleon’s army.
Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals
“Be patient, and one day, God willing, you’ll see inside that school, I promise” Melba’s Grandma in response to her wanting to see the inside of Little Rock Central High School. This book is an account of one young woman as she became one of the first to integrate a public school in the United States in a time full of hatred, tradition, and fear in the South.
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
A cornucopia of word vomit that would make Tyrion Lannister, a street preacher, and Hillary Clinton both sad and happy at the same time; it may not be high school appropriate though…(definitely not).
Casey Ward
Literacy Teacher Development Coach
The Name of the Wind – Don’t trust me on this high fantasy future classic, trust Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man behind Hamilton: “No one writes about music like Pat Rothfuss. The way it sneaks into your soul, the way it feeds you like nothing else.”
The Secret History – A murder mystery where you know who the killers are on the first page, and yet what unfolds is, like the best of Greek tragedies, both surprising and inevitable.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Hilarious and heartbreaking, Haddon’s novel brilliantly dramatizes a minor tragedy through the perspective of a unique young man.
Me Talk Pretty One Day – Warning: If you read this, you will likely read nothing but Sedaris all summer, picking up Barrel Fever, Naked, and Holidays on Ice immediately after putting this one down.
Shelly Wilkinson
Math Teacher
Walden – Henry David Thoreau – I might have read it for a class but I honestly don’t remember. To summarize: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.” Really made me think about what I value in life.
Civil Disobedience – Henry David Thoreau – I read this for a class called Gandhi, King, and Non-violence. Importance: Influenced both Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in their peaceful resistance of unethical government practices. Might be a little controversial, but definitely speaks to the times.
ANYTHING by Pat Conroy. Recommended by a friend. Opened my eyes to how troubled other people’s lives are. If his books don’t make you feel something, then you have no heart. Great southern author.
Scott Wofford
Two second version, of things I would have liked to read over a summer:
The Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut—recommended to me by an old friend who said it was her favorite KV book. Became one of my favorites…. Although Breakfast of Champions is a great choice.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card—Read it on a cross-country trip, would be great for a high school kid
World War Z by Max Brooks—nerd friend of mine wanted me to read this badly. I liked how it was written (like an oral history) and how well conceived it was.
The Count of Monte Cristo—Revenge is super cool.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy—I went on a kick where I only read this guy’s stuff. This was my favorite book of his.
David Young
Humanities Teacher
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
Great book about friendship, team work, cows and whores; very long but the lines will on with you forever. " Woodrow ain't one to give up on an item of clothing just because it's got a little age on it"
While Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neal Hurston
Jannie and Tea Cake make a great story.
Paul Beavers
Dean of Instruction
Fiction:
Borne by Jeff Vandermeer
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen
All the Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
The Malice of Fortune by Michael Ennis
El Paso by Winston Groom
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Non-Fiction:
The Original Black Elite by Daniel Murray
The Duel by Thomas Fleming
Calendar by David Ewing Duncan
Jefferson's Vendetta by Jospeh Wheelan
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard
Welcome to the Universe by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Physics of Time by Richard A. Muller
The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe
The Revenge of Geography
By Robert D. Kaplan
John Adams by David McCullough
Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
The Death of Expertise by Tom Nicholes
Joyce Claassen
Here to Help!
Librarian
Hillsboro High IB World School
Email: joyce.claassen@mnps.org
Location: 3812 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN, United States
Phone: 615-298-8400
Twitter: @burrolibrary