2/1 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/2 - Dead Kitchen Radio: Supernatural
2/3 - Classic: Verne/Wells
2/4 - Roundtable: DC Universe Reboot
2/5 - Cyborgs: "The Solid Gold Kidnapping"
2/6 - The Dome: "Colective"
2/7 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/8 - It Has Come to My Attention: The Rocketeer
2/10 - Classic: Storyweaving 1992
2/11 - Presenting the Transcription Feature
2/12 - Brainy Brain Game: History
2/14 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/15 - Dead Kitchen Radio
2/16 - In Review: Love is in the Air
2/17 - Classic: The Prisoner
2/18 - Presenting the Transcription Feature
2/19 - Cyborgs: "Population: Zero"
2/21 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/23 - Spotlight: Desert Island Books
2/24 - Classic: Orson Scott Card
2/25 - Presenting the Transcription Feature
2/26 - Brainy Brain Game - Literature
2/28 - The Weekly Podioplex
How Funny
I have to go back and check the episode, but I'm sure at least two of the books mentioned in this episode are now on my reading syllabus for my young adult literature class. We did a book talk last week and added a number of works to the list.
John
Creator, Producer, All Around God-Like Being
"What? Too much?"
Teen Reading
Hm. I knew I was behind a few episodes, but wow, I gotta get caught up.
I have to admit, while I don't doubt the quality of Andrea's suggestions, they did seem a bit...grim...for summer reading. Just listening to the descriptions of those books depressed me. ;)
Are teens these days really that much into such dark subject matter? I remember when I was a teen, summer reading called for much cheerier (if somewhat less literary) works.
My five favorite teen books of the last few years (all books I read because my kids were reading them):
Holes Maybe my favorite juvenile book of all time. Simply brilliant.
Tangerine
The Secret Life of Bees
Walk Two Moons
The Giver (which your description of "The Uglies" sort of reminded me of)
I did read "Speak", which I thought was good, but not quite in the league of the aforementioned titles.
Oh, and I would suggest making this show an annual event. Thought it was interesting and I will be suggesting a couple of those to my youngest daughter, who is currently finishing up the final Twilight book and will be looking for something new to read.
Grim Reading, et al
Hmmm. Well, my list might have been overly grim because I like depressing books, but I think my main point was that I was picking good books for reluctant readers and they need a strong hook to pull people in. And depressing books will often get teens' attention.
Of your favorite teen books, I'm very fond of Tangerine and Holes, and The Giver is one of my favorite books of all time (and all three of these titles are also great crossover books for older children or younger teens).
We're definitely considering making this an annual event but we might broaden it to include books for children and teens. It's still under discussion. Oh, and I'll try not to make my picks QUITE so depressing next time :)
Reluctant Readers
I hope I didn't sound overly negative; I 'm just a little surprised that teens in general are hooked by grim subject matter. Grabbing reluctant readers is really important, I think, and if you can grab them this way, that's terrific.
I will suggest a few of the books on your list to my younger kids (I have four, aged 12-20, two of them voracious readers, two of them the reluctant variety.)
I can remember my summer reading as a "youth"; we had a bookmobile stop three blocks from my house every friday afternoon in the summer, and I checked out as many books as they'd let me take. Mostly fiction, mostly sports (Matt Christopher), mysteries (Scott Corbett, The Three Investigators, etc.) When I got into my teen years, it was mostly sci-fi; Asimov, Heinlein, Hal Clement, Terrence Dicks, all the greats ;) Yep, I love summer reading....just don't do enough of it anymore...ought to fix that....
More info on booktalking
Here are some links with more information about booktalking, for anyone who'd like to learn more about the subject:
The Booktalker - Website of Joni Richards Bodart, the "grande dame" of booktalking
ALA Professional Development Topics: Booktalking - includes books, articles, and online resources about booktalking
Booktalking Colorado - Includes sample booktalks and lots of tips for booktalkers
Booktalking Ideas - Gives a step-by-step process of how to craft a booktalk
Nancy Keane's Booktalks - Could you use several sample booktalks to get started? Could you use several THOUSAND of them???
Further Reading Suggestions
If you'd like some more teen reading suggestions that were (or will be) published in 2009, go and check out my blog entry here!