I was in the library the other day when two sophomore high school girls were looking for a book to fit the following assignment: The book had to be from the adult section of the library, 350 pages long (or more) and never have been made into a movie! It was pretty fun to look through and suggest things for them. I came up with something by Haaison, some Robertson Davies, Umberto Ecco and Barbara Kingsolver, and Freddy and Fredricka by Mark Helprin, which I read thanks to a lukewarm review in Bookmarks.
What would you have suggested? I know the teacher--maybe I can compile a good list for her to give out to the class next year!
Jane's Book Hunt
In answer to one of Jon's questions, yes I have read and loved Audrey Niffengger's The Time Traveler's Wife. I am a high school librarian and have recommended that book to a lot of students from various grades, and adults, and all of them loved it.
Some other books that are about the right length, that I'd recommend are:
The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel;
The Secret Life of Bee's, by Sue Monk Kidd; and,
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant.
Depending on the school and the maturity of the reader, I might also recommend Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides. (Our school is pretty liberal and we have a large gay and lesbian population. This might not go over as well in a more conservative setting.) It is an excellent book on many levels, with quite a bit of it being historical fiction. Again, both our students and teachers really liked the book.
Hope this helps.
--Jane (a different one)
Suggestions from Valerie Pratt ...
Valerie wrote in to suggest Evensong, The Time Traveler's Wife, and As the Crow Flies ... I wanted to make sure those got added to the list!
Jon
Jon Phillips
Editor & Publisher, Bookmarks
Ideas for Jane's Book Hunt
Just got my Nov/Dec issue and saw the note about your quest in the "From Our On-line Forums" section. In popular fiction, I would suggest Jodi Picoult's work, especially The Pact, My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes and The Tenth Circle. Not only do they meet the requirement for length (all are over 400+ pages), teenagers in crisis are Picoult's milieu and she raises many questions for discussion. For the most part, they should appeal to boys as well as girls. As far as I know, I haven't heard that any of them have been made into movies unless it was for Lifetime or some such network I don't watch.
Have fun in the search!
Never a Movie - but they keep trying
My favorite book from this year that fits this criteria is Confederacy of Dunces. It's never been made into a movie but not for lack of trying - John Belushi and Chris Farley had both been suggested for the lead role from what I've heard. Maybe Ignatius J. Reilly is not meant for the movies.
Great ideas, Jessica!
I love Jasper Fforde--I didn't even think of him. I can't believe Angle of Repose isn't a movie. I thought of suggesting that when I saw it on the shelf but was sure it must have been made a movie already.
Love Fforde!
I too love Jasper Fforde. And good news (well, maybe...): On his website, Fforde says that he will never allow the book to be made into a movie, unless *he's* the one directing it and has full control. In other words...those kids will have nothing to worry about if they need a book that hasn't been made into a movie!
My humble re-submission
Hi Jane and Jon,
I would like to redeem myself by humbly submitting the following books MORE THAN 350 pages, appropriate for teenagers, never a movie (yet!), and in the adult section of the library. Did I get the criteria right? Some of my recommendations might be unfair, I realize, as they are recent publications that are probably ripe for filming; but others are older books that still await the big screen:
-The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (384 pages; and sequels)
-The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer (611 pages)
-The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner (576 pages)
-Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (576 pages)
-American Pastoral by Philip Roth (432 pages; movie coming out in 2007 or 2009?)
-Until I Find You by John Irving (848 pages)
-A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby (352 pages)
-Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende (432 pages; other Allende books as well)
-A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (384 pages; The Kite Runner is soon to be a movie...)
Best,
Jessica (the Managing Editor)
Never judge a book by its length :o)
Jon,
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan are two of my ALL TIME favorite books!! I guess I'm having trouble understanding the assignment....what's wrong with short books!! I understand the part about the book not being made into a movie yet, but I don't think length should have anything to do with it. Like I said above, some of my favorite books are less than 350 pages. I'm a teacher myself and think the assignment is a creative one....but I would have left the length part out.
I'm loving the new website....how long has it been up....I've been out of the loop, I guess.
Alison
Thanks for the kind words
Thanks for the kind words about the website, Alison! We've been out there for, hmmm, a couple months now? Just getting started!
As far as length, this sounds to me like a teacher trying to make sure the students didn't just look around for the shortest book possible. That was sometimes my strategy back in the day... :-)
Jane, I love this question!
Jane,
I love this question! Thanks so much for throwing down the gauntlet. This one's going to haunt me for a while ...
Two things:
1) I'm going to be lazy and select from recent books so that I can rest easy that they haven't been made into movies
2) I've got a five-year-old and a seven-year-old ... so I'll need some guidance as to what's "appropriate" for a sophomore ... which I'm sure varies across the country.
When you said sophomore girl, my first thought was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. My hardcover comes in slightly under 350, though Amazon has the paperback at 352. Peter Jackson is getting ready to shoot the movie, so the clock's ticking.
I also thought of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. It's biography, though ... is that allowed? A great book, and a "young" one ... just fine for high school I think.
Atonement by Ian McEwan is just over 350. The movie's coming out in December ... hurry!
Nonfiction again ... I'd love to expose a younger person to David Foster Wallace's writing ... see A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.
What else? It's amazing how many strong novels are shorter than 350 pages ... I'd argue against that restriction! Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See? Or, even shorter, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. OK, I'm cheating by even discussing these.
Does anyone have a take on The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffengger would be appropriate or not?
Anyone else? It would be interesting to put together a list or a challenge for the next issue of the magazine.
Jon
(Jon Phillips, Editor, Publisher, etc. of Bookmarks)