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well seeing that Ive only about 15 more days until I head back to school, Ive decided its a good time to start my summer reading.  But I see that Im gonna hate these books, yet again, one book being about woman's sufferage, can someone say boring?, and the other about the "horror" of the war held between Isreal and Palastine reflected through the eyes of a Jewish soldier.  Now, Ive read this author before, and he is not a good author, and happons to be very boring.  I hate summer reading.
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It can seem dry when you first start reading it. Try and think about it from the perspective of the main character, leave your thoughts to the side at the start. I remember when I first started reading about womens sufferage, and I thoight it was boring. But when I got into the subject, about droweries and what it was like for them to live, it became interesting. You will learn about some strong willed women. My guess is when you finish these books you will be happier you spent time with them.

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Why don't you just read a different book instead?  Or is there some rule to this that tells you what to read?  I don't know what "summer reading" exactly is... ???
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school has assigned me two books and told me to read them by the end  of summer becasue in September, I willl be getting an essay to write on them and a quiz on them both, that will count as major  gades for the MP.Its sucks.  youre lucky to not have it.

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lebeiw, you're starting school already? :o
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Yes. :(


But on the plus side, we also get out around May 26. :D

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I don't think it really has to do with not being agressive about education, students just don't really care to read about women's sufferage.
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That is a shame because that was such a very critical chapter of history. Without those courageous women (and men), I, along with half the population, would not be allowed to vote for no other reason than my gender.  Did you know that a widow had more rights than a single or married one? A widow was allowed to own property-a married or single woman was not. Everything a woman had basically belonged to her father and then her husband. Without women sufferage, women would still be only second class citizens. I always think of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Kady Stanton and many others everytime I enter a voting booth and I give them a silent thank you for paving the way so I can excerize my right as a citizen of this country.


Cat

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ergh...i feel your pain.  two weeks of summer vacation left and i have four books to read...i have to read all three lord of the rings books and dune...now, at times, dune it mildly interesting, but LotR is just killing me.  i just can't get into the story at all and i can't follow why anything happens.  the worst part is that we don't have to do any reports or tests on these books, the reading is just because my english teacher likes the books.  (i have about 1350 pages to go, which means i have to read about 96.5 pages a day... :P)

anyway...good luck, mike.  your books sound a little more interesting than mine.

lebeiw, you're starting school already? :o
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thanks, but your books are fun!  Mine suck.

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Mike, read it with the thought that it was your great (great)grandmother fighting for these rights.

Personalise it someway, it'll not only make the book less "boring" but you may actually begin to enjoy reading it.
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I guess its worth a shot to try this, but its hard, I started on the other book first, and it actually is starting to seem rather interesting, but I sense, since this is the seccond book Im reading by this author, that its gonna be the same as the first one I read during the school year.

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Yes. :(


But on the plus side, we also get out around May 26. :D
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I started two weeks ago....we get out on May 19th, I believe.

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I started two weeks ago....we get out on May 19th, I believe.
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Cool.  The summer seems longer that way. 8)

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I don't mind summer reading at all.  That is, on my own time.  I probably read ten or so books this summer, because I wanted to, not because a teacher told me to.  I think kids would enjoy reading a lot more if they were able to read the books they wanted to read rather than being forced to read books they really don't want to read.  I speak from experience on this.
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You know, I agree.  I cant stand boring books that describe someone's life...I really dont care about that person's life, and I dont care to read how they act in tuff situations, and they always seem to go about things the wrong way, it gets frustrating!  I remember, one of the worst books Ive ever read, "My name is Asher Lev" by Chiam Potek, and it was not only intensly boring, but it, in the end, had no purpose whatsoever.  The entire book was about a Jewish painter's life, and how he paints a crusifixin, which is against his religion.  The book was very boring!  But I had a teacher in 9th grade that allowed us to read better books, like "Into Thin Air," "Of mice and men," and "And then there were none,"-three of my favorite books all time, and even a possible forth came from that year, "Lord of the flies."  You know, Shakespere's alright, Steinbech is good, but I dotn care for reading a novel by someone like Hemmingway, who is entirely boring, and shouldntve ever been aloud to hold a pen!  And dont even get me started on Dickens!  I agree that students would enjoy reading if they got to pick the books.  

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You know, I agree.  I cant stand boring books that describe someone's life...I really dont care about that person's life, and I dont care to read how they act in tuff situations, and they always seem to go about things the wrong way, it gets frustrating!  I remember, one of the worst books Ive ever read, "My name is Asher Lev" by Chiam Potek, and it was not only intensly boring, but it, in the end, had no purpose whatsoever.  The entire book was about a Jewish painter's life, and how he paints a crusifixin, which is against his religion.  The book was very boring!  But I had a teacher in 9th grade that allowed us to read better books, like "Into Thin Air," "Of mice and men," and "And then there were none,"-three of my favorite books all time, and even a possible forth came from that year, "Lord of the flies."  You know, Shakespere's alright, Steinbech is good, but I dotn care for reading a novel by someone like Hemmingway, who is entirely boring, and shouldntve ever been aloud to hold a pen!  And dont even get me started on Dickens!  I agree that students would enjoy reading if they got to pick the books.  
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Books by Charles Dickens would be more enjoyable for me if they were a tad shorter, because I never seem to finish them.

There are some biographies that are good though, you just have to find ones that interest you, like, I like music, especially from the 60s-80s, and I'm reading a bio on Brian Wilson right now, and am enjoying it because it's on a subject I'm interested in, also one of my favorite bands of all time. :)

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Books by Charles Dickens would be more enjoyable for me if they were a tad shorter, because I never seem to finish them.

There are some biographies that are good though, you just have to find ones that interest you, like, I like music, especially from the 60s-80s, and I'm reading a bio on Brian Wilson right now, and am enjoying it because it's on a subject I'm interested in, also one of my favorite bands of all time. :)
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yeah, but for a book based on a fictional charactor, its differint.

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I don't mind summer reading at all.  That is, on my own time.  I probably read ten or so books this summer, because I wanted to, not because a teacher told me to.  I think kids would enjoy reading a lot more if they were able to read the books they wanted to read rather than being forced to read books they really don't want to read.  I speak from experience on this.
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my english teacher last year gave us a list of books and we had to read two...that wasn't too unbearable because the one book i read i really liked (fahrenheit 451)...except i didn't understand the other at all (2001: a space oddyssey).  of course, my english teachers seem to like sci-fi and fanasy, two genres i can't get into... :-/

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my english teacher last year gave us a list of books and we had to read two...that wasn't too unbearable because the one book i read i really liked (fahrenheit 451)...except i didn't understand the other at all (2001: a space oddyssey).  of course, my english teachers seem to like sci-fi and fanasy, two genres i can't get into... :-/
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I wish I had a list to chose from, they gave me two book titles, and told me to read them by the end of summer.  

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You know, Shakespere's alright, Steinbech is good, but I dotn care for reading a novel by someone like Hemmingway, who is entirely boring, and shouldntve ever been aloud to hold a pen!  And dont even get me started on Dickens!  I agree that students would enjoy reading if they got to pick the books.  
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Ernest Hemminway is "borong"?.  I must say, your literary tastes are hard for me to fathom.  Henninway wrote with an economy of language, and an intensity of emotion that has seldom been rivaled.  His work is, as we Lationos would say "muy macho".  Try The Old Man and the Sea.

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I can understand rebellion at reading assigned books, but all use teachers assign books.  I, and I'm sure my colleagues, assign them for a reason.  Some of what I assign might appear to students as boring, but my hope is that as I try to bring it to life in the classroom, we can overcome that.  Let me also say that "boring" is a very bizzar word.  Let me ask you youngster, what does that mean?  Let me hasten to add that ANY subject can be "boring" dending on how it is presented.  Let me also sugjest that no subject is interinsically boring.  I really would like to hear your responses.  Maybe we should start another thread?
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my main problem with this year's summer reading is that we're not having any tests or reports on it.  i wouldn't mind reading it so much if i had to write a report about it (as crazy as that sounds), but we're reading it just so we can compare it to other books we'll be reading.  the reason why i think that these books are boring is because i can't follow any sort of story line.  i can't find a conflict in any of these books, and to me, if there's no conflict or some goal to reach, it's just won't grasp my attention.

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Ernest Hemminway is "borong"?.  I must say, your literary tastes are hard for me to fathom.  Henninway wrote with an economy of language, and an intensity of emotion that has seldom been rivaled.  His work is, as we Lationos would say "muy macho".  Try The Old Man and the Sea.
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That was the book that made me hate him...no offense, but I found it rather pointless.  I like the work of Shakespere because he seems to understand how human beings act in certain situations, an idea failed to be grapsed by a lot of authors.  And I enjoy Steinbech best because he understands that concept, and his writing is very fast moving, as opposed to a lot of other authors, he gets right to the point.  the current summer reading book Im on, "Dawn" by Eli Wiesel isnt the worst book Ive ever read, but its the seccond Wiesel book Im reading, the first being "Night," which in itself was an okay book, but I fear that "Dawn" is almost the same exact thing.  If anyone doesnt know, "Night" is about Eli's true experiance in a Jewish concentration camp, and I felt that in writing this, he understood human behavior, but "Dawn" is making me think otherwise.  But both books are written in first person, both about an orthadox jewish kid, and both very persisive on little details, but I dont think that "Dawn" is based on a ture story.  I enjoyed reading "Night" because eventually Eli got to the point, but "Dawn" doesnt look like its gonna be as fun.

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What kind of books are you reading?  I thought all books had conflict.
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some kind of conflict that bores you to death or isnt interesting at all...but in the end, its still a conflict.

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 I remember, one of the worst books Ive ever read, "My name is Asher Lev" by Chiam Potek, and it was not only intensly boring, but it, in the end, had no purpose whatsoever.  The entire book was about a Jewish painter's life, and how he paints a crusifixin, which is against his religion.  The book was very boring!  End Quote

Different strokes for different folks.  I really enjoyed that book.  I had to read it for year 11 in 1975.  A lot of my friends enjoyed it too.

:)

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Different strokes for different folks.  I really enjoyed that book.  I had to read it for year 11 in 1975.  A lot of my friends enjoyed it too.

:)
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Really?  Youre kidding.