Dear Marymount Students and Parents,
The advent of the eBook and portable electronic readers, the demise of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s print edition—though we have indeed entered a brave new world, it is easy to say about books and reading that they are as important to us in the twentieth first century as they ever were. To be sure, the book trade is undergoing a profound transformation, but one thing will never change: the delightful aloneness that readers deliberately choose when they read a book and the joy, satisfaction, and freedom they discover when rooted to its words.
Summer is a time to refresh both body and mind after a long school year. One of the delights of summer is the opportunity to read outside the set school curriculum, so we encourage students to read as widely as possible. There are, however, two summer reading requirements all Upper School students must complete.
Marymount’s Summer Reading Requirement falls into two categories. The first is a specific reading assignment for the English course students will be taking in the fall (see the next and last page of this booklet). The second is a school-wide activity. Teachers and students all sign up for a discussion of one of the departmentally sponsored books described in the pages that follow. Each department has chosen a book and will lead a discussion of it during the first week of school.
Students, we encourage you to read as widely as your inclination leads you. Parents, we encourage you to take an active role in fostering an active reading habit in your children.
Have a wonderful summer!
Andrew Hay
Chair, English Department
April 2012
— — —
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SUMMER READING
English VIII
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman – Ernest J. Gaines
Humanities IX
The Penelopiad – Margaret Atwood
The Odyssey (excerpts) – Homer
English X
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
English X Honors
Smoke Signals – Sherman Alexie
March – Geraldine Brooks
English XI
The Fifth Child – Doris Lessing
The Time Machine – H. G. Wells
English XI Honors
Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
plus one of the following:
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare
Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
1984 – George Orwell
English XII
Readings for Class XII seminars depend on the senior elective chosen in May
English XII AP
Atonement – Ian McEwan
The Art of Fiction – David Lodge
— — —
DEPARTMENTAL SUMMER READING
Class VIII
The Possibilities of Sainthood - Donna Freitas
English Department
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey - The Countess of Carnarvon
Health and Wellness Department
The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
History Department
Zeitoun – Dave Eggers
Math Department
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Performing Arts Department
The Pianist – Wladyslaw Szpilman
Physical Education Department
Kabul Girls Soccer Club – Awista Ayub
Religious Studies Department
Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life - Karen Armstrong
Science Department
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat- Oliver Sacks
Technology Department
Rework – Jason Fried and David Hansson
Visual Arts Department
Andy Warhol - Arthur C. Danto
World Language Department
Les Petit Macarons - Kathryn Gordon and Anne E. McBride