OK - last one for today... I promise. :-)

[Janice in NJ]

American Lit

Your favorite light, funny, we-loved-this-book-because-it-made-us-smile titles.... American lit please.....

Literature
Biography
Historical Fiction

Nothing to discuss, just a page-turner that forced you/your kids to stay on the couch to finish even though life was calling.... the kind of book that makes your kids wander around the house reading aloud to anyone who will listen.

It would be nice to LAUGH next year! Some of this high school stuff gets too heavy.

Rec titles for high school boys and/or girls and their need-to-smile momma.

THANKS!
You guys are AWESOME!!
Janice

[debbiec]

This is probably not appropriate for American Lit, but the funniest book I have ever read by an American author is Mark Twain's Innnocents Abroad. It's a tome, and you really will have to have gone to Europe to appreciate it or at least on a cruise. It's a tome and I laughed so hard I was crying and could barely breathe :) I read it aloud to my family, but they couldn't quite appreciate it as much as I did. I had traveled abroad before marriage and kids.

I guess this qualifies as literature, though it really is a non-fiction book from when he was working as a reporter in San Francisco, and traveled with a religious group to Europe and the Middle East via ship (and some overland). He wrote a series of articles about his trip and it was later complied into this book. Really, it's hysterical ~

[Harrison_B]

This is not a book, but a movie ... The Great Race with Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon. I loved this movie when I was a kid and I recently bought it at B&N with Buy 2/Get 1 Free special. At first, my sons thought it was going to be lamed, but once they started watching - they were laughing so hard with that deep belly-laugh. It made me feel wonderful to share a classic with them. Jack Lemmon was wonderful in the movie as the villian. It is a great movie to rent or own.

[Jane in NC]

In the biography category, I propose Russell Baker's wonderful book, Growing Up. Losing his father on the heels of the Great Depression insured that life would not be easy for Baker or his family, but the recounting of the grace and drive that his mother instilled in him is inspirational.

Baker is an American treasure, a wonderfully understated humor writer whose columns in the NY Times brought me great joy. I heartily recommend Growing Up.

Jane

[April in CA]

Penrod, or Penrod and Sam, by Booth Tarkington - laugh-out-loud funny, especially if you read aloud with appropriate accents. I found this gem at a library sale for a quarter - one of the best quarters I have every spent!
If you want something else fun, but by a Brit (but one who loved America, so it could work with a little stretching...), try PG Wodehouse. Any of his Jeeves and Wooster stories are hysterically funny. If you enjoy Wodehouse, look for the Jeeves and Wooster DVDs staring Stephen Frye and Hugh Laurie. Some of the stories are set in New York, so if humor is your main goal, I would count them and Am Lit!
Blessings,
April

[Eliana]

Short pieces that had dd#1 falling over with laughter:

Nine Needles - Thurber (p106 Let Your Mind Alone (http://www.amazon.com/Your-Mind-Alone-James-Thurber/dp/B001L80V18/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240616656&sr=8-3))
My War with the Ospreys (http://www.geocities.com/royvandehoek/steinbeckospreywars.htm) - Steinbeck
How to Get Things Done (http://hackvan.com/pub/stig/etext/how-to-get-things-done-despite-procrastination.txt) - Benchley
The Sneaker Crisis - Shirley Jackson [Published as a magazine article in the '50's, perhaps in Woman's Day? I encountered it in one of the Adventures in ______ lit series and in Jackson's fictionalized stories from her own life: Life Among the Savages (http://www.amazon.com/Life-among-savages-Raising-demons/dp/0965780066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240616412&sr=8-1) begins on p272 of the edition shown]
Leo Rosten's Mr Kaplan stories [Here are two you can read online: this one (http://zhurnal.lib.ru/c/chizhik_w_a/hyman_kaplan.shtml)and one (http://books.google.com/books?id=DwQlVoyHac8C&pg=PA496&lpg=PA496&dq=%22It+was+Miss+Higby%27s+idea+in+the+first+plac e.+She+had+suggested+to+Mr.+Parkhill+that+the+stud ents+came+to+her+class+unaware+of+the+finer+side+o f+English,+of+its+beauty+and,+as+she+put+it,+%22&source=bl&ots=Pi-Ze7iTlh&sig=fqi3Q37IaSYpMgcPj_7ABhynaLc&hl=en&ei=YknySZOxGpnKMu-OqaoP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA496,M1) from Google's book search results. There are two books of Mr Kaplan stories: The Education of Hyman Kaplan (http://www.amazon.com/Education-H-Y-M-N/dp/0156278111/ref=ed_oe_p) and The Return of Mr Kaplan (http://www.amazon.com/RETURN-HYMAN-KAPLAN-LEO-ROSTEN/dp/0140117539/ref=ed_oe_p)]
The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky (http://www.geocities.com/short_stories_page/cranebride.html) - Crane
Tuberculosis Bacteria Join the UN (http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/science/tuberculosis_bacteria_join_united_nations.htm) - Slonczewski
The 1,000,000 pound Bank Note (http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MilPou.shtml) - Twain
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/6821/thurber.html) - Thurber

Less hilarious, but deeply amusing to dd#1:

The Revolt of Mother (http://www.geocities.com/short_stories_page/freemanrevolt.html) - Freeman (short story)
Democracy (http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/hadams/democ.htm) - Henry Adams (short novel - the Primary Colors of its time)

Ladies of the Camellias - script available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Ladies-Camellias-Lillian-Groag/dp/0822215012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240617280&sr=1-1)
Sabrina Fair - script @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Sabrina-Fair-Samuel-Taylor/dp/0822209799/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240617370&sr=1-1) (stay far away from both old & new film adaptations which, imnsho, completely lose the charm of the script)

Not funny, but lighter/younger (in difficulty if not necessarily in subject matter) titles dd enjoyed:

The Circuit (http://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Stories-Life-Migrant-Child/dp/0826317979/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3SPGTXMZJH194&colid=3HU7TEJPWSM4O) & Breaking Through (http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Through-Francisco-Jimenez/dp/0618342486/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b)
What I had was Singing (http://www.amazon.com/What-Had-Was-Singing-Trailblazer/dp/0876148186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966305&sr=1-1)
Grandma Moses Painter of Rural America (http://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Moses-Painter-Rural-America/dp/0140322205/ref=sr_oe_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966271&sr=1-1)
Across America on an Emigrant Train (http://www.amazon.com/Across-America-Emigrant-Train-Murphy/dp/0395764831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966256&sr=1-1)
Onward (http://www.amazon.com/Onward-Photobiography-African-American-Geographic-Photographer/dp/079227914X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966235&sr=1-1)
Eleanor Roosevelt (http://www.amazon.com/Eleanor-Roosevelt-Discovery-Newbery-Honor/dp/0899198627/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966217&sr=1-2)
[/URL] (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Scarf-Girl-rack-Revolution/dp/0061667714/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966196&sr=1-1)Gentle Annie (http://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Annie-Mary-Francis-Shura/dp/0590435000/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966094&sr=1-1)
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (http://www.amazon.com/Abigail-Adams-Revolution-Natalie-Bober/dp/0689819161/ref=pd_bbs_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209965941&sr=8-6)
[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Roses-Too-Katherine-Paterson/dp/0547076517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240618236&sr=1-1"]Bread and Roses Too (http://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Annie-Mary-Francis-Shura/dp/0590435000/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209966094&sr=1-1)
Kennedy Assassinated (http://www.amazon.com/Kennedy-Assassinated-World-Mourns-Reporters/dp/0763615641/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215193919&sr=1-12)
Team Moon (http://www.amazon.com/Team-Moon-Outstanding-Science-Students/dp/0618507574/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2D1BI991ICX26&colid=Y2HHZEOWY1Q0)


...there were many, many more, but these are the ones which came to mind last time I was jotting down titles. If I think of more and get a chance to get back on the boards anytime soon, I'll add to the list.

She also enjoyed audio collections of speeches:
Words that Shook the World (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735202966). One of just JFK: Let Every Nation Know. (http://www.amazon.com/Let-Every-Nation-Know-Audio/dp/1402209223/ref=pd_sim_b_16)
FDR: Nothing to Fear (http://www.amazon.com/FDR-Nothing-Fear-Speechworks/dp/1885959060/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IH7NW15V5K5CR&colid=2YN5GBLHUKAS2); My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America's Presidents (http://www.amazon.com/Fellow-Americans-Important-Presidents-Washington/dp/1402200277/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2FY7VU2C338F8&colid=2YN5GBLHUKAS2);

Not light at all, but also very valuable (imo): Readings from Voices of a People's History of the United States (http://www.amazon.com/Readings-Voices-Peoples-History-United/dp/1583227520/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I39KEVC7K69O0Q&colid=2YN5GBLHUKAS2)

and dvd collections: Greatest Speeches of All time 3 vol set - here's volume one (http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Speeches-All-Time/dp/B00024JC0S/ref=pd_sim_b_22)

I highly recommend including nature writing, poetry, and drama in your reading lists. ...actually, if you add short stories to that list, you could do a first rate American lit course without adding more than, perhaps, one or two novels...

I feel strongly that nature writing is one of the great strengths of American literature. [A few names: Burroughs, Teale, Carson, Dillard, Heinrich, Horgan, Muir. Title suggestions available upon request!]


...and here (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68575) is a link to the table of contents for the American Poetry Anthology I created from the poems dd#1 read and/or studied last year. (And don't miss the chance to use some of the Voice of the Poet series. Here's Frost (http://www.amazon.com/Voice-Poet-Robert-Frost/dp/0553756613/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IBSX1CEH3WO7K&colid=2YN5GBLHUKAS2). Should be available at most libraries...)

[Carol in Cal.]

"The Twenty One Balloons" by William Pene DuBois. My Dad first read this in his twenties and laughed out loud all the way through it.

"Cheaper By the Dozen" and "Belles One Their Toes"

[Kareni]

Not literature but a great read and listen (as this comes with an audio CD) is Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character (http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Character/dp/0393061329/ref=pd_sim_b_8) by Richard Feynman.

Truly fun!

Regards,
Kareni

[Janice in NJ]

nt

[Janice in NJ]

Eliana,

Thanks! Printing! You are the BEST!
Janice

[Janice in NJ]

Kareni,

This is is on his nightstand. And yes, he follows me around the house reading from it aloud. :001_smile:

More title like this would be great!

Peace,
Janice

[Jane in NC]

Kareni,

This is is on his nightstand. And yes, he follows me around the house reading from it aloud. :001_smile:

More title like this would be great!

Peace,
Janice

Another title to consider: Uncle Tungsten: Memoir of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sachs.

Not American, so I had hesitated to post. Laugh aloud and aha moments in this one.

Jane

[Janice in NJ]

Jane,

Just put it on hold. Thanks! Interesting quick-read science-related titles are definitely welcome.

Peace,
Janice

[Kendall]

Atoms in the Family by Fermi This is a biography of Henri Fermi written by his wife. Though initially set in Italy and written by a woman born in Italy, much of the book takes place in America. Great to read after reading the Feynman book, as it talks about living in Los Alamos . Amusing, interesting, not a hard read. Easier and shorter than Uncle Tungston which I also enjoyed.

[Harrison_B]

Hi Janice,

I saw that you lived in New Jersey. If you grew up near Trenton, you have to read the Janet Evanonich mystery series, "One for Money ...", etc. Let me state this is for you, not for the HS. I grew up near Trenton, and everything she writes in her books are so true. Again, this series is light readings and are definitely for Mom who needs a break and a good laugh.

[LynnG in Hawaii]

The two American classics that come to mind which are laugh-out-loud funny are:

Tom Sawyer and Cheaper by the Dozen.

And for a not-so-classic but hilarious piece, I recommend Hank the Cowdog. Seriously.

Oh, and the short story "Ransom of Red Chief". Another laugh-out-loud piece.

[Kareni]

For some reason, Feynman always brings to mind Tom Lehrer. You might look for his musical satires at your library. We particularly love his albums in which he introduces each number. Try this one: Revisited by Tom Lehrer (http://www.amazon.com/Revisited-Tom-Lehrer/dp/B000002LLB/ref=pd_sim_m_5). Be forewarned that some of his numbers have adult content.

Regards,
Kareni

[Katia]

Life With Father by Clarence Day, Jr. is a riot!

Not funny at all, but a can't-stop-reading, page-turner is Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.

[MomsintheGarden]

I really enjoyed My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It would be for high school and beyond.

Enjoy!
GardenMom

[Kathy in MD]

We all loved A Long Way from Chicago and it's sequel A Year Down Yonder by Peck (No, it's not based in Australia, it's in southern IL during the depression.)

For Twain, don't forget A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, as well as some of his short stories.

James Thurber is good, too.

[MamaT]

Just another vote for Cheaper by the Dozen!

[Staci in MO]

A Year Down Yonder by Peck (No, it's not based in Australia, it's in southern IL during the depression.)

I'm so glad you reminded me of this book. I'm from Southern Illinois, and it's one of those books I'm always meaning to read but keep forgetting about.