12th+grade+SUMMER+READING+NOVELS

It is as if Emily Brontë could tear up all that we know human beings by, and fill these unrecognizable transparencies with such a gust of life that they transcend reality."
 * __Wuthering Heights: A Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Classic__ by Emily Bronte**

//Wuthering Heights: A Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Classic// features:
 * The complete tale of the classic novel, //Wuthering Heights//
 * More than 700 vocabulary words frequently tested on the SAT highlighted throughout the text
 * Definitions for each highlighted word on the facing page
 * A pronunciation guide
 * An index for easy reference

Stephen Hawking has earned a reputation as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. In this landmark volume, Professor Hawking shares his blazing intellect with nonscientists everywhere, guiding us expertly to confront the supreme questions of the nature of time and the universe. Was there a beginning of time? Will there be an end? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? From Galileo and Newton to modern astrophysics, from the breathtakingly cast to the extraordinarily tiny, Professor Hawking leads us on an exhilarating journey to distant galaxies, black holes, alternate dimensions--as close as man has ever ventured to the mind of God. From the vantage point of the wheelchair from which he has spent more than twenty years trapped by Lou Gehrig's disease, Stephen Hawking has transformed our view of the universe. Cogently explained, passionately revealed, //A Brief History of Time// is the story of the ultimate quest for knowledge: the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.
 * __A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes__ by Stephen Hawking**
 * NON-FICTION (Physics)**

For all of you who break out in a sweat at the thought of thermodynamics, or freeze up at the mention of quantum mechanics, like a bolt from the blue, INSTANT PHYSICS will zap you through the fascinating history of our most basic, yet baffling, science. From the thousand-year search for proof of the existence of the ever-elusive atom to the varied and heated arguments behind the big bang theory, INSTANT PHYSICS answers all the heavy questions with a light touch. You'll learn: INSTANT PHYSICS is crammed with special features, including chapter summaries, who's who lists, biographical and historical tidbits, and a host of illustrations, photos, equations, diagrams, and drawings.
 * I__nstant Physics: From Aristotle to Einstein, and Beyond__ by Tony Rothman**
 * How the Greek philosophers used the sledgehammer of mathematics to break apart the mysteries of the physical universe.
 * Why gravity is a "romantic" force.
 * How to tell the difference between a gluon, a meson, and a quark, even if you can't see them.

Having never seen the famous 1970s television series based on Graves' historical novel of ancient Rome and being generally uneducated about matters both ancient and Roman, I wasn't prepared for such an engaging book. But it's a ripping good read, this fictional autobiography set in the Roman Empire's days of glory and decadence. As a history lesson, it's fabulous; as a novel it's also wonderful. Best is Claudius himself, the stutterer who let everyone think he was an idiot (to avoid getting poisoned) but who reveals himself in the narrative to be a wry and likable observer. His story continues in //Claudius the God//.
 * __I, Claudius__ by Robert Graves**
 * HISTORICAL FICTION**
 * Reading Level: 7 Interest Level: 7 - Adult**

When an enigmatic monolith is found buried on the moon, scientists are amazed to discover that it's at least 3 million years old. Even more amazing, after it's unearthed the artifact releases a powerful signal aimed at Saturn. What sort of alarm has been triggered? To find out, a manned spacecraft, the //Discovery//, is sent to investigate. Its crew is highly trained--the best--and they are assisted by a self-aware computer, the ultra-capable HAL 9000. But HAL's programming has been patterned after the human mind a little too well. He is capable of guilt, neurosis, even murder, and he controls every single one of //Discovery//'s components. The crew must overthrow this digital psychotic if they hope to make their rendezvous with the entities that are responsible not just for the monolith, but maybe even for human civilization. Clarke wrote this novel while Stanley Kubrick created the film, the two collaborating on both projects. The novel is much more detailed and intimate, and definitely easier to comprehend. Even though history has disproved its "predictions," it's still loaded with exciting and awe-inspiring science fiction.
 * __2001: A Space Odyssey__ by Arthur C. Clarke**
 * FICTION**
 * Reading Level: 9 Interest Level: 7 - Adult**

Born of an incestuous relationship between King Arthur and his half sister, the evil sorceress Morgause, the bastard Mordred is reared in secrecy. Called to Camelot by events he cannot deny, Mordred becomes Arthur’s most trusted counselor -- a fateful act that leads to the "wicked day of destiny" when father and son must face each other in battle.
 * __The Wicked Day__ by Mary Stewart**
 * FICTION**
 * Reading Level: 6.3 Interest Level: 9+**

This is the first of Lewis's Space Trilogy. The others are PERELANDRA and THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH. Geoffrey Howard, who also reads Lewis's better known work, MERE CHRISTIANITY, offers an Oxbridge accent, which would have been the accent of Lewis, a professor at both of those universities. Howard's tenor voice never stumbles with Lewis's formal syntax or the invented alien language of the inhabitants of Malacandra (Mars). The story, which is influenced by the fiction of H.G. Wells, has deeper meaning but is also compelling on its own.
 * __Out of the Silent Planet__ by C.S. Lewis**
 * SCIENCE FICTION**
 * Reading Level: 7.4 Interest Level: 9+**

Mystery Large Print Edition Each addition to the series is a joy. Long may the chronicles continue. USA Today * A Mystery Guild Alternate Selection In the summer of 1138, fighting engulfs Shrewsbury as King Stephen battles the Empress Maud for the throne of England. When Shrewsbury Castle falls, and its 94 defenders are hanged as traitors, Brother Cadfael is called upon to administer last rites to the dead. But his careful count reveals 95 corpses, and once again the sleuthing monk is on the trail of a murderer this time aided by a lovely young fugitive.
 * __One Corpse Too Many: Brother Cadfael Mystery__ by Ellis Peters**
 * FICTION (Mystery)**
 * Interest Level: Young Adult**

Michael Crichton takes the listener on a one-thousand-year-old journey in his adventure novel //Eaters Of The Dead//. This remarkable true story originated from actual journal entries of an Arab man who traveled with a group of Vikings throughout northern Europe. In 922 A.D, Ibn Fadlan, a devout Muslim, left his home in Baghdad on a mission to the King of Saqaliba. During his journey, he meets various groups of "barbarians" who have poor hygiene and gorge themselves on food, alcohol and sex. For Fadlan, his new traveling companions are a far stretch from society in the sophisticated "City of Peace." The conservative and slightly critical man describes the Vikings as "tall as palm trees with florid and ruddy complexions." Fadlan is astonished by their lustful aggression and their apathy towards death. He witnesses everything from group orgies to violent funeral ceremonies. Despite the language and cultural barriers, Ibn Fadlan is welcomed into the clan. The leader of the group, Buliwyf (who can communicate in Latin) takes Fadlan under his wing. Without warning, the chieftain is ordered to haul his warriors back to Scandinavia to save his people from the "monsters of the mist." Ibn Fadlan follows the clan and must rise to the occasion in the battle of his life. The unabridged story is read by actor Victor Garber (//Titanic//; //The First Wives Club//), who brings life and a personality to the plot--convincingly portraying each character with appropriate accents. Crichton also sets the stage in the beginning and chimes in every so often to clarify historical places and events. If you love historical action thrillers, but are short on time, this audio book packs an epic journey into a three hour adventure.
 * __Eaters of the Dead__ by Michael Crichton**
 * HISTORICAL FICTION**

"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood," writes Frank McCourt in //Angela's Ashes//. "Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Welcome, then, to the pinnacle of the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants Malachy and Angela McCourt, Frank grew up in Limerick after his parents returned to Ireland because of poor prospects in America. It turns out that prospects weren't so great back in the old country either--not with Malachy for a father. A chronically unemployed and nearly unemployable alcoholic, he appears to be the model on which many of our more insulting cliches about drunken Irish manhood are based. Mix in abject poverty and frequent death and illness and you have all the makings of a truly difficult early life. Fortunately, in McCourt's able hands it also has all the makings for a compelling memoir.
 * __Angela's Ashes__ by Frank McCourt**
 * NON-FICTION (Auto-biography)**
 * Reading Level: 5.9 Interest Level: 7-12**