Ap Literature/Composition Summer Reading List

AP LITERATURE/COMPOSITION SUMMER READING LIST

The purpose of summer reading is to sustain the powers of the imagination and to explore worlds of characters, settings, plots, and ideas we can visit only through literature. The summer reading list contains classic and contemporary works. These books are available from your local library or bookstore.

During the first week of the semester, your English teacher will evaluate your reading with various types of assessment. Although video versions are enjoyable, they may differ greatly from the written word; rely on the works themselves. Some of the works may contain somewhat explicit language, sexual references, or mature subject matter. Feel free to make another choice.

Choose two books, one from each category, classic and contemporary. In addition, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is required for all students. You may also read additional books from the overall list for extra credit. Lexile scores are in parentheses.

REQUIRED

Dickens A Tale of Two Cities (1130)

CLASSIC

Rand The Fountainhead (780)

Steinbeck East of Eden (700)

Faulkner Light in August

Williams A Streetcar Named Desire

Shakespeare Taming of the Shrew

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God (1080)

Vonnegut Slaughterhouse Five (850)

Stoppard Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Solzhenitsyn One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Conroy The Prince of Tides (940)

Hardy Far from the Madding Crowd (1110)

Austen Pride and Prejudice

Bronte Wuthering Heights

CONTEMPORARY

·  If you find any book objectionable for any reason, you may replace it with another work from the classic list.

Haddon The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (1180)

Niffenegger The Time Traveler’s Wife (780)

Sebold The Lovely Bones (890)

Hosseini The Kite Runner (840)

A Thousand Splendid Suns (830)

Parkhurst The Dogs of Babel

Esquivel Like Water for Chocolate (1030)

Allende The House of the Spirits (1280)

Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible (960)

Lehane Mystic River

Irving The Cider House Rules

Morrison Beloved (870)