BOOKS!!!!!

Dear Charlie and dear OIB  students

As  you know, in the OIB, we always recommend that you have BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS, as many as possible on your bedside, on your book-shelves, on your desk,  on your kitchen table, under your bed/table/chair, in your bag. Basically anywhere possible.
Those books are:
1.t the mandatory must-reads on the IGCSE , OIB  or French literature curriculum
2.  the books proposed by our amazing reading club, also highly recommended must-reads.
3. The books you read for pleasure

Feeling like you're drowning in books?






Having a hard time finding your motivation?

.
Feeling possibly dizzy and hyperventilating?

But you shouldn't because it's SOOOO EXCITING!!

What's more I'm going to let you on one of life's big secrets


READING IS GOOD FOR YOU and you can never have too many books to read and it brings MAGIC to your life. Remember Matilda  ;-)

If you don't know where to start, you can go back to the summer reading list we gave you before the beginning of the Seconde year or you could read one of the books I read over the summer and can recommend to you:

You are not necessarily looking for a challenging book but want a quick read and a fun book that will make you smile (ideal for  the beach or commuting time when you can be at times distracted),  I recommend Where'd you go Bernadette by Maria Semple.

 If some of you read it, I''d be interested to hear your opinion on that and in particular would like to know which character you prefer.

If you like short-stories and/or would like to explore another collection than Lying Under the Apple Tree, I'd definitely recommend the Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich


Like Munro, Erdrich has a very compelling voice with strong female characters and explores North American small towns and  Native American issues. I would recommend any of our book and I discussed her work in a post from SEptember 15 2015

I know many of you enjoyed, We should all be feminist by  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi proposed by the book club
 


This summer, I've read Americanah and Half of aYellow Sun by her too.
 I'd recommend both because we can really discover her voice and universe in these books. The first is quite interesting in a postcolonial context because it represents the clash between the western and African world avoiding simplification. It brings on  a fascinating reflection on gender, ethnicity, background and the sense of belonging. I believe it could. In my opinion, valuable food for thoughts in the post-colonial synoptic topic.
Half of the Yellow Sun focuses on Nigerian history and the terrible Biaffran conflict, it will tear your heart apart and teach you about a historical conflict that few Westerners, me included, are little familiar with though they've heard of it.
I also mean to read Purple Hibiscus by her.

I would also recommend The Last Says of Rabbit Hayes by Anna Mc Parthin and My name is Leon by Kit De Waal
  


I have also read and loved two books that could seem depressing because the topic and context of the story are sad but are actually  beautiful, moving, live - the characters literally jump out of the pages, and in the case of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, you cry but you also urprise yourself by smiling and even chuckling. I think this book was my summer favorite.

 

This summer, to shed light on Munro,  I read again Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
 which is an interesting counterpoint to The Bear Came Over the Mountain and I recommend it as it looks into Alzheimer's disease as a theme and thread in the plot but also its deconstruction in the character, the plot and the style. I also read In a Nushell by Ian McEwan which besides being a reference to Hamlet is quite interesting as it gives voice to the embryo within the mother's belly and gave interesting perspective on My Mother's Dream. I also read again The Stone Carvers with much pleasure  because it is  a Canadian masterpiece with a very strong female character and it weaves beautifully family and world history, Canada and Europe. It made me think of The View Over Castle Rock.  Besides, Urquhart, is a big fan of Munro and I met her in Ottawa (yeah!)

I also finally got around to watching Julieta by Almodovar, a film adaptation of the Runaway series.
 Thank you for lending it to me Ange and waiting so long for me to return it.



 
Finally, I looked into narration and variations, story and history with the Versions of Us by Laura Barnett and  Life after Life and a God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. The multiple voices, narrations and versions may seem confusing at firts but end-up creating a meaningful patchwork and the students who studied Munro with me know how much I love literary patchworks.
And I've just been recommended but haven't read yet Time and Time again by Ben Elton but I haven't read it yet.

For those of you who are into film adaptations;
Away from Her is an adaptation of the Bear Came Over the Mountain by Munro. It is a great film, I recommend it as well as Julieta.
There are also film adaptations of Half of a Yellow Sun
 Still Alice inspired I believe by Elizabeth's missing and which you can also easily relate to the Bear Came Over the Mountain.
But  I haven't got around to watching them yet.
Oh and by the by, I finally watched a few nights ago on TV the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a book recommended by one of our former graduates, Gaëtan, the film is heart-breaking and very well-done but I still have a preference for the original book.

Please forgive me for this never-ending post.
Enjoy!
Mrs. C.
PS: If you read any  those books and watch those films, do post feedback, I'd be delighted to hear your take on them.