Upcoming Selections and Tips for Instructional Use

Here is the schedule of books being read and discussed by Project Read's Wednesday Night Readers book club over the next few months. Please look over these titles and make plans to pick up your FREE books and audio books and then attend one of these exciting discussions. We make unabridged audio books available so that learners at any reading level can participate in the discussion. An adult learner does not have to finish the entire book to attend the discussion.

The Natural by Bernard Malmud (discussed at August 27 meeting, available July 30)

Biting, witty, and provocative, Bernard Malamud's The Natural is widely considered to be the premier baseball novel of all time. It tells the story of Roy Hobbs—an athlete born with rare and wondrous gifts—who is robbed of his prime playing years by a youthful indiscretion that nearly costs him his life. But at an age when most players are considering retirement, Roy reenters the game, lifting the lowly New York Knights from last place into pennant contention and becoming an instant hero in the process. Now all he has to worry about is the fixers, the boss, the slump, the jinx, the fans...and the dangerously seductive Memo Paris, the one woman Roy can't seem to get out of his mind. (237 pages)

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (discussed at September 24 meeting, available August 27)

What do you get when a woman who's obsessed with death and U.S. history goes on vacation? This wacky, weirdly enthralling exploration of the first three presidential assassinations. Vowell, a contributor to NPR's This American Life, takes readers on a pilgrimage of sorts to the sites and monuments that pay homage to Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley, visiting everything from grave sites and simple plaques to places like the National Museum of Health and Medicine, where fragments of Lincoln's skull are on display. An expert tour guide, Vowell brings into sharp focus not only the figures involved in the assassinations, but the social and political circumstances that led to each --and she does so in the witty, sometimes irreverent manner that her fans have come to expect. (272 pages)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney (discussed at October 29 meeting, available September 24)

On a quiet fall evening in the small, peaceful town of Mill Valley, California, Dr. Miles Bennell discovered an insidious, horrifying plot. Silently, subtly, almost imperceptibly, alien life-forms were taking over the bodies and minds of his neighbors, his friends, his family, the woman he loved -- the world as he knew it. First published in 1955, this classic thriller of the ultimate alien invasion and the triumph of the human spirit over an invisible enemy inspired three major motion pictures. (224 pages)

Here are some tips from Project Read tutors about how they use book club titles in their sessions to teach literacy skills.

• Suzanne Kirk says that she asks her learner to read aloud, which has increased her self-confidence. “She knew more words than she realized”, says Suzanne. “It (reading aloud) also facilitated discussions on grammar and vocabulary. Right now we are continuing the reading aloud but then I am asking questions about the story and she is writing her answers. We then review her writing for spelling and grammar.”



• Mary Hilton says that she and her learner, “…generally read at least a quarter of the book together. She reads one page and I read the next, occasionally interrupted to review vocabulary.” According to Mary, “In this way we generally cover the beginning of the book and various subsequent chapters.”