Reading comprehension success - LearningExpress 2005

Appendix B Additional Resources

Reading is like exercise: If you don’t keep doing it, you’ll get out of shape. Like muscles that grow stronger and bigger with each repetition, your reading skills grow stronger and stronger with everything you read. But if you stop working out, your reading comprehension muscles will deteriorate, and you may find yourself struggling with material you could have easily understood several months ago.

So don’t stop now! You’ve really just begun. Reading comprehension is a skill to build throughout your whole lifetime.

► Tips for Continuing to Improve Your Reading

The following are some ways you can continue to strengthen your reading comprehension skills:

■ Read! Read anything—books, newspapers, magazines, novels, poems. The more you read, the better. Set yourself a reading goal: one book a month, two books while you’re on vacation, a half hour of reading every night before bed. There’s a list of suggested books at the end of this section; try some.

■ Discover new authors. Check out the best-seller list and try the books on that list. If it’s a bestseller, it’s probably a book that appeals to a wide variety of readers, and chances are, you’ll like it.

■ Spend time in bookstores and libraries. There are bound to be books and authors out there that appeal to some of your interests. Don’t be afraid to ask a salesperson or librarian to help you: Describe your interests and your preferences in style, and he or she can help you find books you’ll enjoy reading.

■ Join a reading group. Most cities and towns have a club that meets every two weeks or each month to discuss a selected book. In these groups, you’ll be able to discuss your ideas and questions with a group of friends and associates in an informal setting. If your area doesn’t have a reading group, start your own. You and your friends can take turns choosing which book you’ll read and discuss.

■ Review this book periodically to refresh yourself about the basics. Try some of the skill building exercises at the end of each lesson on a regular basis.

► Suggested Reading List

On the following pages is a list of great reads. These suggestions is just the tip of the iceberg! It is broken down into different subjects, so try reading some of the books in the categories that interest you.

Autobiography

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

My Life by Bill Clinton

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass

Night by Elie Wiesel

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Coming of Age

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Peace Like a River by Leif Engler

Historical/Social Issues

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Inspirational/Spiritual

Awake My Soul: Spirituality for Busy People by Timothy K. Jones

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Simple Path by Mother Theresa

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life by Bruce Wilkinson

The Purpose-Drive Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren

Mystery/Thriller

2nd Chance by James Patterson

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Poetry

Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes

The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American

Poetry by J.D. McClatchy

Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose by Walt Whitman

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling

Lord of the Rings (trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Short Stories

Demonology: Stories by Rick Moody

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z. Packer

Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe

Science/Health

Bioterrorism and Public Health by John G.

Bartlett

Black Death: AIDS in Africa by Susan Hunter

Blood Evidence by Henry C. Lee

Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind by Michael S. Gazzaniga

War

Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror by Jason Burke

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden

Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic

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