How to write an Annotated Booklist
Students are asked to write an annotated booklist at the end of each block in order to earn reading credit and pass advisory. An annotated booklist is simply a chronological list of books you have read and a brief description of the book. The chronological list is in MLA format. The brief description of the book should include the theme of the book, the type of book it was, and your opinion of the book. This description should be a few sentences, and needs to be edited in order to earn credit.
Here is an example:
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2002.
This is a horror novel that focuses on the world’s most famous vampire Dracula. The theme is about the importance of developing empathy. Mina, once she is marked by Dracula, can see things from his perspective, and it is her empathy for Dracula that helps to temper her husband’s desire for revenge. Stoker describes Dracula’s last moment as one of relief before he fades away into dust. He has been saved. I would strongly recommend this book because, even though it was long, it was action packed, scary, and, at times, hilarious.
Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007.
This is both a coming of age novel and a family saga that spans three generations of a family in both the Dominican Republic and New Jersey. One theme I saw in the novel was that one thing, maybe the only thign, worth living for is to love and maybe get a little love in return. Loving seems more important than being loved in this novel. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who loves role-playing games and/or has a good knowledge of Spanish. The book is filled with humorous references in both languages to many pop culture phenomena, including Dungeons and Dragons.
Meacham, Jon. Franklin and Winston. New York: Random House, 2003.
This is a history of the relationship between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt during World War II when they became allies and, to some degree, friends. While I did not discern a key theme here, I do think the book stressed how leaders have to be able to manipulate people, manage their own weaknesses as leaders, and have a vision for what the future should be. I would recommend this book for people who are interested in history, especially World War II, and in historical figures of great significance. After reading this book, I thought of Churchill and Roosevelt as being more human.
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005.
This is a coming of age story about a boy named Oskar Schell who is trying to deal with the death of his father who died in one of the World Trade Center Towers on 9/11. One of the themes is confronting and accepting your fear, as Oskar does finally when he accepts that he did not pick up the phone when his dad called him from the tower. He accepts that he was afraid, but simultaneously he grasps that his fear does not preclude his love for his dad. Once he sees this, he starts to understand others and their feelings better. He has become more human through his journey. I strongly recommend this book because Oskar is a lovable character, and the book is written both with deep humor and great love.
Robinson, Marilynne. Gilead. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.
This is a first-person fiction story written in the form of a letter from a father (a minister) to his son. The theme, or a theme, seems to be about the importance of forgiveness: how hard it is to forgive, why forgiving someone does not necessarily mean that it changes the other person, and why forgiving someone else can help ease your heart. I would strongly recommend this book to advanced readers who want to seriously consider how spirituality can affect and even inspire human behavior.
Parini, Jay. One Matchless Time. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004.
This is a biography of the life of the writer William Faulkner. I do not necessarily see a theme in this book, but the book highlights how Faulkner consistently wrote every day, drank far too much, and embodied numerous contradictions. He was a great writer and a troubled person. However, he was also a loyal friend and a responsible worker (when he loved the work). I recommend this only to people who have read numerous books by William Faulkner because he gives many specific and enlightening analyses of his works.
Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical Thinking. New York: Knopf, 2005.
This book is a non-fiction piece, a memoir about a year in the life of a professional writer who loses her husband to a sudden heart attack and watches her daughter fall seriously ill (she actually dies a few years later). One of the things that is amazing about this book is how grief and loss can alter our perceptions of reality, of past events, and of our roles in both. Grief makes less sense to me after reading this book, which means (I think) that it makes more sense: the senselessness of it is a manifestation of the painfulness of losing someone you love. I recommend this book to people who have lost a loved one and are looking for understanding.
Auster, Paul. Moon Palace. New York: Viking, 1989.
This is a work of fiction about the odyssey of a young man who finds himself eventually alone in the world. Marco Fogg – the main character – reads numerous books, falls in love, gives up on life, and yet somehow manages to survive. At the end of the book, he has left New York, traveled first to the Southwest and then to the California coast, and come to a larger understanding of himself and the consequences of his actions. I strongly recommend this book to people who think that they are on a personal journey of their own to figure out themselves and their role in the world.
Follett, Paul. Pillars of the Earth. New York: Morrow, 1989.
I have not finished this book yet, but I am currently reading it. It is a historical novel set in the Middle Ages, focusing on the building of a cathedral. While there are many characters and plotlines, I think a major theme is one must pursue dreams even if and precisely because such pursuit demands personal sacrifices. Nothing worth doing is easy – ever. I strongly recommend this book to people who want to learn more about the Middle Ages, but this book is only appropriate for a mature audience because of scenes of sex and violence described.