Thanks!
Hi everyone! I would like to thank all of my former students for so many great years of AP discussions. I'll keep this last website up as a memory for all who care to renew old times. In addition, for those of you who are still longing to re-live the old days, I've listed below the books that have recently caught my fancy . Please email me and keep me posted on what you're up to.  I miss you all.
Love - Mr. C.

ONGOING: THOREAU/ EMERSON "NATURE OF THE POET" UNIT
SEPT.: LONG DAY’S JOURNEY, STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE,
DEATH OF A SALESMAN, A DOLL'S HOUSE -
STRUCTURE COMPARISONS

EARLY OCT.:  OTHELLO, WAITING FOR GODOT, ANTIGONE, -
PHILOSOPHY DEBATE
What Character in Othello are you?

LATE OCT. - EARLY NOV.:
INTENSIVE CRITICAL WRITING WORKSHOP -
BASIC LITERATURE ANALYSIS TIPS,
TIPS FOR ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC TYPES OF LITERATURE,
EXPOSITORY WRITING TIPS,
 AND CREATIVE WRITING TIPS

LATE NOV. - DEC.: SUN ALSO RISES, AS I LAY DYING -
CHANGE OF HEART PROJECT

EARLY JAN.: SOUND AND THE FURY -
CLOSE STUDY OF SYNTAX, TONE, DICTION, POINT-OF-VIEW
AND OTHER STYLE ISSUES

LATE JAN. - EARLY FEB.: INTENSIVE POETRY WORKSHOP -
GROUP PROJECTS, POETRY ANALYSIS , POETRY WRITING,
 POETRY ORAL READING, AP TEST STUDY

LATE FEB. - MAR.: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, CEREMONY -
THEME ISSUES

APRIL: PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST, INVISIBLE MAN,
- SYMBOLISM/ ALLUSION ISSUES

EARLY MAY:
 INTENSIVE STUDY OF AP TESTS

MAY - AP TEST

Mr. C's Hot Reads

Because I am being constantly asked what I'm reading, I've listed my recent favorites below. Enjoy!

The Golden City / John Twelve Hawks - Third and final volume in a fascinating 1984-style science fiction thriller in which certain people are able to travel among different worlds
Homer and Langley / E.L. Doctorow - Based on a true story of two odd brothers who barricade themselves in their Fifth Avenue apartment and seek to live off the grid
The Magicians / Lev Grossman - A Harry Potter for grown-ups in which true magicians are selected and trained to take their rightful place in the world. Their activities are a lot stranger than Harry's, however.
South of Broad / Pat Conroy - Great book to just fall into an want to keep reading. It tracks the lives of some misfit kids and does so with beautiful language and continual surprises.
Inherent Vice / Thomas Pynchon - The master of Gravity's Rainbow and V. tackles a 60's, hippie detective story with some crackling dialogue
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet / Reif Larsen - A truly unique work which consists of pictures, diagrams and words and brings the reader into the mind of an adolescent unlike any other work since Catcher in the Rye
The Thoreau You Don't Know : What the Prophet of Environmentalism Really Meant / Robert Sullivan - Very interesting look at what Thoreau could have really been thinking. It takes off the deification that the 20th century has bestowed upon him and looks at what he might have really felt.
Ballitics:Poems / Billy Collins - Collins is one of the most simple and profound modern poets. There's lots of thought candy here.
Wizard's First Rule / Terry Goodkind - In the great fantasy tradition of Tolkien and Brooks with a nod to Ayn Rand, this first of a series is packed with interesting, believable characters and plenty of action.
Drood / Dan Simmons - A bit long but worth the trip, Drood speculates, via fiction infused with fact, what Dickens had planned for the ending of his last, uncompleted novel.
The Last Dickens / Matthew Pearl - Pearl's work is on the exact same topic as Drood but focuses more on the relationship between Dickens and Wilkie Collins. This one is more humorous.
Spade and Archer / Joe Gores - Gores writes the prequel to The Maltese Falcon in language that mimics the classic whodunit perfectly.
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star : on the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar / Paul Theroux - Probably the best travel writer today, Paul Theroux, retraces the train trip across Asia that he chronicled decades ago in his masterpiece, The Great Railway Bazaar. Armed with hindsight and the knowledge he gained by trekking around the world, Theroux muses about what has changed in the world since his Bazaar book.
The Given Day / Dennis Lehane - Top notch mystery writer Lehane takes a turn at an early 20th century saga of old Boston - interesting characters and gripping plot laced with history.
A Lion Among Men / Gregory Maguire - A fascinating twist on the Wizard of Oz story. This time it's told from the point of view of the lion - surprisingly very dark and insightful.
Tree of Smoke / Denis Johnson produces a Vietnam opus that rivals Things They Carried.
Roads to Quoz : an American Mosey / William Least Heat-Moon - Moon, who walked across the country in Blue Highways, moseys around the South east with his wife this time and serves up some interesting down home wisdom.
A Mercy / Toni Morrison - Definitely not in the class of Beloved but contains that characteristic Morrison style that, at times, rivals Faulkner.
The Fountainhead / Ayn Rand - One of the best books I've ever read, The Fountainhead employs magical, lyrical language and painstakingly created characters to force you to look inside your soul to see what makes you tick.
Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi - A graphic novel that is similar in impact to Maus. Satrapi takes us through the life of a young girl brought up in Iran, from the time of the Shah.
The Enchantress of Florence / Salman Rushdie - A fanciful tale of love and power set in Persia and Florence with intriguing language and narrative style
Not Quite Dead / John MacLachlan Gray - A mystery novel that includes Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens among its cast of interesting characters
Shopping for Porcupine: a Life in Arctic Alaska / Seth Kantner - life in backwoods Alaska told by someone who was born in the wild and spent his life there
The Last Fish Tale : the Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town / Mark Kurlansky - very interesting study of why the town of Gloucester never became the Cape Cod of northern Massachusetts
A Voyage Long and Strange : Rediscovering the New World / Tony Horwitz - a current day trip along the routes of the early discoverers of America with some interesting history thrown in
Child 44 / Tom Rob Smith - a chilling mystery set in an Orwellian world
Sharp Teeth / Toby Barlow - one of the strangest books ever - written in poetry, it concerns a class of people who can transform themselves into dogs at will
The Ten-Cent Plague - David Hajdu - A fascinating and eye-opening look at the history of the comic book and how it changed America
The Maytrees / Annie Dillard - An interesting blend of poetic language, naturalism, and lofty ideas as told through the lives of a Provincetown family
The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End / Ken Follett - A huge saga with well-drawn characters, this work delineates the struggles involved in building a medieval cathedral and a bridge. Follett's style is so soothing and straightforward that it envelops the reader in its spell. These are books that you don't want to end.
People of the Book / Geraldine Brooks - A CSI style investigation into the possible history of a newly discovered rare Jewish book is juxtaposed with chapters that tell what really happened to the book in the past. History and culture blend with DaVinci Code- style  intrigue to create a unique package.
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao / Junot Diaz - a very original look at the trials faced by an immigrant family from the Dominican Republic. What should be tragic is delivered in a witty blend of comedy, Spanglish and references to fantasy and science fiction. The unique writing style totally captivates the reader.
A Thousand Splendid Suns / Khaled Hosseini - The sequel to Kite Runner does not have quite the same punch, but it is a compelling must-read nonetheless. This time the focus is on three Afghan women with different lifestyles. Once again, Hosseini shows his genius at getting the reader cathartically involved.
What is the What / David Eggers - Flips back and forth from resettlement camps in Sudan and the "Lost Boys'" later experiences in the US and makes some amazing, stunning, but subtle, comparisons of the two cultures
Water For Elephants / Sara Gruen - Against a fascinating background of early 20th century circus life, the book makes some remarkable statements about the power and weakness of old age
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England / Brock Clarke - Kurt Vonnegut is reborn in this hilarious black comedy with tons of references to places in our area
American Bloomsbury : Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau : their lives, their loves, their work / Susan Cheever - A study and comparison of literary figures that is so approachable that it reads like a novel
Run / Ann Patchett - Fascinating, well-written novel about a poor woman forced to give up her twins for adoption but not willing to let go of them completely
The Memory of Running / Ron McLarty - Very Forrest Gump-like, interesting study of an overweight loser type of a guy who finds the real meaning of life in an unusual way
Finn : a novel / Jon Clinch - Huckleberry Finn from Huck's dad's point of view - very interesting for those who love Huck as it forces the reader to rethink the original novel
Dead Heat / Dick Francis and Felix Francis - Great quick read for mystery fans. Francis has a knack for creating characters that the reader really can empathize with.
Thunderstruck / Erik Larson - Great combination of history (Marconi) and drama (murder); learn as you follow the whodunit.
The Omnivore's Dilemma : a Natural History of Four Meals / Michael Pollan - Eye-opening study of 4 different ways to eat (vegan, grow your own, fast food, typical omnivore) and how each type affects the human body and the world.
You Staying Young : the Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty / Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen - Not a diet book but a serious, very readable look at how what we do to our body affects our life.
The World Without Us / Alan Weisman - The answer to the question - What would happen to the planet if the human race was exterminated? Very interesting!

Questions, Comments or Suggestions:
  jcala6@charter.net
 Mr. Calabrese's Home Page