My daily perusal of Arts & Letters Daily led me to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education called "Other People's Books" by Jay Parini, in which he explains how our book collections express "a way of being in the world." I asked students to skim the article and then respond to an impromptu four-question survey of my own.
Out of a group of 40 students about half of them commented. (It was a Friday afternoon, and I guess, an imposition.)
Here are the results:
What's the last book you read for pleasure?
Four people said: The Da Vinci Code
Other responses included:
History of BMW (English version)
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
"Los Diarios del Botox"
If Life is a Game, These are the Stories
Momo
"Una imagen en el espejo"
"El Perfume" by Patrick Süsskind
A french book called "The Accursed Kings" by Maurice Druon
Pandillas en jeans
Las batallas en el desierto
El Club Dumas
The last book I read is called "Don´t Tell God What He Has to Do: Albert Einstein´s biography.
What books are in your house?
History, Drama, Cars & Kids
Novels, poems, school books
We have different types of books. There are some encyclopedias, consulting books, law and constitutional books, but most are novels--some classics and some more recent.
There are lots of books of all kinds.
In my house there are a lot of interesting books, including History, (Mexico, Universal) also politics, fiction and micro-fiction Mexican stories. I've read some of them but I don't usually read unless I have insomnia.
I have a few books. The books that I have are about Business Management.
A lot of books, I don't know their names lol, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Principito, etc
You can find a lot of books, like dictionaries, encyclopedias, food books, a lot of books
Any kind of books, novels, dictionary, encyclopedia, drama, action, comedia, culture, etc..
In my home are a lot of book but the majority are about psychology and other things like this.
I have a lot of books, but the majority are novels and literature for kids
There are many types of books in my house: novels, encyclopedias, several dictionaries.
Encyclopedias, science books and text books
Encyclopedias, math and novels
In my house are encyclopedias, novels and dictionaries.
Adventure, fantasy, historical, horror, humor, mystery, romance, scholarly, science fiction... any kind.
Are there any titles you've heard about which you have not yet read, but are eager to? If so, please describe the topic and mention the title if you remember.
Two people said: No
Others responded with:
Some book called "La ciudad de las bestias" written by a Mexican author
"The House of Spirits", "Hysteria", "Sophia´s World", and others by Latin-Amercan writers. Most of the books I want to read are novels or philosophy-related, I love that kind of topic.
I want to read the book by Isabel Allende
I have heard about a micro-fiction novel, but I don't remember the name of the book, but I'll find it soon.
Harry Potter--it's about magic and phantasy
Rayuela
"The Da Vinci Code"...it is about the church's history; maybe it could change ideas that people have about religion!
I really do not like to read a lot, but the books that I like more are about fiction histories
Well, there are no titles I've heard about that I wanna read, but I read "The Alchemist" a few months ago and I liked it so I would like to read another book by Paulo Coelho.
Troya Horse by JJ Benitez-a trip to the epoch of crucifix in His last days.
"Inquieta compañia"--it's about a man who falls in love with a girl after spending hours watching her every day through a window.
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. I don't know the topic but I found this online. Deeply controversial because of its themes of incest, child abuse, neglect, and other taboo subjects
No. There are, but I like to read science books and biographys
No. There are, but I like to read novels.
Finally, are there any books you have read more than once?
Eight people said: No.
Others responded with:
I'm not interested in reading.
I do not like to read a lot, but I have to do this because it is a good form to learn more.
I don't like to read.
And others mentioned titles:
mmm yes, about Jaime Sabines, some books from Gabriel García Márquez and from Dante Aligheri, "The Divine Comedy"
Yes, almost all because I have a terrible memory and I usually forget about the story, jaja. For example: "Veronika decide morir", "Como agua para chocolate" ...
"Las aventuras de Robinson Crusoe" about a sailor who gets lost on the sea
The Little Prince. I've read it in Spanish and in English several times. When I was learning English, it was so useful.
Yes I read "Ensayo sobre la ceguera" by José Saramago twice.
Carlos Cuauhtemoc Sanchez, La fuerza de Schmitt
Fish
Boule de suif by Guy de Maupassant.
I had hoped that putting my request as "an assignment" might prompt the recalcitrant students to at least respond with brief replies, but 20 out of 40 was about the best I should have expected.
I have to admit the results give this tired brain something to think about. The intellectual fire burning around me every day is somewhat hotter than I previously thought.
More later.
No comments:
Post a Comment