Reader discussion: Ivanhoe

Public reader discussion about Ivanhoe by Walter Scott.

Which British Literature books should I include on my students' supplemental reading list? And which Dickens novel should I teach?

By rose

I’m getting ready for my first year teaching high school, and I’ll be doing British Lit with 12th graders—basically everything from stuff like Chaucer or Sir Gawain through to post–WW2. I’d like to put together a “if you want to” reading list for them that helps connect the writing to the mindset/history of each period. I’m trying to find either classics we probably won’t get to cover, or more modern authors who write really solid historical fiction. What would you put on a list like that for 12th graders, and why? Bonus question: if you had to pick among Dickens, which one(s) would you say are the most important for me to teach?

Kindle question: How do I put public domain books on my kindle?

By Winter40

Amazon used to let you grab a bunch of public domain books for free on their store (stuff like the Bible, Austen, Ivanhoe, that kind of older stuff). Now it seems like they’re charging for them—usually like a buck—or bundling them into Kindle Unlimited. I don’t really want to pay for books that are already free somewhere, so is there a way to get them on my Kindle without using Amazon/without paying?

How do you rate books on Goodreads?

By looksbridge

I use Goodreads a lot for recommendations, and I’ve basically gone by their star meanings when I rate things. Like, ** is “it was okay,” *** is “liked it,” **** is “really liked it,” and ****” is “it was amazing.” (I also map **-ish to “didn’t like it,” but I usually don’t go that far.) I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy, so naturally those get higher marks from me. But whenever I pick up something outside those genres, I end up feeling kind of guilty giving it a lower score, even if I think it’s still a good book. For example, I thought *The Color Purple* was genuinely worth reading, but it’s not really something I’d choose for fun, so I gave it 3 stars just to stay in line with the system. Same kind of thing with *War and Peace*—I can tell it’s important, but I’m having a hard time getting through it. I’d say it’s more like okay than “liked it,” so 2 stars. And I know I’m probably not always the target audience, but I still wonder… do people actually think *War and Peace* (over 4 on Goodreads) is more enjoyable than stuff like *Jurassic Park* or *To Kill a Mockingbird*? Like, does the average reader really feel that strongly at the 4-star level? It makes me question my own rating a bit, even though it’s my experience. I really want to read more variety and perspectives that aren’t aimed at me, and I’m glad I’m doing that—but I still feel weird about calling things “just okay.” I’ve even thought Goodreads could split the ratings into two parts: regular stars for whatever algorithm stuff, and then a separate thumbs up/down for “worth reading even if you didn’t love it.” How do you personally rate books you think are worth your time even if they’re historically dated or not really for you? Or if you just didn’t enjoy them much overall? For what it’s worth, here are a few of my ratings: *The Gunslinger* — ok ** *Piranesi* — ** *The Giver* — liked it *** *Hitchhiker’s Guide* — *** *Rocket Boys* — really liked it **** *Shogun* — **** *To Kill a Mockingbird* — amazing ***** *The Martian* — ***** *Winds of War / War and Remembrance* — ***** And yeah, I know everyone has their own opinions.