This Presentation was prepared by Josh Huddleston for Vaughn International Studies Academy's annual "Read In" event.

1. Read-In 2015 with Mr. Hudd
10 Books you might not know
about, but should…

2. 1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Deals with Race in the South.
Atticus Finch, the main
character has been described
as a moral hero and a model
for integrity, especially for
lawyers. Scout is an innocent
yet strong female character
who narrates the novel. This
book is high up on my
recommendations list
because it deals with things
still relevant to you: Racism,
discrimination, cruelty. An
some of the most memorable

3. 2. World War Z
My favorite “Zombie Lit”. If you’ve
seen the movie, you still haven’t read
the book. See the venn diagram
below.
The book is told from the perspective
of a journalist who interviews
survivors after the outbreak has been
contained. Each chapter is a different
characters story from the attack and
how they dealt with it.

4. 3. The Graveyard Book
Super fun and a good amount of scary.
Anything by Neil Gaiman will take you on
the most fantastical adventure... The
Graveyard is the story of a boy who
grows up in a graveyard, the people he
encounters and the people who raise
him. Mystery, murder, love… it has it all!
When I read the first chapter, I almost
peed my pants it was so scary. It’s a
short, easy read. Your 12 year old
brother would love you forever if you
read this book to him at night…

5. East of Eden
This is my all time favorite book. Number
one. BUT… I would recommend that you
wait. If you read it too soon, it might not
speak to you. It’s Steinbeck, so relatively
slow paced. Very descriptive as far as
nature goes, you will fall in love with
central California. Its more than 700 pages
so it’s no joke. What is this book about?
One word, “Life”. It follows 3 or 4
generations of a farming family in central
California and all the battles in between.
We named our two boys after characters in
the book… and probably will the third…
This is Steinbeck's masterpiece. He wrote
a book about writing this book. It is the
product of someone completely utilizing
their perfected craft.
You will never meet a more vile villain than

6. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
When I started reading this, I didn’t get
more than a page in when Mark Twain said
that if I hadn’t read about Tom Sawyer, then
I need to before I read about his friend
Huckleberry Finn. So I closed the book and
went back to the library and checked out
Tom Sawyer. I was sooooo glad I did. Tom
Sawyer is amazing it self, and its on my list
of favorite books. HF is written as a sequel
to TS and a lot happens in the first book
that you really need background on. But HF
is epic. The main character, Huck is running
away from home in search of adventure
with a runaway slave. The two float down
the Mississippi, hide out and come across
some serious trouble once Huck’s alcoholic
father gets word of their whereabouts. It’s
one of the first novels to be written in
America in an American vernacular, so if it’s
hard at first don’t give up, you’ll get used to
the way it’s written and you’ll fall in love with
these boys. If you’re looking for adventure,

7. Dandelion Wine
I had to throw up a Ray Bradbury on this
list. One of my favorite authors, Bradbury
has written a grip of books that shouldn’t
go unread. Something Wicked This Way
Comes and Fahrenheit 451 are among my
favorites.
Dandelion Wine is the story of two brothers
and their summer break. It talks about the
beauty of making memories, and treasuring
your childhood. The title is a metaphor for
packing all the joys of summer into a single
bottle… beautiful, right? Most of the book is
focused around small town America and
the simple joys of yesterday.

8. Dune So I would suggest a warm up book
before you dive into Dune. Try out
something sci-fi. Enders Game or
even Neuromancer, both incredible
books that are very sci-fi. Dune is as
thick as the bible and as epic. This
book deals with politics, religion,
ecology, technology, and human
emotion as the different governments
in space struggle for control of
Arrakis (planet with a highly sought
after commodity of spice). Sound
boring? You will be fist pumping by
the end when former aristocrat
turned desert guerilla fighter Paul
Maud’Dib rides into town on a

9. The Little Prince
You’ll finish in two hours and
your life will be changed
forever.
“And now here is my secret: it
is only with the heart that
one can see rightly; what is
essential is invisible to the
eye”.

10. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A beautiful story of a little girl growing up in
Brooklyn, NY amidst the great depression.
This book will help the most heartless of
people appreciate life.
“Dear God," she prayed, "let me be
something every minute of every hour of
my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let
me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be
hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be
ragged or well dressed. Let me be
sincere - be deceitful. Let me be truthful;
let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and
let me sin. Only let me be something
every blessed minute. And when I sleep,
let me dream all the time so that not one
little piece of living is ever lost.”

11. The Fountainhead
Another big one but
well worth your time.
Written by Ayn Rand,
who you’ll learn about
at some point in your
English class. This is
the story of an
Architect who is
Uncompromising. He
will not give in to all
the watered down,
business of
architecture and wants
to design the way he
envisions. Some of the
archetecture is loosely
based on the that of
Frank Lloyd Wright.

12. Honorable Mentions
 Pride and Prejudice – Lovey-dovey
 The Princess Bride – adventurous, fun
 The Phantom Tollbooth – creative, adventurous
 Brothers Karamazov – Epic, life, family, Russia
 Crossing to Safety – Life, love, wait till your older
 Something Wicked This Way Comes – Scarry, fun, it’s Ray Bradburry
so… it’s the best
 Heart of Darkness – trip up the Congo River. Deals with imperialism.
 Slaughterhouse 5 – Kurt Vonnegut, WW2, Dresden firebombings, and
other journeys through time
 The Bell Jar – choices,. Growing up
 One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest --
 Lonesome Dove – Western Epic
 Paris to the Moon – a father’s love
 Anna Karinina – Russian Epic
 Seabuscuit – Horseracing, but amazing story of overcoming odds.
 Flower's for Algernon -