AP Literature Books for 2017-2018

Upcoming 10th through 12th grade Cohort English students will all be combined in the same class for the 2017-2018 school year.  The Cohort English II course (10th grade only) may be accessed here.

11th and 12th grade students will be taking the course as AP Literature & Composition, and may choose to take the national exam in May 2018 to qualify for college credit.  For more information about this course, please visit the official AP English Literature & Composition webpage.

This course will require a lot of outside reading, but we will do a lot in class, as well.  Remember that this is a college-level course, so the expectation is that students come to class having read the material and prepared to discuss and manipulate the text during the two class periods a week that we meet.

We will be using the following books, available on Amazon and other websites, as well as in brick-and-mortar bookstores.  You may (and should) purchase used copies when available, but please try to find the edition I have requested (I've provided images at the bottom for reference).

Please note that students DO NOT have to purchase their own textbooks, but it is highly recommended for annotation purposes.  Please let Lowther know if you need assistance purchasing any of these texts, but would still like your own copy.

• Main Text:
  • ​Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound,and Sense, 10th Edition ($2.99 and up, used, on Amazon); hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1413033083)
• Paperback novels:
  • Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (ISBN-13: 978-0316769488)
  • *The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (ISBN-13: 978-0307387899)
  • *The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (2004 edition, if possible)
• Other possible texts (don't buy, just yet):
  • Shakespeare: Hamlet (students may purchase from me during the school year--we'll be using the same publisher as our Twelfth Night texts from this year
  • 19th Century: Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Tale of Two Cities, or Crime & Punishment
  • Early 20th Century (pre-WW2, 1900-1939): The Great Gatsby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Heart of Darkness, or Brave New World
  • Mid 20th Century (post-WW2, 1940-1969): The Crucible, 1984, Waiting for Godot, No Exit
  • Post-Modern (1970-1989): Song of Solomon, The Color Purple
  • Contemporary (1990-Present): Covered above in the required texts*
• These are all novels and plays; what about poetry and short stories?
  • Poetry and short story selections will be taken from Perrine's Literature, as indicated above.