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Reviews
Lit Up: One Reporter. Three Schools. Twenty-four Books That Can Change Lives. by David Denby
nina_rod's review against another edition
2.0
This book is about the power of a good title. Wow! 24 books that can change lives? Sign me up. Whatever editor came up with that title needs a prize. Instead, I was sent back to high school. This book had a great description of the apathy of a 10th grade Lit class. It brought all the feeling of high school back to me. I was about to abandon this book, but powered through, using this book as a means to fall asleep every night. As I was about to end the boredom for me and abandon this book, I grew to appreciate the teachers. These lit teachers in low-income schools are saints, pulling meaning of books out of their students and demanding them to think more!
laurazdavidson's review against another edition
2.0
Three schools? Denby gives only cursory coverage to both Mamaroneck and Hillhouse, instead focusing mainly on Beacon, a selective public school in New York City in which the teacher is given great autonomy in choosing his own curriculum. The other schools were much more interesting... and realistic. The reality is that most schools don't get to choose their students, and most teachers don't get to set their own curriculum. Also, as a former teacher, I was astounded to read that these teachers only taught 16 hours a week and had fewer than 100 students.
beatniksafari's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating look inside the classrooms of several terrific high-school English teachers as they engage students with texts. I don't share the author's disdain for technology or for books at the bottom of his self-appointed "literary ladder" (mysteries, fantasy books, YA novels, and most nonfiction all seem to dwell there). As one teacher points out, a book is hardly rigorous if teens aren't reading it. Despite that disagreement, I enjoyed the peek inside the schools and the insights offered by teachers and students from a variety of backgrounds.
ashleylynne920's review against another edition
3.0
I think I wanted and expected more from this than I should have, which left me disappointed, and wanting more. The focus is important, and one I think most English teachers are always thinking about; the anecdotal style and writer's tone were both spot on for me. I just feel unfufilled by the lack of resolution.
mercenator's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting look at pedagogy when teaching English/writing. I'm not sure that this would be of interest to someone who hadn't or wasn't planning to teach English language in the future, but I thought it was a delightful study on different teaching methods and how they effect interpretations of a text.
suvata's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to the audiobook. It didn't really hold my interest, but it was OK.
eyredactyl's review
1.0
Painfully dull. Captures little about teaching or reading and the author's own mindset and predispositions over shadow it all. Did not expect his analysis of the kids and their apparent moodiness or gloominess or his opinions on their decisions and behaviors. Had high hopes for book and forced self to read to end as the initial premise was interesting but he essentially narrates a timeline of canonical reading with some book blurbs and quotes from class discussions.
spiderfelt's review
3.0
Following the progress of a 10th grade English class through a year of books was interesting from the perspective of both an avid reader and a parent of children in either side of that grade. The author inserted himself into the narrative more than I expected in a work of non-fiction, questioning the choices and strategies employed by the teachers. By the end of the year, the students from these schools were truly engaged in reading and learning. But these students were not enrolled in typical schools and their teachers were truly extraordinary. The book left me wondering whether the author is a parent, and outside of this project how much interaction he has with teenagers. I'm not sure what else I was expecting, but in the end the book left me feeling meh.