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BACK
Suggested
SAT Reading List
Students
with excellent reading and comprehension skills find the verbal
sections of the SAT much easier to attack. Classic literature
offers you a chance to practice reading typical SAT passages
and to expand your SAT vocabulary. Carry a book with you at
all times, reading whenever you have a few spare minutes,
such as during a break at work, in the doctor’s waiting
room, or at the pool. While reading, mark any unfamiliar words
and define them when you return home.
The
College Board provides a long list of suggested reading on
its website. Below is an abbreviated version of that list,
based on the easiest and most interesting books as recommended
by PowerScore instructors. We’ve also included the most
recent movie version for you to view after completing the
novel.
|
Book |
Author |
The Plot in
3 Words |
Book |
Movie |
Starring... |
| Pride
and Prejudice |
Jane
Austin |
British
romantic comedy |
1797 |
2005 |
Keira
Knightley |
| Wuthering
Heights |
Emily
Bronte |
Passionate
love story |
1847 |
1992 |
Juliette
Binoche, Ralph Fiennes |
| The
Awakening |
Kate
Chopin |
Wife
finds freedom |
1899 |
|
|
| The
Red Badge of Courage |
Stephen
Crane |
Civil
War fear |
1895 |
1951 |
Audie
Murphy |
| Don
Quixote |
Miguel
de Cervantes |
A
madman’s adventure |
1605 |
2000 |
John
Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini |
| The
Three Muskateers |
Alexandre
Dumas |
Historical
French adventure |
1844 |
1993 |
Charlie
Sheen, Keifer Sutherland |
| The
Great Gatsby |
F.
Scott Fitzgerald |
Rags
to riches |
1925 |
1974 |
Robert
Redford, Mia Farrow |
| Lord
of the Flies |
William
Golding |
Deserted
island boys |
1954 |
1990 |
Balthazar
Getty |
| The
Scarlet Letter |
Nathaniel
Hawthorne |
Punishment
for adultery |
1850 |
1995 |
Demi
Moore, Gary Oldman |
| Catch-22 |
Joseph
Heller |
WWII
satire |
1961 |
1970 |
Alan
Arkin |
| Brave
New World |
Aldous
Huxley |
Year
2540 utopia |
1932 |
1998
|
Peter
Gallagher, Leonard Nimoy |
| The
Metamorphosis |
Franz
Kafka |
Man
becomes insect |
1915 |
1987 |
Steven
Berkoff, Tim Roth |
| To
Kill a Mockingbird |
Harper
Lee |
Deep
South prejudice |
1960 |
1962 |
Gregory
Peck |
| The
Call of the Wild |
Jack
London |
Yukon
sled dog |
1903 |
1972 |
Charleton
Heston |
| Beloved |
Toni
Morrison |
Effects
of slavery |
1987 |
1998 |
Oprah
Winfrey, Danny Glover |
| Animal
Farm |
George
Orwell |
Farm
animals revolt |
1945 |
1999 |
Kelsey
Grammer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus |
| The
Bell Jar |
Sylvia
Plath |
Young
woman’s depression |
1963 |
2008 |
Julia
Styles |
| The
Catcher in the Rye |
J.D.
Salinger |
A
teenager’s alienation |
1951 |
|
|
| The
Grapes of Wrath |
John
Steinbeck |
Great
Depression sharecroppers |
1939 |
1940 |
Henry
Fonda |
| Treasure
Island |
R.L.
Stevenson |
High
seas adventure |
1883 |
1990 |
Charleton
Heston |
| Uncle
Tom’s Cabin |
Harriet
Beecher Stowe |
Cruelty
of slavery |
1852 |
1987 |
Avery
Brooks, Bruce Dern |
| Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn |
Mark
Twain |
A
runaway’s story |
1885 |
1993 |
Elijah
Wood |
| Candide |
Voltaire |
French
adventure satire |
1759 |
|
|
| Slaughterhouse-Five |
Kurt
Vonnegut |
WWII
time travel |
1969 |
1972 |
Michael
Sacks, Ron Leibman |
| The
Color Purple |
Alice
Walker |
Southern
women’s difficulties |
1982 |
1985 |
Whoopi
Goldberg, Danny Glover |
| The
Picture of Dorian Gray |
Oscar
Wilde |
Price
of vanity |
1890 |
2004 |
Josh
Duhamel |
| Native
Son |
Richard
Wright |
Depression-era
racism |
1940 |
1986 |
Victor
Love, Matt Dillon |
|
