1. Novel assessment

2. BRAINSTORMING
What makes a fiction novel worthwhile or have value? In contrast, what qualities make a novel inferior?
List criteria.

3. NARROW YOUR LIST Mark your top 3 criteria.
Elaborate on why each of these criteria matter.

4. GROUPS In your groups Introduce yourselves
Share and DISCUSS your ideas
Do you agree or disagree with anyone’s criteria? Or ranking of criteria? If you disagree, why?

5. HOMEWORK
Respond to one of the two prompts for one of the summer reading novels assigned: Station Eleven or The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie or Life of Pi
organize ideas into no more than 2-3 paragraphs
Type the response
Submit to turnitin.com
by 10:00pm on the due date
do not procrastinate
work 1 day late = 50% off; after that, 0 credit

6. PROMPT #1
If you were to create criteria for which fiction books were to be kept in the top 100, with all others completely eliminated from life, would your summer reading of Station Eleven, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, or Life of Pi make it onto the list? Why or why not?

7. PROMPT #2
If you were to sort books into three categories—those read once, those to re-read, and those that should never be read—into which category would you place your summer reading of Station Eleven, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, or Life of Pi? Explain your reasoning for your choice.

8. What makes “good” literature?

9. Following are a few quotes about what makes good literature
Following are a few quotes about what makes good literature. Be ready to jot some key ideas, adding to your brainstorm lists.

10. Timeless and placeless…themes of story and messages conveyed are important, no matter the era or place in which the reader lives.

11. Allows me to see myself more clearly and/or see my fellow humans more clearly; it will help me make connections between the story and the world around me.

12. Uses words in interesting and unusual ways and allows me to vividly “see” the world/picture the author paints for me.

13. Makes reader feel as though he/she had dined at a very fine restaurant instead of at McDonald’s.

14. Emphasis on action is not often as important as emphasis on the ideas, themes, and concerns of the book. Literary fiction tackles “big” issues that are often controversial, difficult, and complex

15. When the story ends, readers feel they’ve learned not just the fate of the characters, but something about the human condition.

16. That which marries excellent plotting with thought-provoking language, or that which simply dazzles us with language and characterization even if the plotting remains subtle.

17. Good literary fiction shouldn’t bore its reader, even if there isn’t a lot of so- called action. Again I say, if the plot is subtle, then language and characterization must intrigue your reader enough to keep them reading

18. Bad literature is too personal. You read it and you don't care
Bad literature is too personal. You read it and you don't care. Only the author cares. Good literature (like any good art) touches something universal that we resonate with.