How do you handle book talks?

• I read most of my book off and on all nine weeks.
• I pick a book I read in junior high and skim it.
• I choose the smallest book I can find on the high school side of the library. Mr. Barney will be right, it will be stupid and I won't like it.
• I pick a book that has been made into a movie and realize too late that I have made a huge mistake.
• I totally lie, but I am typically a good kid, so Mr. Barney lets me slide with a 50% instead of a zero.

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It is that time again, the two times a semester everyone dreads: book talks. Book talks are almost every Canton High School student’s worst nightmare. Students have to stand up in class and discuss a book they have read recently.
These talks come around once every nine weeks. Yet almost every student wakes up in a cold sweat one day right before book talks are set to begin and realizes, in spite of best intentions, they have…nothing.

There are however a few tips to help keep students out of the doghouse and on Mr. Barney’s good side.

1. Know what the book is about
Knowing what the book is about is very important because that is the whole reason there is a book talk. Reading a couple pages here and there can help out. Knowing the general plot to the story is essential to passing a book talk in Mr. Barney’s English classes.

2. Confidence
Even if students have no clue what their book is about and are terrified that Mr. Barney can see into their souls, having confidence and acting like they know what they are doing can make a world of difference. It makes it more believable that the reader knows what they are talking about and that they have no problem sharing what they “read”.

3. Have a quote ready
Everyone knows that a quote is required and is an important part to a book talk. If you have a good quote that correlates with the book’s main point and expresses a major part in the story. then the book talk will go smoothly and will hopefully be over soon.

4.Know the author of your book
A quick little Google search never hurt anyone, so Google away. Students should find out everything they can about the author. Knowing the basics is good, but interesting little facts make things all around better for the grade.

5 . Have your book with you
This is a very vital part of book talk surviving skills. If students do not have their book, they are basically considered dead. Having the book will really help because it gives students something to read from while not having to look at all the other students staring into their souls.

6. Just read the book a month in advance
Just doing the reading and getting a good grade is better than trying to pretend.
No matter what, this tip will guarantee a good grade on a book talk anywhere, anytime.

Editor’s note: Never pick a book that was made into a movie, both English teachers pride themselves on reading the book before they see the movie. As a result, they will ask you about parts of the book that were not in the movie.