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What book should be REQUIRED reading for everyone?

shari

shari

New Member
Believe it or not, I'm met with the question each spring when we (high school English teachers) meet to discuss our next year's literature curriculum. What books MUST they have? what books can we give them to keep them wanting more? We take this obligation seriously and worry when we don't necessarily get it right. We sure do hear about it when it's wrong!!!!

I believe no student should leave school without the following:
Lord of the Flies
To Kill a Mockingbird
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Fahrenheit 451

All other lit choices seem to fall somewhere below the above list. PLEASE HELP!!
 
i liked highschool english. i had a very cool teacher one year. we read the Chrysalids. i think that's one for the masses to read
 
bobbyburns said:
you're such a tool, jenem. Lj;D
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what does Lj;D mean? maybe i am a tool :confused:

lol no- i just don't mind admitting that i like stuff that many people consider dork material

Honeydevil- i have not seen the Great Gatsby movie. which one do you mean? i didn't care for the book either.

ok, i have to go- the Family Guy is on!
 
The Outsider by Albert Camus. It's easy to read yet has so much within that encourages thought about the values around us.
 
bobbyburns said:
I almost forgot how boring high school english is. thanks for reminding me.
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This, is exactly why I don't believe in required reading. I think that reading lists are OK, but requiring kids to read specific books is a bad idea. There are so many adults out there who haven't read a single thing since High School, and you really have to wonder why.
 
oops -- sorry

OKay. Okay.. sheesh. I'll let that one go. I should never have revealed myself as the pariah of all readers. Unfortunatley, I have such faith in books, I can't help thinking that the right match (book with reader) will create a lifetime of reading obsession ... (as we've all seen here). FYI-- we read Huck Finn too.
I'll let this thread go to rot and leave the bookies alone from now on... :rolleyes:
 
to mehastings

Mehastings
Your dog's picture looks exactly like my dog (if that's really your dog..???) what kind of dog is he?

Shari aka book/dog lover
 
shari said:
Believe it or not, I'm met with the question each spring when we (high school English teachers) meet to discuss our next year's literature curriculum. What books MUST they have? what books can we give them to keep them wanting more? We take this obligation seriously and worry when we don't necessarily get it right. We sure do hear about it when it's wrong!!!!

I believe no student should leave school without the following:
Lord of the Flies
To Kill a Mockingbird
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Fahrenheit 451

All other lit choices seem to fall somewhere below the above list. PLEASE HELP!!
Click to expand...
I agree with your list but do kids really need 2 Shakespeares?

What about:
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
 
good titles

Rogue
Thanks for the response. I actually threw Life of Pi in this year for my high level students. (p.s they loved it ... "Please may we have some more ;) " Your other choices have been in and out of the curriculum at times. I'm not familiar with Oryx and Crake and I am Legend.
Our students read a Shakespeare every year-- wondering if that's necessary but I can't seem to buck the highers up on this one.

thanks for some help... (but I'm feeling the stones being tossed as we speak so I'd better make a quick dash out of here........
 
Don't mind the spaming crowd they do that all the time.

You could also try:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides
 
virgin suicides?

Rogue
I'm very tempted by the Virgin Sucides since I loved Middlesex so much. But, I've read that it's not comparable to Middlesex. Should I try it?
:confused:
 
I agree that "The Catcher in the Rye" should be on the list. What about "The Joy Luck Club"? Although the boys might not like that as much.

Where I went to high school we had a reading list with maybe 300 books on it. You had to read maybe 10 of them over the summer, but you could choose which ones. I think that was a nice compromise.
 
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