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What book should be REQUIRED reading for everyone?

My suggestions would be:

  • The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung), Franz Kafka (short story)
  • 1984, George Orwell / Kallocain, Karin Boye
  • The Stranger (L'etranger), Albert Camus
  • Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
  • The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (short story)
  • Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
  • The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier

I'm not so sure that Shakespeare should be required reading for high scool. I've got the impression that his works are full of poetry.
 
Wolhay said:
I'm not so sure that Shakespeare should be required reading for high scool. I've got the impression that his works are full of poetry.
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What's wrong with poetry? I think poetry is missing from the list and there should be at least a couple of books included, Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson, for example.

There should also be at least one modern play, like Death of a Salesman or A streetcar named desire.

I don't think Kafka or Camus would make sense in an English list, but I would include Rushdie and Achebe and maybe Peter Carey and Coetzee
 
shari said:
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:
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Don't leave us alone. It's very difficult to get on topic discussions during certain hours as there are only a couple people online late at night/early in the morning. Your thread was a good idea. I don't like required reading, but that doesn't mean it's not a good topic to discuss!

shari said:
Your dog's picture looks exactly like my dog (if that's really your dog..???) what kind of dog is he?
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That is Zoe. She is my dog. She's a three year old shih tzu. I'm not a small dog person (I inherited her) but she really has a big dog personality in a small body.
 
Shari, don't be so hard on yourself. Some of us just have had unpleasant experiences with required reading. I, in my heart of hearts, have a secret burning desire to be a high school english teacher (seriously).

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 ...
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I have that faith, too. But the thing is, with all the different personalities contained within a classroom, how can just a few books, carefully selected as they may be, inspire much?
 
Okay, if not Grapes of Wrath, at least some Steinbeck should be required reading in the high school years. How about Of Mice and Men or The Moon is Down?

Another book occurred to me that is well-suited for teenagers: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
 
Enders Game and Magician (Raymond E Feist) should be required, mostly because they are just so good, but I wouldnt like to force a book at someone, they might not enjoy it.
 
I think the key is diversity - making sure that at every kid in the class finds at least one book that they can relate to. I also think that at a high school level reading a book and then watching a movie of the book can be useful as it makes kids realise what is missing from movies and how important reading can be. I do believe in required reading because discussion is important and often increases the understanding and appreciation of a book.

The other thing is that culture plays such a large part in assigned reading. For example Huckleberry Finn just wouldn't really play to an Australian audience (IMHO). Do you think that as our societies grow in their multicultural make-up that required reading gets more and more difficult? Not everyone brings the same reading to a book. This is beneficial in that discussions can be more diverse, but at the same time it may be difficult to satiate the requirements of all the kids in the class.

By the way, I just adore Hamlet. :)
 
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!!
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When I was at school i found most students never pay attention when it comes to Shakespear, especially with poetry... I think its the way of words being old English with the 'thou'.

Lord of the flies... My English class loved this book, even the non book loveres enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed this book that I went out and brought myself a copy. I suggest Lord of the flies is a great book for students. Its also quite easy to follow for exams.
 
shari said:
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:
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The Virgin Suicides is a gorgeous story. I didn't read Middlesex so there is no way for me to compare. The best I can say is that The Virgin Suicides is quiet bold and shocking kinda like Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Really impressive.
 
clueless said:
I don't think Kafka or Camus would make sense in an English list
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This thread isn't specifically about the English subject but besides that I don't think that it's uncommon to include translations in the subject of "national languages".

I was assigned a Swedish translation of 'Animal Farm' in the Swedish subject in a high school in Sweden for example.

P.S. Karin Boye isn't English either.
 
to mehastings

!!! I could tell that your dog looked just like a close up of mine. I have a 1 year old shih tzu who looks just like your picture (close up...) There's a picture of him in my profile if you click on my name you'll see his puppy picture (approx. 4 months) He's bigger now with a more mature face. thanks for the doggie info

dogs and books = sheer joy
 
Wolhay said:
This thread isn't specifically about the English subject but besides that I don't think that it's uncommon to include translations in the subject of "national languages".

I was assigned a Swedish translation of 'Animal Farm' in the Swedish subject in a high school in Sweden for example.
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I agree with you, Wolhay. I think there are a lot of works that were written in other languages that make for wonderful study materials. For example, we read translations of Pablo Neruda in my grade 10 english class. Although they were accompanied by the spanish versions, this was more to illustrate that they were translations than because anyone could read spanish.
 
I liked "Stranger in a Strange Lane" when I first read it as a teenager, but I read it again not long ago and it's incredibly sexist. I was quite put off by it. I can usually just accept that it was a different time and read around it, but this book really made me cringe. Great idea, good execution, but F- for its treatment of women! For that reason alone I don't think I could recommend it comfortably.

I saw Robert Heinlein once while I was driving on the 405 freeway - he was driving a Jaguar with the license plate "Grok", so of course I had to look and there he was, looked just like the back cover photo on his books. That of course has nothing to do with anything, I just remembered it.
 
I see that I accidentally typed "Stranger in a Strange LANE" instead of "LAND"...and then mentioned seeing Heinlein on the freeway! Stranger in a Strange Lane could pretty much be the title of any LA driving experience, now that I think of it.
:)
 
In American schools, when the term "English class" is used, it is a broad term, used to name classes from the actual study of the language, as in grammar class, to classes also known as literature class. It basically means, not mathematics class, or science class, or history class, or physical education, or art class, etc. So it is quite common to find a student reading Camus for and "English" class assignment.
 
I think that there should be much more science fiction and fantasy used in schools. I suppose that this might not be suitable as some may be moraly opposed to books of those genres or it would be hard to relate to in an exam.
 
I actually took a sci-fi english class in my last year of high school. It was a great class. I enjoyed it!
 
cajunmama said:
I actually took a sci-fi english class in my last year of high school. It was a great class. I enjoyed it!
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cool! all we have done in English Lit so far are Of Mice And Men and Macbeth, not that any of them ever read/appreceated books anyways :D. I know this because evry time my old Lit teacher held up a book she was currently reading and asks "has anyone read..." and I look around find that I am the only one in the room with a raised hand and several class members are glaring at me :D.
 
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