Essential books everyone should read

[Lady Florida.]

11 hours ago, LMD said:

I'm with Texasmom, read them Russians! Loved Anna Karenina. Crime and punishment is phenomenal.

 

I remember a poster (don't know who) years ago who called them BARBs - Big A$$ Russian Books. I love BARBs! ?

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

A quick canvassing of the other inhabitants about their re-reading habits:

Middle Girl: All the Dumas novels; all the Sherlock Holmes stories; the Alfred Hitchcock ghost story collections

Wee Girl: All the Astérix books; the American Girl advice and quiz books

Dh: won't say (awfully suspicious)

Hopefully it wasn’t something like, What to do When Your Marriage is Crumbling. 

?

[Violet Crown]

9 minutes ago, Quill said:

Hopefully it wasn’t something like, What to do When Your Marriage is Crumbling. 

?

Ha! No I have reason to suspect it's mostly Philip K. Dick, Stanislaw Lem, and Dorothy Dunnett. He keeps his books on a massive case in his office though, and reads them at work, so there's no telling for sure.

Edited November 18, 2018 by Violet Crown

[Condessa]

Here are mine:

The Bible and the Book of Mormon

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Screwtape Letters 

Watership Down

Harry Potter

The Bronze Bow

Shakespeare: Macbeth, a Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, sonnets

Longfellow: The Song of Hiawatha, The Ride of Paul Revere, and especially Evangeline

A Christmas Carol

Oliver Twist

The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables

Little Women

Heidi, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess

Treasure Island

poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Dickenson, Robert Frost, Robert Burns

Jane Eyre

Pride and Prejudice & Sense and Sensibility

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Beowulf

Cry the Beloved Country

ETA: And Where the Red Fern Grows

 

One I actually really deeply hated was Brave New World, but on the other hand, it led me to so much deep introspection and considering of my thoughts on human nature and historical/cultural trends that it feels like maybe it belongs on a list of books people should read.

Edited November 18, 2018 by Michelle Conde

[Farrar]

Hm. I don't think there's any such thing as a single list, you know? I'm against making canons. But I guess I can answer with some books that really got me and have stayed with me that I also think have literary value...

Jane Eyre
Wild Swans
The Poisonwood Bible
A Wrinkle in Time
A Ring of Endless Light
Cat's Cradle
A Suitable Boy
I Capture the Castle
Midnight's Children
The Ground Beneath Her Feet

Guns, Germs, Steel
The Botany of Desire
How Children Learn
Why Students Hate School

I know that's not everything... but... that's a few things, I guess.
 

[frogger]

The only one I haven't seen mentioned that I would add is, "Of Mice and Men". 

This thread really seems Pin worthy. ☺

[marbel]

Such lists are hard for me but here are a few:

To Kill A Mockingbird because it's so beautiful and a good way for kids to learn about prejudice and cruelty.

Germinal by Emile Zola because I read it in college and it just blew my mind because I'd never read a book like it before. It is bleak and very gritty (about a coal mine strike in France in the late 1800s) but so so good. 

The Poisonwood Bible and, as a counterpoint to the "bad" missionary story (at least that's how I remember it), City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell, about missionaries in China.

Shakespeare: MacBeth because it shows the effects of power and the lust for it; Richard II because it's so beautiful.

Swallows and Amazons because it depicts an idyllic kids' summer adventure.

Station Eleven because it's a post-apocalyptic story that is not bleak and ugly. 

ETA: How could I forget Les Miserables, because, really, it's a story about everything. 

ETA2: Duh, the Bible is essential for me. Also a very helpful book when I was feeling disconnected from God:  Making Sense of God by Timothy Keller. And, one more for Bible readers who find Job difficult:  Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, by Christopher Ash. 

Edited November 18, 2018 by marbel

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, frogger said:

The only one I haven't seen mentioned that I would add is, "Of Mice and Men". 

This thread really seems Pin worthy. ☺

Aww. That’s so nice to say! 

I am out of likes now, so I’m still following along.

[Ausmumof3]

5 hours ago, Quill said:

I intend to get this on Audible if I can get it read by Bill Homewood. I listened to Homewood reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame this year and his narration was AMAZING. It seems to me this is the most accessible way to read such a dense book. It does represent about 23 hours of listening but that is also close to the time investment for making a loom-knit baby blanket, so listening is a good way. 

That sounds like a plan!  I am getting through Swb history of the medieval world this way.

i read Les mis while I was nursing ds who is now 12!  Lucky he was such a hungry baby!

[Ausmumof3]

Anyone else wanting to use this thread to make a reading list for next year?  There’s so many books here I’ve totally missed.

[Ausmumof3]

5 hours ago, aaplank said:

 

Your're my "soul sister" ?

I named my son Asher because I wanted him to grow up to be a man just like Asher Lev. 

Those books were very formative for me as I was navigating my way through what I thought about God and Christian community.  Even though it's about a Hasidic Jewish community, the principles still apply. 

I have never read this but loved the other book by this author “the chosen”. Is it similar?  I might have to get that one.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Anyone else wanting to use this thread to make a reading list for next year?  There’s so many books here I’ve totally missed.

I was thinking that once I started reading suggestions. I have already thought a couple of times that there are a few books I want to reread every year until...I don’t know when. I also keep setting out to read more classics; I did not even begin catching up on classics until I was in my thirties. But obviously, many classics are sizeable books or require some preparation to understand. It often takes me a few months to get through a famous classic (even on Audible). It really does come down to the saying about so many books, so little time.

I have thought before that if I merely compiled all the books I currently own but havent yet read, it would fill a year of books easily reading one a week. This is the first year I have come very close to reading a book-a-week; plus I have done @Robin M‘s Bingo all year. I am just four books behind schedule. It’s interesting; I have a rep IRL for being a voracious reader, and I do think that is accurate, but I read significantly fewer books than the most prolific BAWers. (It is true they are on the Chat board much less often than I am, which is probably a significant data point.) 

[Robin M]

14 minutes ago, Quill said:

I was thinking that once I started reading suggestions. I have already thought a couple of times that there are a few books I want to reread every year until...I don’t know when. I also keep setting out to read more classics; I did not even begin catching up on classics until I was in my thirties. But obviously, many classics are sizeable books or require some preparation to understand. It often takes me a few months to get through a famous classic (even on Audible). It really does come down to the saying about so many books, so little time.

I have thought before that if I merely compiled all the books I currently own but havent yet read, it would fill a year of books easily reading one a week. This is the first year I have come very close to reading a book-a-week; plus I have done @Robin M‘s Bingo all year. I am just four books behind schedule. It’s interesting; I have a rep IRL for being a voracious reader, and I do think that is accurate, but I read significantly fewer books than the most prolific BAWers. (It is true they are on the Chat board much less often than I am, which is probably a significant data point.) 

Thank you for starting this thread, Quill. Enjoying it immensely and garnering a few book ideas for new year. 

I didn't start reading classics until a few years back and yes they are quite chunky so take some time to read.  I lurve Tolstoy.   My husband's goal at Christmas time the past few years has been to find me the biggest, fattest, chunkiest book he can. ?  We inherited a bunch of classics from his mom so he's resorted to some off the wall indie books which have been interesting to say the least.  I used to be a prolific reader but I've slowed down quite a bit the past couple years.  I have quite a few large books on my shelves that I haven't gotten to yet, so next year will probably be the year of the chunky books.   

You just reminded me. I need to get started on new bingo categories for new year.  ?

 

[Robin M]

Poisonwood Bible was a favorite of mine too and well worth a second and third read. So much to think about. 

For me, rereads are of the lighter or fluffy variety including paranormal and urban fantasy stories as well as romantic suspense.  My favorite author to reread is Nora Roberts and her alter ego J.D. Robb.  I've read the In Death series multiple times. With some authors, like Roberts or Anne Bishop or Illona Andrews, I'm just so excited to read the story, I'll zoom through the first time, then immediately reread again slowly and take time to absorb.   

[Katy]

Has anyone mentioned The Princess Bride?  It's my favorite family read aloud by far.  I was just told the author/screenwriter William Goldman passed away last week, which is what brought it to mind.

[Momto6inIN]

I agree that I can't make a list of "essential for everyone to read" books. But I do have a list that of what I call "comfort books" that I return to again and again. Some of them I probably wouldn't like if I'd read them for the first time as an adult, but since I re-read them over and over during my childhood/teen years they still have a place in my heart. My list is not nearly so high brow as many of yours  ?

Favorite fiction re-reads for me:  Narnia, Harry Potter, The Clan of the Cave Bear (not the whole series where they turn into p*orn, just the first one lol), Roots, Gone with the Wind, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Watchers by Dean Koontz, A Time to Kill by John Grisham, Where the Red Fern Grows, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Count of Monte Cristo

Non-fiction that has had a big impact on my life that I re-read or review periodically:  The Bible I re-read every few years or so using some kind of reading plan, WTM I re-visit every year or so to make sure I'm still on track, a Bible study/devotional/self help book called Telling Myself the Truth by Willian D Backus about re-setting the negative and harmful self-talk that all of us play and re-play in our heads and replacing it with truthful things, Mere Christianity

Fiction read alouds with the kids that we do over and over:  Gilgamesh the Hero by McCaughrean, Beowulf by Sutcliff, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Narnia, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows

[Ottakee]

3 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Anyone else wanting to use this thread to make a reading list for next year?  There’s so many books here I’ve totally missed.

YEP.  I added several.

[Stacia]

2 hours ago, StellaM said:

The book at the top of my re-read list atm is Tales for a Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

I love A Tale for the Time Being. It is wonderful.

[Scarlett]

I used to read so so much.  I dont know what happened to me but reading isn’t fun for me anymore.  I think I had some mental break....it is just seriously weird,

But in my memory books that affected me.....Grapes of Wrath, I know this Much is True,  Adult Daughters of Alcoholics. The Road Less Traveled. 

That is all that comes immediately to mind.

Of course the Bible. Always.  

[KrissiK]

31 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I used to read so so much.  I dont know what happened to me but reading isn’t fun for me anymore.  I think I had some mental break....it is just seriously weird,

But in my memory books that affected me.....Grapes of Wrath, I know this Much is True,  Adult Daughters of Alcoholics. The Road Less Traveled. 

That is all that comes immediately to mind.

Of course the Bible. Always.  

Are you stuck in a rut with what you read?? For a while there I was just reading heavy biographies and histories. And it just bogged me down, and I stopped reading. Then, in January of this year I started a reading challenge (Tim Challies’ 2018 reading challenge) and I started reading a variety of different genres and my reading really picked up. 

[Scarlett]

19 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

Are you stuck in a rut with what you read?? For a while there I was just reading heavy biographies and histories. And it just bogged me down, and I stopped reading. Then, in January of this year I started a reading challenge (Tim Challies’ 2018 reading challenge) and I started reading a variety of different genres and my reading really picked up. 

I can’t explain it. Something happened to me when I went through my divorce.  Everything I read just overwhelmed me emotionally...and I read so much more into every word and it triggered me so much.  The divorce is 9 years behind me.  Maybe it would be different now,  

[Ottakee]

5 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I can’t explain it. Something happened to me when I went through my divorce.  Everything I read just overwhelmed me emotionally...and I read so much more into every word and it triggered me so much.  The divorce is 9 years behind me.  Maybe it would be different now,  

I get it.  I am still reading and listening to audio books but I just can't do some and don't want anything too heavy right now.  The weirdest things can bring up memories, etc.  I have a friend that was widowed 5 years ago.  She used to read a ton and now reading almost nothing except her Bible and devotions.  She says she just can't focus. Maybe start with something light and funny and easy to read or listen to.

[Scarlett]

6 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I get it.  I am still reading and listening to audio books but I just can't do some and don't want anything too heavy right now.  The weirdest things can bring up memories, etc.  I have a friend that was widowed 5 years ago.  She used to read a ton and now reading almost nothing except her Bible and devotions.  She says she just can't focus. Maybe start with something light and funny and easy to read or listen to.

I want to.  I guess I need some suggestions in that area.  

[mumto2]

4 hours ago, StellaM said:

My 'must read' list was more of a 'read these and you can pretend you know stuff at dinner parties' list.

My re-read list would look entirely different!

The book at the top of my re-read list atm is Tales for a Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

And I've just re-read a Thursday Next book.

Re-reading is purely for pleasure, not dinner parties ?

Lol, yes, I have a list to pull out when at a dinner party (which I have done my very best to expose my children to) and another of what I would class as thumping good reads which my kids were also exposed to, and some where the historical romance covers are safely hidden on my Kindle.  

I keep peeking at this thread and wondering which list is appropriate.  In my life I tend to need a good book to pull out for the what are you currently reading in the meet dh’s Business friends list.    I try to be different but interesting.  ?  Last year BaW gave me War and Peace, which amazingly was a thumping good read.  This year BaW has given me Kristin Lavransdatter which isn’t so thumping because the characters irritate me  ? but I am still reading on......

I read for pleasure and have read Narnia and Harry Potter many times.  I adore all things Pooh.  Love The Hobbit......and Oz.  Actually contemplating a reread of Oz for my own pleasure.  I will confess to reading Wurthering Heights and Jane Eyre far more than once but currently dislike WH,  so let’s not go there.   Agatha Christie has become a close friend in the last decade.  I like Dorothy Sayer’s Harriet Vane and tolerate Whimsey..........I love mysteries and have developed a particular love for Scandinavian ones.  I recently finished a CS Harris reread and could start again happily.......

So no real list from me but wanted to say I am enjoying the thread!

[happi duck]

I normally read a lot and have only read part of one book since my second sister died in May.  The only reason I even tried to read is because I lead the book club I'm in!

I'm hopeful I'll be able to read again.  It's amazing to hear that others have had reading affected by emotional events.

[mumto2]

5 minutes ago, texasmom33 said:

When I was at that place I had to read straight up humor. Like Dave Barry. Then maybe some Carl Hiasson. And of course my favorite candy like comfort novels- the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. These are not books you bring up at dinner parties, LOL but they’ve made me bust out laughing more times than I can count so who cares if they aren’t high brow and life changing. ? Maybe find one by a witty humor writer or comic that you like? 

? I Love Stephanie Plum.......just put a hold on Twenty-five....think it’s Twenty-five.  

[Katy]

5 minutes ago, texasmom33 said:

When I was at that place I had to read straight up humor. Like Dave Barry. Then maybe some Carl Hiasson. And of course my favorite candy like comfort novels- the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. These are not books you bring up at dinner parties, LOL but they’ve made me bust out laughing more times than I can count so who cares if they aren’t high brow and life changing. ? Maybe find one by a witty humor writer or comic that you like? 

 

Oh yeah, Carl Hiassen. Even his kids stuff is hilarious. Flush was laugh until I was crying funny.  And Bill Bryson.  HUGE language warning, but man, A Walk in the Woods is hilarious.  They left the BEST parts out of the movie (I'm sure there are good reasons like - discouraging littering), but that book is SO GOOD when you're too depressed to read the sorts of things that make you sound intellectual.

[Ottakee]

5 hours ago, mumto2 said:

? I Love Stephanie Plum.......just put a hold on Twenty-five....think it’s Twenty-five.  

Are the books clean?  Or is there a lot of language/adult scenes in them?  I want funny but don't want the other.

[LMD]

Non intellectual re-read: I've been adoring Catherynne Valente's stuff. Deathless was a masterpiece. (She's not not intellectual, definitely quirky, gritty, beautiful but not a classic tome)

[Guest]

8 hours ago, happi duck said:

I normally read a lot and have only read part of one book since my second sister died in May.  The only reason I even tried to read is because I lead the book club I'm in!

I'm hopeful I'll be able to read again.  It's amazing to hear that others have had reading affected by emotional events.

I’m sorry, Happy. I have experienced that before, too, where it feels like paying attention to a book is just too much effort. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Katy said:

 

Oh yeah, Carl Hiassen. Even his kids stuff is hilarious. Flush was laugh until I was crying funny.  And Bill Bryson.  HUGE language warning, but man, A Walk in the Woods is hilarious.  They left the BEST parts out of the movie (I'm sure there are good reasons like - discouraging littering), but that book is SO GOOD when you're too depressed to read the sorts of things that make you sound intellectual.

I loved A Walk in the Woods. I never saw the movie. And yes, the off-loading excess stuff was hilarious! 

Bryson is terrific. 

[moonflower]

Yes to A Walk in the Woods!  Laugh out loud funny, although of course you have to be able to overlook the anti-southerner bias, which is painful at times.  

[moonflower]

I could really use some humorous books these days too, if anyone has any more recs for that.  I've been on an Agatha Christie and Rosemary Sutcliffe binge, which, combined with the early winter grayness, is not doing my disposition any favors.

[Guest]

As I have read through (and as I gear up for book goals for 2016), there are some books I want to add here that I don’t think were mentioned.

Hilbilly Elegy was terrific. Such a great book for understanding poor rural whites in the US. Much of it rang true for me.

The Writer’s Journey was an awesome book, which I plan to re-read. 

Ask Me Why I Hurt was significant, though I don’t think it’s on any bestseller or must-read book. It made me want to serve others. 

Edited November 19, 2018 by Quill

[moonflower]

Some books I think I spoiled by reading too early (or being required to read too early).  I read Fahrenheit 451 I think in like 5th grade?  Or 6th, maybe.  I didn't love it then, thought it was too scary.  Really I don't think it's a children's book, ideally.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, moonflower said:

Some books I think I spoiled by reading too early (or being required to read too early).  I read Fahrenheit 451 I think in like 5th grade?  Or 6th, maybe.  I didn't love it then, thought it was too scary.  Really I don't think it's a children's book, ideally.

I think that every time I see The Hiding Place listed. This was required reading at the private school I attended, but I was advanced in English and so I read this when I was much too young to make any sense of it. I was probably 8yo. Maybe 9. I knew nothing about hiding from Nazis. I don’t even know if I actually read the book because it made no sense for my age. It seems to me I skimmed it enough to get the answers to simple questions. 

[marbel]

I think there are a lot of books kids are required to read when they are just too young.  And, I know too many parents who are proud of their kids reading this or that advanced book, even though they aren't really getting it.  

As one wise mom said to me about a book her kid was reading for school "sure, he understands all the words, but he doesn't understand the book, and he'll either hate it and never read it again, or think he's read it and never needs to read it again."

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those books, I think, so are 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World... I know a 9 year old who is reading Moby Dick and claims to love it. I'm not buying it.  

(OK, I'm sure there are some highly advanced kids who can read, understand, and respond to adult books like this... but those are not the kids I am talking about.)

[Violet Crown]

It's interesting to see how people's choices for important books tends to divide with varying degrees of neatness between books with important ideas and books that are primarily important as literature. (Of course there's overlap, fuzziness, and exceptions.) But it seems like the reasons for choosing -- to pick two books mentioned -- Moby Dick and To Kill a Mockingbird would be importantly different.

Should there be a step back to ask, Why should people read certain books? What presumably universal good do we want them to gain?

[Scarlett]

20 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

It's interesting to see how people's choices for important books tends to divide with varying degrees of neatness between books with important ideas and books that are primarily important as literature. (Of course there's overlap, fuzziness, and exceptions.) But it seems like the reasons for choosing -- to pick two books mentioned -- Moby Dick and To Kill a Mockingbird would be importantly different.

Should there be a step back to ask, Why should people read certain books? What presumably universal good do we want them to gain?

To kill a Mockingbird absolutely opened my eyes to the reality many poor black people lived and to some degree still live.  And it showed me even privileged white men could struggle with doing the right thing.  

 

[Scarlett]

43 minutes ago, marbel said:

 

As one wise mom said to me about a book her kid was reading for school "sure, he understands all the words, but he doesn't understand the book, and he'll either hate it and never read it again, or think he's read it and never needs to read it again."

 

I read East of Eden too young. Thankfully when I read it again as an adult I didn’t even remember reading it until I reached the part where she burned her parents house down.  

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, marbel said:

I think there are a lot of books kids are required to read when they are just too young.  And, I know too many parents who are proud of their kids reading this or that advanced book, even though they aren't really getting it.  

As one wise mom said to me about a book her kid was reading for school "sure, he understands all the words, but he doesn't understand the book, and he'll either hate it and never read it again, or think he's read it and never needs to read it again."

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those books, I think, so are 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World... I know a 9 year old who is reading Moby Dick and claims to love it. I'm not buying it.  

(OK, I'm sure there are some highly advanced kids who can read, understand, and respond to adult books like this... but those are not the kids I am talking about.)

Totally agree. 

Another book I was assigned at that private school was  A Pilgrim’s Progress. Again, I was much too young for this book. I did not understand the allegory one bit. Like, not one single bit. Not Vanity Fair or Despair or the point of the burden falling off young Christian’s back. I think there was even stuff about a narrow road and a broad road but still - much too young to “get” the point of it. 

I was an adult in my twenties before I reflected back on having read that book and I went, “Oooooohhhh! I see!” I’m sure my mom bragged I was reading A Pilgrim’s Progress when I was a virtual baby, but I didn’t even understand what a Pilgrim really was and still thought those were the people with black hats who starred in the First Thanksgiving. 

[KrissiK]

1 hour ago, moonflower said:

Some books I think I spoiled by reading too early (or being required to read too early).  I read Fahrenheit 451 I think in like 5th grade?  Or 6th, maybe.  I didn't love it then, thought it was too scary.  Really I don't think it's a children's book, ideally.

That is awfully early for that book. Animal Farm is traditionally read in 9th grade and I think that’s even too early for that book, unless kids have a good background in Political Theory. I remember reading it in 9th grade and thinking, wow, that sounds like a great system. The books I remember reading in high school, that made an impression on me were Jane Eyre, Pygmalion, Romeo and Juliet, A Separate Peace, of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird.

[KrissiK]

I also think it’s a good idea to expose kids to adaptations, etc. of great works when they are younger and then giving them the real thing when they were older. For example, Shakespeare. I read some Shakespeare in high school, but got hung up on the language and so the plot ended up getting lost on me at times. However, if elementary aged kids were exposed to Charles and Mary Lamb’s Shakespeare, or Shakespeare for kids, where they can get the plot, then they can read the plays in high school and get a lot more out of it.

[Violet Crown]

26 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

To kill a Mockingbird absolutely opened my eyes to the reality many poor black people lived and to some degree still live.  And it showed me even privileged white men could struggle with doing the right thing.  

 

Right. But I've never heard anyone seriously suggest Harper Lee as a first-rate literary talent. Likewise, though there are certainly important ideas in Moby Dick, its enduring value lies in its literary merit. So again, why "should" a certain book be read? (I'm not coming down on one 'side' or the other; just suggesting we pay attention to the underlying unresolved question.)

Edited November 19, 2018 by Violet Crown

[Lady Florida.]

3 hours ago, Quill said:

I loved A Walk in the Woods. I never saw the movie. And yes, the off-loading excess stuff was hilarious! 

Bryson is terrific. 

The movie was disappointing. Don't bother. You won't be missing anything.

[Condessa]

44 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

I also think it’s a good idea to expose kids to adaptations, etc. of great works when they are younger and then giving them the real thing when they were older. For example, Shakespeare. I read some Shakespeare in high school, but got hung up on the language and so the plot ended up getting lost on me at times. However, if elementary aged kids were exposed to Charles and Mary Lamb’s Shakespeare, or Shakespeare for kids, where they can get the plot, then they can read the plays in high school and get a lot more out of it.

 

I had an awesome teacher for fifth grade who did a Shakespeare play each year with his class.  Elementary kids can really understand Shakespeare in the original language, but I think that is the way to do it--spending a whole year on one play so they really have time to delve in, get to know it and love it.

[Lady Florida.]

I remember watching the movie Fahrenheit 451, which I understand has a lot of changes from the book. It still gives you the general idea about censorship though. I tried to read the book when I had planned to assign it to ds in high school. I couldn't get far and I wasn't going to assign him a book I myself found impossible to read. The themes might be good but I thought it was very poorly written.

 

1 hour ago, KrissiK said:

That is awfully early for that book. Animal Farm is traditionally read in 9th grade and I think that’s even too early for that book, unless kids have a good background in Political Theory. I remember reading it in 9th grade and thinking, wow, that sounds like a great system. The books I remember reading in high school, that made an impression on me were Jane Eyre, Pygmalion, Romeo and Juliet, A Separate Peace, of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird.

I read Animal Farm in high school and it made complete sense but I was in high school when the Soviet Union was still a major threat, or at least we thought it was. I grew up learning about the Soviet system so Animal Farm wasn't at all foreign or too adult for us. That's funny that you thought it was a great system. The part our teachers emphasized was when some animals started to become more equal than others. They emphasized how power corrupts even in a system where everyone is supposedly equal.

The books that stood out to me the most in high school were Les Miserables and All Quiet on the Western Front. I remember when the musical Les Mis came out (yes, I'm that old)* and wondered how they could possibly turn that story into a musical. 

*I'm so old that when I saw Les Mis in London, Colm Wilkinson played Jean Valjean. Colm Wilkinson then played the old priest in the movie version. 

[frogger]

1 hour ago, Violet Crown said:

Right. But I've never heard anyone seriously suggest Harper Lee as a first-rate literary talent. Likewise, though there are certainly important ideas in Moby Dick, its enduring value lies in its literary merit. So again, why "should" a certain book be read? (I'm not coming down on one 'side' or the other; just suggesting we pay attention to the underlying unresolved question.)

 

I think of good literature as communicating important ideas well. I don't separate the two. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

I remember watching the movie Fahrenheit 451, which I understand has a lot of changes from the book. It still gives you the general idea about censorship though. I tried to read the book when I had planned to assign it to ds in high school. I couldn't get far and I wasn't going to assign him a book I myself found impossible to read. The themes might be good but I thought it was very poorly written.

 

I read Animal Farm in high school and it made complete sense but I was in high school when the Soviet Union was still a major threat, or at least we thought it was. I grew up learning about the Soviet system so Animal Farm wasn't at all foreign or too adult for us. That's funny that you thought it was a great system. The part our teachers emphasized was when some animals started to become more equal than others. They emphasized how power corrupts even in a system where everyone is supposedly equal.

The books that stood out to me the most in high school were Les Miserables and All Quiet on the Western Front. I remember when the musical Les Mis came out (yes, I'm that old)* and wondered how they could possibly turn that story into a musical. 

*I'm so old that when I saw Les Mis in London, Colm Wilkinson played Jean Valjean. Colm Wilkinson then played the old priest in the movie version. 

I remember as a child, Les Miserables was one of the books on my dad’s bookcase. I was probably around 7 years old. I was intrgued by the cover but kept reading it as “Less Miserables.” Like some people were less miserable than others. 

[Katy]

5 hours ago, moonflower said:

I could really use some humorous books these days too, if anyone has any more recs for that.  I've been on an Agatha Christie and Rosemary Sutcliffe binge, which, combined with the early winter grayness, is not doing my disposition any favors.

Two more books where I've literally laughed out loud so hard I had people asking me what was so funny:

• Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson.  It's about what differing groups of extremists, terrorists and conspiracy theorists around the world have in common.  I read it in 2002, though I understand it's been updated since then.
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. If you're easily offended by sinners don't read this.  If you loved or at least find amusing religious parody that still had some inspirational messaging mixed in, like the movies Dogma or Saved! you'll love this. I've known a couple non-religious people who were inspired to read the Bible after reading it.  I've also known MANY regular church goers who would be super offended.  I'm Christian and I loved it, but not everyone would.

 

2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Right. But I've never heard anyone seriously suggest Harper Lee as a first-rate literary talent. Likewise, though there are certainly important ideas in Moby Dick, its enduring value lies in its literary merit. So again, why "should" a certain book be read? (I'm not coming down on one 'side' or the other; just suggesting we pay attention to the underlying unresolved question.)

 

A literature professor I had said the concept of literary skill is more about the conversation an author is having with allusions to the writers who have gone before than it is about talent.  IE: the author must be educated about literature and still say something original.

1 hour ago, frogger said:

 

I think of good literature as communicating important ideas well. I don't separate the two. 

 

This too.