Wandering through Barnes & Noble today, I stumbled across a table labeled "Required School Reading." I asked the employee nearby and he confirmed these were for high school students. Although I recognized some of the same classics from when I was in high school, I was surprised to realize I didn't even recognize a majority of the titles. Fascinating! So I had them print me a copy of the list (all 175 books*) so I could maybe-- someday (HA!)-- catch up on what the educational field is requiring young people to read these days. (You can click on each title to link straight to the description on barnesandnoble.com.)Books I am surprised and excited to see on the list:
- Infidel
- What is the What?
- Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern Day Slave, and International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
- Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
- The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
- Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
- Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
- The Poisonwood Bible
- The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
- The Glass Castle
- World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- Alchemist
- Water for Elephants
- Lovely Bones
- Life of Pi
- Siddhartha
- Prophet
- The Bean Trees
- Inheritance of Loss
- The House on Mango Street
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
- Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia
- Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
- The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
- Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
- The Power of Positive Thinking: 10 Traits for Maximum Results
- Think and Grow Rich
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
* The 175 books on the Barnes & Noble "Required School Reading" list are a compilation from high schools (both public & private) from across the nation, and vary by region or town in actuality. The Barnes & Noble I was at was on 360 at Bee Caves Road in the Eanes ISD school district.
13 comments:
Great post! I love seeing what the newest required reading lists include, and I'd be interested in a copy too. I have so many comments...here goes:
-Kite Runner, Thousand Splendid Suns, Same Kind of Different as Me...I'm so excited to see those on the list too!
-Lovely Bones, Glass Castle, Water for Elephants, and many others like that...these seem like an odd mix between NY Times Best Sellers and recommended beach reading. It's hard to believe that these would be used for teaching literary analysis -- I hope they are still including The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, 1984 &/or Animal Farm, Hemingway, Shakespeare, etc.
-Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: This is a wonderful book written from the perspective of an autistic child. It's pretty quirky, entertaining, and perspective-shifting. I'd recommend putting it near the top of your list!
-The World is Flat: I read a portion of this book. It's a pretty good view on the globalization of our economy and business. This would be a pretty dense book for high school, but I could see it used in history or economics courses at private schools like Regents.
-Eat, Pray, Love: I read about half of this, and I agree with you about having mixed feelings on this one. I'm not sure I could pinpoint the value of reading it for High School.
-Lies My Teacher Told Me: I was surprised to see this on the list, but I think it's pretty intriguing. I know that it is required reading in several college history courses, so I think it's great that high school is breaking out a bit from the strict text book of US History.
-Power of Positive Thinking: We discussed this book in depth in my Religion in America class at UT. My professor described it as the quintessential representation of the post-war sentimental "religious" environment of the 1950s.
Are the books in your first subsection ones that you have read and would recommend?
Thanks Katie for commenting! Loved your thoughts! I wanted to write a little blurb like that for each book, but knew it would cost me 10 pages of blog space... :)
As for the question at the end-- I have read and would definately recommend: Infidel, Same Kind of Different As Me, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Long Way Gone
I have close friends who have read & whole-heartedly recommend: What is the What?, Fast Food Nation, Wicked, Lone Survivor
And I plan to read this summer: Reading Lolita in Tehran
How can I email you the "full list of books"?
I forgot to tell you Katie- they DO still require 1984, Animal House, Hamlet & Romeo/Julit, The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and Hemingway. :) I was glad to still see Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Night, Anne Frank, Of Mice & Men, etc too
anna- just wanted to say i love reading your blog and getting perspectives on women from all over. middle east is not really my area but i'm reading reading lolita in tehran now and it's great.
glass castle is a great memoir about growing up poor in america. you really should read what is the what (deals with refugees). inheritance of loss is an extremely well written book i also recommend.
hey constance! thanks for the comment... glad my blog is on your radar for random, diverse reading options! :) I am gonna pick up Reading Lolita in Tehran this summer. It looks good! take care in Thailand! (I RSS your blog to my inbox so I can "know you're still alive" too)
Whew! I'm glad to hear that those staples are still on the lists. :)
You can email me the full list at katietelschow at gmail.com. Thanks!
I also saw the required reading table at B&N a few days ago and wished I had time for more than a passing glance. I would absolutely love the complete list (you can email me at vonmell at gmail dot com). I read an article today about required reading lists and the more modern books that are being included. In my senior AP english class over a decade ago, we watched the movies of the typical required classics and spend our reading time with some very strange literature. I am interested to see what my kids will be required to study.
I was just commenting last night at my local B&N that I wasn't sure how Sin in the Second City belonged on a school required reading list, based on the material. I have it, but haven't read it yet, so maybe it's not as inappropriate as I think it might be. Don't know yet. :) Please, please send me the list of books if you have a chance. My e-mail is justsomerandomdollcollector at yahoo dot com.
Thanks!!
Anna, I love your post too! I just walked through B. Dalton Booksellers and had to rush to catch an airplane before I could right down the books I saw on the High School Reading table. I would love a copy of the list, to put with the one my 12th grade daughter has, so we can augment her list and read together.
It seemed to me that along with time honored classics, an introduction to the world wide challenges this rising generation will face through literature is what is being attempted. I see also a broadening of exposure to world views and political thought.
Thanks for your well thought out comments! And Thank you in advance for a copy of the list.
Loved your post. I was looking all over the net for this. I too was very curious about it when I saw it at B&N here in Des Moines. Could you please send me the whole list to marbatis at hotmail dot com ?
Thanks!
Hello....
I was looking for the list from barnes and noble and stumbled upon your blog. Could you please email me the list jake.bullis at gmail
Thanks
hello! i too was hoping you could email me the list at lizplahn@gmail.com when you get a free moment. thanks so much!
hello commenters! sorry i am tardy in getting you all the list. Check your inboxes tonight. Plus, Jillayne, if you could send me your email, I don't know how to get the list to you.
thanks, anna
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