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23 Books You Didn't Read In High School But Actually Should
BuzzFeed ^ | July 5, 2013 | Spencer Althouse

Posted on 05/30/2014 12:34:14 PM PDT by EveningStar

You probably SparkNoted these books before, but now's your chance to read them.

(Excerpt) Read more at buzzfeed.com ...


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Education
KEYWORDS: books; literature
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1 posted on 05/30/2014 12:34:14 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: Borges

ping


2 posted on 05/30/2014 12:34:33 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: EveningStar

Could you post the list for those of us “Beyond the Firewall(s)”?


3 posted on 05/30/2014 12:38:31 PM PDT by US Navy Vet (Go Packers! Go Rockies! Go Boston Bruins! See, I'm "Diverse"!)
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To: EveningStar

Not so sure. I’ve read most to them, but I’m not sure I would have missed much if I didn’t.


4 posted on 05/30/2014 12:38:46 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (This is known as "bad luck". - Robert A. Heinlein)
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To: EveningStar

Public domain + e-reader = free.


5 posted on 05/30/2014 12:39:46 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: EveningStar

Aside from 2-3 books, I can’t imagine another list being that bad.


6 posted on 05/30/2014 12:40:01 PM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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To: EveningStar

I’ve read most of those.
Two books I would add.... Anna Kerrenina by Tolstoy and Lolita by Nobokov. Both are page turners for sure.


7 posted on 05/30/2014 12:41:03 PM PDT by Bullish (You ever notice that liberalism really just amounts to anti-morality?)
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To: EveningStar

I’ve actually read a surprising number of these. More than half.


8 posted on 05/30/2014 12:42:04 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (All the love gone bad turned my world to black. Tattooed all I see. All that I am. All I'll be.)
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To: US Navy Vet

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Via en.wikipedia.org

A love story within a love story. It takes the American dream, amplifies it, and then tears it apart in every way possible.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Washington Post / Getty Images

It blends innocence and triumph in a way that makes you learn something without actually feeling like you’re learning. Also, you will fall in love with Atticus Finch.

3. Night by Elie Wiesel
Night by Elie Wiesel
Via amazon.com

The Jewish author was sent to Auschwitz at 15-years-old. This is his story of personal struggle, heartbreak, and passion. At barely 100 pages, you can’t afford to not read this book.

4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Via amazon.com

Lord of the Flies reveals the true nature of humans and will even make you question your own morality.

5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Via amazon.com

This novel is the inspiration for Apocalypse Now. Need I say more? (The answer to that question is no.)

6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
MANDEL NGAN / Getty Images

The protagonist’s fear for adulthood will make this one of the most relatable books you will ever read.

7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Via thestudentroom.co.uk

It gives new meaning to the American dream, focusing on power and a friendship that will enrage you with jealousy (but in a good way).

8. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Via behance.net

This novel will scare the crap out of you, and you will love it. Besides, Big Brother is watching, so it’s not like you even have a choice now…

9. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Via bannedbooks.world.edu

It incorporates time travel and porn stars. Enough said.

10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Via amazon.com

Mary Shelley bet her husband that she could write a better horror story than him. She did.

11. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Via utc.iath.virginia.edu

Because everyone’s in need of a good cry.

12. Animal Farm by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Via trenchperspective.com

This book is basically a satirical puppet show about a revolution. If anything, you should read it for this quote: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

13. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Via thenewdirectionoftime.com

It’s a play about two characters who wait for something that never comes, but it’s never dull, just thought-provoking.

14. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Via slate.com

Virginia Woolf will show you how disconnected you are from society, and you will thank her for doing so.

15. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Via npr.org

Because you’ve always wondered what the world would be like without religion.

16. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Via amazon.com

Everyone in this novel is pretty messed up, and that’s refreshing. Also, James Franco is releasing a film adaption of the book, so you have to read it before that comes out, too.

17. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Via heathcates.com

This is the only book that will make you feel OK about American politics. It’s basically a novel version of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

18. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Via en.wikipedia.org

It uses literature’s greatest heroes and villains to make you question authority, freedom, and reality. And Ken Kesey is an LSD-tripping, counter-cultural genius.

19. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Via thejanedough.com

Its bleak honesty and dark humor will teach you to not sweat the small stuff.

20. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Via en.wikipedia.org

Miller uncovers the reality of the American dream in a way that will make you question your own desire for success.

21. Beowulf by Anonymous
Beowulf by Anonymous
Via blog.enotes.com

Action, adventure, monsters, dragons, heroism, fame.

22. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Via eastwing.co.uk

It will single-handedly change the way you treat people.

23. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Via schlowlibrary.org

It will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about love.


9 posted on 05/30/2014 12:42:17 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Haven't you lost enough freedoms? Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: EveningStar

I love to read and read a lot of history as well as classics....
I’ve read most of these and hardly consider them essential...my opinion.
Most written in the twentieth century? Hmmm....


10 posted on 05/30/2014 12:43:27 PM PDT by matginzac
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To: EveningStar

Crap like this is the basis of our declining education IMO. Orwell and most of the books are appropriate, but it’s amazing how much time is wasted on crap like Catcher in the Rye, Death of a Salesman, and Catch 22. Kids don’t need to learn liberal-psychotic crap, which is exactly what it is. I had to suffer through all of that, when if properly motivated I could have easily had a bachelor’s degree in a useful science by the time I was 18. I wasn’t old enough to know that was when I was forced to waste my precious life reading it and answering stupid questions, etc. Notice Victor Hugo or Winston Churchill isn’t on the list? Same old recycled crap!


11 posted on 05/30/2014 12:43:34 PM PDT by gr8eman (A good rant should have the word "crap" in it at least 4 times!)
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To: EveningStar

Read eight of those in high school (as part of the curriculum) and one in college. Read about three of those independently.


12 posted on 05/30/2014 12:44:17 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: SeaHawkFan
Aside from 2-3 books, I can’t imagine another list being that bad.

While some I question, most I have read and agree with the premise. Though I believe the list should have contained a few others, like "Farenheit 451" and "The Illustrated Man" and "Something Wicked, This Way comes".

13 posted on 05/30/2014 12:44:50 PM PDT by rjsimmon (The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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To: EveningStar

I did have to read Beowulf in high school and I don’t remember it now at all. I do remember disliking it at the time, but then, I didn’t like yogurt then, either.


14 posted on 05/30/2014 12:45:00 PM PDT by econjack (I'm not bossy...I just know what you should be doing.)
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To: EveningStar
I never read the bell jar. Read all the rest.

Bad list. Animal Farm and 1984 are must reads. We are living Atlas Shrugged, not on the list

15 posted on 05/30/2014 12:45:09 PM PDT by FatherofFive (Islam is evil and must be eradicated)
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To: EveningStar

I’ve read more than half of these. Didn’t enjoy most of them, but I’ve read them.


16 posted on 05/30/2014 12:45:21 PM PDT by Hoffer Rand (Bear His image. Bring His message. Be the Church.)
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To: gr8eman

The three tomes you noted as liberal-psychotic were part of high school English curriculum in the 80s. Says a lot, doesn’t it?


17 posted on 05/30/2014 12:45:26 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: EveningStar

To Kill a Mockingbird and 1984 were good. The rest...bleah!


18 posted on 05/30/2014 12:46:19 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (I sooooo miss America!)
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19 posted on 05/30/2014 12:47:18 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Gatsby was a stupid book, as was of Mice and Men.


20 posted on 05/30/2014 12:48:54 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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