Spreading the Word

[Kitti]

If you could choose one book to be read in schools, which book would you choose (and why)? In which grade do you think that the book should be read? ​

 

[Jorick]

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Probably for 8th grade in the US system (the last year before high school, for those unfamiliar with US grades).

Not only is it just a fantastic book overall, it's a fun one. Too many required books are stuffy old classics that have basically no action and are thick with symbolism and character development and heavy themes treated seriously. I am convinced that such books being forced on young people plays a large part in why so few people read for fun. Good Omens has action alongside lots of symbolism and character development and heavy themes, but the key point is that it's primarily a comedy. It takes those serious themes and makes them easier to digest by use of some dark humor. Comedic writing is usually only briefly covered in school, and then usually by way of something old and dry like A Modest Proposal. It would do kids a lot of good to see how entertaining modern literature can be if you know where to look.

 

[Icy]

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs.

First grade.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[Hellis]

I can second Good Omens.

 

[Windsong]

Enders Game.

All three of the books.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Just one? The Talisman by Stephen King. I read it when I was thirteen and just getting into the whole 'Reading is fun' frame of mind, and I absolutely fell in love with it. It's got something of a Lord of the Rings vibe to it, without being anything like it.

 

[Brovo]

Grades 8-12. The sheer number of people to criticize the theory without having actually read a single about it is astounding. Normally I'd have proposed some sort of fiction, but given the ludicrous real world we live in, I have to go with something unabashedly educational instead. This book is not particularly thick reading either--it explains concepts one at a time and largely hand-holds the reader through it.

 

[Robeatics]

Every grade, bro.

 

[Brovo]

Every grade, bro.

Just for the articles, of course.

 

[Icystorm]

The Princess Bride
Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
It has almost everything.
Not sure what grade(s).

 

[kixinorbit]

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Probably for 8th grade in the US system (the last year before high school, for those unfamiliar with US grades).

Not only is it just a fantastic book overall, it's a fun one. Too many required books are stuffy old classics that have basically no action and are thick with symbolism and character development and heavy themes treated seriously. I am convinced that such books being forced on young people plays a large part in why so few people read for fun. Good Omens has action alongside lots of symbolism and character development and heavy themes, but the key point is that it's primarily a comedy. It takes those serious themes and makes them easier to digest by use of some dark humor. Comedic writing is usually only briefly covered in school, and then usually by way of something old and dry like A Modest Proposal. It would do kids a lot of good to see how entertaining modern literature can be if you know where to look.

Love this, but I can tell you simply from working with 8th graders that this is more of a book for high school students. And I may or may not be trying to get it into my curriculum. :D