Classical/School Must-Reads - Page 3

BenG · 06-03-2009, 12:32 PM

Another book we had to read was Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. It was a much discussed book in the early 70s and would be interesting to revisit to see if it's still relevant.

Verencat · 06-07-2009, 07:59 PM

The only English title I can add to this list is Play the Monster Blind, by Lynn Coady, a collection of short stories all about living in small Canadian towns.
It was required in college, but I re-read it a few times since.

doreenjoy · 06-07-2009, 08:44 PM

I haven't seen anyone mention The Great Gatsby, which I recall only because it was the only required reading I didn't finish.

I was a bit of an English literature geek and read a great many classics outside of school. I love Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", but it wasn't required reading.

ahi · 06-08-2009, 04:03 PM

The Tragedy of Man by Madách

Ecampus.com writes:

http://www.ecampus.com/book/9780862414184

Quote:

Widely translated and performed at the turn of the century, The Tragedy of Man (1862) evokes comparisons with Milton's Paradise Lost in both ambition and theme. After being banished from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fall asleep; Adam dreams the course of modern history, which fills him with despair. We see him, Eve and Lucifer take on different historical roles as they pass through ancient Rome, the Crusades, Kepler's Prague, revolutionary Paris and, finally, a post-historical time when ecological disaster has nearly destroyed the world. Once he has learned of the degradation that awaits humanity, Adam considers suicide, but when he discovers Eve is pregnant he puts his faith in God and the future. Madach passionately examines such themes as human destiny, the illusory nature of free choice and the inability of science and technology to deal with moral issues.

The NYT has a review (linked).

And wikipedia has links to several translations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tragedy_of_Man

ahi · 06-08-2009, 08:48 PM

The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goo...ier_%C5%A0vejk

Xenophon · 06-08-2009, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahi

The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goo...ier_%C5%A0vejk

A fabulous book! I strongly endorse ahi's recommendation of this one.

Xenophon

ahi · 06-09-2009, 10:09 AM

The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita

---

Fateless by Kertész (<-- Nobel Prize for Literature winning book)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fateless

P.s.: Thanks, Xenophon!

Jaime_Astorga · 06-09-2009, 11:07 PM

I will list the books whose complete reading was mandatory for everyone in my English classes during my own education as a student in an American public school. Or at least, I think they were. My memory is a bit foggy.

William Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet, Othello, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet.
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein.
Lois Lowry: The Giver.
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood.
Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist.
Elie Wiesel: Night.
Michael Crichton: Jurassic Park.
Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter.
Albert Camus: The Stranger.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby.
Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis.
Charles Dickens: Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities.
Pat Conroy: The Lords of Discipline.
Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman.
Aldous Huxley: Brave New world.
William Golding: Lord of the Flies.
Robert Cormier: The Chocolate War

Well, that's all I can remember. We read some books incompletely, such as Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem. An optional AP Psychology book was Equus by Peter Shaffer. Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo was mandatory in French II. George Orwell's Animal Farm and John Milton's Paradise Lost were optional books in AP Literature. Alex Flinn's Breathing Underwater was optional for a book club (and extra credit). Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was optional for another extra credit opportunity involving a stupid school contest. I had to read Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildernstern Are Dead for my research paper. We had to read Flight to Freedom by Ana Veciana-Suarez in Honors World History (a communist friend of mine complained to the teacher that the book went against his beliefs, lol). When we finished we had to read another book; I choose Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage (my aforementioned friend choose Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and scared the crap out of the teacher in the process). In AP European History, we had to choose a book from a list for the final; I choose Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World. Same deal for AP U.S. Government; I choose Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point.

In addition, I recommend the following books as being on the same classic/must-read class as the best of the above.

Homer: The Iliad and The Odyssey.
George Orwell: 1984.
Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Classical Greek & Chinese Reader	Plato	Which one should I buy?	8	10-29-2009 11:19 PM
Your favourite 'classical' authors?	ficbot	Reading Recommendations	39	12-31-2008 04:16 PM
Philosophy Nietzsche, Friedrich: Homer and Classical Philology, v.1, 10 Feb 2008.	Patricia	IMP Books	0	02-09-2008 11:28 PM
Philosophy Nietzsche, Friedrich: Homer and Classical Philology, v.1, 10 Feb 2008.	Patricia	Kindle Books	0	02-09-2008 11:27 PM
Philosophy Nietzsche, Friedrich: Homer and Classical Philology, v.1, 10 Feb 2008.	Patricia	BBeB/LRF Books	0	02-09-2008 11:25 PM

06-03-2009, 12:32 PM	#31
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	Another book we had to read was Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. It was a much discussed book in the early 70s and would be interesting to revisit to see if it's still relevant.

06-07-2009, 07:59 PM	#32
Verencat Wizard Posts: 2,615 Karma: 96491 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Montreal, Qc Device: xxx	The only English title I can add to this list is Play the Monster Blind, by Lynn Coady, a collection of short stories all about living in small Canadian towns. It was required in college, but I re-read it a few times since.

06-07-2009, 08:44 PM	#33
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	I haven't seen anyone mention The Great Gatsby, which I recall only because it was the only required reading I didn't finish. I was a bit of an English literature geek and read a great many classics outside of school. I love Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", but it wasn't required reading.

06-08-2009, 08:48 PM	#35
ahi Wizard Posts: 1,790 Karma: 507333 Join Date: May 2009 Device: none	The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goo...ier_%C5%A0vejk

06-09-2009, 10:09 AM	#37
ahi Wizard Posts: 1,790 Karma: 507333 Join Date: May 2009 Device: none	The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita --- Fateless by Kertész (<-- Nobel Prize for Literature winning book) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fateless P.s.: Thanks, Xenophon!

06-09-2009, 11:07 PM	#38
Jaime_Astorga Member Retired Posts: 274 Karma: 4446 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Device: PRS-350-SC: Sony Reader Pocket Edition	I will list the books whose complete reading was mandatory for everyone in my English classes during my own education as a student in an American public school. Or at least, I think they were. My memory is a bit foggy. William Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet, Othello, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet. Mary Shelley: Frankenstein. Lois Lowry: The Giver. Truman Capote: In Cold Blood. Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist. Elie Wiesel: Night. Michael Crichton: Jurassic Park. Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest. Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter. Albert Camus: The Stranger. F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby. Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis. Charles Dickens: Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. Pat Conroy: The Lords of Discipline. Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman. Aldous Huxley: Brave New world. William Golding: Lord of the Flies. Robert Cormier: The Chocolate War Well, that's all I can remember. We read some books incompletely, such as Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem. An optional AP Psychology book was Equus by Peter Shaffer. Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo was mandatory in French II. George Orwell's Animal Farm and John Milton's Paradise Lost were optional books in AP Literature. Alex Flinn's Breathing Underwater was optional for a book club (and extra credit). Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was optional for another extra credit opportunity involving a stupid school contest. I had to read Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildernstern Are Dead for my research paper. We had to read Flight to Freedom by Ana Veciana-Suarez in Honors World History (a communist friend of mine complained to the teacher that the book went against his beliefs, lol). When we finished we had to read another book; I choose Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage (my aforementioned friend choose Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and scared the crap out of the teacher in the process). In AP European History, we had to choose a book from a list for the final; I choose Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World. Same deal for AP U.S. Government; I choose Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. In addition, I recommend the following books as being on the same classic/must-read class as the best of the above. Homer: The Iliad and The Odyssey. George Orwell: 1984. Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.