# Summer Reading Lists For School **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084 "2011-07-15T00:52:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/21 "2011-07-15T20:07:02Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I never received a summer reading list. I went to school in the 60s and 70s, for reference. Exactly the same situation for me. What our elementary school did, was to publish a list of “books you might enjoy reading over the summer.” As I recall, this list was made available to local public libraries, which would prominently display the list’s titles in the library, so you’d have no trouble finding them. But it was by no means compulsory reading–it was more along the lines of, “When you get tired of swimming and riding your bike and playing football, why not read a book? Here are some suggestions you might enjoy.” As I recall, the titles were typical for all ages of elementary school students: Dr. Seuss stuff, Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, Freddy the Pig books, Curious George, and the like. Just fun reading. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/22 "2011-07-15T20:16:34Z")
Went to HS in the '90’s (USA). Only Honors had a specific book assigned. Though all were expected to read 2 books. To reiterate something I’ve said numerous times: High School is preparation for real life, and part of that is understanding the culture you live in, and literature plays a large part in this developement. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/23 "2011-07-15T20:57:09Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Class of 1982, from a high school in Northern Virginia. Honors English all 4 years, and never a summer reading list. > > Zsofia, you’re making me feel undereducated. Of the lists you provide, I’ve read one (_Pride and Prejudice_). And I think I read the short version of \*Tuesdays \*in a Readers Digest. A large percentage of the rest I’ve never even \*heard \*of. :(:eek: For comparison, here’s the senior AP English list: Portrait of an Artist As a Young Man, Joyce Fathers and Sons, Turgenev Lord Jim, Conrad Sanctuary, Faulkner Moby Dick, Melville Babbitt, Lewis Hard Times, Dickens Wise Blood, O’Connor A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy Dead Souls, Gogol Mill on the Floss, Eliot All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque Possession, Byatt Brave New World, Huxley No Country for Old Men, McCarthy In Cold Blood, Capote Madam Bovary, Flaubert If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler, Calvino The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck This is much more in line with the kinds of books I had to read as an honors/AP student. But even when I was in high school the lower tracked kids read a lot more contemporary stuff. ETA - I feel both ways about that - on the one hand, you want kids to read, damn it. On the other hand, one of the things you get with an education is some exposure to the Western Canon. The AP list is Western Canon, the dumb kids list is not. Not that there aren’t some good books on there (I particularly recommend _The Water is Wide_, for example) but reading those books doesn’t store up stuff in your head that you’ll need as an adult to understand allusions and such. ETAA - but seriously, _Mill on the Floss_? Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/24 "2011-07-16T04:57:09Z")
Well, I just looked on the local high school summer reading list for grade 12, and along with the usual suspects, “Me Talk Pretty Someday” by David Sedaris is listed! “Mill On The Floss”?? Ha! ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/25 "2011-07-16T06:04:01Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > BTW, the books were I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Romeo and Juliet. Jeez, you dodged a bullet there. _Romeo and Juliet_ is the worst of the standard Shakespeare fare, and I remember hating _I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings_ when I read it. Maybe even more than _The Scarlet Letter_ although that was also seriously frustrating. Really, _Their Eyes Were Watching God_ or _The Awakening_ and _Measure for Measure_ or _Much Ado about Nothing_ would have been much better choices. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/26 "2011-07-16T11:22:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > For comparison, here’s the senior AP English list: > Portrait of an Artist As a Young Man, Joyce > Fathers and Sons, Turgenev > Lord Jim, Conrad > Sanctuary, Faulkner > Moby Dick, Melville > Babbitt, Lewis > Hard Times, Dickens > Wise Blood, O’Connor > A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway > Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy > Dead Souls, Gogol > Mill on the Floss, Eliot > All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque > Possession, Byatt > Brave New World, Huxley > No Country for Old Men, McCarthy > In Cold Blood, Capote > Madam Bovary, Flaubert > If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler, Calvino > The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck > > This is much more in line with the kinds of books I had to read as an honors/AP student. But even when I was in high school the lower tracked kids read a lot more contemporary stuff. > > ETA - I feel both ways about that - on the one hand, you want kids to read, damn it. On the other hand, one of the things you get with an education is some exposure to the Western Canon. The AP list is Western Canon, the dumb kids list is not. Not that there aren’t some good books on there (I particularly recommend _The Water is Wide_, for example) but reading those books doesn’t store up stuff in your head that you’ll need as an adult to understand allusions and such. > > ETAA - but seriously, _Mill on the Floss_? Ugh. While the AP list is indeed more impressive, I have to wonder if how much the kids are getting out of these books (some extremely long!) on their own with no guidance. You can’t just be like, “Oh, read Ulysses over the summer and get back to me.” As for the regular kids’ list, I think it’s hilarious. I get that Pat Conroy is a local boy done good, but putting him on every list? Also, I love that you can get around the requirements by just reading the new Derek Jeter biography. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/27 "2011-07-16T12:19:07Z")
Well, I don’t know if AP English is still the same as when I took it but back then you had to cram a LOT of books in. A LOT. I’m sure some of it is just to have a few more in your back pocket when the exam comes around. I mean, I’d definitely suggest to a kid of mine that they read _All Quiet on the Western Front_ or _The Grapes of Wrath_ instead of some of the more difficult titles so as to get the most out of the assignment. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/28 "2011-07-16T15:25:21Z")
I went to high school in the late 1990s/early 2000s and had summer reading every year from sixth grade through senior year. The most misguided of the summer reading choices had to be assigning The Iliad to freshmen and requiring a variety of analytical essays due on the first day of class-- most of us failed it, as we had almost all been transferred from other schools that may or may not have covered any aspects of epic poetry whatsoever. We had a mix of what I’d like to call “contemporary canon” and “classics of western canon” in the classes, so we got a fair bit of exposure to different authors that were “high level” but still alive and well enough to be writing new stuff. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I graduated high school in 1985, and I never had any summer reading or other assignments. And I did take AP English all four years of high school, and we did a substantial amount of reading throughout the school year. Things must have changed pretty drastically between 1985 and the late 1990s, as I’ve only ever heard of there being two AP English courses: AP Language and Composition, and AP Literature. I took both, and did a ridiculous amount of reading for both in my junior and senior years. For freshman and sophomore years, I did almost as much reading in the honors courses, as the curriculum was built around reading 6-10 books/plays per school year. > [@Zsofia](#): > > This is much more in line with the kinds of books I had to read as an honors/AP student. But even when I was in high school the lower tracked kids read a lot more contemporary stuff. > > ETA - I feel both ways about that - on the one hand, you want kids to read, damn it. On the other hand, one of the things you get with an education is some exposure to the Western Canon. The AP list is Western Canon, the dumb kids list is not. Not that there aren’t some good books on there (I particularly recommend _The Water is Wide_, for example) but reading those books doesn’t store up stuff in your head that you’ll need as an adult to understand allusions and such. Having spent a few summers working in the public library with the kids who get assigned the contemporary stuff, I can tell you that the ones who are reluctant to read who come back after Summer Reading Assignment Time are much more likely to be reading more. However, I understand the gripe about Western Canon reading-- it’s great to read and be literate, but if all you’re reading is Twilight knockoffs or popcorn novels, it may not have the same benefit as the higher level stuff. The thing is, most of the folks that I know who read primarily popcorn novels are some of the smartest people I know. It’s their escapism route. I still am not thrilled with the influx of popular novels only for a lot of summer reading lists, but the tendency of the one school I worked for to make summer reading as tedious and difficult and gag-inducing as possible (for young males and non-girly-girls at least) was ridiculous. In those cases, you had a choice of sappy coming-of-age-for-girls novels or higher-end western canon of some of the more boring and lengthy sort. I love _Don Quixote_, but it’s over a thousand pages long. My one suggestion for folks who are making summer reading lists is to try for a balance and not put in stuff that most kids are likely to have already read: remove Dave Pelzer books (those who’d be interested have read it 20 times already) and the Twilight series, and try to balance out the memoirs with readable upper-level teen fiction if you’re going to go with contemporary stuff. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084/29 "2011-07-16T15:26:39Z")
In high school, all of our English classes were called honors (AP English was taught junior and senior year) with one required book and two that had to be selected from a list of ten or so. I graduated in 1999. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-reading-lists-for-school/589084.md?page=1)