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“Just what should a young man or woman know in order to be ‘in the know’? Is there, in other words, some inside information, some special taboo, some real lowdown on life and existence that most parents and teachers either don’t know or won’t tell? “What, then, would be The Book which fathers might slip to their sons and mothers to their daughters, without ever admitting it openly?”
--Alan W. Watts, “The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are”
I was visiting a friend out-of-town recently and the subject of providing a “reading list” to young people came up in conversation. He said years ago he had asked a respected acquaintance in Oneonta to compile such a list for his teenage daughter, to help her be better prepared for life, culture, education, politics and people. When my daughters were teenagers, also years ago now, I had wanted to do something similar and recalled reading the Alan W. Watts book mentioned above when I was coming of age. Of course, I didn’t believe there was a conspiracy involved in keeping the “lowdown” away from young people, but I still thought parents and elders could do more to help prepare teens for the worldly lives they were quickly embarking upon. In “The Book,” published in the early 1960s, Watts had no trouble defining the problems that civilization was facing. “We may blow up the planet with nuclear bombs, strangle ourselves with overpopulation, destroy our natural resources through poor conservation, or ruin the soil and its products with improperly understood chemicals and pesticides,” he wrote. But rather than responding to this “extremely dangerous situation” through political struggle or revolution, he concluded that the problem was the attitudes people had toward the environment, other people and life in general. For a solution, he turned to eastern religions to help us change the way we feel and experience the world -- and ourselves. OK, fine. So I decided early on that I would give copies of “The Book” to my daughters when they turned 16. Then, I figured, they could decide for themselves if there were a taboo about knowing who they really were and an ignorance in the way they experienced the world. Well, needless to say, the 1990s were not the 1960s, so neither of them finished reading “The Book” and probably thought I was “out there” for even giving them copies. That’s why I believe a “reading list” is a much better idea.
If I could do it again, I would offer my children a list of five or 10 books to assist their understanding of life rather then one book that they might find too far out. Such a list would not necessarily include volumes you would want to be stranded with on a deserted island. It could be examples of fiction, poetry, memoir, non-fiction and history that you believe would be important for a young person to read before going off to find themselves, to live their lives -- whether that be in college, at work, in travel or you name it. If, indeed, I could do it again, I would want five books from different time periods that presented life also from different cultural perspectives. And, as a product of the ’60s, no doubt some still would be viewed as too “out there.” Desiring to keep “The Book” on the list, I would supplement it with “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse, which is a short novel, published in Germany in 1919 and set in India, that would put a human face and real-life drama to the theme encountered in Watts. As a lesson in history and struggle from Depression-era America, I would have to put “The Grapes of Wrath,” by John Steinbeck, on the list. However, with today’s video generation, I would permit them to watch the Henry Fonda film version. We all know the official American history learned in schoolbooks. As an antidote, I would have to find a place on the list for Howard Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States.” Finally, I would have to go with -- what? -- Plato, Shakespeare, or a move to the 19th century for “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman or “The Brothers Karamazov.” Or perhaps a perspective on 20th century history with investigative journalist George Seldes’ “Witness to a Century.” What about T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land"? Keeping the list at five is not so easy; maybe 10 would be better. But that’s for another day.
Yes, provide a reading list for your young people
For additional perspectives on the issue of providing a reading list to young people, and the books that should be on such a list, see the following links.
Good books should liberate the mind
Test your literary skills with these questions about literature
Question 1:
When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow."
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
Question 2:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
"Little Women" by Louisa M Alcott
"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
"Emma" by Jane Austen
Question 3:
"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean."
"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare
"Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare
Question 4:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. "
"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens
"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
"Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray
"Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy
Question 5:
"The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon."
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
Question 6:
"All this happened, more or less."
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
"Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Question 7:
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, than you very much.
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis
"The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K Rowling
"The Hobbit" by J.R.R Tolkien
Question 8:
"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."
"The Great Gatsby" by F.Scott Fitzgerald
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain
Question 9:
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to kniw is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."
"Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
Question 10:
"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K Rowling
"The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R Tolkien
"The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
Question 11:
"Suppose that you and I were sitting in a quiet room overlooking a garden, chatting and sipping at our cups of green tea while we talked about something that had happened a long while ago, and I said to you "That afternoon when I met so-and-so...was the very best afternoon of my life, and also the very worst afternoon.""
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
"Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier
"White Teeth" by Zadie Smith
Question 12:
"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975."
"Three Cups of Tea" by David Oliver Relin
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Question 13:
"My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down."
"Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice
"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J. K. Rowling
"Percy Jackson and Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Question 14:
"A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories."
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
"1984" by George Orwell
"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess
Question 15:
"It happened every year, was almost a ritual."
"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson
"1984" by George Orwell
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Question 16:
"There was no possibility of taking a walk that day."
"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
"Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen 8888888
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Question 17:
"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
"1984" by George Orwell
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley 88888888
"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
Question 18:
"It was a pleasure to burn."
"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
"1984" by George Orwell
Question 19:
"'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
"Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery
"Black Beauty" by Lucy Kemp Welch
Question 20:
"Renowned curator Jacques Sauinére staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery."
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson
"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Question 21:
"A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green."
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
Question 22:
"The boy's name was Santiago."
"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
"Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
"Beloved" by Toni Morrison
The Answers (No peeking)
1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3) Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
4) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
5) Lord of the Flies by William Golding
6) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
7) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
8) The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
9) The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
10) The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien
11) Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
12) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
13) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
14) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
15) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
16) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
17) 1984 by George Orwell
18) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
19) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
20) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
21) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
22) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho