Ever been to the "young adult" section of a library or bookstore? I try to avoid it at all costs. Given, there are a few contemporary authors I love -- Lois Lowry, Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling. But for the most part, I find today's authors to be shallow, whiny, and unskilled. Inevitably, most of the books will center around the same few themes (with a few minor variations in a pathetic attempt to be "different"). Usually, you've got the whiny teenage "love" affairs (more on my take on teenage "love" and dating in another post) -- "My boy/girl friend left/cheated on me, how on earth will I ever survive?!?!". Or, you've got the stereotypical, "I hate the world and the world hates me" point of view. This bothers me quite a bit -- no wonder teens have such a negative stereotype in our world today! We're always portrayed as angry, shallow beings, and books like this just encourage that view. If you do manage to find a book not relating to these kinds of themes, it will more likely then not be filled with immorality of all sorts -- cheating, lying, stealing, drugs, sex, you name it; all because somehow, young adult authors have gotten the idea that this is what appeals to teens!
Obviously, nobody asked me.
Because of all this, when I walk into a library or bookstore, I always gravitate towards the "Classics" section. I feel much more at home among the rows of the works of Shakespeare, Poe, and George Orwell then I ever would among the contemporary young adult "novels".
Now, admittedly, many of us have read these books in school. But I strongly encourage you to read them again, on your own time, for no reason other then exploring them and enjoying them. I've found that often when reading a book for an assignment, I race through it in order to complete it on time and often miss the meaning, and the "magic" (yeah...I know...that sounded corny. But it's true!).
And so, here is a list -- though most definitely not a complete list, because there are millions of great classics out there! -- but a list nonetheless of 10 great classics that everyone should read -- or re-read, as the case may be:
- Animal Farm, by George Orwell
- 1984, by George Orwell
- War of the Worlds, by Orson Wells
- Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
- To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
- The Lord of the Rings Triology, by J. R. R. Tolkien
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare
- Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare
- And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
- Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
