I didn't have a big college edumacation, but I've been able to slog my way through some of the classics on my on.
(Most recently Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court')
I had a very good librarian in elementary school that inspired in me a love of books.
Some people just don't like reading, though.
If it takes more contemporary literature to get youngsters reading, more power to the schools.
Just hope it's not at the expense of the good stuff.
(I hope this is ok to put here.)
I read online from these sites as much as I can,
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/-/frameset.html (a lot of classics here)
http://pd.sparknotes.com/ (also has full eBooks)
and http://www.gutenberg.org/ (Project Gutenberg)