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Required Reading

Discussion in 'Tilted Entertainment' started by Hektore, Oct 30, 2011.

  1. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted

    I spend a portion of my week making the rounds on the atheist/skeptic blog circle and one of the stories that popped up on my radar this week was about a little girl who asked Christopher Hitchens what books she should read.

    http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/mason-crumpacker-and-the-hitchens-reading-list/

    I have a son and one of the things I'm continually reminding myself to do is to sit down an make him a reading list. It might seem a bit morbid, but I worry sometimes about the influences that can corrupt the intellect of the young and impressionable. If the worst should happen, I'd like to at least have that list as a last resort of parental influence on his developing mind and, naturally, to help him get to know me a little better.

    Now you can't help with the last bit, but with the other you all can. What books would recommend as 'must reads'? Books that in a league of their own; for exceptional use of language; moral quandaries; philosophical explorations any criteria you think is important. A Book that can change your outlook on life. A book so important you might actually be alright with it if they made it a crime not to read it.
     
    Hektore, Oct 30, 2011
    #1
  2. CHINESE CRESTED

    chinese crested Slightly Tilted

    For your son? The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The voyage of the Dawn Treader etc. Our teacher used to read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe to us at juniour school - aged about 8. It was a wonderfull world she introduced us to. I saved up my pocket money and bought them myself one at a time. Years later, my sons fell in love with them. Lots of moral quandaries, and good wins over evil. They are still on my book case.
    For your son when he is about old enough to marry 'My Lady Nicotine' - C S Lewis also. A very good picture of momentary acceptance and the wish of many women that their perfect chap they have found should be altered at the altar.
     
    chinese crested, Nov 3, 2011
    #2
  3. ALCHEMUS

    Alchemus New Member

    Location:
    Arizona
    Three books that completely changed my world-view:
    Dune
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
    Neuromancer

    All three books are entertaining on the surface, but truly shine if you're able to read deeper.
     
    Alchemus, Nov 8, 2011
    #3
  4. Arc101

    Arc101 New Member

    The Hobbit - great book, so very imaginative. I had read it half a dozen times before I was 10. Before this book I was not into reading, it really turned me into a book addict.
     
    Arc101, Nov 9, 2011
    #4
  5. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    How old is your son? The ideal reading material varies depending on age.

    I would recommend some Dickens, personally, but you'd have to use judgement in determining what's age appropriate. Then again, I suppose if 8 and 9 year olds are playing Call of Duty and other violent games, a novel like Oliver Twist probably won't corrupt them too badly; just make sure you take time to explain that some of the content in relation to race (thinking specifically of Fagin in that case) reflects an older cultural perspective, and isn't necessarily appropriate today. There's violence, but you'll see worse in prime time television so I think it's probably okay.

    Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are fun for any age. If he's young, it's just a goofy story. If he's older, you can encourage him to break apart the allegorical aspects and really learn how to analyze and extract meaning from a text.

    Catcher in the Rye is an excellent book for teenagers, but not for young children.

    I'll probably have more later.
     
    martian, Nov 9, 2011
    #5
  6. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted

    The Hobbit is still my favorite book and is certainly at the top of the list.

    Thank you for the suggestions. Age isn't really relevant to my goal here, I suppose I could break the list down that way but I meant it to be more generic than that. I suppose great books about being a boy (or girl for that matter) should definitely be included but I had in mind something more like a 'bucket list' of reading material. In short: Books you shouldn't die without reading.
     
    Hektore, Nov 9, 2011
    #6
  7. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    "My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine."

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    It's unforch that Hollywood sullied the image of Frankenstein's monster.

    This book is one of the great early British novels. It certainly has "exceptional use of language, moral quandaries, philosophical explorations." And it's a kind of proto-science fiction, so it has a lot going for it.

    I read it in high school as a part of a philosophy course. I would consider it a must-read.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Nov 9, 2011
    #7
  8. roachboy

    roachboy Very Tilted

    i gave kafka's short stories to my nephew for xmas one year when he was still pretty young. i read the gatekeeper. it scared the shit out of him.
    but i think there's something i don't really get about how kids read.
    in general, i think it's never too early to start blowing up the conventions of realist writing. for an older kid, i'd say jorge luis borges' labyrinths is required reading.
    italo calvino's invisible cities or cosmicomics or even mister palomar, too. his collection of italian folktales is pretty great too.
     
    roachboy, Nov 9, 2011
    #8
  9. the_jazz

    the_jazz Accused old lady puncher

    We just started "The Book of Three" with my 5 year old. It's his first foray into chapter books, and so far, so good.
     
    the_jazz, Nov 11, 2011
    #9