The Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish
by Sue Monk Kidd. I played mental tug of war with the inclusion of this book on my list. Frankly, I hated it. If I was presented it in school, I probably wouldn’t have read it–simply gone to the cliffs notes and gone from there. However, it’s a coming of age book set in the South that’s beginning to break segregation. It’s an interesting culture clash read and it features not one, but four strong female lead characters. Those characters are what put this on my list.
by Paula McLain. I originally read this as part of a library reading program, and I fell in love with it. I dislike Hemingway (trust me, it’s a known fact. Don’t get me started on Steinbeck either). This story though makes him human, and it’s really interesting to see the devolution of this powerful young man into the bitter, whining, overly descriptive author that all high school English teachers salivate over. [I warned you. I really dislike Hemingway]. What’s really fun for me as a reader is to see other influential authors of the era come to life in the pages of this story.
by C.S. Lewis. While religious in context and tones, so a lot of schools would out right not teach it, I think it’s an interesting take on Man V. Man, Man V. Nature themes in literature. The setting itself lends to both the temptation and salvation of the man that’s the focus of this story. Plus, I really love C.S. Lewis’ work and I think The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe overshadow some really amazing books. The Screwtape Letters being one of them.
by William Golding I didn’t read this in school. One of my friends in school told me to read it, and I immediately fell in love with it. It’s a great story and a great classic piece of literature.
by Aldous Huxley. This book was taught in my high school. The 11th grade English classes, both honors and standard classes, were told to read this. This is one of the required books that I simply fell in love with. It’s a dystopian universe and there’s just so much going on. I wish this was taught to more schools, because when I mention it I tend to get blank stares.
by Kay Redfield Jamison. I read this as extra credit for my Abnormal Psychology course when I was in college, and I adored it. I’ve heard it compared to Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, and while I haven’t read that in completion (yet), I can see the similarities between that and An Unquiet Mind. This book is an incredible piece of non fiction describing in detail the episodic nature of manic-depressive illness. It’s at times really hard to read, but I think it’s something that would lead really interesting discussions in class.
by Koushun Takami. This book, this book, this book. This mammoth piece of literature. All I can say is read it. It is visceral and beautiful and has a strange poetic grace amongst all of the death and horrible things that go on within this book. You go into this knowing the out come, knowing that only one person survives and it manages to surprise you. It is not an easy book to read- in any sense of the word.I think books that we’re assigned to read for school should challenge us on some level, and this book certainly does that.
by C.S. Lewis. Frankly this is on here because I love C.S. Lewis and I think that the other novels of the Chronicles of Narnia are overlooked.
by Madeleine L’Engle. Again, this is on here really just because I wanted to put it on here. I have reasons for the other books, but I think that A Wrinkle In Time is such a great blend of genres and an amazing story that everyone should read it. It’s got great themes and I really love it.
by Laurie Halse. I read this on my own, after wandering through a book store. It’s the story of a girl who survived a sexual assault by one of the most popular boys in school, and the backlash from the community and her schoolmates. This book is a must read for me. I’ll gladly toss it at anyone with while shrieking, “READ THIS”. It’s a coming of age story that feels real and one worth reading.
This was a really fun one for me to do. Some of these books are taught in schools, and a couple of them I read while I was in high school/college–but when I mention them to friends who didn’t go to school with me I get blank looks. So this is my Top Ten Books I wish they taught in school. Let me know your thoughts on my list, and go ahead and link your Top Ten post in the comments below.
books and writing 
Great list! I remember when I first read The Paris Wife, I thought it would be cool to pair it with one of Hemingway’s works. I’ve never read any of Hemingway’s works, either on my own or for school, so I actually read that book without knowing much about his writings except for a few key facts about his life. But yeah, that would be a great pairing.
I never read The Lord of the Flies for school either but I think I may need to pick that up sometime in the next while as I have an ARC sitting on my desk alluding to elements of it. Hmm…
Great list! What font did you use for the titles? It’s fantastic 🙂 My TTT
The Paris Wife actually got me to go out and get a couple of Hemingway’s works. A Moveable Feast specifically, and a couple others ended up on my tbr list. I haven’t done anything with them, but I consider it a first step toward maybe learning tolerance lol. 🙂
I love Lord of the Flies, it’s such a wild read. What ARC if I can be nosy? Anything that ties into that book is something that I want to get my hands on.
I can’t remember. I was playing around with the fonts I downloaded onto my computer, and I can’t track it down again. It came from dafont.com though.
Thanks for stopping by!
It’s definitely a start, lol. I don’t think I’ll be getting around to Hemingway for maybe another decade xD (a few weeks ago for the TTT topic of “intimidating books” I listed Hemingway–I don’t think I’m ready for his works yet!)
The ARC is Nick Cutter’s The Troop; it will be published sometime in early January next year 🙂
No worries re: the font! It’s pretty pretty xD
I might not have read The Secret Life of Bees, but I like the story! Sorry that you don’t 🙂
I like a couple of the characters, so it evens out for me in the end. I think it’s really neat to read everyone’s lists and opinions. I’m glad that you liked the book though!
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I agree about Speak! Since I read it, I’ve forced almost every person I know to read it. I can’t believe I forgot it for this TTT!
I’ve literally tossed at a couple of friends. It’s such a powerful story.
Thanks for stopping by!
I actually did read The Secret Life of Bees in grade 9, but I got to choose it from a list for an independent study unit. It’s problematic at parts, but could have opened up interesting discussions if we had read it as a class.
Ooh, that would be interesting to read a book about an author of a book you had to read for class.
I haven’t read Speak (yet! I really want to) but it seems like a book everyone must read and should definitely be taught in schools.
Great list! Thanks for stopping by my TTT post earlier! Have a great day 🙂
I like class discussions, which is why I put Secret Life of Bees on there, because it’s a book that people either love or hate, or those who have just seen the movie adaptation. Plus I’m one of those people who like to ‘stir the pot’ so to speak during class discussions, so I’d certainly cause some trouble.
The Paris Wife actually inspired me to pick up a couple Hemingway books. Haven’t touched them, but I have them, so I’m taking that as a step toward maybe tolerating him.
Do! Please do read Speak if you get the chance. It’s a powerful story!
It was a pleasure! Thanks for stopping by mine. 🙂
When I read the topic of this post the first book that came to mind was Speak.
That was the first book I thought of too, which is why I put it in the number one spot. 🙂 I can’t even tell you how much I love this book. I think it’d do good curriculum wise too. ❤ Thank you so much for stopping by Denise.
I loved Speak and was astonished to find out that some parents in Florida were trying to have it removed from a reading list saying it promoted teen sex. Seriously if you want to ban something you should probably read it first.
Speak is a book that’s so engrained in my head that it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this week’s list. Ugh. Don’t get me started on book censorship, but I’m not surprised. They probably just read the back and overreacted.
Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve seen the film, Battle Royale, but I have not yet read the book. The movie was amazing, though. And I definitely need to read Speak!
Thanks for visiting!
Stephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia
I haven’t seen the film, I keep meaning to check it out. I love the book so much though that I don’t want to be disappointed in the film adaptation. The manga/graphic novel is really good too. I love Speak, and can’t recommend it enough.
Pleasure, and thanks for stopping by!
This is a great list and with the exception of Speak I haven’t read a single one of these books.
My TTT is here.
I really recommend Brave New World and Battle Royale if you’re in the mood to go on a book hunt. 🙂 They’re two of my favorite books. Thanks for stopping by, I’ve checked yours out as well.
The Lord of the Flies was one of my favorite books that we had to read in HS. It’s definitely a story that stuck with me over the years. And I totally agree EVERYONE should read Speak, it’s just that good!
Thanks for stopping by My TTT 🙂
Lord of the Flies really has stuck with me. I really enjoyed it, and I like to pull it off the shelf and re-read it occasionally. Speak really should be taught widely if it’s not already in schools.
Great choices! I love your blurb about Speak 🙂