Top Ten Tuesday (38) - Books That Should Be Taught in Schools

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is about books that we think should be taught in schools, or contemporary books we'd pair with classics for required reading.  I personally don't love this topic since I dislike the idea of "required" reading.  I think it ruins the enjoyment of a book when you're being forced to read it in order to do homework on it.  But I also understand that for some kids, especially in today's screen-obsessed society, the books they read for school may be the only books they ever read (if they actually read them and don't use sites like Sparknotes to cheat).  The way I set up my list was by choosing books (contemporary or classic) I think would be good to teach in school, and including books (contemporary or classic) that they would pair with well.

Top Ten Books that Should Be Taught in Schools (with Possible Pairings)

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• Dystopian novels are all the rage right now, but they tend to be more about the action or the romance, rather than about the society.  Brave New World primarily focuses on its depiction of society as a self-serving, instant-gratification-obsessed population that's had all the "negative" emotions removed, and no one thinks for themselves anymore.  It's simply about getting what you want when you want it, and never having any sort of real emotions or critical thinking.  It sounds great at first, but then you get to see the flaws in this kind of amoral, hedonistic system.
• 1984 by George Orwell  
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• I personally think this book is a great read for today's screen-obsessed society.  People are getting more and more gadgets for games and movies and web-surfing.  Yes, some people use them for reading too, but when I'm walking through the mall, all these kids (and adults) are using them to play games, not read.
• Matched by Ally Condie
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson
• Sad but true, the holocaust has simply become a blurb in history textbooks for some kids (probably the same kids who didn't realize that the Titanic was real, not just a movie).  This book is the autobiography of a Jewish girl who describes how she went from an aspiring student to living in a ghetto to trying to survive a concentration camp.  It's gritty and real and painful, but it's something we shouldn't forget.
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• Paper Towns by John Green
• I just feel that Paper Towns is a great coming-of-age story.  It showcases the hierarchies that exist in high school, and it includes the all-important road trip.  I think some of the best coming-of-age books I've read all have a road trip in there at one point.
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 
• Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• This book is so underrated.  Besides giving insight into the imbalance between classes in the 1920s & 1930s, it's just a beautifully written story.  The prose is amazing; it's one of the books I credit with inspiring me to be a writer.  It could be taught simply as an example of really good writing.
• The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (for the romance/money elements)
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (for the prose)
• Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
• There's so much of a focus on dystopian novels right now that I think it would be interesting to also read utopian novels as well.  What do people see as their ideal society?  How do they achieve it?  What sacrifices had to be made to reach utopia, and were they worth it?
• Utopia by Thomas More
• Island by Aldous Huxley
• Jane by April Lindner
• Sometimes the best way to get someone interested in the classics is to have them check out a modern adaptation first.  While I will always prefer reading the original first, I also know that adaptations are great teaching tools.  This adaptation of Jane Eyre is incredibly similar to the original book and would be great paired with another classic.
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Catherine by April Lindner
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• I push this book so much I'm sure people are sick of hearing about it, but it's so good, I can't help it.  I'd use this book as a lesson in coping with death or illnesses, whether it be our own or a loved one's.
• A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
• For One More Day by Mitch Albom
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• I think it's incredibly important to continue to teach about this era of our country's history and to discuss how we should treat others.  I think people want to gloss over it and pretend like it didn't happen, or that it doesn't still happen, but unfortunately, racism still exists.  But books like The Help are great for reminding us of how far we've come and how far we still have to go.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• Because every book you read shouldn't be an object lesson, because sometimes you need to read a book simply for the fun of it, and because books about books (or the love of books) are inspiring and enjoyable.
• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
• Matilda by Roald Dahl

So those are my picks.  Sorry if I got a little serious with this list, but I think the topic is a more serious one anyway.  Do you agree with any of these?  What would you add?  What other books would you pair with together?