My first summer reading list
 

I teach a sociology-philosophy high school class. Several of my graduating seniors asked for a summer reading list.

So it got me thinking, what books do you wish you could read again but experience it anew? (preferably books you read when you were 16-20).

For me Fountainhead rocked my world for a while, that was fun.
Reading Jorge Louis Borges for the first time, in a near commune off Haight Street was special.
The Plague and No Exit made for a fun few months.
I'm still getting over East of Eden. I hope I don't though.

Anthem - Ayn Rand

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is the first thing I thought of, given what you teach.

Oh, this one popped in my brain randomly - Black Elk Speaks.

Although, it's debated about how closely the interpreter followed the actually words of Black Elk, it's still a great book.

American Pastoral
The Stranger

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

I was assigned this book in a freshman year lit class in college, and I remember skipping the class so I could keep reading in the library.

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut. Black comedy about how humanity improves itself through de-evolution. That's the only one I can think of that would be relevant to your class, although Magnetic Field(s) by Ron Loewinsohn might also fit the bill. This is about various things, but ultimately about experience space, especially that of other people.

Vonnegut was fantastic.

Surprisingly, and since it seems to transcend different genres, I'd suggest The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's cleverly written, and while not serious, it had its philosophical moments that made me sit and think a bit.

1984 -- especially given today's climate.

The Plague was the first one to pop in my mind
Ivanhoe was the first for fun classic I ever read.
And my introduction into the Russians...Fathers and Sons

Thanks all. I totally forgot about Vonnegut

I'd definitely recommend 1984 and Animal Farm by Orwell if they haven't read it. Another book that really opened my eyes around that age was Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness. I might also kick in Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle - a great existential novel masquerading as sci-fi, and for me when I read it, my first exposure to the I Ching.

I've read 1984 3 times (glutton for depression), and while it's obviously very important literature, I still think Anthem is "better" in an enjoyability sense.

Has anyone on here actually read it? Just curious.

Maybe a cliche, but I loved Catcher in the Rye.

Faulkner's As I Lay Dying was a hard read and is something I think would be worth going back for a second try.

I have read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but have never read that one. I should probably give it a try since I enjoyed both of the others I listed.

I have. Although I find her writing style to be enjoyable to read, her administration of her message with a very heavy club drives me nuts. Subtlety is not a tool she has in the box.

It'd probably occupy their entire summer, but Jacques Barzun's "From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life" is an amazing book, and it would fit right in with your course.

Taming of the Shrew and Where the Red Fern Grows are two of my favorite books of all time, and I read them in 10th grade.

1984 came to mind for me. Also, Kerouac's "Dharma Bums."

/tk

Dola,
It's kind of new age-y and some might say sappy, but I really love Paulo Coehelo's "The Alchemist." I read it for the first time in high school, I go back to it every so often. Now I have it on audio and in print.

/tk

On The Road by Kerouac

Not much of a book type here, but I just finished One Bullet Away and found it amazing.

The Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

I thought of another one I really like for High School Kids although I'm not totally sure it fits for you...

Sophie's World

I think most schools have probably already taught To Kill a Mockingbird, but if not, that is the best book I remember reading at that age.

I read Les Miserables between my junior and senior years in HS and loved it. That was before the musical became ubiquitous, however. That may make it impossible for anyone to experience for the first time anymore.