To Read, Or Not to Read- The Next Book List

“There are books and there is literature” said Elizabeth Hardwick.  Sage advice from a scathing American literary critic.

I don’t know how folks read so many books in a year, then I realized there’s a shortcut.  Simply, pick up the New York Times, The New Yorker or a literary journal to read the book reviews- viola! You got the limited information you need along with a little piece of criticism you can add into your daily conversations with folks.  You come off as being well read and caught up on high society, without having to trudge through books.  The added benefit being that with this secret you will give others the impression that you are just amazingly well managed when it comes to your time.  Just don’t abuse it, with any con, the continued use of the con over a span of time will probably lead to the exponential possibility that when crap hits the fan its going to be far rose for you, so just sit down and actually read a book once in a while.

A few days ago I posted the first portion of a reading list (Muslim parents, please note the disclaimer in the link, I don’t want to be flagged down at the masjid to get lectures about promoting haraam books), today you get the next installment.  Here’s a good list of solid American literature you should have read by your sophomore year of High School according to a recently found list my middle school English Honors teacher, Ms. Locey, had given us kids back then.

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
2. Autobiography and other Writings (Franklin)
3. The Crucible
4. Death of a Salesman
5. For Whom the Bell Tolls
6. Grapes of Wrath
7. The Great Gatsby
8. Moby Dick
9. My Antonia
10. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
11. Of Mice and Men
12. Our Town
13. The Red Badge of Courage
14. The Scarlet Letter
15. Walden