A few minutes ago I finished reading Flowers for Algernon, one of those extremely well-known titles that I wasn’t entirely sure if I had read before or not. It was an excellent book that I would highly recommend reading if you weren’t already required to at some point.
One of the benefits of being largely homeschooled through high school was near lack of so-called “reading list” books. I read a whole lot of books, many of them in conjunction with studies of historical periods; for example, titles like Shades of Gray and Across Five Aprils while studying the American Civil War. Yet none of these books felt “forced” on me and as a result, I got a lot of enjoyment out of them. The reading lists foisted upon students of institutional primary education seem to inoculate students against some very enjoyable and influential titles. Instead of being appreciated, these books become marginalized or so associated with “childhood” that many assume they have no relevance to “adulthood.” One such title that comes to mind immediately is Ender’s Game, a well-crafted sci-fi tale that is often grouped with children’s books rather than sci-fi.
It’s worth taking an objective look at some of those books, perhaps even re-reading them from a more mature perspective. There just might be something you missed when racing through it in 10th grade.