OFF TOPIC: Do high schoolers still read

Hey, to the folks reading this that are still in High School... I was just wondering what they have on the reading lists... Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, 1984... are those books still in the list? Im curios as to what they make ya read... dont be shy, post up whatever your experience is...

Well i was in high school as of a couple of years ago. and i was incredibly bummed out at the reading choices our teachers offered to us. 1984 was never a required book, neither was animal farm. Of course lord of the flies was. One English teacher had us read In Cold blood. which i thought was a rather odd choice. It was decent although an extremely complex book to offer to freshman. Given Capotes odd affection for one of the killers. But yea basically in high school if i wanted to read a good book, i had to go out and get it for myself as you certainly couldnt trust the teachers to offer anything worth a read. Right now im reading some of Charlie Bukowski's stuff.

and i just got done reading all the sin city graphic novels and 300 too. Both incredibly good. the Sin city graphic novels are even better than the movie i daresay, Although the movie was incredibly good and very faithful to the novels.

Well I just graduated School last year. We had a lot of reading to do, a lot of crap but just as much good reads. Some of the books i loved where: Catcher in The Rye, The Things They Carried, The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, The Maltese Falcon, and some more my memories shot:). I also love reading on my own, which I hate to say seems very uncommon for people my age. Some of my favorite reads on my own time are. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Cat's Cradle, Slaughter House Five, Slapstick, Breakfast of Champions(anyone see a trend yet?), The Sun also Rises(thinks that what it's called Hemingway novel), In Cold Blood, and even though its more of an essay then a novel The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell both written by Aldus Huxley on the effects of Mescaline on the mind, little tidbit of trivia the band The Doors was named after the former of these two essays.

I know that a lot of schools have added Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" to their cirriculum. As far as NEW stuff that they're reading in schools. That's an awesome read, in the process of becoming a film. My kids are advanced readers, since I am an avid reader, and read above and beyond the normal level.

I wish ender's game was on the list when i went to high school! i've got a couple brothers who are still there... some of the books were Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice.. that's all I remember..... plus a bunch of short stories and poetry.

Im reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, which im enjoying quite a great deal. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is another highly reccomended read. Enders game was required reading as well when i was in high school. and was quite a good read. probably my favorite of our whole reading list.

great topic. when i am done fucking all the popular girls, maybe i'll pick up a book someday.

I went to HS in Australia a few years ago, but my brother and sister do similar material to what I did. HSC texts were books like Brave New World, King Lear (complusory Shakespeare), but other texts like 1984 were optional on the circumulum and up to the teachers discretion.

I graduated 17 years ago and I can honestly say I did not read a book in high school just paid close attention to class discussions, but managed to graduate with honors. I did not start reading until university (class discussion did not cut it!) and haven't stopped since. Anyway, I now teach 6th grade and spend most of my reading time getting know the books for this level. I need suggestions for some quality reading.

The last book I read was Jodi Piccoult's Nineteen Minutes it had parts that were a bit girly for me but 2 things caught my eye 1. it is about a school shooting 2. The book begins with the chinese proverb... If we don't change the direction we're going, we're likely to end up where we are headed. I wouldn't have cared what the book was about after seeing that quote I was hooked. It kind of sums up my thoughts about society at this time. I bet with the right artist it could inspire a kick ass piece--ideas ideas!

Hunter s. Thompsons books are some really good reading. I just finished reading The End of Faith by Sam Harris a few weeks ago, and was completely blown away by it. Kurt Vonnegut (rest in peace) has written some fantastic books. ive only read a couple short stories and slaughterhouse 5 but i loved it. Im just starting to read The Trial by Frank Kafka, and im enjoying it quite a bit.

Me: Jodie P also wrote a book called "my Sisters Keeper" it's about a young girl born with the specific purpose of being an exact bone marrow match to her old sister with leukeamia. It's about her rebelling as she hits her teen years and questioning her existance. I wanted to know if anyone had read it and what they thought. Is it worth buying? (I'm a bit too lazy to go to the local library, they put it in the middle of nowhere and it's a pain in the arse to get to when you dont drive...) I looked really good but I usually only buy books that are worth it and want to know what others thought of it.

My wife read My Sister's Keeper and loved/hated it. Having identical twins it short of hit close to home in a way. Actually I know she has read and enjoyed many of her books.

ME: Maybe the book "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo? "This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe for democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered--not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined lives...This is no ordinary novel. This is a novel that never takes the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible, uncompromising, brutal, remorseless and gruesome...but so is war." http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=7-0553274325-3 At least in the library here, its under children/teen literature section.