Books that you have to read before entering college

<p>I love anything by Ray Bradbury. If you're thinking about doing something in science, read Advice to a Young Scientist by P. B. Medawar.</p>

<p>My list of must-read books:
University Physics by Young/Freedman
Biology by Campbell
Chemistry by Zumdahl
Calculus and Analytic Geometry by Thomas OR Calculus by Stewart</p>

<p>You also might want to have read Harry Potter and seen a variety of movies so you're not behind on your pop culture. If you are Christian, I strongly recommend The Bible by Various Authors so you are not skewered by more devoted Christian friends, etc.</p>

<p>All else is non-essential.</p>

<p>And Ayn Rand will bore you to tears unless you are a very selfish man. If you are an "altruist-subjectivist-sacrificial-animal" and for some reason still want to get a flavor of her work, read Anthem. It's the shortest, and available free online.</p>

<p>^lol, I just started Ayn Rand (atlas shrugged) earlier this week. I've been avoiding it for over a year, but I'm actually enjoying it so far.</p>

<p>See all of the above ^^^^^ </p>

<p>and</p>

<p>Simply Einstein by Richard Wolfson
The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
In The Wake of Chaos by Stephen Kellert (:D)
And a few others...</p>

<p>Gossip Girl, duh.</p>

<p>I just started Atlas Shrugged in eighth grade, three years ago. I'm still only on page 300. A word of advice: don't read the ending before the rest of the book. And do not skip around.</p>

<p>1984 is a must-read in my opinion.</p>

<p>Adding some that haven't been mentioned...
Steppenwolf by Hesse
Candide by Voltaire
Beowulf<a href="I'd%20recommend%20the%20Seamus%20Heaney%20translation">/i</a> if for no other reason than to understand...
*Grendel
by John Gardner
Dante's Inferno if you're really bored (like I was =P)</p>

<p>The World is Flat....i.e. by Tom Friedman? Oh I love him. Oh, he's like me, 30 years from now. (I only say this because in the section of From Beirut to Jerusalem in which he described his HS years...he sounded exacted like me. HE STOLE MY IDENTITY. I have no intentions of being a career journalist.)</p>

<p>I think if students ever want to study literature and general culture (be it pop or high) should have a good knowledge of the Bible. Not a word-for-word knowledge, but know the stories. Not for any religious purpose, but one as pure literature. The number of allegories is enormous.</p>

<p>Also, To Kill a Mockingbird. Not that its a personal fave, but its one of those kinda "books you HAVE to read". </p>

<p>And Farwell to Arms.</p>

<p>Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Great Expectations are some books i thought were interesting and informative as well.
Also, if you are into genetics and stuff like that check out Michael Crichton's book Next. I thought it was pretty interesting and a fast read.</p>

<p>
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And Ayn Rand will bore you to tears unless you are a very selfish man.

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</p>

<p>And the Bible will bore you to tears unless you like reading long drawn out lineages and common sense goodwill. Come on now. Don't disgrace readers of a book simply because you didn't like the book or couldn't understand its value. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Edit:</p>

<p>
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I just started Atlas Shrugged in eighth grade, three years ago. I'm still only on page 300.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Ah, now I get it. You didn't even make it halfway through but somehow feel you are capable of critiquing the entire novel? :rolleyes: Hopefully college will teach you to get the whole story before making baseless accusations.</p>

<p>I liked Animal Farm! </p>

<p>But yeah, books that are good to read, in order to be prepared for college:</p>

<p>*Silas Marner
Leaves of Grass
Cry, the Beloved Country
Invisible Man
Gulliver's Travels
Madame Bovary
War and Peace
My Antonia
* Any and all Shakespeare</p>

<p>That's all I can think of for now...</p>

<p>
[quote]
And the Bible will bore you to tears unless you like reading long drawn out lineages and common sense goodwill. Come on now. Don't disgrace readers of a book simply because you didn't like the book or couldn't understand its value.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Um, calling people "selfish men" isn't disgracing them. You would understand that if you read Ayn Rand. :D
And yes, the Bible is kinda boring. I couldn't get to page 4 of that either.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Ah, now I get it. You didn't even make it halfway through but somehow feel you are capable of critiquing the entire novel? Hopefully college will teach you to get the whole story before making baseless accusations.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Of course. I skipped around. :) And I've read her nonfiction, which cites her fiction extensively. Why so harsh? You do realize that I only claimed she was boring -- I'm sure if it was interesting, I would have finished the book. I did give it a good shot for three years. I guess it wasn't deserving.</p>

<p>The Man in the Panther's Skin (My favorite)
Steppenwolf and Siddhartha Gautama by Hesse
The Financier by Theodore Dreiser (Who want to major in business :) )
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez
And many more :)</p>

<p>Hamlet, twice.</p>

<p>
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You would understand that if you read Ayn Rand

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</p>

<p>I wouldn't be defending the book if I hadn't read it.</p>

<p>
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And yes, the Bible is kinda boring. I couldn't get to page 4 of that either.

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</p>

<p>In which case I would suggest giving both books another go. You may be surprised.</p>

<p>For what it's worth...I guiltily love Ayn Rand, and I am far from her political ideal. Granted, I read her when I wanted to be Rockefeller, but still.</p>

<p>Scarlet Letter
To Kill a Mockingbird</p>

<p>basic, American Lit books...ask your parents/teachers...the first books that come to mind usually are the ones you'll get laughed at for not having read ("wait, so the scarlet letter isn't about a note to a friend on red paper?)</p>

<p>Ayn Rand is a terrible writer. Only read her if you're interested in philosophy. If you're looking for literature, don't waste your time.</p>

<p>Now that that's out of my system, I think besides the books already mentioned, everyone should read (if you only read one by each of the mentioned authors):
-"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway
-"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
-"Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf
-"Rabbit, Run" by John Updike
-"The Stories of John Cheever" by John Cheever
-"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Muriel Spark
-"The Hours" by Michael Cunningham
-"Beloved" by Toni Morrison
-"White Noise" by Don DeLillo
-"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
-"Play It As It Lays" by Joan Didion
-"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver
-"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce
-"Housekeeping" by Marilynne Robinson
-"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
-"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers</p>

<p>Those are all books that are usually overlooked in high school, but we'll all have to read them in college.</p>

<p>A Clockwork Orange is great, but difficult to read at first. I had to read the first chapter twice before I started to understand the words (my copy didn't have the glossary in the back).</p>

<p>
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In which case I would suggest giving both books another go. You may be surprised.

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<p>Perhaps this summer. Maybe I'm smart enough for them now. :)</p>