<p>jym626, here are recs direct from my S. (Other than Neuromancer and White Noise) This is verbatim: "Ok, well, Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson) is practically made for someone my age, even if they only like sci-fi a <em>little</em>. I also like Thomas Pynchon a lot; something that (I guess) appeals to people my age about him is how he manages to have a believeable plot so filled with absurdity. Now that I think about it, Kurt Vonnegut is a good recommendation also because of that. I loved <em>Timequake</em>, too."</p>
<p>Thanks tabbyzmom. I'll see if I can get him back into reading-- he used to love it. Any other ideas to get HS freshmen/women back into books?? ANy other creative ideas to expose them to more vocab??</p>
<p>Harry Potter is always good =)</p>
<p>It's non-fiction, and it's more for younger teens (maybe--I loved it, and so did my husband), but one of the best books I ever bought for my son was Ned Vizzini's "Teen Angst...Naah!"</p>
<p>I'd have to agree with Neuromancer as one of my favorites. Another of my favorites has been Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce, but I'm not sure many others are big fans of Joyce like I am. I guess since I'm a teenage guy i'd list some of my favorites:
Count of Monte Cristo (great book for anyone)
Slaughterhouse 5 (you mentioned vonnegut)
Bourne Identity
Catcher in the Rye (duh)
The Fountainhead</p>
<p>My son is a HS freshman, and he did not like to read until one of his teachers read the class a chapter of "Curious Incident Of the Dog In the Nighttime." He asked me to get the book for him. I did (after I recovered from my shock.) He loved the book. Since then he has been reading more.</p>
<p>If someone is in highschool and is a non reader, I think Harry Potter is a good way to get someone sitting with a book instead of a tv. The first few books are thin but if you get hooked the last two are a heftier lift and bring a little stamina to the habit. Mark Twain and Tom Clancy can be interesting, depending on the interest of the reader. </p>
<p>I think neobez has a great reading list, but I can't imagine a getting a non reader into these books without some seg way.
Reading plays can be fun and non threatening. If you are up against a non-reader you really want to build their confidence and skill level by placing them with books that are at their level. Thin books can be confidence building. I think "To kill a mocking bird" might be a good choice along that line.</p>
<p>George Orwell's Animal Farm. </p>
<p>Around here we established our children's strong habit of reading by reading aloud to them (my oldest still listens to the read-alouds at age twelve) and filling the house with books. Our county library system lets us check out 100 items per library card, and we have five library cards [grin]. I can't imagine my kids not reading, but, then again, we often have the TV (or at least its antenna, without which it can't receive broadcast signals) in a box in the closet. TV and video games are death to reading habits, so we limit those strictly.</p>
<p>Other suggestions: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams
Books by Dave Barry</p>
<p>Oops -- Also: Books by David Sedaris
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night (suggested above)</p>
<p>Other "classics" I found very enjoyable:</p>
<p>Great Gatsby
East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath (actually pretty much anything by Steinbeck)
Brave New World
Crime and Punishment (this one is a bit dark and gloomy, but very good nonetheless, and it gets you thinking)</p>
<p>I read all of these for school reading so I bet would have enjoyed them a lot more if I read them for pleasure. I found these books to be a lot more interesting and readable than most of the other books we read in school (including but not limited to A Separate Peace, The Scarlet Letter, Wuthering Heights, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (anything Hardy), Heart of Darkness, Shakespeare)</p>
<p>Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, it'll make a young man think. (but moms won't buy it)</p>
<p>My son HATES David Sedaris (my daughter made him read it).</p>
<p>If we're just talking books that get kids reading (not necessarily literature), I'd suggest Clive Cussler. </p>
<p>Michael Crichton is also popular with most of the teenage boys I know (Jurassic Park was a book before it was a movie) (although the current one is not getting good reviews). </p>
<p>Both my kids found my old copy of Youth in Revolt during their winter break and guzzled it. Of course, I may have helped things along by hiding it from them and telling them I thought it was a bit over-the-top and a waste of their valuable reading time. </p>
<p>(I recommend that technique, BTW, for any book you really DO want them to read; it's right up there with handing it to them as they get on a 14 hour flight.)</p>
<p>Oh, and I got them to read Huck Finn by giving them a list of school districts where it had been banned. They did like it, I think. They could have been lying, but....</p>
<p>When he was in high school my son really enjoyed the following authors: (many of whom are already mentioned. Is there a collective teenage boy mentality?)</p>
<p>Kurt Vonnegut, Don DeLillo, Michael Crichton, Jules Verne</p>
<p>We also like to read and talk about contemporary short stories. There a lot of options, but the America's Best and O'Henry Awards series offer good selections.</p>
<p>Lately, I've got him into Evelyn Waugh. Any one read The Loved One, Decline and Fall or Scoop lately? They just keep getting funnier.</p>
<p>The" Ender" series by Orson Scott Card.</p>
<p>S favorites including Vonnegut books and William Gibson ("Neuromancer") </p>
<p>He also loves JD Salinger books, esp "Catcher in the Rye" (I think his all time favorite book) and "Franny & Zooey". Also loves the Michael Lewis books, "Liar's Poker" & "The New New Thing". And for assigned books for English lit classes, Steinbeck is a favorite, with "Travels with Charley" and John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany".</p>
<p>Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is a great favorite at my children's high school and for soem reason appeals even to readers who don't like history.</p>
<p>Another vote for Ender's Game, particularly, for the high school freshman. My 8th grader likes total trash science fiction, but at least he is reading - "Starfist" series, Marines on the beach stuff, just set in space. He also liked "To Kill a Mockingbird", even though they read it in school.
I'm toying with trying Dune or Snow Crash for him, I'm not sure he is a strong enough reader, although he would love Snow Crash - all you video game/computer nuts out there should read it. The creators of the "Hack" series shamelessly stole the story, although Stephenson does a much better job. For some of you seniors, try Cryptonomicon, it is a tremendous read, puts the "DaVinci Code" way in the shade, although it is uneven, and not as fine as Snow Crash.
Since he likes Marines in space, I'm going to try to talk him into the Bujold books, they are very good, very entertaining and make you think a little too (not literature, but not trash either :)). Young women who like sci-fi would like them too, they aren't as hard edged as some of the other space opera books.</p>
<p>In the classics category, my son recently read and enjoyed 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. In the what-the-rest-of-the-planet-is-reading category, he liked Da Vinci Codes, Angels and Demons, and Rule of Four. If your son liked the film version of Friday Night Lights (mine loved it -- and much to my surprise, so did I -- sobbed through the last hour) he should try the book: In-depth exploration of racial tensions in the community, and really thought-provoking.</p>
<p>The Perfect Storm
Dave Eggers books
Holes</p>