Our child has never been what you would call an ardent reader.
His taste in literature runs more along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the graphic novel version of Plants Vs. Zombies, than Tolkien or Twain. For a while, he was into fantasy fiction like the Wings of Fire series. He’s read a little Harry Potter, but that interest faded. At times, I have to remind him to read, setting the oven clock timer to 20 minutes and making him plop on the couch with a paperback or an ebook in his hands.
Sometimes, it’s hard being a writer with a child who has only a fleeting interest in reading – as many kids do.
This summer, however, I’ve decided it’s time for some serious reading, no matter how painful it is for the both of us.
After all, reading good fiction can make you a better person – at least that’s what I’ve read.
I’ve compiled a list of 10 classic fiction titles, most of them books I read when I was in my early teens. From this list, my son can select two or three books to read this summer. That doesn’t seem too hard, does it?
Here are the titles I’ve handpicked:
White Fang, by Jack London
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (or Huckleberry Finn – take your pick!) by Mark Twain
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Phantom Toll Booth, by Norton Juster
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
So, we’ll see how it goes. Pulling these books from the shelf makes me want to read many of them again. I’ve never read Hatchet, a relative newbie with a 1987 publication date, but I’ve heard it’s an excellent work of young adult fiction, and a quick read at 180 or so pages.
What books would you recommend for summer reading, for an adult or a 13-year-old? I need to come up with my own list, and I’m open to ideas.
No business or self-help books, please.