Sensei no Otaku

The other day, I went into my local library in Palatine, IL. It has a wonderfully huge selection of manga and comics but that’s for another story. Next to that section is the high school summer reading list selections. To my surprise, there wasn’t a single classic work of fiction or non-fiction on that list. To be fair, there were two works that could be considered important: The Audacity of Hope and Road to Perdition. I’m not sure what the point of a summer reading list is. Is it to keep kids bored with irrelevant or unimportant books that haven’t shaped our culture? Are these book lists prepared in hopes of propagandizing them into a certain way of thinking? Are the lists catering to lowest common denominator: easy reads that serve up violence, sex, and drugs? Who are we to question a team of college trained English teachers? They must know better. But what if the whole team was built by one person with an agenda? Oh, that sounds like how some schools select teachers. What’s the point of a department head if they can’t decide which ideas get into the classroom? Perhaps the intelligent books have been expelled? My local high school could have selected books from the ALA’s huge list of non-fiction and fiction books, so there would at least be some classics on them that way. Anyways, inspired by my outrage and Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, I will provide a summer reading list. Unlike other teachers, I’ll tell you my agenda up front: I want to provide a challenging list that encourages thought and encourages the thinker to be a better person. So go to your library and check these out! 10 Non-Fiction books. 10 Fiction books. Hopefully, this short summer reading list will enlighten and entertain you more than what has been offered by some academics. Please feel free to reply and expand this list.
Sensei no Otaku says: “Expect much from your students and they will exceed those expectations.”

1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

by George Orwell

Orwell’s novel was published in 1949 and it focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime. The story follows the life of one man, Winston Smith, a civil servant assigned the task of perpetuating the regime’s propaganda by falsifying records and political literature. Smith slowly grows disillusioned with his false existence and begins to rebel against the system. Who is Big Brother? What is Newspeak and Doublethink?

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

Huxley’s novel creates a world that is totally engineered for the happiness of man. Bioengineering is used to design different classes of people so they will be happy with their designed lot in life. Movies, music, sports, tourism, religion, drugs, and food are all designed by science (and the government) as well. What happens when a person’s engineering was messed up? What happens when these designs fail?

Atlas Shrugged

by Ayn Rand

Rand’s longest novel explores a United States where leading industrialists and businessmen refuse to allow the government to exploit their labor for the “general good.” With their strike these creative minds hope to demonstrate that the economy and society would collapse without the profit motive and the efforts of the rational and productive. Who is John Galt? Why should the lazy be rewarded with the efforts of the hard working?

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

Bradbury’s novel presents a future society in which the masses are pleasure seekers, and critical thought is outlawed. 451 Fahrenheit refers to the temperature in at which paper burns. The central character, Guy Montag, is a fireman. But they are not needed to put out fires anymore since buildings are fireproof. The firemen “heroically” burn books that encourage critical thought for the good of society. What happens when Montag starts having critical thought? Why are books on my list not on summer reading lists?

On the Road

by Jack Kerouac

Kerouac’s mostly autobiographical novel tells of the spontaneous road trips of Sal Paradise and his friends across America. It is the defining work of the Beat Generation- inspired by jazz, poetry, and drugs- the novel reads like all three at once. It is the story of one man’s pilgrimage for truth and meaning in this crazy world. Have you gone on your own pilgrimage for truth and relevance? What about contentment?

Journey to the West

by Wu Cheng’en (translated by W.J.F. Jenner)

A classic Chinese mythological novel based on traditional folktales. We learn about the birth of the Monkey King and his rebellion against Heaven, about the birth of Sanzang and why he is searching for the scriptures, as well as his preparations for the journey. It tells the adventures of Sanzang, a priest, and his three disciples: Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand. Will good triumph over evil? What must we overcome to defeat it?

The Lord of the Rings

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s epic masterpiece was originally released as trilogy, however, you must read all three books to get the entire story: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King. Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule over all. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. What happens when absolute power is accessible to men? What can one small person do in this big world?

Titus Andronicus

by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy that depicts a Roman general who is engaged in a cycle of revenge with Tamora, the Queen of the Goths. After returning from a triumphant war with the Goths and the recent death of the emperor, the people of Rome declare that Titus is the new emperor. He declines and graciously gives the throne to the emperor’s eldest son Saturninus. Titus gives Tamora over to the emperor as a slave, he chooses to elevate Tamora to his queen. What happens when the people you served loyally turns on you in revenge? Can there be justice in revenge?

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck’s epic novel is set during the Great Depression, and focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers, the Joads. They are driven from their home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in the agriculture industry. In a nearly hopeless situation, they set out for California’s Central Valley along with thousands of others in search of land, jobs, and dignity. What happens to those in desperation? Will they hold to their principals or throw them out for what is expedient?

Night On the Galactic Railroad

by Kenji Miyazawa

Miyazawa’s most beloved work has sometimes been translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars, or Fantasy Railroad In The Stars. Giovanni is a boy from a poor family, working hard to feed his sick mother. His kind friend Campanella cares for him in spite of others that bully him. Giovanni and Campanella end up on a train that goes on a fantastic journey through the Milky Way. What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to face death?

The Book of Five Rings
by Miyamoto Musashi (translated by William Scott Wilson)
A classic treatise on the Way of the Martial Arts written by the legendary Samurai, Musashi! The skills taught in this book go beyond the battlefield and are useful anytime, anywhere.

Zen and the Love of Nature
by D.T. Suzuki
Considered a leading authority on Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki uses simple, often lyrical language, as well as poetry and anecdotes, to give the reader a new appreciation of nature and the world around us.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
by Scott McCloud
Highly recommended by many comic book artists and writers: its a comic book about comic books. McCloud explains the details of how comics work. His answers go beyond comics and answers how to compose, read, and understand other visual languages as well.

Holy Bible
by the All-loving Almighty Creator God
The central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The Holy Bible is the most influential book on the planet. The Bible transcends all cultures and has shaped the minds (and changed the hearts) of millions of people from every nation and race for centuries.

Darwin’s Black Box
by Michael J Behe
Behe’s thesis: Charles Darwin’s theory of life’s evolution through natural selection and random mutation fails to account for the origin of astonishingly complex biomolecular systems. He argues the systems are irreducibly complex and could not have evolved, but they do demonstrate intelligent design.

Genesis Flood: the Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications
by John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris
Whitcomb, a Geologist, and Morris, an Hydraulic Engineer, start with the premise: the Bible is the infallible Word of God. From there, they present the Biblical record and the scientific implications of the flood. They systematically dissect each implication with science. Their system eliminates the need for contortions of both the Bible and of science.

America: the Last Best Hope (vol.1 and vol. 2)
by Dr. William J. Bennett
Dr. Bennett presents a thorough history of America. He doesn’t revise history into propaganda like many common history books- it presents America’s flaws and triumphs. In spite of our shortcomings, he presents America as the world’s best hope for freedom and liberty.

Great Speeches in History
compiled by Naxos Audiobooks
This audiobook compiles speeches from Socrates, Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, and many more. These speeches fight for justice, for freedom of speech, and sometimes even for their own lives. These orators demonstrate the best use of language in compelling listeners to action and to thought.

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
by Donald Miller
Miller starts with this comparison: I never liked jazz music until I experienced it- I used to not like God until I experience Him. Miller writes about his youth and his vague understanding of a distant God. After coming to know Jesus, he pursued what he thought was the Christian life with great zeal and eventually burned out. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.

A Glimpse of Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred
by Brennan Manning
Brennan points out that self-hatred is the root of what is wrong with almost everything in today’s world. He argues that religion and society has set us up for failure, guilt and self-hatred. He offers a glimpse of Jesus that liberates us from this oppressive failure, guilt, and self-hatred. He teaches us how to love ourselves and others by accepting the love of God.