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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
