Channel Button

There are 116 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #4 by Helium's members.

Arts & Humanities   >

Literature (Other)

Get a Widget for this title

Top five books everyone must read and why

5 BOOKS EVERY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SHOULD READ

There are not exactly five books on this list; selected works by a certain author that are related will be combined into one focus of study.
These books I believe should be part of the high school curriculum;

1."The Fountain Head" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand:
These two masterpieces should be read in grades 11 and 12 respectively.


They demonstrate the power of will, define the mind and give intellectual value to currency (weather it be monetary, emotional, physical or psychological).
Morality and Integrity are essential lessons for today's youth, especially in our
global consumer culture. Though there are some fundemental flaws with Rands
philosophy, they easy to pick out and are great topics for essays. Above anything else, they motivate the reader to be productive and become creators within society, to make their own lives how they see fit. 1,700 pages of raw, violent empowerment.

2."Science and Sanity - an introduction to non-aristotelean systems and general semantics", by Alfred Korzybski:
This I recommend to be read purely out of interest, this work shows how language can be misleading and how our maps of the world can be used to limit us. Essential to understanding to world around us.

3."The Illuminatus Trilogy" and "The Schrdinger's Cat Trilogy" by Robert Anton Wilson;
Illuminatus is a must read in order to fully understand Schrdinger's Cat; It's a pre-req if you wish. It's a wild ride that never stops and totally impossible pry out of your finders. A witty combination of mystery, science fiction, pop-culture and 60's mysticism. Schrdinger's Cat is the novelization of quantum physics.
This work takes modern quantum theory and gracefully turns it into a cult master piece, gripping and more subtle puns then swiss cheese has holes. Both works reveal Wilson's genius, enlightening with laughter. (I would recommend that before embarking on Schrdinger's Cat, read "Hyperspace" by Michio Kaku or "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking).

4."Brave New World" and "Island" by Aldous Huxley;
His prose is more involving then Orwell's and less depressing (As far as classical futurist's go.). [Has anyone heard of a bright out look for the future?]

5. "The Little Prince" or "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupry;
An exposition on life and love, as seen threw the eyes of a child. This book emphasizes the "inner child" in all of us and can be interpreted in many ways, extremely philosophical, subtly intelligent juxtaposed by its innocence. It immortalized and re-enforces the old saying "All work and no play make jack a dull boy" (and a little psycho).

Learn more about this author, J.K. Chaoboye.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Top five books everyone must read and why

  • 1 of 116

    by Sebastian Vallejo

    To narrow down the history of literature to five must-read books is an ambitious challenge. There are certainly more than

    read more

  • 2 of 116

    by Paul Lines

    If there are a hundred articles in response to this question, it is likely that there will be over 40 different titles listed.

    read more

  • 3 of 116

    by AJ Clayton

    When thinking about the top five books that I believe everyone should read, I first asked myself why should they read them?

    read more

  • 4 of 116

    by J.K. Chaoboye

    5 BOOKS EVERY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SHOULD READ

    There are not exactly five books on this list; selected works by a certain

    read more

  • 5 of 116

    by Chad Cowgill

    It is a hard enough decision to choose five favorite books by one author alone, so it is incredibly difficult to choose five

    read more

View All Articles on:
Top five books everyone must read and why

Add your voice

Know something about Top five books everyone must read and why?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Is it better to write a poem based on experience or based on opinion?

Click for your side.

87038

Featured Partner

Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a non-profit organization dedicated to using technology to improve the lives of people in low-income c...more

What is Helium? | Buy Web Content | Contact Us | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA | User Tools | Help | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA