Index > 1 book, 5 movies, 8 albums > "Long pig" is a Polynesian expression for human meat, but they're not cannibals anymore (nt) > I think most of us learned that from Lord of the Flies > I read that book for the first time as an adult

What books are kids forced to read in school these days anyway?

Posted by Ken (@ken) on April 9, 2025, 1:27 a.m.

Are they still the same books we were reading decades ago? You’d think some newer book would enter the rotation after a while.

Lord of the flies feels very dated now. I wouldn’t have any problem if it were dropped from the curriculum. I remember myself and most of my classmates reacting to it with a “this is fine enough i guess” shrug. Most of my class thought “to kill a mockingbird” was very boring, similar reaction to “the Great Gatsby”. Most of my class hated “The Outsiders”. “1984” still holds up. it’s probaly a good thing that they’re exposed to these books when they probably otherwise wouldnt be, but I just wonder if anything newer gets commonly assigned like these classics were for us?