Read 10 Classics Before College

Whether you’re about to take SAT’s or have already taken them and are waiting to hear from colleges, it will always be a benefit to make a reading list of 10 “classics” that you have never had the time to read in high school. How about Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Virgil’s Aeneid, or any Charles Dickens novel? Not only will you build your vocabulary, you will be better prepared to discuss literature with your college interviewers or college professors. Michele just read Jay Parini’s excellent book on Herman Melville,The Passages of HM, and then plowed through almost all of Melville’s works including Moby Dick which is an amazing read. Mimi is deep into Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra: A Life.

Most students arrive to even the top colleges with little knowledge of the classics. There are many fine versions available nowadays to help students understand tough literature — try the Norton Critical Editions or the Twayne’s Masterwork series, both offer in-depth historical information, essays about the book and other helpful information. College students should invest in these as well as they will provide many tips for strong papers and background information.

Do check out the Adult Great Book’s program’s Fifth Series 3 Volumes (Fifth 1, Fifth 2, and Fifth 3 Series): The Great Books Reading & Discussion Program with “Reader Aid” (Paperback) by The Great Books Foundation. You can buy the entire set at the Great Books website or call 800-222-5870 to order. You can also find just the Fifth series on Amazon.

The more high level books you read over summer AND do vocab, the higher your critical reading SAT score will be. Also, note this amazing list of summer reads…we are drooling at the idea of being able to read, read, read, this summer! Also, remember that June 16th is Bloomsday. For all you James Joyce scholars – get your Joyce on and read about tweeting Ulysses in Salon.com below.

10 Essential Books for Thought-Provoking Summer Reading—The Atlantic
Books to Bury Yourself In—The New York Times
Indie Booksellers Target Summer’s Best Reads—NPR
Summer reading: The big list—Los Angeles Times
10 Must-Read Summer Books—Newsweek
11 excellent novels for summer reading—Christian Science Monitor
The Ten Hottest Prospects From This Year’s Book Expo—New York Magazine
Top 10 Short Stories of All Time—Hotwire
Tweeting Joyce—Salon