No. I don't believe that censorship is healthy, and quite often has the opposite effect from what was intended.




Difficult to say. I'd have to think about that for a very long time to decide.




As well as a lot of the frequently-quoted books/authors above, I think it's fair to say that The Lord of the Rings has had a huge impact, if only from an entertainment and business point of view.

And I agree with Greg about Dracula. That book is packed full of ideas and is the blueprint for huge numbers of books,films, tv shows, etc today.




Not so much, I think. Most of the books that other people listed - and I'd have put in myself (Aristotle, Marx, etc) - are too dense for high school reading. University certainly. But I think the books that are read at high school should be a) books that have relevance to teenagers (so To Kill A Mockinbird and The Diary of Anne Frank are good choices) and b) encourage children to read. Those influential books certainly wouldn't do that.




Probably 1984 for a British audience. A lot of what's in there is happening now. It's creepy. There are cameras everywhere in Britain, for example. I can see the same for A Brave New World as well.

To Kill A Mockingbird - it's an effective book, it's easy to understand, and it encourages children to think about issues.

For the rest, I think schools should be encouraged to look to other countries, other cultures for literature. It's a great time to get people to look at and think about the rest of the world. Why not expose school children to Russian, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Australian etc books? Why not get them to read something from Africa, or South America, or a tiny Pacific Island? Get them while they're young.




I don't know about this at all. It wasn't a problem where I'm from and I've not come across it here.




Not in my experience.




I think Shakespeare is over-represented. 1 or 2 at high school age is enough. Study something else, broaden horizons.

It would also be good if schools were able to consider recent authors as well. I understand that setting exams would be more difficult, but a year or two is sufficient. I think we read too much of the old stuff, and while that's useful as a grounding for understanding literature, I don't think that's what a basic English class should be about.




I'd love schools around the world to look at Witi Ihimaera (the chap who wrote Whale Rider). His books are beautifully written, short, and give a good insight into NZ culture.

And then insert my comments about reading other countries' literature in here.




I have no idea.

I might come back to you on that one.