What sff book would you make required reading?

[pogopossum]

I wouldn't make any book required reading.

A reason to require anything is to get enough people familiar with it so that those those people can discuss it as a group. Hard to get a discussion going where only a few know what is being talked about. Or just the nerds, who will read almost anything. In admirable works the subtleties of the presentation gives it much of the value. Hard to communicate that with a lecture.
One of the things that teaching is about is sharing knowledge or culture and there is a presumption that a teacher knows something and should do so. Required reading of "Lit." is a piss poor way to do that. So how to share?
In the sciences learning from the past is a requirement. So you'd better study if you want to learn or go beyond.
In my very short stint teaching it was the one on one encouragement that meant anything. (Probably one of the several reasons I was not good at the job. And it wasn't lit,. it was history) Most teachers would agree that, in addition to discipline, the most difficult job is getting people interested in anything if they are not so inclined.
There are better ways to introduce creations than to say "Read these five." But they require time and skill to bring people to them.

 

[Dave Vicks]

FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Stranger in a Strange Land un-cut. Robert Heinlein.

 

[Bestertester]

A reason to require anything is to get enough people familiar with it so that those those people can discuss it as a group. Hard to get a discussion going where only a few know what is being talked about.

Harder still when everyone knows and only a few care.

Better to have a few who know and everyone involved is interested. You can present the material but you can't make them care.

Sometimes I will refer someone to a specific text in order to shut up a loudmouthed ignoramus. Counter-bullying by credential. More rarely, I will refer someone to a specific text because he actually wants to know. God bless those, but books have limitations.

When someone says to me "obviously you haven't read X" I counter by quoting at length from X, then denouncing it as garbage, and then explaining in detail why it's garbage. That right there is why it's sometimes worthwhile to read garbage.

"Required reading" means nothing outside of context, because what is required depends on what you want to accomplish.

"The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them." - Chekhov

The Boomer Bible, Swarthmorons 15:
14 For you absolutely must remember that no one looks to literature for answers anymore.
15 Educated people everywhere have learned that a delicate and clever rephrasing of the questions is enough,
16 Since we already know the answers anyway,
17 And we don't like the answers,
18 But we're willing to like the questions,
19 Provided they're not phrased too obviously.

 

[pogopossum]

Bttster,
Of course you are right about meaning coming from context.
And that "literature" isn't taken to provide answers.
Remember that the original question was what SFF work might be required.
So, given our field what one would hope for is questions, viewpoints and alternatives.
And a little enjoyment.

If it is read and either the people don't care or, as you described, your knowledge of X allows you to say why it's crap, then purposes have been achieved.

My dad drove a milk truck to get an engineering degree from U of Tulsa. He sent my brother and me to a New England prep school. In an English class 102, we read "Great Works" which included the Communist Manifesto.
I literally do not remember the other (6? 5?) we read. Now I would look at the CM as idealogical fiction although Marx, we know, looked at it as analysis and propoganda (original definition)
Challenged more than a few attitudes, even though few knew enough history to be able to take an predictive ideological tract apart. Of course most students didn't give a crap. But it was an attempt to open eyes. And think.
Which is education. And the teacher tried to provide facts and content. Not take a position.
Which speaks to your 17 and 18.
So my reaction to yours is, again, that there can be a purpose to required reading. And, that other approaches can achieve more.

 

[Matt H.]

“Required” just means agreed upon for the purpose of group discussion.

I think in school and in self-study, a rigorous but non-arrogant approach is best. There are no answers; there seem to be patterns, and we can discuss them -- but ultimately just for general, overall stimulation, not to arrive at a “truth” One persons’ crap is another’s masterpiece – we’ll pay lip service to that fact, but we don’t actually internalize what it means. Btw, The Golden Rule is also not a bad thing – let’s make sure we purge creative and critical pursuits of all the limiting, elitist, ethno-centric crap, that has been poop-ing up “literature” all these years, and make a note of instances of unfairness. It would give it more credibility and make it more likable.

 

[Bestertester]

Perhaps the word "required" is too loaded.

Shall we instead speak of essential reading? A syllabus for an elective?

Or at least eschew any intransitive use of the word "required?"

I distrust intransitives.

 

[Vince W]

I would make The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester part of any school cirriculum. Possibly also The Demolished Man.

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, Watership Down by Richard Adams, and High Rise by J. G. Ballard would all make smashing books to teach.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The Book of the New Sun/The Urth of the New Sun
The Helliconia trilogy
The Silver Metal Lover
Dune
A Wizard of Earthsea
Neuromancer

 

[Justin Swanton]

A Canticle for Liebowitz and 1984, maybe (I did 1984 for my O'Levels). I can't think of an SF novel that has anything like the depth of regular classical fiction. So much of SF deals with impossibilities or issues that don't exist in the real world, and 'required reading for children' IMHO implies books that open their minds to aspects of reality that they will encounter in the years to come. No, they won't encounter self-aware robots that demand to be treated like humans.

 

[Randy M.]

Justin, that seems like a simplistic reading of much s.f./fantasy, and your apparent line of thinking would even deny the relevance of some long-standing mainstream fiction required readings: Few school children will meet old fishermen so no Old Man and the Sea; perhaps more would interact with someone like Lenny in Of Mice and Men but one would think at this time none would be placed in George's dilema, so scratch that novella.

I've mentioned this elsewhere, so please forgive the repetition, but some of what I learned about types from Agatha Christie I found useful while growing up. Certain behaviors and behavior patterns were less surprising for what I'd taken away from her stories, though I would never recommend her to a reader looking for good characterization. I think something similar could be said for Arthur C. Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein and other Golden Age s.f. writers -- certainly, I wouldn't mind seeing a young person reading Kuttner and Moore or Cordwainer Smith for the ways in which their imagination and invention would be stimulated.

And I'd argue that the themes of LOTR are still relevant: Loyalty, ingenuity, courage, persistence in the face of overwhelming force, etc. Similarly something like Harry Potter, which also values loyalty, friendship, knowledge, courage, teamwork, persistence, etc. Those are called on in life at some time (like, say, most of 2020), and these works also acknowledge grief and loss, and pain both physical and emotional. Similarly, I'd put forward Le Guin's Earthsea works, and note that there is a great deal of new fantasy/s.f. not from a predominantly white, middle-class perspective that offers a far more rounded view of how the world is and the future might be as well as examinating and critiquing the present and past world. As an introduction to world literature, they might be more effective than some of what is already required reading.


Randy M.

 

[Raf]

Instead of "required" reading? How about recommended reading from an old Scifi fan to a new scifi fan?

"Required" reading reminds me of 8th grade and the forced trudge...er...reading of "The Great Gatsby" by a student teacher not much older than we were.

So...recommendations? Some of my favorites over the years

Blood Music Greg Bear
The Infinity Concerto Greg Bear
Lord of Light Roger Zelazny
The Uplift War David Brin
Heart of The Comet David Brin & Gregory Benford
Lucifer's Hammer Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

 

[Randy M.]

Raf, the initial impetus of the thread was for school readings. Teachers need to create a common pool of reading experience if they are to create discussions and draw thoughts from their students as to how (if?) the books apply to their lives off in the wild outside of school, hence "required".

Maybe this was stated earlier and better, but a reminder may be due: Maybe we need to acknowledge that no teacher can pick readings for a class that will engage much less excite every student. Pick from the long standing lists of classics and traditional required readings and you lose a lot of readers like those represented on this site; pick from what readers here would have found engaging, and you lose the children who think space ships and talking rabbits too absurd and removed from their daily reality to abstract lessons from; pick from other genres and you lose the kids who find romance icky, or who can't identify with anyone not from or close to their now, or who get too scared by long-legged beasties or anxious considering people of ill will, or bored by the tracking of evidence and the reading of character to find the cause of whatever mystery. It's a tough position, and at best you're only going to engage and excite a small percentage of the children you teach, while trying not to permanently put off the rest in the hopes the next teacher will find the formula to appeal to them.

Randy M.

 

[Raf]

I didn't read as far back as the initial 2018 post. Missed the school connotation. Those are just novels I would recommend to someone newly interested in scifi.

But I don't think "The Great Gatsby" is in any way engaging. Not then, not even now (re-read it a couple of years ago...meh) But it was recommended reading (by the school admin) in 1970 for kids our age.

Honestly, I doubt scifi of any form would have even been considered in a small Bible belt Texas town back then. Devil's work, ya know. Probably why we got what we got, lol.

 

[Dave Vicks]

BEGGARS IN SPAIN by Nancy Kress.

Nueromancer By William Gibson.

 

[Vince W]

The Book of the New Sun/The Urth of the New Sun
The Helliconia trilogy
The Silver Metal Lover
Dune
A Wizard of Earthsea
Neuromancer

^So much this.

 

[Windshadow]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, so please forgive the repetition, but some of what I learned about types from Agatha Christie I found useful while growing up. Certain behaviors and behavior patterns were less surprising for what I'd taken away from her stories,

I take a break from FSF every once in a while with British mysteries of Christie or Sayers they are just pure fun with a guaranty of a wonderful ride.

 

[Justin Swanton]

Justin, that seems like a simplistic reading of much s.f./fantasy, and your apparent line of thinking would even deny the relevance of some long-standing mainstream fiction required readings: Few school children will meet old fishermen so no Old Man and the Sea; perhaps more would interact with someone like Lenny in Of Mice and Men but one would think at this time none would be placed in George's dilema, so scratch that novella.

Well, obviously people won't find themselves in the concrete situations of any piece of fiction, so by that criterium scratch novels from school curriculi altogether. My point about "aspects of reality" is that the themes of most SF novels I know do not correspond to the real world. Isaac Asimov's preoccupation with robotic self-awareness is something that doesn't exist, whereas the persistence and courage of a fisherman are real things that we can identify with. Asimov's Foundation series, to take him again, is all built on the idea that human civilisation is only complete if it is a galactic-wide empire, whereas independent worlds are somehow barbaric and primitive. Which is rubbish.

I've mentioned this elsewhere, so please forgive the repetition, but some of what I learned about types from Agatha Christie I found useful while growing up. Certain behaviors and behavior patterns were less surprising for what I'd taken away from her stories, though I would never recommend her to a reader looking for good characterization. I think something similar could be said for Arthur C. Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein and other Golden Age s.f. writers -- certainly, I wouldn't mind seeing a young person reading Kuttner and Moore or Cordwainer Smith for the ways in which their imagination and invention would be stimulated.

Agatha Christie is certainly more real than the SF novelists you mention. She talks about real people in a real world interacting in real ways, and she has a very perceptive take on human nature. I especially love Jane Marple's maxim: "Never believe anything anyone ever tells you. Check it first." Truer words were never said. I see nothing remotely at her level in Clarke, Asimov or the rest.

And I'd argue that the themes of LOTR are still relevant: Loyalty, ingenuity, courage, persistence in the face of overwhelming force, etc. Similarly something like Harry Potter, which also values loyalty, friendship, knowledge, courage, teamwork, persistence, etc. Those are called on in life at some time (like, say, most of 2020), and these works also acknowledge grief and loss, and pain both physical and emotional.

LOTR borrows much of its world building from English country life at the turn of the century (the Shire), the Anglo-Saxon world (Rohan) and mediaeval society as Tolkien understood it (Gondor). Sure, it's a fantasy world, but it is a rich and deep world because so much of it comes from real human history. SF worlds tend to be much more superficial since they are invented ex nihilo in the author's head. Exceptions would be SF worlds that resemble authentic human societies, like Dune for example. And the more authentic the setting the more authentic the characters, and the more real the themes that are played out.

 

[Stanley Steamboy]

I love SF. I don't think most people feel the same way, as reading a story that examines largely hypothetical problems is not an exercise they desire as a pastime. For many, it is off-putting or comical.

After a lot of thought, the only book that I really think stands out as relevant and interesting to teens is Stephenson's Diamond Age. It examines the ideas of responsibility, education, creativity, technological and social change from a futurist lens - and promotes the value of "doing right" and making personal decisions, but is not an allegory.

There are many fine SF and fantasy stories that enrich the reader with their language and invitation to think of greater worlds, but that is true of a lot of other literature. There are famous SF moral tales that teach a lesson, but the lesson is usually so obvious that reading several hundred pages is just abusive (I'm looking at you, 451). So I went with a novel that is in the near-enough future to relate to our own that both is both aspirational and a warning that the future is never what we expect.

 

[mffanrodders]

I read David Williams's "When The English Fall" a couple of years ago and would not be surprised if that was made required reading in school. A story of compassion in difficult times.

 

[Randy M.]

MattH, somewhat counter to that, I think it depends on the kids and where they're from.

My wife works at a small business that hires young people mainly from around the immediate area. The majority (but not all!) kids seem to have weak work ethics and appear under-motivated. It's an ethnically mixed section of town, not impoverished, but lower middle-class.

I work at a University library. In general, our student workers -- ethnically diverse and they wouldn't be working for us if they or their parents were wealthy enough to pay the tab -- are motivated, have good work ethics, show responsibility and some will ask questions and make suggestions (I think this has more to do with youthful lack of confidence than inability to think). I would note, motivation, energy and team-work mentality has been especially true of the young women we've hired.

Their openness or lack thereof may also depend on who they are talking to. My fellow supervisor is closer in age to our student workers and so I think opening up to him is a bit easier than it is to me.