“What’s weird to me is that a lot of genres are taken off reading lists as an option, because it’s one thing to say, ‘oh, writing this, you’d probably fail. Writing science fiction short fiction is hard.’ Okay, fair. But am I going to do bad reading it?”
No matter their major, every student has an opinion on how their classes should be run. From humanities to STEM and everything in between, we’ve developed ideas on the best texts to read, the most useful assignments, and even the most ideal class section to sign up for. Each opinion is unique and even sometimes at odds with those of our friends, classmates, and professors. One thing all undergraduate University of Michigan students have in common, though, is that we have to take writing classes. Some degrees require more English classes than others, but there’s always at least a couple thrown in the mix.
As a creative writing major, I think a lot about the texts I study for classes, the various types of writing I’m both encouraged to try and discouraged from exploring, and what kinds of books to read to enrich my free time. Since everyone I know has some degree of experience with the literary world, I thought it would be interesting to find out if the opinions of my fellow Michigan students align or conflict with my own. I sat down with three of my friends – Noah, Dhanuj, and Taylor – and we discussed all of our experiences with the world of English. In particular, we talked about what we took away from our high school English classes, our takes on “non-literary” genres (fantasy, horror, romance, etc.), and, to close it all out, the books we read in our free time. Tune in below.
Most popular genres by consumption in 2017. From publishedtodeath.com
List of most common high school English books as listed on Google, excluding works by Shakespeare:
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Great Gatsby
The Catcher in the Rye
Lord of the Flies
1984
Animal Farm
Of Mice and Men
Brave New World
The Scarlet Letter
Fahrenheit 451
The Grapes of Wrath
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Great Expectations
Heart of Darkness
A Separate Peace
Death of a Salesman
The Crucible
Things Fall Apart
A Tale of Two Cities
The Outsiders
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Catch-22
The House on Mango Street
The Things They Carried
The Joy Luck Club
The Kite Runner
Invisible Man
The Awakening
The Canterbury Tales
Ethan Frome
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Speak
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Good Earth
As I Lay Dying
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Beowulf
The Jungle
The Glass Menagerie
The Pearl
The Chosen
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Music was sourced from freesound.org. Specific sounds can be found at the pages belonging to the users ispeakwaves, Kodak, and wi-photos.
