This would make a fabulous thesis if one actually had the time, patience, and funding for such an endeavor, and if one could come up with an accepted list of 'classic literature.' I had the requisite school reading of course, mostly things in the dystopian and modern lit. genre, all of which are hugely enjoyed by 8th graders and no doubt responsible for the continuing love of reading seen among the millennials. I wanted to be an avid reader but lacked resources and direction. We did have a decent library but I had no one to show me what was good and what wasn't. Everything I read in class only deterred me from seeking out anything considered 'classic.' So I was left to the endless shelves and random chance to select my next book, the result of which was predictable. I did enjoy the Newberry Award nominees every year and found some decent reading therein. But sadly, the main force that kept me reading was the summer program at the library every year. I read to 'win' stuff (and because there wasn't all that much to do when it was 90 outside and the internet had not yet been invented). You read so many pages and then received a piece of disposable plastic in the shape of various kid-friendly creatures or things, definitely worthwhile! At least it eventually lead me to some books worth reading and taught me that reading for its own sake could be rather diverting.
What classic books did I pick up that influenced my development as both a reader and a writer? Our library had a fine collection of Star Wars books, the Dragon Riders of Pern, and that lady that writes horse books (Marguerite Henry). Classics all! As with most young ladies, I thought I had a horse obsession which the latter satisfied, but soon I turned to dragons and interstellar drama (don't we all?). There you have it, the beloved tomes that shaped my own taste for literature. Perhaps I didn't learn all that much about social unrest or repression but I learned to use my imagination and developed an insatiable appetite for literature, good or otherwise. I learned to love Story in any format and to decide for myself what was worth reading and what was not. It was also in a book that I discovered that it is okay to believe in fairies, in fact life is much more interesting and colorful when you can see beyond the ubiquitous beige of suburban life to worlds beyond our own.
It was only in my twenties and even my thirties that I began to read things actually considered classics and found that things english teachers like might not be that bad. I developed a taste for the works of dead Brits and expanded from there. I do not cling to a genre or certain author so much as I look for a good story, strong plot, believable characters and world, and a talented writer. I haven't revisited the favorites of my girlhood however, I still enjoy a couple of the old Star Wars books on rare occasions but as the series evolved and went places I didn't want to go I gave it up, and as there is a new movie in the works that will completely ignore what happened in the books, I figure there isn't much point anymore. As to Pern, I loved the older books available to me at the library, but the newer ones have turned me off completely. The whole point of the books has become to push a certain social agenda which only detracts from an otherwise interesting world. It was like finding smut in Jane Austen sequels, it ruined the whole experience. One does not read Jane Austen for the romantic interludes (described in minute detail!) and any author who seeks to emulate her would be wise to remember this. Neither does one read the Pern books for the torrid love affairs, but sadly that became the focus and a die-hard fan went away disappointed, never to return. And worse, I can't recommend them to my kids, though I was delighted when I discovered them for myself.
I suppose the whole point of this meandering essay is that whatever your kids read, assuming it is not detrimental to their emotional or spiritual wellbeing or their developing english skills, as long as they are reading something, there is hope one day they will develop a real taste for good literature. I started with starships, dragons, and horses and ended with Austen and Shakespeare, there is hope! Keep the flame of reading alive and one day they might surprise you.
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