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June 13, 2006

Saddling graduates with Rand--just say no

Oregonian columnist Steve Duin spoke on his blog of giving gift books to his daughter's friend, a recent high school graduate headed off to college.

Duin listed a set of sports books to play to the interest of the graduate-in-question:

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss Counting Coup, by Larry Colton Wishful Thinking, by Frederick Buechner And my collection of columns on family and parenting, Father Time. (Hey, he knows several of the main characters.)

The near misses? The Fountainhead. Vladmir Nabokov's Lolita. A boxed set of William Faulkner. All of which got me to thinking: What did I miss? What books do you wish you'd handed to the nearest high-school graduate? Which books deserve to be handed down, again and again, to the next generation?

I wouldn't wish The Fountainhead on my worst enemy. Ayn Rand is such a chore. And frankly, he'd be better off with a hot pot.

But if you have to give Rand--at least balance it with The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

Any other suggestions?

Posted by Carla at June 13, 2006 08:48 AM