# What Speculative Stories Did You Have To Read In School?



## Guttersnipe (Jan 8, 2020)

I recently read "The Ruum" by Arthur Porges. With research, I found it is a story often read in literature/English classes, much to my envy. What are some f/sf/h you were assigned to read in school? Here are the only ones I really remember:
"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"The Monster-Maker" by W. C. Morrow
"For the Blood is the Life" by Francis Marion Crawford


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## Lew Rockwell Fan (Jan 8, 2020)

None. That was some time after K/T. I _pushed_ SF. It wasn't pushed at me. I recall a discussion with the High School principle about comparing Brave New World and 1984, but I'm sure it was touched off by what he saw me reading. They weren't hostile to SF, but it wasn't part of any course work. In college, I recall an EH 103 (basically English lit and composition) instructor who was positively sneeringly hostile to SF. I told him that was because he wasn't intellectually equipped to understand it and dropped his course.


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## Jo Zebedee (Jan 8, 2020)

Gobolina the Witch’s Cat, I loved 
CS Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (he’s from here, so I guess that’s why that snuck on) 
We also watched a tv programme everyone loved about an alien who came to Earth


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## tegeus-Cromis (Jan 8, 2020)

*A Canticle for Leibowitz*, 10th grade English. I don't remember a thing that was said in class about it, but I loved it. Gave it to my dad and he loved it too.


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## tegeus-Cromis (Jan 8, 2020)

It's different in college, because you get to choose the courses you take, but I took a class on Latin-American literature in which we had to read some Borges (though I'd read them all before) and some other magic-realist stuff. Also, I convinced one of my media studies profs to let me write a term paper on *Batman: The Dark Knight Returns*. (This was long before colleges started offering courses on comics.)


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## Guttersnipe (Jan 8, 2020)

@Jo Zebedee Out of the Silent Planet is my favorite novel!


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## Jo Zebedee (Jan 8, 2020)

Guttersnipe said:


> @Jo Zebedee Out of the Silent Planet is my favorite novel!


I like his sf works very much. They get sadly overlooked by Narnia


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## AlexH (Jan 8, 2020)

I can't remember having to read any speculative fiction at school. In my final year of high school, we had to write an essay on three books of our choice by the same author. I chose three Terry Pratchett books on the recommendation of a friend. One was The Carpet People. I think the other two were Johnny and the Bomb and The Colour of Magic.


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## Star-child (Jan 8, 2020)

1984, 451 and something Vonnegut were taught. I was given 20,000 Leagues in 5th grade and Dune in 7th by teachers. Wrinkle in Time and Journey to the Center of the Earth were also on offer. University - His Master's Voice, Dark Knight Returns and Neuromancer.


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## HareBrain (Jan 8, 2020)

*Brave New World *by Aldous Huxley. Nothing else that I can recall.


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## Daysman (Jan 8, 2020)

At assembly, my primary school headmaster often read tales from greek mythology (not sure of the source) which tied in nicely to the school's (Xmas?) showing of Harryhausen's _Jason and the Argonauts_...

Secondary school english classes included _*The Hobbit*_, possibly _*1984*_ (though I may have dreamt it) and _*The Lord of the Flies*_*.*

I didn't get to study English literature until much later — the closest thing to speculative fiction that passed our way was _*Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead*_*.*


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## thaddeus6th (Jan 8, 2020)

Reading at school was horrendous.

I remember reading Elidor, largely because there was a BBC TV series of it at the time and someone else nicknamed it Smelidor.


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## elvet (Jan 8, 2020)

*Animal Farm* and *Fahrenheit 451* I'm sure of.
*1984* and *Lord of the Flies* could have just been recommended reading, but I did read them in grade 10.


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## Venusian Broon (Jan 8, 2020)

UK here, and Scottish Secondary School in the early to mid nineteen eighties. We were given 1984, Lord of the Flies & Brave New World. I can't remember any others. 

I would imagine most people my age and geography would have similar choices, given that we all obeyed national curriculums for standard grade English at the time.

Remember 'doing' a lot more plays - Hamlet, A Merchant of Venice and Macbeth. But also Death of a Salesman and The Winslow Boy. But none of them were 'Speculative'. (But then again Hamlet had ghosts and Macbeth had a marching forest, so there is that.)


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## Vince W (Jan 8, 2020)

*1984*, *Brave New World*, *The Lord of the Flies*, and in a special unit *The Day of the Triffids* and *The Chrysalids*.


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## thaddeus6th (Jan 8, 2020)

Oh, now you mention it I did read Animal Farm, but that was at primary school and I enjoyed it a lot more.


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## Venusian Broon (Jan 8, 2020)

Vince W said:


> *1984*, *Brave New World*, *The Lord of the Flies*, and in a special unit *The Day of the Triffids* and *The Chrysalids*.


I just bought the Chrysalids today, as part of my neverending quest to read all SF   

I'm going to argue that a future shock from this comment made me buy it in the past. (Plus it was only £2.50).


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## tinkerdan (Jan 8, 2020)

Not a real lot back in the dark ages. Graduated in 69
I do remember 
Animal Farm by George Orwell
On the Beach  by Nevil Shute

Then there was this thing
1949 August B. Holingshead, _Elmtown's Youth_





						Elmtown's Youth: The Impact of Social Classes on Adolescents: Hollingshead, A.B.: Amazon.com: Books
					

Elmtown's Youth: The Impact of Social Classes on Adolescents [Hollingshead, A.B.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Elmtown's Youth: The Impact of Social Classes on Adolescents



					www.amazon.com
				



It was actually a sociology book--some elements seemed so dark at the time I read it that it was like some dystopic tale.


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## Parson (Jan 9, 2020)

Also graduated in the "Dark Ages."

I know that we read *Animal Farm, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. As far as I remember that was the extent of the speculative fiction I read in High School and none at all in Junior High.

Can't turn the bold off. Sorry*


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## Robert Zwilling (Jan 9, 2020)

Animal Farm, Brave New World, 1984, Lord Of The Flies, couple of short stories by Poe, Tell Tale Heart, Pit And The Pendulum, The Cask Of Amontillado


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## Foxbat (Jan 9, 2020)

Animal Farm, Lord Of The Flies and Golden Apples Of The Sun. I was once caught reading War Of The Worlds instead of what I should have been reading. Got a ticking off but no tawse (luckily).

Like @Venusian Broon (Scottish education) we did a lot of Shakespeare.


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## mosaix (Jan 9, 2020)

*Animal Farm, 1984, One, Lord of the Flies, Midwich Cuckoos* and *The Time Machine. *


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## Elckerlyc (Jan 9, 2020)

I don't recall there being any speculative stories among the mandatory books. I hated most of those books, found them unreadable and tried to make do with any synopses and summaries I could put my hands on. Not surprisingly, I didn't do very well in language at school. 
It took me a while before I started to appreciate language and what you can do with words.

Anyway, I am talking Dutch language here, and back in the 1960's there weren't many Dutch speculative stories available that were esteemed worthy to be listed as required reading.


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## elvet (Jan 9, 2020)

I wonder if there is a generational slant. I see a lot of the same books mentioned—452, 1984, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm. I went to a Catholic high school in the 70’s (in Canada). We did seem to have a more progressive push back then. Our teachers would have just come through the 60’s.


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## Parson (Jan 9, 2020)

I never thought about Edgar Allen Poe ... we were required to read the *Pit And The Pendulum, The Cask Of Amontillado *


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## Pyan (Jan 9, 2020)

_Animal Farm, 1984, Lord of the Flies_, and _The Day of the Triffids_.


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## Lisa_Who (Jan 10, 2020)

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, both in grade school.  They definitely helped inform my reading preferences.


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## -K2- (Jan 10, 2020)

I'm still waiting for that reading list to begin... being young like I am, kinda--not really--maybe a little not. 

K2


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## Robert Zwilling (Jan 10, 2020)

The Lottery strikes a chill, forgot about that one.


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## Steve Harrison (Jan 10, 2020)

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham


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## dask (Jan 10, 2020)

*Fahrenheit 451*, *On The Beach*, *Alas, Babylon*, *A Journey To The Center Of The Earth*, *The Turn Of The Screw*, and *"The Machine Stops"* are about all I can remember.


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## Parson (Jan 10, 2020)

I'm beginning to mistrust my categorization of speculative literature. I read *"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs*. After @Lisa_Who mentioned these I know they were assigned reading liked and remember them fairly well, but hadn't thought to include them in the speculative literature category


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## psikeyhackr (May 31, 2020)

The usual suspects:
Brave New World
1984
Fahrenheit 451
Clarke's short story Rescue Party


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## kythe (May 31, 2020)

I believe my interest in sci fi and fantasy was given a spark by the required reading "*The White Mountains*" *by John Christopher *and "*A Wrinkle in Time*" *by* *Madeleine L'engle*, in 6th grade.  Both of those remain among my favorite book series.

As for speculative fiction more specifically, I believe it was 7th grade Reading where I was introduced to the short story "*All in a Summer Day*" *by Ray Bradbury*.  It haunted me for years, but I didn't remember the author or title until I read "*The Veldt*" *by Ray Bradbury *in a college English class.  I liked that story and looked up his other works, and then connected it with the short story from 7th grade which I had "lost".


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## Boaz (May 31, 2020)

Parson said:


> *Can't turn the bold off. Sorry*


What did God tell Joshua? (Josh. 1:9 TLB) "Yes, be *bold* and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Back on topic...

As @psikeyhackr called them "the usual suspects"... and I agree.  I'm adding in a few philosophical works and speculative non-stories as well.
_1984
Brave New World
Animal Farm
The Lord of the Flies
Utopia
A Pilgrim's Progress
The Consolation of Philosophy
The Wealth of Nations
Bureaucracy
The Affluent Society_


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## Teresa Edgerton (Jun 1, 2020)

*Brave New World
1984
Animal Farm
The Lord of the Flies
Various short stories by Poe
The Lottery
The Monkey's Paw*

Can I count *Macbeth* because of the witches?


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## Extollager (Jun 1, 2020)

*Animal Farm*, I think.  (It was a long time ago.) 

No other sf comes to mind as a required text.  No Ray Bradbury, no Poe.  This was in Oregon, late 1960s-early 1970s.

However, in eighth grade, every other week a little magazine was distributed, and it sometimes had sf.  I wrote a longish article here:



			https://efanzines.com/Fadeaway/Fadeway-61.pdf
		


It starts on page 3.


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## Murderfloof (Jun 4, 2020)

Interesting topic! This came up recently for me, after an older friend and I saw that there will apparently be a Brave New World TV series coming. 

Junior high and high school for me, were in the midwest US in the 80s. In jr high my group read Animal Farm while another group read 1984, and we presented reports and skits to the class so everyone got a general idea of the book they didn't read. At some point we all read The Most Dangerous Game. In high school we read The Lottery, and again teachers went with group presentations: I got Brave New World, IIRC the other group got  Lord of the Flies.

Not much other than that, it was mostly Shakespeare and poetry.


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## sule (Jun 4, 2020)

I vividly remember a course in junior high where we read *"Harrison Bergeron"* and *"'Repent Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"* as it was my first real exposure to contemporary sf. I also read *Alas, Babylon* for history class in high school.


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## Narkalui (Jun 5, 2020)

In Primary School there must have been a fair few that I can't remember, but I do remember enjoying The Fairy Rebel and Farthest-Away Mountain both by Lynne Reid Banks. But I hated The Phantom Toll Booth.

At Secondary School the only one I can remember was a short story about a group of household robots discovering that the last human has died and they form a group endeavouring to stage a coup and ruthlessly seize power ( cue much talk of destroying their rivals). I won't give away the end but it felt very profound. For the life of me I can't remember the title but I'm quite sure it was Roald Dahl.

Oh and we also did The Owl Service and Z For Zechariah which I liked. And at 16 we did a piece comparing Hardy's The Withered Arm with Dickens' The Signalman. I liked the latter, didn't think much of the former.

But the most profound story I read in school wasn't speculative but I can't remember the title of the author (really don't mean to hijack the thread but I'd love to know if anyone knows what it is). It was about a chap walking through the Alaskan wilderness trying to reach civilisation and part I remember most is when he continuously convinces himself that there is a cartridge in the chamber of his bolt action rifle, and every hour or so he has to open the breach and look inside to remind himself that he is out of ammunition. It always stayed with me.


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## Toby Frost (Jun 5, 2020)

When I was really young - about 10, say - a lot of stories we read had a speculative element. I remember _The Hobbit, Over Sea Under Stone, some of Narnia _and_ The Weirdstone of Bresingamen_ being class "reading books", which meant that we didn't really analyse them, but we took turns in reading them to the class. My English teacher was very, very into _The Lord of the Rings_.

Later on, there was_ The Lord of the Flies_ and_ Animal Farm_ (do they count?). However, when I was 18, the only speculative fiction on the syllabus would have been in_ Hamlet _and_ Macbeth_. I wonder if this gradual weeding-out contributes to the view that anything speculative is fundamentally juvenile.


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## Rodders (Jun 5, 2020)

I remember reading Animal Farm in school. We would each have to stand up and read a section aloud. There would them be a discussion afterward about what the book was trying to say. I enjoyed that and it is a book that made you think. 

Androcles and the Lion. I don't remember enjoying that book at all.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 5, 2020)

In grade school, They gave a choice of books that we had to read.  one the books was *Dandelion Wine *by Ray Bradbury . Ive long since forgotten what particulars of the reading assignment were  but, I do recall liking the book.


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## thaddeus6th (Jun 5, 2020)

Rodders, we read Animal Farm at primary school. It's an excellent book, and nice and concise too.


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## HareBrain (Jun 5, 2020)

Toby Frost said:


> However, when I was 18, the only speculative fiction on the syllabus would have been in_ Hamlet _and_ Macbeth_.



There's plenty of hardcore sorcery in other Shakespeare, notably the kind that renders male and female cousins indistinguishable if they wear similar hats.

Also, Thomas Hardy is actually set in a distant post-apocalyptic future, one where all memory of the Bad Times has faded, leaving only a deep residual despair and terrible, terrible luck.


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## Toby Frost (Jun 5, 2020)

HareBrain said:


> Also, Thomas Hardy is actually set in a distant post-apocalyptic future, one where all memory of the Bad Times has faded, leaving only a deep residual despair and terrible, terrible luck.



I always saw it as an alternative present in which every single person and object had been individually cursed by vengeful pagan gods.


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## hitmouse (Jun 6, 2020)

Secondary school:
Chrysalids
The Aerodrome
Lord of the Flies

And a pure sf novel of which I have intriguing fragments but not enough to put on Book Search. 

Our English teaching was absolutely superb. Everyone was reading and sharing so much sf/f anyway, that a  bit of lit fic and Shakespeare well-taught was quite nice.


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