9 Books I've Been Assigned for the Fall 2021 Semester

Given yesterday's post, I thought I'd share the books I've been assigned for this semester. I want to say that I am very excited for the reading I have for this semester. When I'm writing this point, it's mid-July, so I haven't actually begun my semester. (I am actually writing this post on July 13,  exactly 2 months before this post will be published.) By the time this post is published, I have most likely begun a few of these books.

So here are 9 books I've been assigned to read for the Fall 2021 Semester:

1. Europe and the Making of Modernity, Robin W. Winks and Joan Neuberger
2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Simon Armitage (translator)
3. The Song of Roland, W.S. Merwin (translator)
4. The Last Duel, Eric Jager
5. Chronicles, Jean Froissart
6. Joan of Arc, Helen Castor
7. The Ladies' Paradise, Emile Zola, Brian Nelson (translator)
8. Beowulf and Other Old English Poems, Constance B. Hieatt (translator)
9. Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Why I Include Assigned School Reading in my Goodreads Reading Challenge

This is something that many of my reader friends get confused about: why I include assigned school reading in my Goodreads reading challenge. For me, the answer is (for the most) simple: most of the books I'm assigned in school relate to topics I'm already interested in.

However, this hasn't always been the case. First off, I haven't always been on Goodreads. That's something I started recently. Secondly, before I started university, I wasn't interested in many of the books I was reading.

When I entered university, I immediately knew that I wanted to major in history. As a result, throughout my 4.5 years at university, I've read a lot of history books. While this is something I've been doing since high school, I've been able to find history books I haven't read or seen around a lot.

Assigned books in college-level and university-level courses directly relate to the class. Additionally, lecturers and professors aren't assigning books just for the sake of assigning books. They choose those books with careful forethought so that it really relates to the course and helps the students learn more.

For me, this is why I include assigned school reading in my Goodreads reading challenge. It may be a bit long-winded, but I wanted to cover as much of the explanation as I could for everyone to understand.

5 Suggestions for Students to Tackle Any Assigned Reading

This is my last post on the topic of assigned reading for now. With all the other posts wrapped up and published, it's about time that I gave students suggestions for approaching their assigned reading.

Assigned reading can be difficult, especially if reading isn't something you're too keen on. So here are 5 suggestions for approaching and tackling any assigned reading you have for any classes.

Suggestion 1: If necessary, order your books as soon as you can.

If you're at a level in school where you need to order your books, order them as soon as possible when you get the reading list. That way, your books come near the start of the semester rather than halfway through.

Suggestion 2: Look around at other buying options.

If your books are shown through a site like eFollett or similar school books buying website, it may be useful to look around at other websites and stores that sell books. (Think Amazon and Barnes & Noble.) You may find cheaper options at other sites.

Suggestion 3: Don't leave the reading to the last minute.

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it's one of the most helpful suggestions. Leaving your assigned reading to the last minute will only stress you out, and it'll lend to a not-so-good grade. (It may be a passing grade, but that doesn't always mean good.) Additionally, you won't remember the key points of the book if it to the last minute.

Suggestion 4: If something confuses you, reach out to your teacher.

It's likely that a certain part of the read may confuse you. If this happens, your best is to reach out to your teacher. Your teacher knows what they want you to take from the reading and how you should interpret it in context with the class.

Suggestion 5: Take notes on the reading.

Taking notes on the reading will help you remember important points of the reading. The notes don't have to be super detailed or long, but the notes will still help you out in the long run.

4 Suggestions for Teachers Hoping to Assign Reading

At this point, you may be tired of seeing my school-related posts. However, because it's August, I want to send out help to those in school, like myself, and need tips and suggestions. I also try to include teachers and professors in posts like this because they made need some fresh insights into an upcoming semester or year.

I plan to do one more post for tomorrow, August 20, to give students suggestions for tackling any assigned reading they have for their classes.

Here are 4 suggestions for teachers hoping to assign reading.

Suggestion 1: Assign books that will benefit the students' understanding of the class.

If you're assigning Jane Eyre for a Middle Eastern history class, that does nothing for the students' understanding of the class. Yes, this was a dramatic example, but you get the point. Make sure that any assigned books have something to do with the course material and help the students better understand the material.

Suggestion 2: Avoid assigning books just for busywork.

Assigning books just for the sake of assigning books to read does nothing for students. And more likely than not, this will be one of many factors leading to the habit of not reading for future classes (depending on how much schooling the student has left). Even if the book helps the student understand the course better, don't assign it just to assign it. Maybe create a small quiz to see if students read it, or do a little notecard assignment asking what students thought about the book. You can even do an essay.

Just avoid assigning books just for busywork.

Suggestion 3: Don't assign much, if any, reading during the last couple of weeks during the semester.

The last couple of weeks of the semester are the most stressful for students. We're studying for exams, trying to finish up papers, and so much more. Assigning new reading during those last few weeks does not do any good for your students. If it's finishing up a book, then that's fine. But don't assign a whole new book during the last couple of weeks.

Suggestion 4: Read the book before you assign it for your class.

Yes, a book may be relevant to your class. But if you don't read it for yourself, you won't know for sure. Additionally, you may also see that, while relevant to the class, only a couple of chapters really help get the class material across. So you may want to assign only specific chapters of a book. Again, this is something you won't know unless you read the book.

4 Benefits and 4 Drawbacks of Assigned School Reading

Given yesterday's post, I thought I'd do a post like this. As with anything, there are benefits and drawbacks, as the title of this post suggests, of assigned school reading.

You may be thinking, "Yeah, sure HBR. You're just saying that there are benefits." No, I'm not just saying it. That's what this post is addressing.

Here are 4 benefits and 4 drawbacks of assigned school reading. I'm not going to go into detail about each benefit and drawback in the hopes of keeping this post short. I hope you enjoy it.

Benefit 1: You may find a new favorite book.

Benefit 2: You can learn something new.

Benefit 3: It gives your mind something to think about.

Benefit 4: It helps you understand your class better.

Drawback 1: The assigned book(s) may not have anything to do with the class.

Drawback 2: The book may have issues (outdated, no trigger warnings, etc.) that you weren't made aware of for whatever reason.

Drawback 3: If nothing comes from the assigned reading (quiz, essay, etc.), then your time reading it was wasted (i.e., it was assigned as busywork).

Drawback 4: Oftentimes, you're spending money on the books you've been assigned only to get rid of them afterward.

My Thoughts on Assigned School Reading

Assigned reading in classes is a bit of a contested topic. More often than not, you hear students, current and former, saying that they hated the books they were assigned to read during school.

There was a point in time where I thought that assigned school reading was only a drag, despite how much I love reading. I often didn't enjoy the assigned books. Consequently, it made me not want to read, even for fun.

So what are my thoughts on assigned reading? I think that there's a time and place for it.

Assigned reading is a very touchy topic for some people. Usually, the reason is the sole fact that they were forced to read to get a passing grade or higher in the class. There are some classes where assigned readings are absolutely perfect. However, there are other classes with assigned reading that make me pause and ask why there's assigned reading.

Classes that I think can make good use of assigned reading:

1. History
2. English
3. Religion/Religious Studies
4. Language (to an extent)

Classes that should not have assigned reading:

1. Math
2. Certain sciences
3. Certain arts courses

Whether or not the class should have assigned reading is, in my opinion, highly dependant on the class itself. If you're a teacher and professor reading this, it may be best to recommend books to read rather than assign them. At the very least, you can assign only the specific chapters that relate to what you're teaching rather than an entire book.