I'm interested in the Boys and Reading thread, being a former school teacher. I'm starting a new thread because I'd like to change the focus a tad. I wonder if there is the possible over-categorization of genres by the publishing industry itself, which then influences librarians and teachers, which may influence what school kids get to hear about. A lot of Chandler, Cain, Hammett would, I contend, be extremely interesting for middle and high school kids. But it's considered too Old Boy, perhaps?
Is there a publishing industry "young adult" category for the subject matter this list encompasses? I'd vote to include, for one, S.E. Hinton's tremendous "The Outsiders," on most eighth grade or above reading lists. I read Faulkner's Sanctuary in high school, Wister's The Virginian too. But I might never have heard of some of the core "rara avis" writers except through curiosity whetted by out-of-school movie and television viewing.
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