What books would you suggest for building a high school library?

arabesque: What books would you suggest for building a high school library?
My old high school, which my sister currently attends, is building up its library. The school is only four years old, and the library doesn’t have very many books. What books would you consider to be “essential” to a high school library, or any library in general? Or how would you recommend the school go about building up the library?

All suggestions are welcome, thank you.

Note: Twilight is already in the library, as are the Harry Potter and Eragon series.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Wake [Friend of the Searchbar]
Well, the classics, of course. Jane Eyre, The Arabian Nights, Pride and Prejudice, a Separate Peace, etc. Also, I’d stock up on Stephen King (though I don’t read his stuff – I get too scared – he’s an amazing author).

Answer by ♫ Zach [Calculus Lover] ☮
the sun also rises – hemmingway
1984 – orwell
animal farm – orwell
the stand – king
the dark tower series – king
the importance of being ernest – wilde
the adventures of huckleberry finn – twain
the grapes of wrath – steinbeck
just to name a few

Answer by Typical Twilight Fan
WHO NEEDS OTHER BOOKS WHEN THERE’S TWILIGHT!!! GET MORE COPIES!!

TWILIGHT RAWKS MY SAWKS! ALL THE WAY BABY!!1!!1!!

Answer by Solveig
Hi there,

– All the classics, of course – from Shakespeare to Fitzgerald.
– A careful selection of contemporary texts: novels, short story collection, plays and poetry. Not necessarily the texts that sell well, but those with literary merit.
– A proper, big encyclopedia.
– A selection of non-fictional texts, such as biographies of important people (Gandhi, Napoleon, Mother Teresa etc.), travelogues, essays etc.
– Literature for each school subject – basic works about chemistry, physics, languages, politics etc.

Apart from the books, I’d like to see a number of non-paper based media, such as audiobooks, music CDs, DVDs, software etc.

Cheers
S

Answer by DenizenofEvil
Their Eyes Were Watching God is the only thing I can add that hasn’t already been said by the others. Oh, and some of Amy Tan’s books.

Answer by jm3277
Scandalous books about sex, drugs, bitches and AIDS/STDs

Answer by Cakesniffer
Along with all the classics (Bronte, Hemingway, Shakespeare etc.) I would also add books for reluctant readers, like the Lovely Bones or Nick Hornby novels. And lots of poetry and books for the ‘troubled kids’ like Ellen Hopkins. And finally, one book I think every high school library should have: PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky. Every high school kid should read that. Don’t shy away from books that might be considered risqué by picky parents.

Answer by OnTheOriginOfSpecies
For building any large structure I would recommend hardcover books. Paperbacks generally aren’t good load bearing structures. They’re also more susceptible to rain. Be sure that the ones on the exterior have laminated jackets to protect the library from the elements.

As for how you would build up the library, first you need to hire a good contractor. Look at his previous works beforehand and ask residents of the places he’s worked on whether or not he was any good. Do not just hire the contractor with the lowest bid; that’s just asking for trouble.

If you can find a good contractor who has worked on a literary structure before, all the better for you.

Good luck building your library!
=)

Answer by T.S.R.: Stuck in Velvet Snow
I know -I- would have to have access to books by Kurt Vonnegut, -certain- Palahniuk books (some are too racy–might cause problems with the parents), and Tim O’Brien books

-Flannery O’Connor’s complete works
-Steinbeck
-Thoreau
-“Don Quixote”
-Alexandre Dumas
-“Peter Pan”
-“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
-“Things Fall Apart”
-“A Grain of Wheat”
-“The Motorcycle Diaries”
-“The Rum Diary” and other works by Hunter S. Thompson.

Answer by Music Man
fretboard logic SE 1 & 2

Every penthouse magazine ever

American Psycho

Answer by Raquel L
I think a book that has a moral lessons and teach the good values

Answer by reader
Here are links to the two largest book distributors in the U.S., both of whom have school library supply programs:
https://www.btol.com/s_library.cfm

Below is an interesting site where you can purchase used books very inexpensively, often cheaper than wholesale new, and the shipping is really low too. On top of that it serves a charitable cause. Your school may or may not find it useful. I just wanted to throw it out there because I recently found it and thought it was cool.
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/List.aspx?Category_ID=17&

Here are a variety of decent lists, ranging from teen reads, to AP suggestions, to just general great books lists. If nothing else they may serve as a reminder of all that is out there.

https://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/grtother.html#great

https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/ap-literature

I hope at least some of this is useful to you.

Answer by The Duck
The high school staple reading material: Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World, 1984, Great Gatsby, Crucible, Shakespearean plays etc etc
You’d need good, thought provoking/ controversial non fiction …and just good non fiction.

Edit: Oh, you’re already loaded with sites. Never mind!

Answer by Jess S
This book is bound to help one out of a million children but that child will claim everything they learnt was in that book. Its called Alien abducted my maths class and taught me how to be an author.
Trust me! Every libary must have it!

Answer by ζάω θυσία
Nicholas Sparks writes great books (He wrote ‘the Notebook’ and ‘a walk to remember’), Meg cabot is great too. Those are 2 of my favorites, along with Shannon Hale.

Answer by Toadish
Books on presidents for civics class