I have to disagree with what they are saying about reading the novels. With the exceptions of Julius Caesar and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I didn't enjoy any of the novels the teachers and professors forced down my throat. I ended up resorting to Cliff Notes or asking my friends because the books weren't interesting. They were downright boring. The ones I enjoyed were the ones I found on my own.

The Godfather is one novel I enjoyed very much. But I think that was due to the fact I had seen the movie so many times prior to reading it, that the novel was just adding background information.

I then decided to read The Fortunate Pilgrim since so many, including Puzo, have said it was better than The Godfather. I couldn't disagree more.

Let kids choose what novels they want to read. If they're going to be forced to read, it should be brief (not short by the true definition) stories.