Appallingly? I am not sure how else it would be ordered? A random order would be rough. The kids would have to scan through the list in order to find the book they read to rate and date the entry.
Almost any other order would be better, though I agree that a truly random order would be slightly worse. These are mostly fiction, so in the library they are shelved by the author's surname. (If this idea didn't occur to you, presumably you have never been in a library, which makes me wonder why you are commenting at all.) You could also group them by century, by original language, by country of origin, by mood, by difficulty, by length, or by primary themes. Any of those would be superior in suggesting to you what books you might want to read next on the basis of books you had already read.
While we're at it, just listing that information for each title would also be very valuable, even without reordering the list.
I mean, if you're up to reading Brave New World, I'd think that scanning through a list to rate and date isn't that difficult.
Aside: The rating and date for reading is just strange for this level of reader, also the having an adult sign off on it. It just seems so juvenile for anyone that is really reading Don Quixote, Lord of the Flies, or many of the other books in the list. Something like a 4th grader would need to do, not a 17 year old. I get that it's mostly following the formula from the earlier grade levels, but still, it should be revised.
Thank you for sharing the link, I embedded it a few times. How the list is interesting (alphabetical) - I wonder how they are rated by Mensa grade 9-12 year olds overall
Not just middlebrow, old middlebrow. The Good Earth? The Nine Taylors? This is every college educated boomer’s aspirational reading list, a mix of books they liked and books they’ll never read.
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Though the blog post is more thoughtful and reflective, here's the actual reading list (PDF warning): https://www.mensaforkids.org/achieve/excellence-in-reading/e...
Appallingly, it's alphabetized by title.
Appallingly? I am not sure how else it would be ordered? A random order would be rough. The kids would have to scan through the list in order to find the book they read to rate and date the entry.
Almost any other order would be better, though I agree that a truly random order would be slightly worse. These are mostly fiction, so in the library they are shelved by the author's surname. (If this idea didn't occur to you, presumably you have never been in a library, which makes me wonder why you are commenting at all.) You could also group them by century, by original language, by country of origin, by mood, by difficulty, by length, or by primary themes. Any of those would be superior in suggesting to you what books you might want to read next on the basis of books you had already read.
While we're at it, just listing that information for each title would also be very valuable, even without reordering the list.
Author's last name I think.
I mean, if you're up to reading Brave New World, I'd think that scanning through a list to rate and date isn't that difficult.
Aside: The rating and date for reading is just strange for this level of reader, also the having an adult sign off on it. It just seems so juvenile for anyone that is really reading Don Quixote, Lord of the Flies, or many of the other books in the list. Something like a 4th grader would need to do, not a 17 year old. I get that it's mostly following the formula from the earlier grade levels, but still, it should be revised.
Thank you for sharing the link, I embedded it a few times. How the list is interesting (alphabetical) - I wonder how they are rated by Mensa grade 9-12 year olds overall
Surprisingly middlebrow.
Ha!
Honestly, that could be the tagline for MENSA as a whole.
Not just middlebrow, old middlebrow. The Good Earth? The Nine Taylors? This is every college educated boomer’s aspirational reading list, a mix of books they liked and books they’ll never read.