10 Books for 10 Years Syllabus

 2025: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

In 2025, I’ll be graduating high school and entering a new stage of my life going to university. I’m really excited for the change. However, I’d like to tie up some loose ends before I go. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit, but for the minimum of five times I’ve watched the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie, I only read through half of the book. I began it on my first and only plane ride ever coming back from Taiwan in 2024 and never picked it back up (I’m only 38% in according to my Goodreads). I think it’ll also soothe my nerves that first impressions aren’t the only ones, which will be good as I enter a whole new environment at Detroit Mercy.

2026: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

One year into undergrad, and my youngest sister will be going to college too (I have no idea where) and that’ll be a big change for the family not having anyone in high school. Also, studying for the DAT will take up so much of my time, so I want something short and sweet so I can tell myself “at least you read something!” What better than the mix-ups in The Importance of Being Earnest to convey comedy in confusing situations! I fell in love with Wilde’s writing when I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, so I’m excited to see what he can do, especially in a comedic setting rather than the more serious story of Gray’s hedonistic corruption.

2027: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

My last year of undergraduate studies since I’m in the 7-year dental program at UDM, so I’ll be trying to wrap up my bachelor’s as I enter dental school. I’ll only have to go to school for about three to four days a week, so I’ll have more time to read. So, I’ve decide to read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Regarding the fact that the book isn’t actually that long (431 pages), I normally read classics very slowly due to the difference in language, so it’s a “long book” in respect to how long it’ll take me. And I wanted to read Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo (1000+ pages) as a joke but no one in their right mind could read a book that long as “a joke” and not “a lifelong dedication.”

2028: Gods and Generals by Jeff Shara 

First year of dental school! I chose this book because Mr. Hevel said this is favorite book so I want to read it to get into the mindset of a chemistry scholar because I’ll be taking biochem and orgo chem at the same time. To make myself enjoy the idea of reading this, here is my outlook: I know this is a new stage of life, so I’ll have a “war in my mind” (hahahahha) so I’ll want to read a book about a war. 

2029: Night by Marion Wiesel 

Second year of dental school! This is the busiest year of dental school, so again I won’t have much time to read. I wanted to read Night by Marion Wiesel senior year, but decided against it since it is nonfiction and AP lit is based on fictional books. It is an impactful 120 pages. I’m sure I’ll find the time to read it, but I hope I also get the time to analyze it as well since its meaning is very heavy.

2030: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

This is a lot of dental school… Anyways, third year of dental school! This won’t be as busy as last year, but still very busy, so I’ll be reading a shorter book again. I remember reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck in freshman year of high school with Miss Feldkamp and I really loved how such a short book could hold so much meaning, and how not all endings are happy (or even sad, because in my opinion the ending is ambiguous because it is both good and bad).

2031: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Fourth and last year of dental school! I shouldn’t be too busy, so I’ll be reading a decent length book that is still very impactful. Therefore, I’ve decided to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain. This book is very popular so I want to understand why it is so popular. Is it the language? The vivid story? The meaning behind it? I want to find out, and keep my flame for knowledge burning by keeping up with higher-level reading.

2032: James by Percival Everett

First year graduate, I think I’ll have time to read but probably not as much since I’ll be adjusting to life after education and getting an actual job, so I’ll still get a short book. Also, since this will be a big change in my life not being at school anymore, I wanted to “close up loose ends” like I did senior year with Pride and Prejudice, so I will read James by Percival Everett, which is about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the other boy’s perspective. 

2033: Emma by Jane Austen

Second year out of dental school. I better remind myself that romance actually exists with Emma by Jane Austen. Just kidding, that’s not the only reason. I’ve wanted to read it for so long, but it is a pretty hefty book. Since I’ll be well out of dental school for a year up to this point, hopefully my life will be settling down a bit so I can read this. I’m looking forward to seeing her bright personality shine even in such a dull place, and I hope I can emulate that even in a serious workplace.

2034: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Third year out of dental school, hopefully I have a stable job. Why not shake things up with some instability in my reading life and get an unreliable narrator, like Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. Who is better for unreliability as you watch the guy defend his murders, and later watch the guilt eat him away, and see as he defends what he considers redemption? It’s perfect. It is pretty long, totaling 671 pages, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it.

2035: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Fourth year out of dental school. Since I started off this list with a classic book, I want to end with the most classic of books: Pride and Prejudice. I know, I will have already read it my senior year as I closed all the loose ends of before, but I want to do that same thing on a larger scale. I want to open and close this reading time with the same book to see how my opinions have changed, how my knowledge has grown, and if I still think the same things of before.