While I can certainly agree that books like Beowulf, Anna Karenina, and Ulysses are major tasks to undertake in today's world, other classics should be pressed on by teachers. The Razor's Edge, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Outsiders, A Moveave Feast, Lord of the Flies. I would assume that even in the current Bach of Education or a MFA must still read such books, know them and should continue to teach them. I'm not a teacher and don't know of the effectiveness of podcast book reviews and such, but what's wrong with holding to the format of assigning a book and a review? I bet 1/3 third of a class that gets one of those classics assigned becomes a reader for life.