MACBETH WAS THE PLAY THAT GOT ME INTO SHAKESPEARE, COURTESY OF A TEACHER WHO INSISTED WE READ IT: Teens should read great (but hard) books: ‘Macbeth’ is better than ‘Hunger Games.’ “English teachers don’t assign many books these days, only 2.7 per year, according to a New York Times survey, she writes. When students are asked to read more than a brief excerpt, ‘the most common high school books tend to be short, relatively modern works like The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, and Night, as well as a smattering of Shakespeare.'”