RIP J. D. Salinger

I just heard on the radio today that J. D. Salinger, exacerbator of teenage angst, has died at age 91. Apparently he was following a diet to live until 120.  When as a teenager, I discovered Salinger, I devoured all his stories I could get my hands on.  Will I encourage my almost 13 year old to read him? Definitely not. Will I prevent him if some day he picks up Catcher in the Rye to read? Probably not.  It's a part of cultural history.  Was Salinger a genius? Probably. Has he lowered the standards of what is taught in high school English class so that teachers look for empathetic characters instead of good literature? I think you could argue that. I should probably reread something by him before saying any more, but Holden Caulfield and all his imitations irritate me as a parent. I guess I'm one of those phonies now.