Loved:
2. Macbeth by William Shakespeare - Macbeth was 11th grade and I was enthralled. My 11th grade English teacher was one of my favorite teachers and the way she taught this play is why. I had read a number of Shakespeare's plays before this point in other classes but for Macbeth we listened to a radio adaptation and every once in awhile she would pause it and we'd discuss meanings and what what was going on. This is by far my favorite of Shakespeare's work.
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I read this in 9th grade and loved it. I did seek out more about Fitzgerald and read several books on him and on Zelda as well as more of his work. I did discover that he seems to use the same theme repeatedly but it's still one of my favorite time periods. I listened to the book not to long ago and was surprised by just how dark it was. I remembered that it wasn't an upper but I hadn't realized just how grim it was.
4. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole - In my AP English class my senior year of high school we each had to write a major paper at the end of the year from a given topic. Mine ended up being The Introduction of Gothic-ism into English Literature with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. I didn't end up doing all that well on the paper (her grading seemed to be based on how well she liked the student - I wasn't a favorite. I never made anything less than an A on any paper I wrote in college but in that class I couldn't make higher than an 80) but I did love the book.
5. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - This was another book I read in 12th grade. In my high school 12th grade was International Literature and Madame Bovary was a welcome relief in between all the Russian authors we were reading. I don't remember all that much about the book itself other than that it was incredibly readable and I felt sorry for the main character as she didn't seem like a person who could actually ever be happy.
Hated:
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - This was 9th grade and I hated this book. My summary was "Pip is poor and he complains and then he's rich and he complains and then he's poor again and still complaining". I actually attempted to reread it earlier this year and my summary wasn't all that different. The main difference between 14 year old me and 36 year old me is that this version can appreciate Dickens' writing whereas 14 year old me just hated it all.
3. The Pearl by John Steinbeck - In general I really enjoy Steinbeck's works but I don't know what this mess was. It's so different from his usual matter of fact everyman kind of story. I don't know anyone who has enjoyed this one.
4. Absalom Absalom by William Faulkner - This may make me lose my Southern card but I'm not a fan of Faulkner. No sentence should take up 3 pages. It just shouldn't! In general I'm not a huge fan of any of his work but Absalom, Absalom especially brings back bad memories. He does this delightful little thing where he changes narrators without letting you know so it just ends up seriously confusing. I have no idea what this book was about and if I recall even the Cliff Notes (do people still use those?) stated that the book was confusing.
5. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I actually find the basic story interesting and like all that it shows about religion and class and social stigma. It would've been a fantastic short story but slogging through all the pages of wandering made me develop a rather strong dislike for Hawthorne!
So what about you? Did you have any required reading that you loved? Or any that still give you nightmares? Any books on my list that you felt the opposite about?
So what about you? Did you have any required reading that you loved? Or any that still give you nightmares? Any books on my list that you felt the opposite about?
I loved Of Mice and Men too. Other I liked were The Color Purple and Catcher in the Rye. I didn't like the Ernest Hemingway books I had to read. Great list!!
ReplyDeleteI need to read Hemingway. I don't really expect to enjoy them but I feel like I should at least try them!
DeleteMan my list would look almost identical to yours lol! I ADORED of Mice and Men. I loved the great Gatsby. The Pearl was torture as was Great Expectations. I'm on the fence about the Scarlet Letter though. I neither loved nor hated it. Oh Macbeth was great too - haven't read the others. One for my hated list - Of Crime and Punishment. Geez that book was a hard read. I don't know how I'd feel reading it now... But good luck getting me to ever try again!
ReplyDeleteCrime and Punishment almost made the list. That was not a fun read!
DeleteI hated most of these books. Well, the ones we had to read. The Scarlet Letter, Macbeth, Of Mice and Men, Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby. I hated them all. The only few books I liked that we had to read in high school were To Kill a Mockingbird (I loved that one), and Mythology by Edith Hamilton which was all these Greek Myths. Gosh, those might have been the only books I liked. Well, we did read Pygmalion in class because it is a play, and I liked that one. And I didn't hate Romeo and Juliet, but I didn't love it either. I always wished we read some of Shakespeare's comedies. But it was all about the tragedies.
ReplyDeleteWe read midsummers night dream and I loved it. The tempest was another favorite. I think those were the only comedies we read though.
DeleteNot sure about nightmares, but I hated The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway. It was just about a guy in a boat. I am not sure if it was the time I read it and I would appreciate it more now, but definitely hated it then. lol
ReplyDeleteHemingway is one of those authors that I haven't read but for some reason really feel like I should. I think I might try something other than The Old Man and the Sea.
DeleteI absolutely loved Macbeth but I think it helped that my teacher was fantastic at teaching Shakespeare and really just literature in general. It’s funny looking back that all of my favorite books that were required reading were taught by amazing teachers. (I absolutely hated To Kill a Mockingbird at the time but love it now...I also hated that teacher). I also hated The Pearl so add me to that list too lol
ReplyDeleteThe Pearl was terrible. So was Lord of the Flies which I reread last summer and it was still awful.
ReplyDeleteI've decided not to do this one as we've read too many Afrikaans books and what will you guys know about it. I've spend half the day on my celebrating 100 posts post (uhhh - just read it again) and didn't have time to do a proper TTT. BUT I want to let you know that I've mentioned you in my post! Here it is: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/08/10-x-10-1-101th-dalmation-give-it-sniff.html
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny, it seems that a lot of these books are making everyone's lists this week, but it's fun to see that every other list has it on a list of great books, and the other half has it on school books they hated :p
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
Of Mice and Men kicked off a lifelong distaste for Steinbeck for me (I've got a copy of East of Eden that I'm hoping will change my mind on him when I read it). I've got The Scarlet Letter on my list too...as a loved book! It's so interesting to see how the same books are read so differently by so many people at about the same age...I actually wonder if we'd feel the same way about them if we read them at a different age (even though it didn't seem to make a difference for you with Great Expectations
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! I distrusted Steinbeck for decades as well (after Of Mice & Men, Cannery Row, and The Red Pony), then wound up reading The Grapes of Wrath as an adult and being absolutely blown away. The Scarlet Letter is one of my favorites as well!
DeleteI've never read The Great Gatsby although I think the time period is fascinating. For some reason this wasn't on our required reading in high school, not sure why. Seems like it would be. I remember the required poetry we had to read more than I remember the books since I hated the poetry (I appreciate it more now but am still not a fan). :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how required reading can stick with you.
ReplyDeleteI had to read Of Mice and Men in grade 12, and I agree it's a book that leaves its mark. I think the same can be said about A Street Car Named Desire and To Kill a Mockingbird(which we actually had to read in grad 8 and 10).
I hate whenever we did Shakespeare. Not a fan. Thankfully we only studied a few of his plays throughout the year.
I'm sad The Great Gatsby was never required. I didn't read it till I was an adult.
I have a feeling that our school wasn't much on reading books cause I can only remember Red Badge of Courage and I hated it....lol.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I hated required reading when I was in school. I love the idea that you made your own required reading list. Now you have my wheels spinning and I might try to come up with a list of books that I want to finally read.
ReplyDeleteI also attempted to re-read Great Expectations last year and I could not. I agree with your sentiments about The Scarlet Letter as well. It would have been just as (if not more) powerful as a novella.
ReplyDeleteI don't read much serious literature these days, but when I was in school I definitely preferred the 19th century classics to the 20th century classics.
ReplyDeleteWe also had to read Red Badge of Courage which I enjoyed. To Kill A Mocking Bird was a personal favorite. I adore Dickens. The have re-read quite few when my kids were in high school as a refresher.
ReplyDeleteI also loved The Great Gatsby! To Kill a Mockingbird was my favorite. I remember hating Animal Farm, but I had to read it again in college and I loved it, so go figure. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteFunny, but I agree with you on almost every book (though I did not Walpole, so I must bow out of that discussion). I wonder if I would feel the same way if I read these books now.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 16 and forced to read Brighton Rock, The Pardoner's Tale (Canterbury Tales by Chaucer), Paradise Lost, The Bell Jar, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Anthony and Cleopatra in the space of 6 months I had a rant about all these DEPRESSING reads and demanded to know whether exam boards had investments in anti-depressant medication. It looks like nothing has changed... sadly! What about P.G. Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams as school texts?
ReplyDeleteHaha - your reread thoughts on Great Expectations are pretty interesting. It's true how we can appreciate the writing of certain books more once we've got a few more years on ourselves!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for a list! I really liked Madame Bovary too. Although I fall in the opposite camp when it comes to The Scarlet Letter because I liked it too.
ReplyDeleteUgh - The Pearl. Read it when my son read it in high school and it was just a chore. It just felt like depressing heaped on top of depressing.
ReplyDeleteOf Mice and Men might have been one of the first books I cried over. I think I read it in 9th grade myself. Really can't remember. I've always wanted to read The Scarlet Letter, but I see so many bloggers who actually hated it.
ReplyDeleteFirst Kudos to your H.S. for the required reading. I'm with you on M&M and Macbeth, but then you start to lose me. I'm ambivalent on Gatsby (I know, I'm terrible, but I just don't love it). 4 is unknown and I wasn't crazy about Madame B. Then for the second half. I liked Portrait of the Artist, and I have never read a Dickens I didn't like. I haven't read The Pearl, but I usually like Steinbeck. Bit indifferent about Absalom, Absalom! but The Scarlet Letter is a favorite. I didn't read any of these in H.S. however, and I imagine I would have felt differently about some of them. I like how you split your list by the way.
ReplyDeleteOh ack. I had to read a lot of those. And I hated all of them. lol I really did not appreciate being told what to read and when. I bet things would go slightly different now. Heh
ReplyDeleteI think appreciate Of Mice and Men more now than when I had as required reading. Great Gatsby is on my list of love too! I remember having to do a soliloquy from MacBeth for class. I think The Chrysalids by John Wyndham was my least favourite.
ReplyDelete