Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists. Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups! Today's topic is Books I Was Assigned to Read in School. I didn't really have much assigned reading in college as my degree didn't require many literature classes so I'm having to really dust off the shelf and go back to what I was assigned to read in high school. I read a lot more than the ten mentioned here but these are the first that come to mind for various reasons.
1. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - I'm not sure whose brilliant idea it was to have a bunch of 17 year olds read this stream of conscious novel but it was not a good one. I never did figure out what was going on and have zero interest in giving it another try. Have you read it? Should I reconsider?
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I really enjoyed this one even at 16. It helped that my teacher that year was fantastic and did a great job discussing Austen's use of social satire and whatnot.
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I did not have such a great teacher this year (I was 15 maybe?) and thoroughly detested this one.
4. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner - I'm not a big Faulkner fan and this one especially didn't work for me. I don't think I've ever been so confused by what was going on. I remember reading the Cliff Notes for this one and even they were confused by the book.
5. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky - This was another one I read at 17. I feel like senior year was World Lit for us? I'm sure I missed quite a bit of subtext but I did enjoy this one fairly well after I got used to the fact everyone has about 6 names.
6. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - I question having a bunch of 17 year olds read this one as well. I remember the teacher not really wanting to discuss it but that wasn't necessarily connected to the subject matter but more on the fact that she enjoyed assigning far more than she enjoyed discussing regardless of the book. I liked this one but I'm sure I would get way more out of it now.
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I enjoyed this one quite a bit at 14 though I remember getting quite bored with Janes trials and tribulations.
8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I've reread this one several times and saw it in play form since reading it at 14. I enjoyed this one so much then that I sought out more books by Steinbeck and enjoyed them all with the exception of The Pearl which was assigned later on.
9. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - This one had the opposite effect of the book above. I hated this one so much that I refused to read anything by Dickens for decades and finally just read A Christmas Carol (which I loved) in the last few years. I did retry this one but am still not a fan. One day I'll try more Dickens.
10. Mill on the Floss by George Elliot - I remember enjoying this and that it was depressing but nothing else about it. I really should reread it.
What did you read in school?
I wish I could have read Pride & Prejudice in school! And I remember reading several short stories by James Joyce and hating all of them. I did read Of Mice and Men and liked it, even though it's sad. I did not, however, like The Pearl. Great TTT list! :D
ReplyDeleteI remember The Scarlett Letter, To Kill A Mocking Bird, The Red Badge of Courage and more in high school.
ReplyDeleteI love both JANE EYRE and P&P, but I read them as an adult. I don't know what I would have thought of them as a teen, honestly. I was into different kinds of books back then. I'm glad my tastes have evolved beyond Stephen King since then :)
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
We didn't have that many we had to read, but one was Great Expectations! I think we had Silas Marner too, think that was George Elliot.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think teachers feel compelled to assign books they think kids ought to read, but they somehow make kids feel like Real Reading is a daunting task. Ugh. If I could change one thing about the school system, it would be to help kids find the books that are just right for them---the right characters, the right stories, the right everything---and to make reading something that is amazingly fun.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, when I was in school, I didn't like reading assignments. I did read The Scarlet Letter and Great Expectations in school. I can't remember any others.
ReplyDelete