I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists. Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. The schools near me are starting summer break which got me thinking of all the Summer Reading books I was assigned over the years. I need to find a school list to see what are assigned or if they even still do summer reading lists.
1. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner - I remember nothing about this one except that it convinced me that Faulkner may not be for me. Then I had to read Absalom, Absalom and that REALLY convinced me that Faulkner isn't for me.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I remember reading this at my grandparents' house one summer and feeling a bit let down. Growing up in Alabama this book is frequently held up as the best thing ever written. Having that kind of hype surrounding the book pretty much my whole life, 15 year old me didn't feel like it quite lived up to it.
3. A Portrait of the Artist as Young Man by James Joyce - 17 year old me was so confused by this one. I remember a bunch of us getting together and trying to figure out what on earth was happening in the story. I haven't read anything by Joyce since.
4. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - This was one of my favorite summer reading books even though it absolutely broke my heart.
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I liked this when I read it but when I reread it as an adult a few years ago I was so surprised by how much darker it seemed than when I read it at 14. It does make me wonder if all the organizers of Great Gatsby themed proms and weddings have actually read the book.
Did you have assigned reading in school? What were some books you had to read and what did you think of them.
That is a great list. I wonder if you'd like Faulkner now? Yeah...Gatsby was a dark one.
ReplyDeleteI had to read Gatsby as junior in high school, but during the school year, not in summer. I never had assigned reading over the summer growing up. I got to read wild and free. ;D
ReplyDeleteWell I read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
TKAM is one of my all time favorite books. I do need to read Faulkner - not sure how I managed to not read that in high school.
ReplyDeleteI did like To Kill a Mockingbird but hated The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. Tess was just too too harsh and sad!
ReplyDeleteI never had assigned summer reading, but my kids did. I read hurriedly during the school year with all the rest of my school work.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I have read by Faulkner is a book of short stories for an American Lit class in college. The only story I remember from the book is A Rose for Emily which I don't remember if I liked it or didn't like it. I guess I'll have to read another of his books. 🙂
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed to say I have not read anything by James Joyce. 😯
To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book of all time. I watched the movie on television with an adult cousin when I was thirteen, and when she told me it was also a book I walked to the library the next day to get it; it was summer and I was staying at my grandmother's. I loved it so much I immediately read it again. I was thrilled when we read it in school and I had the teacher to discuss it with. ❤
I didn't read The Great Gatsby until college, so I was old enough to realize how dark it was. 😌
I also loved Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 🤗