Current Events > Did any of you here actually like any of those novels you were probably forced

(+) Yeah! (+)

We read Watership Down freshman year. That was an interesting book.

I hated them at the time because "ugh homework" but in retrospect yes, most of those books have stuck with me. The Great Gatsby, To Kill A Mockingbird, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Of Mice and Men, A Tale of Two Cities and 1984 were all fantastic.

I never read Scarlet Letter though. I didn't think it was part of the required reading for us.

NoxObscuras posted...

I hated them at the time because "ugh homework" but in retrospect yes, most of those books have stuck with me. The Great Gatsby, To Kill A Mockingbird, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Of Mice and Men, A Tale of Two Cities and 1984 were all fantastic.

I never read Scarlet Letter though. I didn't think it was part of the required reading for us.

They generally have like a scene or two where you're like "ah, that's kinda cool" but it's absolutely buried under dozens of thousands of words that make you want to die.

Yeah I love Mockingbird, Count of Monte Cristo, and The Odyssey, the latter being one of if not my all time favorite books.

RetuenOfDevsman posted...

They generally have like a scene or two where you're like "ah, that's kinda cool" but it's absolutely buried under dozens of thousands of words that make you want to die.

A common problem in 19th century literature. But The Scarlet Letter takes it to a whole new level.

Yeah I liked most of the classics and Shakespeare. The only one I remembering not giving a shit about was the Great Gatsby

bigtiggie23 posted...

We read Watership Down freshman year. That was an interesting book.

Watership Down flat out rocks.

Oh, I forgot about Slaughterhouse 5. That was fucking great.

liked all except Great Gatsby.

Had an English teacher have us read The Things They Carried in 10th grade and I just remember that book being fuckin crazy. In a good way.

Yes. We read A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guins first novel and its a god damn masterpiece. I've always wanted to read the other books in the series just never got around to it.

In like 5th grade we read some book about a kid who runs away from home and ends up meeting different people that he spends time with. I can't remember the name though. Something about sneakers I think. But I remember liking it.

After a quick Google search, it might have been

Maniac Magee

I liked most the stuff we had to read. The biggest name one was probably catcher in the rye and I wasn't a fan.

dummy420 posted...

I liked most the stuff we had to read. The biggest name one was probably catcher in the rye and I wasn't a fan.

what is catcher in the rye about, it's like 100 yrs old...etc...?

Smallville posted...

what is catcher in the rye about, it's like 100 yrs old...etc...?

It's been so long since I've read it but people don't like saying it's about a whiny little brat but it is.

I read TKaM in elementary school of my own accord and enjoyed it.

The last book I actually read as part of the (public school) curriculum was Night and enjoyed it too.

I bullshitted my way through every English class in high school. Two AP courses included. I didn't read a page, I didn't care, I still don't. It's a shame, but I have no interest in fiction anymore.

Ones we were made to read that I enjoyed:

Lord of the Flies
A Christmas Carol
Educating Rita
Of Mice and Men
Frankenstein
Macbeth
Midsummer Nights Dream
Merchant of Venice
Henry V

Smallville posted...

what is catcher in the rye about, it's like 100 yrs old...etc...?

A small little week long snippet into a very troubled and polarising teenage boy who iirc gets expelled (or maybe just suspended) from his boarding school and before wanting to tell his parents wants to experience a prostitute, visit a few bars, visit some friends and see parts of New York among other things. Nothing major happens but we get a lot of insight into his opinions on the world. It is arguable he has a mental illness based on other people's reactions to him in conversations

For the time it was written, the dialogue feels incredibly ahead of it's time. It feels like it's really captured how people talk. The description of new York is also on point and helps someone who's never been there like myself picture it as it was in the 1940s

Ratchetrockon posted...

Just lord of the flies

This. I really liked the book. None of the other books I was forced to read were all that enjoyable.

haloiscoolisbak posted...

A small little week long snippet into a very troubled and polarising teenage boy who iirc gets expelled (or maybe just suspended) from his boarding school and before wanting to tell his parents wants to experience a prostitute, visit a few bars, visit some friends and see parts of New York among other things. Nothing major happens but we get a lot of insight into his opinions on the world. It is arguable he has a mental illness based on other people's reactions to him in conversations

For the time it was written, the dialogue feels incredibly ahead of it's time. It feels like it's really captured how people talk. The description of new York is also on point and helps someone who's never been there like myself picture it as it was in the 1940s

The guy saying the writing is 5/5 and the plot 1/5 might be onto something, but I still have a blast when I read it

I knew that I hated that book by the end of the first page. Just cant stand the way its written.

I will always be grateful for having to read To Kill a Mockingbird and Slaughterhouse Five.

I will forever curse the school for making me read A Separate Peace. Double curse them in fact, for having to read it sophomore and junior year.

loafy013 posted...

I will always be grateful for having to read To Kill a Mockingbird and Slaughterhouse Five.

I like both of those but didnt have to read them for school.

hyperskate65 posted...

Yeah I love Mockingbird, Count of Monte Cristo,

These also just as an aside, Richard Matheson's The Shrinking Man having long ago watch The Incredible Shrinking Man film.

loafy013 posted...

I will always be grateful for having to read To Kill a Mockingbird and Slaughterhouse Five.

I will forever curse the school for making me read A Separate Peace. Double curse them in fact, for having to read it sophomore and junior year.

I had to read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in both 4th and 5th grade. I did not switch schools and the the books had different covers.

No. I hated everything they made is read in HS. Everything was too on the nose or very predictable.

I think I was forced to read Hatchet or something and ended up kinda liking it

Heck yes

I basically built my entire lifeview based on how The Chocolate War made me feel

Glob posted...

I knew that I hated that book by the end of the first page. Just cant stand the way its written.

See, I remember thinking the same thing because we read the first page as a class together (this was in 2008 when I was 17) and I immediately thought it sounded like an online rant from some edgy emo kid or something lol.

When I found out the book was from the 1940s I was both surprised and soon after, very impressed

ITT: A whole lot of awesome books that no one in high school is allowed ot read anymore because of conservative whack jobs

Does the Odyssey and the Iliad count? Those 2 were my favorites honestly.

Cold Sassy Tree was a staple of the school system around here, and I have no idea why.

Euripides posted...

ITT: A whole lot of awesome books that no one in high school is allowed ot read anymore because of conservative whack jobs

Lol

I was forced to read a Hank the Cowdog book in elementary. I ended up checking them all out,read each one.

I remember when I was a kid in the 90s I was assigned an author I never heard about to do a school paper on. I was so disappointed I didn't get the cool famous ones like Ernest Hemingway, Lewis Carrol, HG Wells. I was jealous of the kids who got those. Instead, mine was author with a weird name. JRR Tolkien. Even as a kid, I was a fan of fantasy, so needless to say, my opinion of this random boring author definitely changed by the time I finished my essay. Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were among the novels I chose to read. I remember not understanding the majority of LOTR as a kid, but I loved it nonetheless.

So to answer the question, no, sometimes those book projects and novels we were forced to read led to me discovering things that held a very special place in my heart.

Is treasure island considered a classic in the similar vein? As in I know it's old and well known, but is it ever studied in English class?

I remember it being a very simple yet enjoyable story when reading it as a kid

I remember enjoying The Jungle. Probably helped that the teacher I had was great when we were going through that book.

Smallville posted...

what is catcher in the rye about, it's like 100 yrs old...etc...?

It's about an asshole teenager who's mad that the girls he likes are dating "phonys" is the super tl;dr

Tyranthraxus posted...

I liked Catcher in the Rye

That one was weird. Like as weird as reading a book where Dave Berry tries to tell a serious story about crime lords on a cruise ship that sinks. Except the only part you remember years later is the fact that some girl gambler or dealer had no underpants and farts, and that some bad guys cut off the tongue of one of the followed first person characters then duct tapes his mouth and leaves him to literally drown in his own blood.

On the note of people who should never try to ever write something that is supposed to be serious, Seth Mcfarlain or however it is spelled. Basically on that level, if not worse. I am not one for his humor, but it is leagues better than any time he tries to be serious.

Seth MacFarlane made a parody show that was even preachier than the product it was spoofing.

Ratchetrockon posted...

Just lord of the flies

Thats one I wasn't forced to read I went out of my way to read it.

Found a copy in school opened to a random page and first line I read was "right up her ass"

I closed the book and said to myself I must know how it comes to this.

Pretty good book overall

Hated stuff like to kill a mocking bird

Sufferedphoenix posted...

Found a copy in school opened to a random page and first line I read was "right up her ass"

And my mind went to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFEXj7RG3sg

Dickens was a bit wordy, but I enjoy a lot of the "classics." Kidnapped, The Great Gatsby, Ship of Fools, and Great Expectations were some of my favorites.

Zikten posted...

In like 5th grade we read some book about a kid who runs away from home and ends up meeting different people that he spends time with. I can't remember the name though. Something about sneakers I think. But I remember liking it.

Maniac Mcgee

Some of them were okay. I don't remember finding any of them entertaining, but that might just be because I saw them as schoolwork. 1984 really stood out to me though. It was a boring read to be sure, but the message resonated with me.

Yes.

Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, The Old Man and the Sea / For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hamlet (drama), etc.

These are all essential reads if you want to maintain literacy going into adulthood. Even a rote, memorising-centric understanding of those works will do you good. In fact, there are many novels that should be read during high school and not during College / University. English Literature degrees, for instance, shouldn't be a vocation for people who aren't going to pursue a career in teaching. The reason those books don't get updated to better equivalents (and instead you get mediocre 'modern replacements' like Life of Pi) is because when you study literature and poetry you end up becoming a middle-manager type at a big publishing house who doesn't teach kids for a living (or doing some job that isn't related to the culture of writing).

Anyway, don't believe people who say reading books is pointless. Culture is more important to physical labor and technical jobs than we give credit for.

Don't forget The Cay.

IlkhanInsomnia posted...

Anyway, don't believe people who say reading books is pointless. Culture is more important to physical labor and technical jobs than we give credit for.

I definitely agree with this part though I'm not so sure about the rest of your post

I'm kinda of the opinion that the way reading is treated in middle/high school is an overall net negative to the chances of people enjoying reading and continuing to do it later in life. In general, most people in my class did not like most of the books we read, and spending a long amount of time slogging through something you hate while constantly doing essays and analysis and etc on it is bound to sour people on the idea of reading as a whole

I just wish there was some better solution since it would be nice to just say to kids "read whatever you want as long as it's at least somewhat age appropriate" but it seems very difficult to fit that much choice into any sort of structured curriculum

The only books I remember reading in school and liking were

Milagro Beanfield War
Hatchet
Boxcar children

There were probably others, but I cant remember them at this time.

Mistere_Man posted...

Boxcar children

I think I still have 40 or so Boxcar Children books packed away. I loved them when I was a kid.

hyperskate65 posted...

Count of Monte Cristo

It's my favorite novel, and I'm halfway through my second read of it.

But what kind of teacher assigns a book that's as long as Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit combined? My longest assigned reading was Of Human Bondage, and it was about half as long.