This week's theme: BOOKS I WAS ASSIGNED TO READ IN SCHOOL. Here are ten books I had to read in high school, and a brief thought about each one.
1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I liked Hawthorne's writing; and while I thought Pearl was strange, I admired Hester Prynne's quiet strength.
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles. So sad! But I've never forgotten Phineas or Gene.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. My favorite of the bunch...mostly because of Scout and Boo Radley.
4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was my introduction to Fitzgerald, whose books I still really like.
5. The Diary of Anne Frank. I appreciate this book more now as an adult than I ever did at thirteen. Back then I thought it was a little boring.
6. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. I got to read this one in my ninth grade English class and totally loved it. Such a fun book! All classics should be this fun.
7. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Another favorite. This book epitomizes summer. (I also really liked reading Something Wicked This Way Comes.)
8. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. Ugh. I did not like anything about this one.
9. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Another really sad one...but good.
10. The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Had to read this one then go see the play. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either.
Happy Reading!
In school we were assigned Animal Farm, Lord of The Flies, A Separate Peace, Of Mice and Men. All classics but not exactly fun reads. I love Ray Bradbury and I wish we had also been assigned Dandelion Wine.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of my favorite reads from high school. Such a fun book. I read Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies on my own when I was in my 20s. And didn't exactly like them, but am glad that I read them. If that makes sense.
DeleteI didn't have to read any of those books in school, I wish I would have had to. But I read the majority of them later.
ReplyDeleteI spent several years in my twenties reading a lot of classics that I never got to read in school. And really liking them. :D
DeleteI know all of these books and I think I was assigned to read a few of those but I can't remember. But I do know I only read half of them. #6 is kind of odd as I think such book is a little too much fun for classroom reading and I wish I had to read that. The other books seem to be themed to be sorrowful books. It's odd that children are assigned to read sad books.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
They do choose a lot of sad and depressing books for kids to read in school. I don't know why they do it.
DeleteA lot of familiar ones here! School must've been where I first read A Seperate Peace, and I liked it enough I re-read it later. Need to revisit it!
ReplyDeleteI want to reread that one. I'll have to put it on my To Read list for next year.
DeleteI liked The Diary of Anne Frank.
ReplyDeleteI didn't love it when I had to read it in 8th grade, but I've read it since, and appreciate it so much more. Especially since I got to visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam several years ago. A very cool experience.
DeleteA Separate Piece was a struggle for me as a kid. Maybe I should reread it sometime?
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday.
I'd like to reread it again as an adult and see how it holds up and if I like it more or less now than I did then. :D
DeleteI read many of these as well.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
Hey, Regine! How are you?
DeleteWe had Great Gatsby and Scarlet Letter in high school, too.
ReplyDeleteI agree on Farewell to Arms, but I didn't read it until later.
I'm not an Ernest Hemingway fan. At all. And it stems from my experience of having to read that book in high school.
DeleteYour list is sort of a combination of my lists and my kids' (today is my son's 30th birthday). Both were crazy for The Princess Bride!
ReplyDeleteThe Princess Bride is such a fun book. I'm glad I got to read it in school. (And I am definitely a lot older than your son. ;D)
DeleteI don't think I read The Crucible but I know the story. Maybe I saw the play. Hmm..
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: Books I Should Have read in School
-Anne@Headfullofbooks.
I couldn't login, weirdly.
I couldn't login, weirdly.
Blogger acts up all the time. It's frustrating. Sorry you couldn't log in today. And they made a movie of The Crucible with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis. Maybe you saw that?
DeleteI only had to read The Diary of Anne Frank and The Scarlet Letter. I can't remember much of my high school reading, but I do remember those.
ReplyDeleteTwo good books. And better than many other books I had to read in school.
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