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
DeleteWe cannot possibly read all the classics in school, we cannot possibly read them all in a lifetime. But we can try ...
Delete:D A worthy reading goal.
DeleteDefinitely.
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.
DeleteGreat Gatsby and Anne Frank are the ones I had to read. It's been so long, but I remember being so mad at many of the characters in Gatsby. lol
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand that! Some stupid and frustrating decisions are made in that book. ;D
DeleteI've read most of these. I detest THE GREAT GATSBY, but I love TKAM. It's my favorite novel of all time. THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK also made a huge impression on me the first time I read it. Great list!
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the best books! I love all the characters in it, but especially Scout. :D
DeleteLove the theme. I mostly agree with you on the love/hate/meh meter. I reread A Separate Peace a few years ago and thought it so good--I hadn't really remembered the second half of the book, so that was fresh.
ReplyDeleteThe Crucible as a play was okay, but I wrote a great paper on it that got an A+ and the 11th grade English teacher said it would be a good college paper. That is one of the reasons I had the courage to major in English in college! Sadly I lost the paper when my basement flooded, so I cannot even reread it.
Sad about your Crucible paper. I was in 11th grade when I had to read that one, too. And A Separate Peace is one I'd really like to reread. Maybe next year.
DeleteI had to read about half of those in school. I really liked Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby. I wish we would've read The Princess Bride. That would've been so cool!
ReplyDeleteI love The Princess Bride! It's such a fun book. :D
DeleteI was assigned seven of those - not the Knowles, Goldman, or Bradbury books. I think they impacted my life by increasing my appreciation of good literature.
ReplyDeleteReading the classics has done that for me, too. In my twenties I went on a classics binge and read a lot of them on my own, just because. And I'm glad I did. :D
DeleteI remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank. I also remember The Scarlet Letter, The Count of Monte Cristo.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to read The Count of Monte Cristo! I need to actually sit down and do it one of these days. :D
DeleteI don't think I'd like anything by Ernest Hemmingway either. I'd like to try Bradbury, though. And yes, all classics should be fun. Unfortunately, a lot of them are depressing or sad by the end.
ReplyDeleteMost are depressing or sad. Even a lot of the good ones. I don't know why. Maybe happy endings are too frivolous.
DeleteShoot! I totally forgot about To Kill a Mockingbird! I loved that book. (The movie was good too). I hope you're having a good week. Lark! Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteThe movie is good. But then, Gregory Peck is awesome. :D
DeleteI forgot about The Scarlet Letter! That was one I actually liked reading in high school (mainly because I figured out who Pearl's father was after one chapter and my friends were all amazed when I was right 😂😂)
ReplyDeleteBut I also had to read To Kill a Mockingbird. I read some of the others on my own, not for school.
I liked The Scarlet Letter, too. But To Kill a Mockingbird was definitely my favorite. :D
DeleteI've only read The Diary of Anne Frank, but then for my Dutch class I believe.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2024/10/15/top-ten-tuesday-books-with-fall-vibes/
It's such a classic book. Everyone should read it at least once. Same with Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI was the same with Anne Frank. I was underwhelmed when I read it at about 12 or 13 but was blown away by the book. I haven't read The Princess Bride but want to. It's one of my absolute favorite moves.
ReplyDeleteThe book is super fun imo. I love all of the author's asides. :D
DeleteA lot of classics here that were not assigned, like The Scarlet Letter. I read To Kill A Mockingbird because my dad suggested it. Loved it! Love Ray Bradbury. Something Wicked This Way Comes is a favorite, although I haven’t read Dandelion Wine. I need to fix that. Recently tried The Great Gatsby. Hated all of the characters. Maybe I need to try a different Fitzgerald book.
ReplyDeleteFitzgerald's worth a second look imo. And I think you would like Dandelion Wine if you love Something Wicked This Way Comes. Though it's not as scary. :D Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI was assigned 3, 4, 8, and 9 and I think I enjoyed Of Mice and Men the best. I really liked King Lear, which was one many of my classmates disliked immensely. I saw it in Stratford a few years ago, and found the soliloquys a bit long winded, so I will stick with my memory and not reread it.
ReplyDeleteI read King Lear before seeing it at the Shakespearan Festival in Cedar City, Utah, and remember liking it for the most part. Though it is sad. And I liked Of Mice and Men, too. Maybe because it was short. ;D
DeleteStrong list. I liked these. #3, #4, and #5 are especially powerful. I haven't read #6 & #7 so I should get on it.
ReplyDeleteThe Princess Bride and Dandelion Wine are two favorites of mine, so of course, I think everyone should read them. ;D
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