Books you had to read for school...and loved!

Rydia

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So, most of the time when we are given a book we have to read for school, we read the first page, chapter, sentence, half the book, and then give up because its boring. However, sometimes, there is a book your teacher makes you read and it ends up being very good.

Were there any books that you read for school and liked?

Mine:

Lord of the Flies: I really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and disturbing at the same time. And there was something intriguing about many of the characters.

On the Beach: About the aftermath of a nuclear war. The entire northern hemisphere is dead. Those living in Austrailia think they are safe, until they find out that the wind is blowing all the radiation into the southern hemisphere. At the begining of the book, the characters have about nine months before the radiation gets to them.
 
Catcher In The Rye: I liked the book because in some ways, I could relate to the main character of the series. The moment I started reading, I could not put down :D
 
My first english novel I had to read was Lord of the flies for my second language class in college. I was a bit reticent to read a book in english because I though I wouldn't understand everything ad that it would end up being boring.

I was wrong.

I really enjoyed the story of kids ending up on a island and organizing themselves. You see fairly quickly that the order imposed by the leaders of the group (I don't remember their names) doesn't last very long. If I remember right, the kids almost end up killing themselves at the end of the novel. This book made me thought about the human nature.

I did appreciate the simpsons episode about that novel.:lew:
 
I really loved Catcher in the Rye as well <3 I loved how even though it was supposedly "shocking" and outrageous, it didn't feel like Salinger was trying to provide "shock value" at all. There wasn't anything stereotypical about it, and the character didn't behave at all like how I was expecting him to. I always love that about a story.
 
I actually enjoyed a lot of books we read in school. :wacky:

A few that I really loved were:

Of Mice and Men: It was a pretty short book but I thought the story was really well done and it was also really sad. I liked how it wasn't all cliche at the end with him going off to buy a farm and tend rabbits in Lenny's name or something. It really had me hooked from start to finish.

The Catcher in the Rye: This one was optional but I chose to read it and do a report on it. The teacher gave us a list of books and I picked this one. I really loved it. I think the only reason it was banned was because of the whole thing with John Lennon but I'm not sure. I didn't think it was all that controversial either way.

Lord of the Flies: This was an awesome book or at least I thought so. It's basically a glimpse into the darker side of human nature and it's kind of a scary thought. Really well-written book.
 
The Scarlet Letter. I saw this mentioned in the other thread, but I loved it. I think I was more intrigued in the main characters more than anything, especially Hester. I guess I felt a deep sympathy for her, I don't know. But I remember being hooked to this book back then.

The Great Gatsby
. For some reason I can't remember the story in details, but I remember reading this book and even watching the movie in class. It was rather good. I wouldn't say I loved it, but I didn't hate it.

Lord of the Flies. Gruesome but in a very intriguing way. Simply put, it gives a very interesting outlook on human nature.

To Kill A Mockingbird. Truly a classic. There's a certain feeling that is rekindled whenever this book is mentioned by others. Definitely one of the best books I've read back in high school and genuinely enjoyed it.
 
I can't believe I forgot to mention To Kill a Mockingbird. I loved that book. It was an awesome story and I really admired Atticus Finch's character. I enjoyed The Great Gatsby to an extent. It dragged at parts but it really picked up at the end.
 
I first got into Terry Pratchett because I was given Wyrd Sisters and Lords and Ladies to read in English class. I loved them both and started reading the whole Discworld series.
 
+The Great Gatsby - Now this is the kind of book that I would have overlooked as the opening pages were really difficult to get into. But I was genuinely surprised to see how it turned out as I progressed through the book. I still remember most of it, and seeing the film version was a big plus. It's not a long book at all but it's definitely one of the classics for me and I actually enjoyed doing the coursework on it.

+Of Mice and Men - Aww, this is a rather sad book and yet I really love it. Nothing seems to go right for George and Lennie and it's hardly Lennie's fault that he's like that. I was also kind of glad that it received the ending it got even though it is pretty sad because the whole book's essentially exploring the illusion of the American Dream during depression-hit America. I think.

+Pride & Prejudice - This was only verrrry briefly, and were it not for the film and one of the BBC adaptations I have seen recently, I don't think I'd have liked it much as the distinct 18th century style of English is really not everyone's cup of tea. But, I stuck with it and in the end I came out eager to read more of Jane Austen's work.
 
Of Mice and Men. I liked this book alot. Very sad story though and I even watched the movie and it is still sad. Lennie goes through alot and I always like that George is there for him all the time. Still the ending :sad3: Things got a little dirty when they worked on the ranch though >.> (That tart of a wife!)

Death of a Salesman. Read this last year and It is a really good read if I do say so myself. Very sad story though. But it is amazing how much the family cares/doesnt care for eachother. I feel sorry for Willy later on and for Linda also. The ending is really sad :sad3:

That is a little bit for now :hmmm:
 
Hamlet: I really enjoyed studying this. Hamlet has everything you could want in a story - ridiculous amounts of intrigue (political and otherwise), extreme procrastination, incest, Fortinbras (we had so much fun with that name. xD), a dramatic finish to end all dramatic finishes, and even decent film adaptations...well, asides Kenneth Branagh's version, which I was unfortunate enough to watch.

Plus I've always found it amusing that Shakespeare just can't write a decent part for a woman. They always end up either being written off, going insane, or dying...sometimes all three. Ophelia is a shining example of this. I love Ophelia. She alone made the entire thing worth reading. The characters in general are either hilarious or remarkably deep and interesting.

OK, so that is technically a play, not a book. It was in book format. It counts.
 
Anthills of the Savannah - Chinua Achebe
I originally disliked it, I reading it at AS level, and the language was far too complex, even now I'd struggle with some of the words. But I've come to like it a lot, it's obviously based upon all the military coups and authoritarian dictators Africa has had. The novel shows how the system operates, and how the leader becomes corrupted by power. Although the ending is fairly grim it offers hope for the future. There are various other points it raises, but I can't be bothered mentioning them.

The Homecoming - Harold Pinter.
It's lovely. Pinter was just good at irony, and this play oozes it. It's got incest of a sort, casual violence and someone dropping dead, and that's not even the interesting stuff. What makes me love this, is the cleverness of the dialogue, the pauses, the scenery, it's all so calculated.
 
I read a bunch in school, after school, don't even read anymore. A few I loved where The Catcher In The Rye. I didn't understand much of it at the time, but after reading it a couple years after, I absolutely loved it.

Another is The Long Walk, which sounds pretty boring, but is actually interesting. I don't remember much of it, and can't find an extra copy anywhere in our library.
 
I'm only ever enjoyed one book that I was forced to read for a school project.

The Help -Karhryn Stockett
This novel was amazing in my opinion. The book is set in the 60's and has a strong theme of racial segregation. Throughout the novel it's shown how we're all alike and the witty dialogue amongst the characters in fantastic. The novel takes place in Jackson, Mississippi and you can sense the accent as soon as you start reading it.

I'm only slightly a picky reader; but if Shakespeare counts I'll add Macbeth. That play was a beautiful tradegy (more tradegy than beautiful if you catch my drift.)
 
To Kill A Mockingbird - but only after we'd finished analysing it. I went back and read it again for myself and I loved it. Classic.

Romeo and Juliet - While we were reading it in class I memorised some of the speeches and stuff, and I kinda fell in love with the story. I'm a sucker for a bit of desperate romance and tragedy and stuff, and this is just pure gold. Yeah, the characters aren't great and it's since been totally overdone by the media, but I love it.
 
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen.

Fucking hilarious book, should have been a TV series. I don't read a lot of books, but I've read this one a few times and it just had me cracking up all the time. I remember annoying everyone in detention because I couldn't keep myself quiet

but how can you resist giggling when someone just got tricked into pissing on an electric fence :monster:
 
One Flew Over the Cukoo's nest by Ken Kesey: Set in a mental asylum about different levels of authority. Good read.

The Outsider by Albert Camus: About a man who is somewhat detached from the world whose character is judged more than his actions.

The Crysalids by John Wyndham:
I read this one ages ago, but from what I recall it was set in a post-apocalyptic world with mutants and telepathy, about intolerance and prejudice. One of the first books that I read in school that I actually really enjoyed.
 
I remember reading The Demon Headmaster at secondary school... Boy I loved that book, now that I think back I wonder why they let us read a book together about a demon headmaster in school? Oh well, I'm sure our headmaster wasn't a demon... kinda! :D
 
Senior year, I had the pleasure of reading a great play by Oscar Wilde. This play was "The Importance of Being Earnest". Not only was it comical, but my English IV class were assigned parts. I had the pleasure of having the part of Dr. Chausuble. It was a very fun experience, and talking in an English accent was totally epic. :ryan:
 
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