For me it had to be: 'A Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood in conjunction with '1984' by George Orwell. I actually should be working on my final draft of a comparision between the two right about now lol, ah well - it'll get done eventually no doubt. But those books were thrust upon me for educational purposes, don't get me wrong I'm glad I've actually read them but I have also read some cracking books for recreational purposes that my freinds/relations have forced me into reading; my favourites of which would include: 'The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas' = I picked this up by pure chance at a bookstore in York and I absoloutely loved it, despite it being based during the Second World War and set in the confines of Auschwitz. It was sooo sad 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak = Another book based during the Second World War. It's really interesting when you get past the fact that it's actually narrated from the point of view of Death. My friend wouldn't stop badgering me until I started reading so I finally relented - I highly recommend it. Novels written from multiple point-of-views are awesome - wish I could write them =/ Also! I know a Kiwi know also wouldn't stop apprasing 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold and was adamant that I read it. Currently I'm just over halfway through it and it's turning out to be a good read - again multiple POVs are great! After 'The Lovely Bones' and exams, I also want to tackle the orginial novels of Alan Duff called 'Once Were Warriors' and 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?' because thier film adaptations were extremely good. Brutal, but very good indeed. Ooops, I realise I've gone off on a bit of a tagent there xD Sorry?
Timeless classics read and over analyzed in high school, like, To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye. Rereading such masterpieces after school proved their timeless quality.
Forced to read, eh? I'll say Moby Dick. I'm actually reading it right now. It's fantastic. Also, I find Melville's whaling tangents absolutely hilarious—the man clearly had a gift! It's a real shame that, like so many other artists, his book received so little acclaim in his own lifetime.
I liked some of my forced reading . . . Oh, I had forgotten all about that book, but I loved it too! I remember it was really funny! Maybe I'll give that one another read now that I'm not in high school. In high school I had to read some books that I didn't hate, like Great Gatsby and Grapes of Wrath (though after the 1st couple of pages I thought it was going to be torture!). The one I remember loving besides the above was The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I didn't technically have to read that one, but I had to read something and my teacher suggested it and gushed over it and I gave it a shot and did love it. College was where I read most of what I ended up really liking such as The Shining by Steven King. Its still the only King book I've read. I greatly enjoyed it, but I had to sleep with the light and the tv on for MONTHS afterwards and I still sometimes have to pull the shower curtains open to make sure nothing is in there! I also loved the Adventures of Huckelberry Finn and quite a few books I read in my Irish Lit class. One of them was a messed up but funny story about a boy who I believe was named Francie? I don't remember too much about it, I think he kills someone and is put in some sort of institution . . . I would love if anyone knows what I'm talking about and could give me the title because I'd love to read it again!
- Things Not Seen in 7th grade. We were forced to read it together as a class. I had to fight with myself not to go skipping ahead of everyone else because I was eager to find out what happened next. And to some extent, being forced to read To Kill A Mockingbird in 9th grade wasn't all that bad. I think I only liked the book at the time because I have Southern pride, but I won't be re-reading it anytime soon. The Crucible, Of Mice and Men and Farenheit 451 were all awesome reads in 10th grade . I think I was the only person in my class that actually liked reading them.
The Lovely Bones. Knew that right away, although Cog said it first. It is a very interesting book. Very original idea too. For me, the most interesting book was The Giver. It was just a fascinating idea to me, this perfect world with no colors and everything equal and one person seeing everything and remembering everything.
I wasn't exactly forced into it, but my teacher in 4th grade recommended that I read the Artemis Fowl series. I read the first one and I have the whole series. I love those books! Also, my teacher recommended that I read Inkheart, and I loved that series too.
Hmmm, well I would not call it "good" but the best book I was forced to read was "The Heaven Shop". I can remember in year 8 we were forced to read this book about puberty and adolescence, I believe it was called "Lockie Leonard". Because apparently when all boys are growing up they are into football and women. >_> But anyway the fact that your teacher had you read watchmen is awesome, most teachers would dismiss it as an exellent example of the human condition and the world, because it is "a silly comic book". Hm, I remember the english teacher I had in year 10, he would come to school in a Superman tie, and since the school would not teachers wear jeans, instead he wore cargo pants. He also set up a DnD club after school in the library, and at the end of the year he would hand out superman comics to his favorite students A.K.A me. Such a shame he left.
He sounds great. Stangely though I've was always ahead of the recommended English texts at school. I'd read Fahrenheit 451 (dad suggested I read it), lord of the flies (because it was just laying around the house, gathering dust on a shelf), Tomorrow, When The War Began (recommended by a cousin), In Cold Blood(picked it up after watching Capote, a film we also had to watch in class) long before I covered them in class.
Its more of a play script than a book, but I had to read 'The Crucible' for English coursework, and I actually really liked the story. The coursework wasn't so much fun though >.< It was much better than the other stuff I've been forced into reading anyway. Sarah
My English teachers gave me all the standard "classics" but one gave me a book named: "The Chrysalids", which was pretty out-there. One of the standards I was surprised I enjoyed was To Kill a Mockingbird, which until shown directly to me in ninth grade I always thought was called "Tequila Mockingbird". Simply because the really old books usually sent me to sleep back then.
A tiny piece of trivia: Tequila Mockingbird was a Get Smart TV episode patterned after the classic mystery The Maltese Falcon.
I have been into classics since I was very young. My Grandfather and my mother have bookcases to make any used bookseller wet his shoes with drool. So there wasn't much that surprised me in school. One book however, I never did read until high school. "War & Peace" by Tolstoy. It was big and the sentences read like molasses (similar to classic Melville). Hence I never finished it until I was assigned it my senior year as my book to review. Looking back, I believe my Honors English teacher had it out for me (my roommate had "The Old Man and the Sea" by Hemingway) but nevertheless I did actually enjoy that book. If you have a fair amount of patience I suggest this as a must-read. However, if your vocabulary is limited I recommend you keep a dictionary with you as you do.
I'm still in HS, but during one of my classes last year I was bored and nothing to do, and the teacher noticed me, and handed me Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read it in one hour, and I absolutely loved it.
Hmm, I have to say the Odyssey. I love the way its written and how its one HUGE poem. We read it freshman year. Great book, long, but great.
Eline Vere, by Louis Couperus. I probably would never have read it if I didn't have to for my exams, but it's a VERY good book and I loved it.
Either Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte or some works of Edgar Allen Poe. I wouldn't have read either if left to my own devices. High school also forced me to discover the Odyssey by Homer and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Thank you high school English teachers.
In highschool, Julius Caesar and Great Expectations both left an impression on me. I think there's a certain magic to being that age and getting your first taste of mind expanding art with a maturing mind. Makes me nostalgic.
