I'd have to say that the worst book I was ever forced to read was Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by, well, I can't remember his name right now because I hated the book so much!
Hmm ... It's a tie between the following: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K Chesterton The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
When I was in junior high, my sister had to write an essay for The Fountainhead in order to dip her fingertips in the scholarship funds. She hated reading, so she pawned it off on me. We sat in her car and I'd summarize passages for her. I didn't really like it at first. I thought Ayn Rand was full of herself and should just stuff it, and even though I still feel that way now and again, I approach The Fountainhead as a novel and came to enjoy it for its own merits, despite disagreeing with some of the philosophy behind it.
I agree. Ayn Rand can make her characters pretty egotistical and whatnot, but when observed as a piece of literature, the fountainhead isn't bad. Oh ... and I hate the Ayn Rand Essay Contests.
Three books come to mind. First is Speak. I read it in 9th grade English. I failed that class and regret it to this day. I had a very good teacher but I was stupid and didn't care about school. Second was The Outsiders. We had to read a book for my 10th grade English class and I just grabbed a random book and it just happened to be The Outsiders. I couldn't put it down. I even bought the movie a few years ago. Third is Farenheit 451. I had to read it for my 11th grade Media class. They were all very interesting and exciting reads. Probably my three favorite books.
Speak ... as in the novel with the shy girl who makes a tree in art class and everyone hates her because she narked out a party and got raped and all? nice book
"Note from the cellar" by Fyodor Dostoyevskiy. It was fascinating to get an insight into the main character's mind, and it gave me an idea of what "quality literature" was about.
Yeah, that Speak. It was the first time I had read a book like that, and it was just an interesting read.
The Giver. Its about the only good book i've ever been forced to read. Any other Scarlet Letter haters here XD.
Hmm, tough question... we read a lot of Steinbeck at my junior high & high school. I grew to really love his books, and I don't think I would have bothered to read it otherwise. My favorite Steinbeck, though, was one we didn't read in school: Cannery Row.
Cry, the Beloved Country. It was for AP English back in high school. I'd never have picked up the book on my own; I'm just not that interested in the subject matter. But wow, was it fabulously written. One of our assignments involved keeping a "quotes" journal, in which we wrote down memorable lines from the books we had to read over the summer and responded to them with short essays. I had so many quotes from this book, it was crazy! I highly recommend it, purely on the strength of the poetic, lyrical writing alone, without even delving into the nuances of its topic and theme.
Has anyone else found that being "forced" to read a book often effectively kills any joy that could have been derived from it. Throughout my childhood, I read voraciously, but found that as books were pressed upon me, I lost the will to read. Reading for school was reduced to nothing more than casually skimming the pages and checking the page number every fifth minute. In fact, I stopped reading entirely. Of course, this is not surprising, given that studies show that extrinsic reward erodes extracted pleasure from an activity. Positive reinforcement and punishment (which I considered to be the primary motivators for reading prescribed books in school) destroy intrinsic motivation for an activity. I don't believe that you can force someone to like reading. Quite the opposite, for me. With books imposed upon me, I found the overall experience quite aversive over time. It was only recently that my interest in reading rekindled.
Oh, indeed. I agree completely, stonedassassin. However, I, at least, am a very strong and highly motivated reader on my own, so even being "forced" to read a book, I was able to take a step back and enjoy it for its own sake. I do suspect that those who are not already literarily inclined are not well-served by being forcibly exposed to "great books."
hmm... the outsiders in seventh grade. i thought it wouldn't be that good considering other school books i've had to read, but i loved it. and it was finally a school book that didn't really have a happy ending.
All of the Greek Mythology I was forced to read. I am thankful for that, because it is what started me on comparitive mythology. Where the Red Fern Grows- What an awsome book. If I didn't remember it so clearly I would read it again. Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Everyone should read this novel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Not as good, but still good, and I am glad I was forced to read Mark Twain.
Oh, I third this. I wasn't actually forced to read it. But It was a rainy day. I couldn't go out. And this was the only book in the house that I hadn't read. I absolutely loved it.
Probably 1984 By George Orwell It was a requirement for my English class back in high school. Wasn't crazy about it at the time, but that was more for the reason StonedAssassin had mentioned: The endless analysis and reports we had to write on it left very little time to sit back and enjoy the story it told. In the end though, it spurned my interest in the futuristic dystopian society fiction. I'm reading it again at the moment.
Recent books I had to read and surprisingly enjoyed or loved: Passage to India Cry, the Beloved Country The Good Earth Also, I preferred Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry Finn.
