I think assigned reading in high school tends to ruin the act of reading for many kids. Teenagers are "required" to read certain texts and they end up a) doing it with a bad attitude, b) reading the summary online, or c) ignoring the assignment. After high school they declare they hate reading because of the novels and plays they didn't really read. So my list for Top Ten Tuesday is a list of "required" reading for those that say they hate the literary texts that were assigned to them in high school. Try them again, folks.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Civil rights, a child's perspective, Atticus (such a great name...)
2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Survival of the fittest, island setting, Poor Piggy
3. Night by Eli Wiesel: Having a broken cell phone is easy shit compared to being in a concentration camp
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: There's a wife locked in the attic- need I say more?
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Book burning, robot dogs, quirky Clarisse
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: Bonus points if you read the newest, uncensored version
7. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf: So you can make an adult decision about Woolf
8. Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dosteyvsky: Murder, guilt, Russia (my favorite book ever)
9. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen: Play, hilarious, Norway
10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Men, monster, misunderstandings
Stay away from: Faulkner (annoyingly wordy), Ernest Hemingway (not enough words), and Charles Dickens (overrated words)
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Civil rights, a child's perspective, Atticus (such a great name...)
2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Survival of the fittest, island setting, Poor Piggy
3. Night by Eli Wiesel: Having a broken cell phone is easy shit compared to being in a concentration camp
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: There's a wife locked in the attic- need I say more?
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Book burning, robot dogs, quirky Clarisse
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: Bonus points if you read the newest, uncensored version
7. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf: So you can make an adult decision about Woolf
8. Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dosteyvsky: Murder, guilt, Russia (my favorite book ever)
9. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen: Play, hilarious, Norway
10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Men, monster, misunderstandings
Stay away from: Faulkner (annoyingly wordy), Ernest Hemingway (not enough words), and Charles Dickens (overrated words)
Ugh I hated Lord of the Flies in school - and I laughed with Piggy died in the movie (the whole class did... the rock BOUNCED!!!) but maybe I should give it another go.
ReplyDeleteSadly, there are a lot of books on this list which I haven't read yet. I should remedy that soon.
Happy reading!
Awesome list. Completely agree and love your top ten premise. I read 3 on your list in school. I will have to check out the others. =] New Follower. =]
ReplyDeleteHere is My Top Ten
So many great books. I haven't read them all, but the ones I haven't are right near the top of my TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteLol - love your choice for a list. I would add Animal Farm too - had to read it in high school and loved it.
ReplyDeleteWell said! They are wonderful books. kaye—the road goes ever ever on
ReplyDeleteLoving the list! Some of these books are the best I've ever read... except Mrs Dalloway. Ugh and Yawn are the only words to describe it. And that is my adult decision about it! I would add Wuthering Heights and A Streetcar Named Desire to the list too.
ReplyDeleteI don't, however, agree with your Dickens comment - he is one of the best English novelists to date!
Here's my top ten list:
http://esotericsips.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-ten-books-recommended-to-non-poetry.html
Fahrenheit 451 is the book that made me realize that I didn't have to hate all books that were assigned to me. I don't love all Hemingway, but I do love The Sun Also Rises.
ReplyDelete