Zombipanda
My Boom-Boom's mostly gay
Heart of Darkness
What is the best book you've ever read for School?
- Thread starter Dr.Strangefate
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McCheese
Well-Known Member
Zombipanda
My Boom-Boom's mostly gay
Heart of Darkness was great.
I enjoyed Animal Farm the most, but Heart of Darkness was great.
Planet-man
Well-Known Member
Lord of the Flies is overrated. And none of the characters were giant talking mutant flies either.
My two best friends and I made a movie once that had a giant talking mutant fly in it, and got an A+. Also, it was a musical.
So yeah.... I'm better than William Golding on at least two levels.
My two best friends and I made a movie once that had a giant talking mutant fly in it, and got an A+. Also, it was a musical.
So yeah.... I'm better than William Golding on at least two levels.
ProjectX2
Don't expect me to take you with me when I go to s
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- 25,007
I've had ****ty luck when getting given books to read at school. I've never been given an Animal Farm or a Lord of the Flies or a 1984. I've had to track down all of these books and read them myself.
The last five years of high school, I have been given the following:
The Halfmen of O (an NZ fantasy book, I'm not sure if it would have made it out of the country)
The Power of One (pretty good, but I don't remember much about it)
Across the Barricades (alright, but I wouldn't read it again)
Sleepers (probably the best one, it is quite powerful)
The Mayor of Casterbridge (boring boring boring)
The last five years of high school, I have been given the following:
The Halfmen of O (an NZ fantasy book, I'm not sure if it would have made it out of the country)
The Power of One (pretty good, but I don't remember much about it)
Across the Barricades (alright, but I wouldn't read it again)
Sleepers (probably the best one, it is quite powerful)
The Mayor of Casterbridge (boring boring boring)
Friday
Well-Known Member
God I hated that book. I talked with a lit major I used to work with about itand she said that our teacher at the time hadn't properly guided us through it, but I hated it so much I haven't given it a second chance.
God did I love that one. I need to find my copy and give it a re-read.
I'd have to say lord of the Flies would be my choice, but only because I tested out of the class that got to read The Hobbit back in 8th grade.
compound
Well-Known Member
I had a really open-minded English teacher in high school, who assigned us The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. This was in an all-boys Catholic school in culturally-stifling Singapore, circa 1993, so reading it was a real wake up call, for my 13-year-old self.
Apparently, it's better known as Re-Birth, the title it was published under, in the US. (Which is actually a more fitting title, given the book's themes, even if it wasn't the one Wyndham intended.)
Apparently, it's better known as Re-Birth, the title it was published under, in the US. (Which is actually a more fitting title, given the book's themes, even if it wasn't the one Wyndham intended.)
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ShaggyMarco
Well-Known Member
I am a High School English Teacher, so know that before reading my list.
Middle School Favorites:
The Giver was, hands-down, my favorite middle-school assigned reading. I have reread it a few times since and still find it fascinating.
High School Favorites:
Crime and Punishment blew my mind. I had to read it for summer reading, and I embraced the intense philosophical questions and understood the moral quandry of Raskolnikov. It is still one of my favorite reads.
The Once and Future King was lots of fun. I had read some Arthurian legend for fun, but this book put it into a great perspective, had some fascinating social satire, and was just plain funny.
Catch-22 is a riot! I have read it a few times now and I still get the giggles while reading it. I would love to do a whole unit with a class on disjointed war novels and couple this with Slaughterhouse V.
Cry, The Beloved Country is the most heart-wrenching, touching testament to faith and human spirit I have ever read. It also deals with social issues in a wonderfully truthful way. If you don't cry while reading this book, you not only have no heart, you have no soul.
The Death of a Salesman is my favorite Arthur Miller...except for The Crucible. They both are very touching and moderately depressing. I think I learned my devotion to unwaveirng idealism by reading John Proctor for my class...and it has stuck. I also think I learned the value of living the life I have been given, not the life I wish for myself, by my Salesman experience.
No Exit was lots of fun. I went into it expecting something vaguely Kafka-esque (which is pretty much the lowest expectations I can set on a piece of literature). What I got was a spooky and intense look at a fascinating concept of hell-and of life.
The Taming of the Shrew wasn't my favorite when I read it for English class Junior year, but my Senior Year I auditioned for the Shakespeare Production class my school offered that year and I made it in--and landed the role of Petruchio in Taming. The intense study I had to do in order to perform that role made me truly appreciate what the play had to offer and fall in love with Shakespeare.
The Odyssey made for a great read--between the mythological underpinnings which I was always a sucker for, and the good ol' adventure story aspects of it, I had fun.
Wuthering Heights started to bore me when I was assigned it--so I didn't bother finishing. Months later I was stuck at a hair-cut place with a wait ahea dof me and Wuthering Heights was the only book in my car, so I started reading it...and was completely enthralled. I guess I could only enjoy it when I didn't HAVE to read it.
College Books
Ender's Game accounts for most of my love for Orson Scott Card. I read it for fun in college, but then my last year at school I took a YA Lit class and had to read this book again. I was amazed at how many non-Sci-fi fans enjoyed this book.
The Man Who Would be King is my favorite Kipling book. It is short, fun, and a great criticism of British Colonial attitudes. The movie is pretty great too.
Staying Fat for Sarah Burns is another book from the YA class. This book has one of the most touching friendships in a book I've ever read and the high schoolers are written better than most I've seen. Also, it has a GREAT chase scene.
Stargirl is love. This YA book made me fall in love with the title character a little bit.
The Maltese Falcon is great, classic noir crime drama. It is the genre in its purest form.
Romeo and Juliet. I read it in high shcool and liked it, but as I got older, I felt that it wasn't "good enough" Shakespeare. Then I took my college Shakespeare course and realized that it is studied so early because it IS great Shakespeare.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell made me go from a vague interest in William Blake to a love for William Blake. An insightful look at religion and free-will.
The Memory of Old Jack is an agrarian novel that captures the tragic death of the southern courtly agrarian lifestyle that was shot during the American post-civil war era and has slowly died out over the last 100+ years. Its tragically beautiful snap-shot of southern culture's dying breaths.
Middle School Favorites:
The Giver was, hands-down, my favorite middle-school assigned reading. I have reread it a few times since and still find it fascinating.
High School Favorites:
Crime and Punishment blew my mind. I had to read it for summer reading, and I embraced the intense philosophical questions and understood the moral quandry of Raskolnikov. It is still one of my favorite reads.
The Once and Future King was lots of fun. I had read some Arthurian legend for fun, but this book put it into a great perspective, had some fascinating social satire, and was just plain funny.
Catch-22 is a riot! I have read it a few times now and I still get the giggles while reading it. I would love to do a whole unit with a class on disjointed war novels and couple this with Slaughterhouse V.
Cry, The Beloved Country is the most heart-wrenching, touching testament to faith and human spirit I have ever read. It also deals with social issues in a wonderfully truthful way. If you don't cry while reading this book, you not only have no heart, you have no soul.
The Death of a Salesman is my favorite Arthur Miller...except for The Crucible. They both are very touching and moderately depressing. I think I learned my devotion to unwaveirng idealism by reading John Proctor for my class...and it has stuck. I also think I learned the value of living the life I have been given, not the life I wish for myself, by my Salesman experience.
No Exit was lots of fun. I went into it expecting something vaguely Kafka-esque (which is pretty much the lowest expectations I can set on a piece of literature). What I got was a spooky and intense look at a fascinating concept of hell-and of life.
The Taming of the Shrew wasn't my favorite when I read it for English class Junior year, but my Senior Year I auditioned for the Shakespeare Production class my school offered that year and I made it in--and landed the role of Petruchio in Taming. The intense study I had to do in order to perform that role made me truly appreciate what the play had to offer and fall in love with Shakespeare.
The Odyssey made for a great read--between the mythological underpinnings which I was always a sucker for, and the good ol' adventure story aspects of it, I had fun.
Wuthering Heights started to bore me when I was assigned it--so I didn't bother finishing. Months later I was stuck at a hair-cut place with a wait ahea dof me and Wuthering Heights was the only book in my car, so I started reading it...and was completely enthralled. I guess I could only enjoy it when I didn't HAVE to read it.
College Books
Ender's Game accounts for most of my love for Orson Scott Card. I read it for fun in college, but then my last year at school I took a YA Lit class and had to read this book again. I was amazed at how many non-Sci-fi fans enjoyed this book.
The Man Who Would be King is my favorite Kipling book. It is short, fun, and a great criticism of British Colonial attitudes. The movie is pretty great too.
Staying Fat for Sarah Burns is another book from the YA class. This book has one of the most touching friendships in a book I've ever read and the high schoolers are written better than most I've seen. Also, it has a GREAT chase scene.
Stargirl is love. This YA book made me fall in love with the title character a little bit.
The Maltese Falcon is great, classic noir crime drama. It is the genre in its purest form.
Romeo and Juliet. I read it in high shcool and liked it, but as I got older, I felt that it wasn't "good enough" Shakespeare. Then I took my college Shakespeare course and realized that it is studied so early because it IS great Shakespeare.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell made me go from a vague interest in William Blake to a love for William Blake. An insightful look at religion and free-will.
The Memory of Old Jack is an agrarian novel that captures the tragic death of the southern courtly agrarian lifestyle that was shot during the American post-civil war era and has slowly died out over the last 100+ years. Its tragically beautiful snap-shot of southern culture's dying breaths.
Dr.Strangefate
He Sees You When You're Sleeping. He Knows When Yo
in grade school I enjoyed:
- The Giver
- Holes
- Inherit the Wind
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Tuck Everlasting
- Lord of the Flies
In High School:
- Joseph Campbell's "Hero With A Thousand Faces"
- The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man - Joyce
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Chabon
- The Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
- Brave New World - Huxley
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Twain
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Stevenson
- The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
We also read the Great Gatsby, but I hate that book...
- The Giver
- Holes
- Inherit the Wind
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Tuck Everlasting
- Lord of the Flies
In High School:
- Joseph Campbell's "Hero With A Thousand Faces"
- The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man - Joyce
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Chabon
- The Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
- Brave New World - Huxley
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Twain
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Stevenson
- The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
We also read the Great Gatsby, but I hate that book...
Ice
Teh Sexy Monkey Queen
When I was in middle school, I never read Holes. I saw the movie (which I enjoyed a lot). Although, when my brothers were in middle school, they were given the book to read.
Langsta
Well-Known Member
I like Shakespeare - Julius Caesar and Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth. I like the Illiad and the Odyssey, and Beowulf.
Scarecrow
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2006
- Messages
- 106
Amazing list. The ones I haven't read I've heard a lot about.
Anyone ever come across Beckett's Waiting for Godot? I'm not in theater classes, but I wanted something to read really quickly the other day, picked it up at the campus book store. It was pretty good.
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Victor Von Doom
Fist of teh Internets.
Not counting the classics in HS like The Odyssey, Catcher in the Rye, The Works of Shakespeare...
I think my favorite books had to be from grade school:
I think my favorite books had to be from grade school:
- The Girl With Silver Eyes
- Encyclopedia Brown
- Short Stories of Anasi the Spider
- RL Stine's Fear Street saga
- Dahl's Matilda, BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Gothamite
Well-Known Member
Definitely Animal Farm. Fantastic stuff. I still can't believe I haven't read 1984.
As far as Shakespeare is concerned, we only ever did two, but we studied them in great detail. I find with Shakespeare, the initial read-through is never as good as the studying afterward. That's when you really grasp it. I really loved The Merchant of Venice and Othello. I've seen Romeo & Juliet onstage a couple of times and it was okay.
"Lies of Silence" which was about the troubles in Northern Ireland was so-bad-it-was-great. Detailed descriptions of the main character's steamy affair with someone twenty years younger than him did a lot to capture the imaginations of fourteen year-olds.
Also, a nod has to be given to all of the classic Dahl books from First Class (First Grade for you guys). We're talking The BFG (probably the most memorable book I ever read at school, and the first book I ever read in English) The Witches, and Matilda (I think). Naturally, I went home and read The Magic Finger and The Twits afterward.
As far as Shakespeare is concerned, we only ever did two, but we studied them in great detail. I find with Shakespeare, the initial read-through is never as good as the studying afterward. That's when you really grasp it. I really loved The Merchant of Venice and Othello. I've seen Romeo & Juliet onstage a couple of times and it was okay.
"Lies of Silence" which was about the troubles in Northern Ireland was so-bad-it-was-great. Detailed descriptions of the main character's steamy affair with someone twenty years younger than him did a lot to capture the imaginations of fourteen year-olds.
Also, a nod has to be given to all of the classic Dahl books from First Class (First Grade for you guys). We're talking The BFG (probably the most memorable book I ever read at school, and the first book I ever read in English) The Witches, and Matilda (I think). Naturally, I went home and read The Magic Finger and The Twits afterward.
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Zombipanda
My Boom-Boom's mostly gay
You read Crime and Punishment in high school and Ender's Game in college? That's nutty.
Raskolnikov has got to be one of the greatest characters in the history of literature, though.
Zombipanda
My Boom-Boom's mostly gay
Oh, moley!
He's right though they are great. But I still can't think of a book that's ever enthralled me as much as 1984. I mean Orwell's just a freaky science wunderkind. And it might possibly have the greatest ending to a novel I've ever seen.
Volunteer Fire Detective
Well-Known Member
My Junior and Senior year (ending here in just a couple of months!), I read some absolutely amazing stuff. The highlights included Prometheus Bound (Aeschylus's imagery is fantastic), The Awakening (better than it sounds, trust me), The Wild Duck (Ibsen! Need I say more?), Things Fall Apart (the very last line is one of the most amazing in literature, I think), and 1984 (simply amazing), and let's not forget the short stories of Hemingway and Macbeth.
