Never Read It!
Happy Tuesday! This week's topic really had me overthinking it. There are so many books I have not read, so many author's backlists I want to read. I didn't know where to start. That had me thinking about books lots of people read, and let's be honest, one category those books fall into are "required reading". I think my high school did a fairly good job exposing me to many of the classics, but there are still so many I haven't read (and most likely won't). I chose ten that I feel were part of everyone else's required reading but mine. Maybe the variability is due to the way our English curriculum was structured. We had grade 9 and grade 10 standard English classes. The last two years, we got to pick from a list of classes. My sister took Gothic Tradition where they read classic horror. I took American Literature, a film class where we read the books and watched the adaptations, and creative writing. My American Lit class was themed each year, so the books changed, but they were always popular classics.
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I did read Steinbeck, just not this one. We read The Pearl when I was in 9th grade.
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - Again, I read a Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms in grade 10.
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I didn't read Bradbury for school, but I did read some of his stories. My choir also did a piece that was based on one of his books.
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I have never read Austen, only retellings.
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare - We read something from The Bard every year but we never read this.
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Have you read/not read any of these?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
I don't recall reading any of these at school but I did read on my own Fahrenheit 451, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. It seemed the school I went aren't so kneed on reading fiction books.
ReplyDeleteI think more people watch movies/tv of these than reading the books. But these movie/tv adaptation got people into reading the books so I guess that's why they are popular.
Have a lovely day.
I am surprised you didn't read fiction in school. Huh. I do think adaptations drive some of the reading. I guess I should be happy people are reading at all even if it's just because there is a movie or a celebrity told them to read it.
DeleteI've read a couple of these a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteClassics are way in my past
DeleteI did read 6 of these, 5 while in school, Diary of Anne Frank last year after seeing the play. I listened to Pride and Prejudice just this year and enjoyed it. I then watched two of the movies that I hadn't already seen. I will never read Wuthering Heights, it's too depressing.
ReplyDeleteI have seen adaptations of some of the books, and I will not read a book after I see the adaptation. I feel all the big things are revealed in the adaptation.
DeleteWhen I was in high school, I came across this list of books one HAS to read, and it was mostly classics, so I knocked a bunch off as a teenager. I remember reading Of Mice and Men and just sobbing. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and I've read it several times!
ReplyDeleteThere are a LOT of those lists out there. I am just not the biggest fan of classics. I am not even too keen on historicals.
DeleteI've read most of these because I went to way too much college. I haven't read The Old Man and the Sea or The Crucible.
ReplyDeleteThose are definitely big titles. I haven't read them either, but at least it shows you read well in your program.
DeleteI love JANE EYRE and P&P. I despise THE GREAT GATSBY, though. LOL
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT (on a Thursday)!
I recently saw the play for Gatsby. It's sad.
DeleteI am not a big fan of classics but we had to read the Great Gatsby at school!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter read that one for school as well.
DeleteI've only read Jane Eyre and I probably wouldn't read any of the other books on your list except for maybe Pride & Prejudice. I'm not a big fan of classics.
ReplyDeleteSame. I don't see myself ever reading any of these. Many have been adapted as well, so if I really want to, I can watch the ones I have yet to watch
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