Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly topic hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week she provides a topic, and you are free to use that topic and/or variations of that topic to make your top ten list. A full list of the weekly themes can be found here. Most of the books I read for school I have mixed feelings about. I understand why some of them have literary merit, but I don’t always agree with the literary canon.
Ok, so when I first read this, I really loved it! I totally related to Scout and thought this was such a wonderful coming-of-age story. But now I don’t love it as I once I did. The white savior story line rubs me the wrong way.
I found this book so boring when I read it in high school. I think about re-reading it since I’m a true crime junkie, but I just keep remembering falling asleep when reading it that I hesitate.
It’s another story that I found boring when I was in high school.
My annoyance with this novel is really the lack of communication that happened in my high school. I switched from regular English classes to AP between freshman and sophomore year (I did sign up for PreAP English for freshman year but I came from the “poor” school, so everyone was enrolled into regular classes. Then when I tried to switch on the first day they told me all the classes were full). Anyway, this was the summer reading for English class. I found out the first day of class that the next day we would have a writing assignment, so I had to read this whole book in one night.
I always thought The Scarlet Letter was just pretentious, but after reading The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman I don’t think I gave it a chance. I’ve debated re-reading it since finishing Hoffman’s novel.
That’s one huge issue assigning great works to kids in school — if they’re approaching it from the ‘work’ perspective they won’t necessarily get anything out of it. There are several books I’ve gone back and re-read (Gatesby being one of them) and got MUCH more out of as an adult. Gatesby was utterly boring the first time, but when I read it in my thirties I was able to see the poverty of these characters’ souls. My list is here, and for a few of the books I’ve gone back and re-read them as an adult over the years. 🙂
A Separate Peace is a novel I want to re-read. Lines of it frequently pop into my head, especially the bit about sarcasm.
Yea…I have a difficult time with assigned reading in general. I get that it’s necessary but it’s always more difficult to get students to read something that’s required.
I only ever read To Kill a Mockingbird once in middle school. The white saviour aspect of it totally flew over my head. I should reread it sometime.
As I look at your list, I think of how many more modern books would be better to teach the same concepts. I have never read, but want to, A Scarlet Letter. Now I wonder about it.
My TTT: Books I Should Have read in School
I have reread some of the books I was assigned to read in school and they hit differently as an adult. I still love To Kill a Mockingbird. I do understand where you are coming from regarding the white savior aspect, but I’m curious how it could have been different given the time period it’s written in as well as the location…your thoughts?
As for the Scarlet Letter…I’ve never liked it. Maybe I need to read The Invisible Hour?
Overall, I don’t really like the idea of assigned reading. Actually, I guess, I don’t like the idea of assigning books that better understood and appreciated as an adult with more life experience. I’m not a teacher, so my opinion does not matter…nor do I assume it is the correct opinion. LOL
I guess they were all boring, like most assigned reading material is 🙂 There’s no alt text so no idea which books you’ve chosen.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2024/10/15/top-ten-tuesday-books-with-fall-vibes/
I’ve read all five of these. TKAM is my favorite novel of all time, but parts of it are definitely dated. I also really loved A SEPARATE PEACE when I read it. And, for a book about murder, IN COLD BLOOD is really incredibly boring! LOL
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Great list! I haven’t read many of these so I’ll have to look them up later. I loved reading your reviews :). It’s such a letdown when you have to read a book and it’s super boring, I know most of the books I read in school were the same.
If you’d like to visit, here’s my TTT: https://thebooklorefairy.blogspot.com/2024/10/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-was-assigned-in-school.html
I loved To Kill A Mocking Bird and Huck Finn, but it has been 45 years since I read them. I’ve not read The Scarlet Letter – I go back and forth on whether I should. And ugh! Having to read a book in one night and write a paper would be awful.