In high school, I had to read a very set list of books. And most people that I talk to from North America have a very similar list. Books, I read them
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I'm the weirdo who actually read Hemingway my junior year because no one had forced me to. (That, and the project required us to read three books by one author, and I knew The Old Man and the Sea was short.)
That said, here's what I remember being required to read, 9th-11th grade: The Catcher in the Rye Macbeth a book of short stories (the two I read to death, although they weren't assigned, were Jean Stafford's "A Country Love Story" and Irwin Shaw's "The Eighty-Yard Run". maybe there was a Cheever in there too, now that I think of it) Pride and Prejudice The Canterbury Tales The Mayor of Casterbridge some Bernard Malamud book I've forgotten the name of (not The Natural)
what did I read over and over? Olivia, by Dorothy Strachey Bussy (because: budding bisexual). short stories, mostly. Senior year of high school I was mildly obsessed with Scott Fitzgerald's short stories. Maybe some Tolstoy? But not Anna Karenina... man, a lot of it's a blur now
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Oh damn, this is hard because I don't remember the books they wanted us to read. I remember "I promessi sposi" by Alessandro Manzoni - I disliked it as a teen - and then, of course, The Divine Comedy and what more? I guess Petrarca and more Italian stuff.
For English, French, Greek and Latin we used to do translations of chapters or bits like Heathcliff and Catherine's meeting, or something, the death of Hector and so on. I read Homer when I was little actually, but in a children book of course, and honestly I loved Ulysses so much, because he was clever.
As a teen I loved Camilleri books, Memoirs of Hadrien by Yourcenar, the Iliad and the Odyssey (While I still don't care much for Virgil) The Portrait of Dorian Grey, Doctor Jekill and Mister Hide and a bunch of stuff from Edgar Allan Poe and I can't remember what else.
I love this post!! It couldn't have come at a better time. I'm sitting on my bed drinking a cold beer (when did i become so german ?? what berlin is doing to me
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I feel slightly less philistine now for having read a bunch of those texts in college (Hernani, Lorenzaccio, La princesse de Cleves, and for Balzac, Eugenie Grandet -- we got spared the Stendahl) plus L'etranger in high school. (Is the new book -- The Meurseult Inquisition is the English title, I don't know the original -- any good?)
Well you have read quite a few classics ! Lorenzaccio was my baccalaureat book, I've read every sentence ten times ^^ Blazac and Dumas were always on the list of books we had to read but I never actually did. It's not too late maybe one day. I've always had this feeling that I would read when I'm older, 30 or 40 or something, most of the books I have bought, I bought to read ~later. It's like I'm not quite ready to read yet, but I know I'll be someday.
It's called Meursault, contre-enquête by Kamel Daoud. I haven't read it, I had vaguely heard of it. I want to read it now!
The new Meursault book is getting good press over here, but I suspect it's just that people like the idea of a response to L'étranger, whether or not they've actually read the book.
Ah, but I LIKED all the books I was forced to read.
School stuff: Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Janet Frame's assorted short stories Midsummer Night's Dream and Othella Patricia Grace's short stories
Gosh I can't even remember the books I loved, because I'm not mentally ~separated from my teens enough to call them "ones I loved as a teen". Plus I've reread them enough times since I dunno when I first picked them up. Besides I've made you read a number of them already trololol.
~*~favourites~*~ - Any Neil Gaiman book, though Sandman is my #1, and the books I loved most by him were ones I read out of my teens. - Any book by Catherine Fisher - The Hex trilogy by Rhiannon Lassiter - The Demon Child Trilogy/Hythrun Chronicles by Jennifer Fallon - The Riddle-Master trilogy by Patricia A McKillip
High School Required Reading (English class unless stated otherwise): 9th Grade: -Lord of the Flies -Romeo & Juliet -The Old Man & The Sea (though I chose this one) -Ender's Game -The Odyssey -The Good Earth (for world history, loved it) -Hiroshima (world history) -1984 (world history)
10th Grade: -A Separate Peace (really liked it) -Of Mice And Men (really liked it) -The Bean Trees (by Barbara Kingsolver) -Their Eyes Were Watching God -maybe Macbeth? I can't remember if I had to read Shakespeare in 10th grade. -Nicholas & Alexandra (for AP Mod Euro)
11th Grade: -The Awakening -The Great Gatsby (really liked it) -The Good Earth Trilogy & other Pearl S. Buck novels (we had to do a year-long project on an author, and I chose her b/c I'd loved The Good Earth so much) -A Lewis and Clark book (for AP U. S. History)
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That said, here's what I remember being required to read, 9th-11th grade:
The Catcher in the Rye
Macbeth
a book of short stories (the two I read to death, although they weren't assigned, were Jean Stafford's "A Country Love Story" and Irwin Shaw's "The Eighty-Yard Run". maybe there was a Cheever in there too, now that I think of it)
Pride and Prejudice
The Canterbury Tales
The Mayor of Casterbridge
some Bernard Malamud book I've forgotten the name of (not The Natural)
what did I read over and over? Olivia, by Dorothy Strachey Bussy (because: budding bisexual). short stories, mostly. Senior year of high school I was mildly obsessed with Scott Fitzgerald's short stories. Maybe some Tolstoy? But not Anna Karenina... man, a lot of it's a blur now ( ... )
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For English, French, Greek and Latin we used to do translations of chapters or bits like Heathcliff and Catherine's meeting, or something, the death of Hector and so on. I read Homer when I was little actually, but in a children book of course, and honestly I loved Ulysses so much, because he was clever.
As a teen I loved Camilleri books, Memoirs of Hadrien by Yourcenar, the Iliad and the Odyssey (While I still don't care much for Virgil) The Portrait of Dorian Grey, Doctor Jekill and Mister Hide and a bunch of stuff from Edgar Allan Poe and I can't remember what else.
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It's called Meursault, contre-enquête by Kamel Daoud. I haven't read it, I had vaguely heard of it. I want to read it now!
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School stuff:
Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Janet Frame's assorted short stories
Midsummer Night's Dream and Othella
Patricia Grace's short stories
Gosh I can't even remember the books I loved, because I'm not mentally ~separated from my teens enough to call them "ones I loved as a teen". Plus I've reread them enough times since I dunno when I first picked them up. Besides I've made you read a number of them already trololol.
~*~favourites~*~
- Any Neil Gaiman book, though Sandman is my #1, and the books I loved most by him were ones I read out of my teens.
- Any book by Catherine Fisher
- The Hex trilogy by Rhiannon Lassiter
- The Demon Child Trilogy/Hythrun Chronicles by Jennifer Fallon
- The Riddle-Master trilogy by Patricia A McKillip
But also: Fullmetal Alchemist (the manga)
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High School Required Reading (English class unless stated otherwise):
9th Grade:
-Lord of the Flies
-Romeo & Juliet
-The Old Man & The Sea (though I chose this one)
-Ender's Game
-The Odyssey
-The Good Earth (for world history, loved it)
-Hiroshima (world history)
-1984 (world history)
10th Grade:
-A Separate Peace (really liked it)
-Of Mice And Men (really liked it)
-The Bean Trees (by Barbara Kingsolver)
-Their Eyes Were Watching God
-maybe Macbeth? I can't remember if I had to read Shakespeare in 10th grade.
-Nicholas & Alexandra (for AP Mod Euro)
11th Grade:
-The Awakening
-The Great Gatsby (really liked it)
-The Good Earth Trilogy & other Pearl S. Buck novels (we had to do a year-long project on an author, and I chose her b/c I'd loved The Good Earth so much)
-A Lewis and Clark book (for AP U. S. History)
12th Grade:-Othello (12th ( ... )
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