Haytham Kenway Posted August 23, 2016 Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 In Italy, that is either 'I promessi sposi' (the betrothed) by Manzoni or the very boring and depressing Malavoglia by Verga. And the Divina Commedia (Divine Commedy) by Dante Alighieri, of course. What about you? Is there a particular book in your country that all students read at least once in their lifetime? Quote Link to comment
Lady Mechanika Posted August 23, 2016 Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 I did To kill a mockingbird and loved it. I also did Romeo and Juliet (hated, wanted to do Macbeth or Hamlet), great expectations and pride and prejudice. It's not that you must do a specific text, more you must do an example of a 20th century text, a pre 20th century and a Shakespeare. One of my friends at the same school did Macbeth and of mice and men. A different friend did the crucible. Quote Link to comment
yewonthetrashcan Posted August 23, 2016 Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 At the beginning of the year our Eng teacher gives us a list of the books shell have us read. For different grades, it's different, and some teaches use a different order. Last year, the only book I hated reading was probably Crucible, because I didn't find the story all that interesting. In the years before, I had to read Great Expectations and Lord of the Flies, both of which I did not enjoy compared to the other books. Quote Link to comment
Laggy Posted August 24, 2016 Report Share Posted August 24, 2016 Gulliver's travels and 3 men on a boat, abridged. Boring. Quote Link to comment
pyrosocks Posted September 3, 2016 Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 To kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Shakespeare, The Catcher in the Rye, and several other very popular early/mid 20th century literature works. Oh yeah, The Great Gatsby. We actually had a Great Gatsby themed semi-formal or prom(not sure) that was timed with the release of the movie. Y'know, I always chuckle when I think of how my teachers tried to make Shakespeare cool. Quote Link to comment
Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted September 3, 2016 Administrator Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 We did To Kill a Mockingbird too in Australia, as well as various Shakespeare works. We also did something on the Salem Witch Trials play script. In New Zealand we did this horrible book called the Island and this excellent masterpiece, A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. pyrosocks 1 Quote Link to comment
yewonthetrashcan Posted September 4, 2016 Report Share Posted September 4, 2016 10 hours ago, pyrorocketeer said: Oh yeah, The Great Gatsby. We actually had a Great Gatsby themed semi-formal or prom(not sure) that was timed with the release of the movie. Well, last year my school's prom was Gatsby-themed. Also, my English teacher really tried to get us to love the book and she succeeded. Everyone who went through her class remembers everything about the book so well... Quote Link to comment
pyrosocks Posted September 4, 2016 Report Share Posted September 4, 2016 1 hour ago, songyewon_203 said: Well, last year my school's prom was Gatsby-themed. Also, my English teacher really tried to get us to love the book and she succeeded. Everyone who went through her class remembers everything about the book so well... Ahaaa, Gatsby is so memorable for me because I've done 3 papers for it. One in high school, and then in university for two separate courses. My copy is marked, coffee-stained, wrinkled and colored with highlighter. That's how I remember everything! But that's so great when you have a teacher who makes the book memorable for you guys. I've always appreciated teachers who were really enthusiastic about their subject matter, they've usually made the class a lot brighter and the work a lot more interesting. We need more teachers like that. yewonthetrashcan 1 Quote Link to comment
TJMike Posted September 4, 2016 Report Share Posted September 4, 2016 Back when I was in high school, my teachers made us read at least one book per year. I got to read The Divine Commedy by Dante Alighieri, The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. All of those were (are) pretty good books, but I liked more the story of Dorian Gray, all the immortality thing. Now that's cool . Maybe that's were my love for reading comes from... huh, who figures? Quote Link to comment
Nocturna Posted September 4, 2016 Report Share Posted September 4, 2016 We had to read in class Romeo and Juliet (not so good), An Inspector Calls (I was actually growing desperate to find out the ending), Heroes (It was meh) and Of Mice and Men (holy cow that book was crazy it was hilarious though that the boys had went around school spoiling the ending). Out of those, my favourite to read was Of Mice and Men. Despite the sad ending Quote Link to comment
Stubborn Saber Posted September 5, 2016 Report Share Posted September 5, 2016 I developed a raging hatred for Shakespeare after being forced to read and watch 'Romeo and Juliet' every single bloody year in high school, seriously the English teaches apparently didn't get it through their thick skulls that no one cared or payed attention to it during the classes. However I did have the pleasure of reading and watching 'Of Mice and Men' at the end of year 10, that was fantastic, especially the ending to it. Laggy and yewonthetrashcan 2 Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 I'm that weird person that likes a lot of the books people are forced to read in school (English education is one of my majors, though), but I remember two in particular I hated were the Catcher in the Rye and the Old Man and the Sea… Couldn't relate to either protagonist at all... Which is strange in the latter case, because I spent a lot of time in Florida… Will always be a Shakespeare lover though… Started in eighth grade and never looked back… Quote Link to comment
TheWaffleKing Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 To Kill a Mockingbird. Macbeth, Hamlet or The Taming of the Shrew. Fahrenheit 451. Quote Link to comment
Adelina Amouteru Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 According to CBSE school curriculum Gulliver's travels, Three men in a boat, Canterville's ghost and Julius Caesar are a must. Then you've Romeo Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The picture of Dorian Gray, Happy Prince, To kill a Mockingbird etc etc that you're expected to read if you consider yourself to be decent in language. Personally I found 'Happy Prince' the most beautiful piece even though it was the shortest and the worst would have to be 'Three men in a boat', trust me that gives new dimensions to the word BORING. Quote Link to comment
Hikari Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 Over the summer we had to read The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. It was a pretty interesting book, more than I thought, and was about a teenager and real life problems that she had. Also, this book called The Alchemist by...Paul Coelho? Not even sure... but the book was pretty boring in my opinion. I don't even think I finished when we were supposed to... For Bio, we had a choice out of several books, but they were all incredibly boring. We haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird yet, but I know we will this year... yewonthetrashcan 1 Quote Link to comment
yewonthetrashcan Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 12 minutes ago, Pokeevee57 said: For Bio, we had a choice out of several books, but they were all incredibly boring. what.....kind of a biology class.........makes you read novels?? also, i have just been assigned two plays: the importance of being earnest, and a streetcar named desire. both are written by brits. i am not looking forward to it (i have a very bad experience with classical british authors, thanks to charles dickens........) Hikari and onewiththewheels 2 Quote Link to comment
Hikari Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 My biology class, Yewon. Mine... Also, they were very sciency books that were extremely snooze-inducing. I actually like the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I tried reading David Copperfield by him too, but it just wasn't the same... Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted November 30, 2016 Report Share Posted November 30, 2016 On 11/14/2016 at 11:09 PM, songyewon_203 said: what.....kind of a biology class.........makes you read novels?? also, i have just been assigned two plays: the importance of being earnest, and a streetcar named desire. both are written by brits. i am not looking forward to it (i have a very bad experience with classical british authors, thanks to charles dickens........) I can't comment on a streetcar named desire, but I can say the Importance of Being Earnest is very difficult to understand if you don't know the historical context behind the era… I recommend looking it up before the class starts reading it… Also, I remember getting incredibly bored by the book because my college instructor was bad at explaining things, especially with something were historical context was so important… Quote Link to comment
Adelina Amouteru Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 On 11/15/2016 at 10:53 AM, Pokeevee57 said: My biology class, Yewon. Mine... Also, they were very sciency books that were extremely snooze-inducing. Ever read this book called 'Brain- a journey to wild' ? Hikari 1 Quote Link to comment
Hikari Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 2 minutes ago, Adelina Amouteru said: Ever read this book called 'Brain- a journey to wild' ? Oh my god, that sounds incredibly boring. Did you have to read that? Adelina Amouteru 1 Quote Link to comment
Adelina Amouteru Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 @Pokeevee57 Yeaah, that WAS BORING. INCREDIBLY BOORING. Hikari 1 Quote Link to comment
Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted December 4, 2016 Administrator Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Never read The Island. Honestly. It's a book about this guy that makes a little boat and goes to this tiny island in the middle of the lake near his grandparents place. 300 pages of this guy who sits on this island and paints pictures. THAT'S IT. We had to write on essay on this crap. It's so traumatic I can't get it out of my head. That's how mentally scarring this book is. Adelina Amouteru, Hikari and Laggy 3 Quote Link to comment
Hikari Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 16 minutes ago, Adelina Amouteru said: @Pokeevee57 Yeaah, that WAS BORING. INCREDIBLY BOORING. *wince* Ouch... 6 minutes ago, Lucifer said: Never read The Island. Honestly. It's a book about this guy that makes a little boat and goes to this tiny island in the middle of the lake near his grandparents place. 300 pages of this guy who sits on this island and paints pictures. THAT'S IT. We had to write on essay on this crap. It's so traumatic I can't get it out of my head. That's how mentally scarring this book is. Oh god... I would hate a book like that... I will take your words to heart, @Lucifer. Quote Link to comment
Beywriter Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 We were rarely ever made to read a book for class. We red bits of stories, Romeo and Juliet, poems. We were made to read the book "Holes" that was...um...yeah they made a movie based on the book. It was Shia Labeouf's first movie. We were also made to read "Stone Cold" a book about a homeless guy and "Skellig". Quote Link to comment
SeleneHime Posted December 12, 2016 Report Share Posted December 12, 2016 Alas, even when you're homeschooled you have a reading list in order to get your lit credits. Mandated by state. Shakespeare Jack London Charles Dickens To Kill a Mockingbird Lord of the Flies The Great Gatsby Moby Dick Three Men in a Boat Ulysses 1984 Fahrenheit 451 ... Yes, emojis. They can fairly well sum up how I feel about most classics. Shakespeare, though, I love because of the sheer amount of sarcasm in his plays. If you know how to read the context and subtext, it can be downright hilarious (though there are some jokes that are lost in modern dialect). Anything Charles Dickens practically bored me to tears (purple prose is what happens when you're paid by the word, people), and Lord of the Flies was one of the few books I've ever outright hated. Hikari 1 Quote Link to comment
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