.
9.20.2009
Classic Reading List
I've begun reading the classic books which so many high schools oblige students to read...only this time, I'm actually going to read them. Lately, I've grown tired of the hype surrounding pop culture books whose popularity will fizzle out along with the Legging Revival. I'm sure the Twilight Saga is a wonderful teen trilogy, and I bet the Harry Potter series is probably a glorious pubescent paradise.
But I just want something with substance, something with weight. I wanted to read something with an underlying commentary, my agreement or disagreement with the author's commentary notwithstanding. So this post will serve as an on-going checklist for those books which I plan to tackle in the near future.
These are in no particular order and which one I read next will greatly depend on the book's availability at the EBR Library.
1. Dickens, Tale of Two Cities
2. Orwell, 1984
3. Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five
4. Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath
5. Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
6. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye (on the fence about this one; teenage angst is a turn-off)
7. Heller, Catch-22
8. Steinbeck, Of Mice & Men
9. Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter
10. Hemingway, Farewell to Arms
11. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
12. eventually, Tolstoy's War and Peace
13. Austin, Pride and Prejudice
14. Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
15. McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses
I noticeably left books like Invisible Man, Frankenstein, Things Fall Apart, Silas Marner, and Heart of Darkness off my list for a particular reason. I was, in fact, required to read these in high school.
I tried. I promise.
But I just couldn't make it through them. Having to highlight, take notes, and decipher the implications behind the symbols, irony, and foreshadowing made it more difficult to pay attention to the overall plot. I resented something about Summer Reading Lists...probably the "Summer" part. Still to this day, when I think of Silas Marner, all I can remember is the weight of my eyelids.
I might try Invisible Man and Heart of Darkness again, but I can't force myself back to Silas Marner or Things Fall Apart. Some friends have suggested that I try Hemingway's Old Man and The Sea;Vonnegut's Galapagos, Breakfast of Champions, or another of his books; and Austin's Jane Erye. They are unofficially on the list, too.
Let the geeking begin!
But I just want something with substance, something with weight. I wanted to read something with an underlying commentary, my agreement or disagreement with the author's commentary notwithstanding. So this post will serve as an on-going checklist for those books which I plan to tackle in the near future.
These are in no particular order and which one I read next will greatly depend on the book's availability at the EBR Library.
4. Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath
5. Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
6. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye (on the fence about this one; teenage angst is a turn-off)
7. Heller, Catch-22
8. Steinbeck, Of Mice & Men
9. Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter
10. Hemingway, Farewell to Arms
11. Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
12. eventually, Tolstoy's War and Peace
13. Austin, Pride and Prejudice
I noticeably left books like Invisible Man, Frankenstein, Things Fall Apart, Silas Marner, and Heart of Darkness off my list for a particular reason. I was, in fact, required to read these in high school.
I tried. I promise.
But I just couldn't make it through them. Having to highlight, take notes, and decipher the implications behind the symbols, irony, and foreshadowing made it more difficult to pay attention to the overall plot. I resented something about Summer Reading Lists...probably the "Summer" part. Still to this day, when I think of Silas Marner, all I can remember is the weight of my eyelids.
I might try Invisible Man and Heart of Darkness again, but I can't force myself back to Silas Marner or Things Fall Apart. Some friends have suggested that I try Hemingway's Old Man and The Sea;Vonnegut's Galapagos, Breakfast of Champions, or another of his books; and Austin's Jane Erye. They are unofficially on the list, too.
Let the geeking begin!
Archives
The views, comments, and opinions expressed in this blog are mine
and mine alone; they do not reflect those of my employer, my clients, my family, or my friends.
It is important to note that I do not solicit, accept, or otherwise profit
from this website. I do not receive compensation for what I write, create, or link to
and I prefer it that way.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]