I have been on a reading frenzy now that school has ended (even though I am still teaching summer school)
It's amazing how YOUNG I feel again ( I read books like a crazy person as a young girl) I always had my nose in a book.
I just finished these two
Jane Eyre
I LOVED reading Jane Eyre. LOVED IT! What a terrific love story!
I was talking/tweeting with a few peeps about how I have recently decided to read some of what's considered Classic Literature. In HS, most of these are required readings. I distinctly remember having to read:
- Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare)
- The Outsiders (SE Hinton)
- To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
- Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
- Of Mice And Men(john steinbeck)
- O'Pioneers by (Willa Cather)
In HS, I HATED these as my summer required reading. I think some of these novels are really difficult to understand without those lovely things known as Cliff Notes to help hold your hand along the way! Some of these books are written so above how people "speak" today so it's no wonder as a teen why I got so lost in the verbatim.
To this day, The Outsiders & To Kill A Mockingbird are some of my all time fave classic novels. I have even joked having a kid and naming him/her Scout in honor of Harper Lee's novel! :)
I don't remember anything about Of Mice and Men AT ALL. I think I "didn't really read" this one.
Fahrenheit was definitely one of those books I got lost in and had no idea what the heck was going on.
O'Pioneers was decent, I remember some bits of sexual content in that book, nothing crazy just sticks out in my mind.
I am currently reading this
At first glance, when I saw the movie trailer I thought, gee that have a movie like this-- it's called SAME TIME NEXT YEAR starring that guy from MASH!
But As I read the back of the book, it sounds like they are not really all that alike after all.
The goal is to finish it before it comes out to the theater! :)
What "Classics" have you read that you would recommend?
I love reading! I was the same as you in HS, didn't really get into the classics. Although I really did like Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. These days, I haven't been reading any classics but if you haven't read it, I'd definitely recommend The Help! I loved it and can't wait for the movie in August :)
ReplyDeleteUmmmm My favorite was Farenheit 451 because I hated (school required) reading and that book was about burning books! LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy all time favorite was To Kill a Mockingbird. That was the first book I actually read instead of doing sparknotes. I actually understood it all and loved the meanings behind it all.
I have been wanting to read Jane Eyre! I need to get on that one :)
Btw- Fahrenheit 451 is no longer allowed to be a required reading book, at least in the county I live in. Pshhhh.
ReplyDeleteOkay! So, Classics that are amazing: Catcher in The Rye -JD Salinger, 1984 -George Orwell, Franny and Zooey - JD Salinger, I definitely DID NOT like Jane Eyre, but I did like Pride and Prejudice! Madame Bovary wasn't bad either, Anna Karinina is very very long, but interesting! Hope that helps!
ReplyDeletehttp://annawalker1992.blogspot.com/
The great gatsby is one of my favorite books. We read it in High School and I loved it. I should really read it again.
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby are probably my two favorite books. I didn't really get into them much in HS either, but love them now!
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge reader. In the summer when I was younger I would go to the library with my mom and come home with a huge stack of books - and finish them in a week. I love getting lost in a good story.
ReplyDeleteNot a big fan of the classics though, I think high school summer reading may have ruined them for me haha. I did like Of Mice and Men, and I remember we were watching the movie at the end of the school year and literally 5 minutes before the end we all got in trouble for talking so the teacher shut it off. And we never saw the end.
I've never heard of that book One Day but after watching that trailer I am most definitely going to be reading it! Not sure how I feel about Anne Hathaway's accent hough...
Okay now that I've written the world's longest comment... Have a great weekend! :)
I am such a reader too! It is my addiction -- seriously! I was just talking to my BF the other day and how I wanted to go back and read the classics! This post is so inspiring -- I am going to do it! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOMG I felt like I was writing this post as I was reading it!
ReplyDeleteI love love love To Kill a Mockingbird and the Great Gatsby. Two of my all time favorite books. Also, coincidentally, two of the books I was "forced" to read in high school, as well!! I re-read them every once in a while, they are that good!
I'm such a sucker for "classics." I mean, they're classics for a reason!!! :) I'm currently reading Gone With the Wind-- SOOOO GOOD! (but oh so long!) And have you read Wuthering Heights?? Possibly the greatest tragedy ever written. A must read, if you haven't already! (Okay, I'm sounding like too much of a nerd.. must. stop. writing. comment.)
I also LOVE reading and the past few months I have be re-reding the classics as well! I remember very few of them from way back when in high school! I just finished Jane Eyre as well about a month back. I also plan on re-reding to Kill a Mockingbird, Anna Karina, and Pride and Prejudice. Currently I am reading a Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I never read this in HS and so far its really good! There are so many to choose from its hard to decide what's next!
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird is my all time favorite!
ReplyDeleteI should give To Kill a Mockingbird another try :)
ReplyDeletei loved to kill a mockingbird! i also really liked of mice and men. all the other books i read in high school can stay in my past though.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing 'One Day'- I haven't heard of it before today but now really want to read it!
Night by Elie Wiesel and Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
ReplyDeletei just finished gatsby AND jane eyre too and just started one day this week! so funny!
ReplyDeleteI love book reviews. I read so much (probably 2-3 books a week). I'd love to share your past reads and what I have!! :)
ReplyDelete