Ally came up with the idea for this post quite a while ago, in which we look back at the books we were both required to read for high school. We finally had time to sit down together and compile a list of the titles that were sometimes a welcome assignment and other times, not so much. It was interesting to note that we had a few titles in common; some books really do seem to be perennial teacher favorites. After taking a browse at each other's reading lists, which are pictured below, we then wrote some reflections on our school reading days.
Ally: English has always been my favorite subject, and I never truly minded all the required reading and writing. Comparing Lee's high school reading to my own, the biggest difference I see is in the quantity. Lee had to read at least double the amount of books that I had to read, which should be embarrassing for the Florida educational system.
Besides two books we had to read freshman year (Romeo and Juliet and To Kill a Mockingbird), Lee and I didn't have any of the same books in the same years. It was interesting because we both had the same feelings about the books: enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and hated Romeo and Juliet. Freshman year altogether was a meh reading year for me. I was only able to read three books, which was disappointing in itself, and I didn't appreciate the works at the time. Since I disliked the one Shakespeare tragedy so much, I was turned off from reading any of his other plays. I still blame my 9th grade English teacher till this very day for my lack of appreciation for Shakespeare.
Sophomore year was a bright reading year for me; I adored my teacher and she actually assigned intriguing, worthwhile books. My absolute favorite book that I was forced to read in my entire high school career was The Count of Monte Cristo. That book just hit all the right notes with me. I was one of the few students who actually read the book in my class, and I remember trying to give the Sparknotes version of it to my classmates right before the test. The only book that I didn't like sophomore year was The Alchemist. I tolerated reading it but with Melissa constantly complaining about her dislike for the book, it was hard to enjoy.
Junior year was hell. I absolutely despised my crazy English teacher. She would assign us all these books and not give us any time to read them. She also wouldn't have anything interactive to go along with the reading. I hated reading books for her class. The worst was The Catcher in the Rye. The book itself was okay but my teacher didn't promote actually "reading" it. She would go around the class and tell students to read summaries of it online if they didn't feel like reading it.
My second favorite reading year was senior year. We had to read several classics, including Jane Eyre, which is one of my favorites, and Macbeth. I surprisingly really enjoyed Jane Eyre; I only say surprisingly because Lee didn't enjoy the book, and we tend to like and dislike the same stuff. I unfortunately did not care for Macbeth, which is sad because I feel like I should care about Shakespeare, and I can only thank my experience with Romeo and Juliet for that.
All in all, my high school reading experience is slightly disappointing in comparison to Lee's. She read so many more books than I did, and I feel like she had the better books too. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able read more classics without the restrictions of an educational setting.
Lee: I still remember attending orientation for incoming freshmen at what would be my school for the next four years and staring at the summer reading assignment sheet. What?! We had no such summer homework in my elementary school. I was excited, though, to start reading "high school level" books; my elementary school had never really offered much guidance as to book recommendations based on age/grade level.
I think it's kind of funny that Ally and I were both introduced to Shakespeare's plays through Romeo and Juliet. Because, you know, nothing says, "Helloooo, Shakespeare!" like two teens torn apart by tragedy. Sophomore year for me was all about American lit, thus the cluster of American authors on my list.
Junior year English was my favorite; I was a budding Anglophile even back then. I really enjoyed our study of the history of British literature, of which I am still very much an aficionado to this day. No Brit lit course would be complete without . . . Shakespeare! I liked that we got to learn about his life and times and had a bit more of an orientation to the language of his plays. Actually, we had zero orientation to the English of his day when I read Romeo and Juliet as a freshman. I also just enjoyed reading Macbeth much more than R & J. And so the love of Shakespeare that continues to live in my heart today began.
My senior reading list is a little longer because I doubled up on English classes that year, which translated into two summer reading lists. I distinctly remember my parents skeptically eyeing the stack I took up to the counter at Barnes and Noble, which I'd begun visiting with increasing frequency. I still shake my head a little a the inclusion of The Bridges of Madison County on one of my lists. After being assigned classic after classic, this was quite a change of pace. Seriously—it was an odd selection compared to our usual reading fare.
I'm not going to pretend that I miss being told what to read, especially during summer vacation. I also feel that it's time I made a little confession. I didn't finish reading A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce, one of my senior summer reading books. I had no frickin' clue what the bloody hell was going on in that book. I tried. Really, really tried. Exasperated, I gave up and read the Cliffs Notes instead. So, I guess you could call that my first DNF, and that was the one and only time I failed to finish reading a book for school.
Were there any books you read for school that you loved/hated?
