POLL: What Book Were You FORCED to read in High School?

[tehawesomersace--Justina Ireland]

Hey all, planning a set of blog posts around books people were forced to read in high school that they hated.  So I'm looking for input here as to the books you read in high school that you hated.

 

For me, it was probably the Red Badge of Courage.  I just didn't get the book at the time, and thought it was ridiculously short.

 

Anyone else?

[Georgia McBride]

I don't think I know what you mean about FORCED. We had a required reading list. I found all the books I had to read at least interesting and came to love many of them in hindsight. Some of hte faves from my school required reading list are Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Lord of The Flies. I would never have picked these books up on my own. Being required to read them changed my life.

[Roza marie]

I've had to read many books, Lord of the flies, the contender<-- probably spelled this wrong terrible speller

[tehawesomersace--Justina Ireland]

I mean required reading list books that you read and said "That is four hours of my life I'll never get back."

Not only in high school but also in college.

I understand there is something good to be said about required reading lists, but I'm just talking about the books that you read and *really* disliked.

For example, a lot of people tell me they didn't like Lord of The Flies. Personally, it's one of my favorite books, but it's nice to know what other people didn't like from the required reading lists.

Like I said, it's research. :)

[Penny Randall]

Cranford sent me to sleep. It's SOOOOOOOOOO boring! I didn't get on with Vanity Fair either.

[Ash Yuhas]

We read Faulkner for AP English. All. Year. Ugh. I'm afraid that teacher destroyed the appeal of As I Lay Dying permanently.

[Georgia McBride]

How did I forget The Old Man And The Sea and As I Lay Dying? As I Lay Dying was probably my favorite.

Jessica Varin said:

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

[tehawesomersace--Justina Ireland]

Oh, glad you said that one. That was probably one of my least favorite books, that and The Sun Also Rises.

Jessica Varin said:

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

[J.L. Spelbring]

I hate to say it because he is a great author. But mine was Old Man and the Sea too. It was the longest short book I ever read.

And honestly that was the only book I did not enjoy thoroughly. I ended up loving all the other books I read. So, I am happy about required reading. It introduced me to wonderful stories.

And when I got older, it broaden my horizons to pick up other books like Lord of the Flies and Les Miserables. I wasn't required to read either of those, did it all on my own.

[Elizabeth Burton]

In high school, I loathed Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace (still do, for that matter). I hated them so much my teacher actually allowed me to write on another book just so she wouldn't have to read my "I hate this" comments. I absolutely loved Crime and Punishment, As I Lay Dying, and Heart of Darkness, on the other hand, so I must have been a pretty strange teen, lol! I also remember Agee's A Death in the Family making a huge positive impression on me.

Other books whose appeal I just don't get include anything by Thomas Hardy and George Eliot.

[LM Preston]

Watership down, The Illiad, Mice and Men, Roll of Thunder hear my cry - I was forced to read these books. They were mandatory reading for in class discussions.

[Solomon J. Inkwell]

For me, too, it was Lord of the Flies. I just couldn't make myself get through it. To date, I still couldn't tell you what it was about, but I'm fairly certain it was about a bunch of insects with about 24 hours to live.

[Marquita Hockaday]

I have the perfect answer for this question, in fact I relish in it whenever anyone asks me which book I HATED reading in high school. I was such a book nerd that I would rarely come across a book that I didn't want to read again, but when my 12th grade AP English teacher handed out Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, my book-loving days were over- at least for awhile. I couldn't get through the first five pages :( I think it was supposed to be about cannibalism, but when I read it I didn't find anything that cool!