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School books...


Michelle

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I know this was mentioned before, but I'd like to focus on a couple of aspects.

 

Which books do you remember reading at school, and more importantly, which ones stick in your mind, good or bad? Why?

 

Have you revisited your school books? Was you experience the same, or were things different this time around?

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Alot of my school books stick in my mind. The Hobbit was the first main book I came across in secondary school.. our deputy head took us for English, and she was fantastic at reading out loud. She was a scarey woman, but I loved her lessons!

 

I remember To Kill A Mocking Bird and Macbeth, because as well as the book, we went on trips to see stage versions.

 

As part of my GCSE, I compared Brave New World, 1984, Z For Zacariah and The Chrysalids.. and I enjoyed each and every one. Recently I reread the latter, and still loved it. Brave New World, however, I read a part of, and won't be going back to. I have 1984 on my shelf, and I'd love to get hold of Z For Zachariah!

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Do you know I was trying to remember the title of one of the books I read at school and thanks to you I know it now.

 

The ones I read at school and liked were:

 

The Crucible

Z For Zachariah

Lord Of The Flies

A Midsummer Nights Dream

Chocolate Covered Ants

Macbeth

Much Ado ABout Nothing

 

The Ones I didn't like were:

 

To Kill A Mocking Bird

Hamlet

Billy Liar

 

I've not reread any of them, but I may do in the future :wink:

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Loved:

Macbeth

Romeo & Juliet

The Great Gatsby

Dracula (for my RPR)

Animal Farm (for my RPR)

 

Loathed:

Sunset Song

All that Norman McCaig poetry

Loads of Phillip Larkin poetry

 

I can't remember the others, but I do have shudder-inducing memories of having a young, male substitute teacher reading "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" to us. He could barely speak whenever it came to bits about boobs or periods & we all cringed mightily on his behalf. It was NOT a good idea.

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Peter and Jane books.

 

I remember Peter and Jane books too. I remember once I told the teacher the people who do these books are rather silly - they pictured Peter and Jane going for a swim, and one of them was wearing a cardigan! Lol (I live in Malta and it is unimaginable after the end of May here - which is when, (as a local), you would perhaps go for a swim.

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  • 4 weeks later...
For those of you at school now.. what are you enjoying, and which ones are hard going? :D

 

I'm taking English Literature GCSE at the moment, and so far we have studied......

 

The Taming Of The Shrew

Twelfth Night

Journey's End

 

I have also read/studied for school......

 

Friedrich

The Drunken Forest

A Christmas Carol

Taming The Tiger

Goodnight Mister Tom

 

I have really enjoyed studying the Shakespeare plays and also writing some character studies for Journey's End.

I didn't like Goodnight Mister Tom very much, and ended up getting a little fed up with the story and lost interest in it halfway through (I did finish it, though).

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I adore Shakespeare - Twelfth Night is one of my favourites. I've never erad Goodnight Mr Tom, but they did a very good TV series of it with that guy who played Inspector Morse (is it John Thaw or something?). I really enjoyed that, but for once I wasn't inspired to go on to the book for some reason...

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  • 4 weeks later...

I went back to night classes a couple of years ago and did an English lit AS level to keep my brain active. I loved it, and wanted to carry on with the A2 level, only to find the college didn't offer that. How mad is that?

 

Anyway... at school I loved:

Phillip Larkin

Jane Eyre

How Green You Are

Seamus Heaney (eternally grateful to the teacher who introduced me to Heaney!)

The 39 Steps

Pride & Prejudice

Northanger Abbey

Frankenstein

Othello

William Blake

 

I loathed:

Ted Hughes

Spring and Port Wine (Hilda, just eat the kippers will ya?)

The Country Girls

Wilfred Owen

Top Girls

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I've enjoyed the adapted versions of:

Jayne Eyre

Wuthering Heights

Frankenstein

Silas Marnier

Macbeth

Romeo and Juliet

 

Poetry:

Tyger, tyger burning bright

The daffodils

Waving but Drowning

Sonnet 18 (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day)

Leisure (What is this life if full of care)

 

So far I've enjoyed these classics! :D

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  • 4 months later...

We've just finished studying ANIMAL FARM and have now moved on to PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, which we had to read over the summer.

 

Had read ANIMAL FARM already before studying it - I loved the book the first time I read it, so it wasn't too much bother to read it again. I also enjoyed the school work that came with it.

 

Have only just started to looking deep in to PRIDE & PREJUDICE. I really enjoyed the book, though. Would now like to read another book of that sort of setting and time.

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Spring and Port Wine (Hilda, just eat the kippers will ya?)

 

LOL! :) I remember thinking that too!

 

I'm sad to say that I hated all the books I read at school for O and A Level English literature. I'm surprised I've remained an avid reader, to be honest. Some of the ones I remember are:

 

Spring and Port Wine

Mist over Pendle

Lord of the Flies (OK, that one wasn't too bad)

Macbeth

Anthony and Cleopatra

King Lear

To Kill a Mocking Bird

Far From the Madding Crowd (Aarrrgghh!!! Hate, hate, hated this.)

View From The Bridge/All My Sons

An "epic" poem by Pope - "The Rape of the Lock" (it was a curl of hair you lost! Get over it!)

Mansfield Park (why couldn't it have been Pride and Prejudice?)

And so on... yawn...

 

I get so jealous of all the people who studied fantasy and/or science fiction. We never did 1984, Animal Farm, The Hobbit, Jane Eyre, Goodnight Mister Tom, The Secret Garden... :badmood: My school was utter pants. :roll:

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Some people have all the luck. :grr: Believe me, you had a lucky escape, Michelle!

 

I remember we did once refuse to continue with a book, but it wasn't an exam text. I can't remember the exact title, but I think it was something like "The Sound of Bow Bells" (will have to look it up). We all complained until the teacher gave up and substituted The 39 Steps. We didn't really like that much either, but we didn't feel we could complain after getting our own way about the original one!

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The English Language group in my school had to character-study HOLES by Louis Sachar. Their thoughts on the book were mixed. Half of them seemed to like it, while the others thought it dragged a bit here and there. I haven't read it myself, so I don't know whether it's any good or not.

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