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What did you read at school?


Michelle

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Do you have any memories of books you read at school.. the ones you loved, or hated?

 

I have a memory from my first year at secondary school.. we had an English teacher who was really scarey (she was deputy head too), but really good. We read The Hobbit, and she would often read it out to us. She used different voices and such, but not in a silly way.. iykwim. I've always loved that book because of it.

 

I also have memories of reading Brave New World and 1984. Plus, I can remember looking at Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth), and thinking "huh?".. but then as we studied it, it all made sense. 8)

 

The book we all hated, and persuaded our teacher to drop was 'An Inspector Calls'.

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we read Romeo and Juliet in school last year, and I read Macbeth and another book thing that explained it. my teacher made me read Ivanhoe, it is the worst book I've read. I read this really good book a few years ago but I can't remember the name! its bugging the crap out of me. Its about an orphan girl living at an orphange and her best friends name is Susan. she climbs this wall and finds a little cottage thing, and makes it her own. and there is this really well described room called the shell room. and I can't remember the girls name or the books name :D . does that ever happen to you guys?

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When I was eight, I remember the teacher reading a story to us about some children who went into the sea and found another world beyond the 'white horses' of the waves, a bit like the Water Babies but the sea not a river. I was ill the day she finished it and never got to the end, and now I can't remember anything else about it. It is really frustrating, and even now I would love to know what happened at the end!

 

Other than that we did the usual at school - I remember Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies in the lower years; Romeo & Juliet, Great Expectations and poems by Tennyson for O' level (yes, I am that old!) and Hamlet and Chaucer among others for A level.

 

Debbie

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One of the books that made a big impression on me at the time was A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline Engle. I read this in elementary school basically because I had to do it for reading points. After reading the book I found that reading was not a chore but could be fun and I havent stopped.

 

I dont remember much about the book but if I could find a copy I think it may be worth a re-read.

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I think the thing I was forced to read at school that I'm most pleased they made me read was To Kill A Mockingbird

 

I still haven't forgiven them for making me put up with the first world war poetry, nor with the awful A Merchant of Venice, which is amongst the worst of Shakey's plays (and we didn't even get to see it as a play, only read the script).

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In school we read all the usual suspects like romeo and Juliet but the book that had the biggest impact was a book called Z for Zaccariah and it was all to do with nuclear warfare and the aftermath, it got me really interested in the events of hiroshima and I went on to read many other books of a similar nature.

 

We also read of Mice and Men which I really enjoyed.

 

Out of school I read almost everything by enid blyton - that lady was a saint!

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Z for Zaccariah and it was all to do with nuclear warfare and the aftermath, it got me really interested in the events of hiroshima and I went on to read many other books of a similar nature.

 

Ooh, ooh... I read that too! In fact, I wrote an essay comparing 1984 and Brave New World with Z for Zaccariah and another one.. can't remember the name. :D

 

(I've just bought Brave New World after starting this thread.. I may have to go look for Z for Zaccariah!)

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My first introduction to English litteratur were Alice through wonderland and (help) Thomas Hardy as a cartoon!!!. I am please to say that my sense and pride has been restored through your extreme cheap book stores and book clubs. My shelveles are bent with the weight of Stephen King and female litteratur where my first real english pleasure read arise and sadly has now died: Patricia Highsmith - A woman on the edge of time. A science fiction with a twist. Try it if you dare

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When I was in fifth grade, I had a really horrible, abusive teacher. He was drunk almost every morning, and he did a lot of screaming and throwing chairs around the classroom. I'm still not sure how he got away with his behavior, but..........he did one pleasant thing that actually made me look forward to his class for a couple of weeks. He made the class read each day from a book called, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell.

 

It was based on a true life incident involving a Native American girl living on an island that was evacuated after her tribe was threatened by another tribe. When a ship comes to rescue her people and take them to safety, her small brother is left behind on the island, and the young girl jumps ship to try to find him. The story is basically what happens to her after the ship sails without her, and she has to try to survive and make a life for herself on the island without her people.

 

As a young girl myself, I found the story really inspiring!

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  • 3 weeks later...

We did Of Mice & Men, which I adored. We also did Sunset Song, which I thought was incredibly badly written & didn't deserve any of its critical acclaim or to be on the curriculum. My mother later sat her higher english & had to read the same text. She heartily agreed with me!

 

We also studied Macbeth as well as Romeo & Juliet (I had the great honour of playing the leading lady in both these while at drama school) which I adored.

 

We had to do a thing called an RPR which was an indepth review type of thing. I did Animal Farm & Dracula (both of which were, & still are, firm favourites of mine).

 

I think those are the only ones I remember as being set-texts or study choices.

 

I did a lot of reading on my own time & have lost track of all the things Ive read!

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  • 2 months later...

I've just realised, i missed out The Great Gatsby, which I've only ever read that once, but I can never quite remember whether or not I actually enjoyed it. isn't that weird?

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In secondary school I remember having to read 'Romeo & Juliet', 'MacBeth', 'Hamlet', 'Midsummers Night Dream', 'Lord Of The Flies', 'Billy Liar' and 2 others that were quite weird but very good.

One featured chocolate covered ants and the other was based after some kind of nuclear war where this young girl and older man survived!!

 

When I was younger I read all the Famous Five books and I loved Nancy Drew too :D

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  • 9 months later...

:) Oooh..I just joined the other day and I can write on this too,

yes?

In junior school I used to love Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers books.

In senior school we read HG Wells "The History of Mr Polly" and Shakespeare's "Henry V for O-Level.

For A-level we read Walter Scott's "Guy Mannering", Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" and Shakespeare's "Anthony and Cleopatra".

I remember our English teacher making us read John Wyndham's "The Kracken Wakes" which I hated....yeuch. But he then wowed me by reading Alexander Pope's poem "The Rape of the Lock" so he was forgiven.

I used to read my kids (now aged 17, 21 and 23) stories in silly voices, one to match each character in the tale. Their favourite was Roald Dahl's "The BFG". Even now they embarass me about it. :roll:

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