elizabeth Chadwick Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I was mostly underwhelmed by what we got given to read at school - with a few notable exceptions. Books I remember reading as set tomes through my secondary education. The Oddessy - Homer I loved this one. One of the exceptions. Chaka the Lily - Rider Haggard - yuk The War of the Worlds - ho hum David Copperfield - put me off Dickens for life and one of the few times I bunked off reading a book - bleurggh Mansfield Park - Jane Austen nearly got given this for 'O' level. Had to read in the school hols - bleurgh. I still can't stand Jane Austen. Brighton Rock - Graham Green what we DID do for 'O' Level thank goodness. The Hobbit - Tolkien - I loved this one. A Kestrel for A Knave - ho hum. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - Alan Silitoe - yawn Sons and Lovers - D H Lawrence - 'A' Level. Yawn Wordsworth the Prelude - 'A' level. Huge yawn Chaucer - Prologue and the Merchant's Tale - 'A' level. Great stuff. Really loved it. Various Shakespeare plays including Macbeth, King Lear, Twelfth Night. Nooooooo. Hated it - well except for Macbeth and that was only because of the Polanski film starring the Oh so yummy Jon Finch. The Duchess of Malfi - ho hum Lady Windermere's Fan - Oscar Wilde - not bad. The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde - enjoyed a lot Pygmalion - George Bernard Shaw - okay Various English/Scots Border ballads including Tam Lin and Edward Edward. For 'O' level - loved these a lot. Tam o' Shanta - Robert Burns - loved it The Ryme of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge - quite liked. The Catcher in the Rye - okay Catch 22 - not bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 The Twelve Day of July by Joan Lingard Across the Barricades (or through the) by Joan Lingard Gumble's Yard by John Rowe Townsend Elidor by Alan Garner I am David by Anne Holm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbain Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 You hated it? What did you hate about it? I read this a few years ago and I loved it! I'm not totally sure ! I was 14 at the time and I remember finding it monotinous. Who knows I might like it if I read it now. Might give it another go one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm not totally sure ! I was 14 at the time and I remember finding it monotinous. Who knows I might like it if I read it now. Might give it another go one day. There was a great TV adaptation of it a few years ago. I thought it was charming, but I might not have appreciated it when I was 14. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 My school library is awful, I don't read at school no more. Just at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Mansfield Park - Jane Austen nearly got given this for 'O' level. Had to read in the school hols - bleurgh. I still can't stand Jane Austen. Ah, so it's your fault we had to do this for O Level - obviously your school turned it down so they allocated it to mine instead. It was absolutely terrible. It's only a few years ago that I managed to read Pride and Prejudice, but I found it quite hard going. I think, like you, I've been put off Austen for life. I wish we'd had some interesting books; some fantasy, or Oscar Wilde or GB Shaw. All the books we did for O and A Level were boring, depressing or (mostly) both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnlad Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Our book for English Lit was Pride and Prejudice - hated it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwen Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Gobilino the witches cat made me cry at the end. Jerry (i think) the burglars cat - i was in hysterical tears at the end of that, beautiful story. Ermmm... the fish that could wish. What Katy Did. What Katy Did Next. Then I read Goosebumps - too tame. Point horror - too tame. Went straight to Stephen King when I was about 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 It's a shame your schools all put you off Austen! Maybe it's just as well I never had to study her books in school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnlad Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 It's a shame your schools all put you off Austen! Maybe it's just as well I never had to study her books in school. You will be pleased to know that I have recently read P & P and also Mansfield Park and have enjoyed the read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I wasn't forced to read Austen or even Dickens in high school, and I love both now. But I did hate a lot of the books we had to read, and some are considered masterpieces, like The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Ugh...that book was soooo slooooow. I didn't even finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 You will be pleased to know that I have recently read P & P and also Mansfield Park and have enjoyed the read. Ah yes, that makes me very pleased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnlad Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Ugh...that book was soooo slooooow. I didn't even finish it. Now I liked this book Echo but maybe that was because I had seen Henry Fonda in the film? My OH didn't rate it though she couldn't stand the language "Deep South". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aromaannie Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 The Twelve Day of July by Joan LingardAcross the Barricades (or through the) by Joan Lingard Gumble's Yard by John Rowe Townsend Elidor by Alan Garner I am David by Anne Holm I remember reading this as a kid at home though not at school. I'm pretty sure this was the first book that me me cry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoinette Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 The first book I ever remember reading as a class at school was a book called The 99 Dragons. I don't know who it was by without checking but I remember the story well. I must have been around 7 at the time. We never did Shakespeare at school, neither did we do anything that I could class as classic literature. The one book I remember doing for GCSE was Walkabout. Another was D H Lawrences poem The Snake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyndhilarious Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Once we read 'The Imaginary Invalid' by Moliere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eschulenburg Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I had to read Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain a grand total of FOUR times in my educational life, and I just hated it more each and every time. I have an almost unreasonable hatred for this book. I can hardly even say why anymore, but I know it's true. Other books I remember reading are: To Kill a Mockingbird - loved it Uncle Tom's Cabin - a tough read, but some great discussions The Epic of Gilgamesh - ??? still clueless on this one Silas Marner - yuck Romeo and Juliet - I have no idea how my conservative, protestant school allowed us to read this, but it was a good one Cry, the Beloved Country - magnificent A Tale of Two Cities - pretty sure I never actually read this one... Return of the Native - ...or this one... The Scarlet Letter - loved this one too Pride and Prejudice - I happen to LOVE Jane Austen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 The Epic of Gilgamesh - ??? still clueless on this one I've read a bit about this book and would like to read it one day. A Tale of Two Cities - pretty sure I never actually read this one... Are you planning on reading it one day? I really loved it. It took a while to get into, but it really got very good and the ending is just brilliant. The Scarlet Letter - loved this one too I have this on my TBR pile. I opened it up recently and read a few random sentences. The writing style looks like it might be difficult to get into but I'm still looking forward to reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I had to read Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain a grand total of FOUR times in my educational life, and I just hated it more each and every time. I have an almost unreasonable hatred for this book. I can hardly even say why anymore, but I know it's true. I did that for A2 level English. It was okay (I wouldn't rave about it) but I hated the end bit where Tom Sawyer got involved - it was so irritating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyD Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I vividly remember reading Lord of the Flies in school and being gripped. I don't think I've read it since but can remember a lot of it so clearly, far more so than most books. Cider With Rosie we read too... Bleak House... Macbeth... Obviously I was far more interested in Just Seventeen, Smash Hits and Stephen King books at the time to appreciate them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 We never did Shakespeare at school, neither did we do anything that I could class as classic literature. That's all I have to say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbain Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I vividly remember reading Lord of the Flies in school and being gripped. I don't think I've read it since but can remember a lot of it so clearly, far more so than most books.Cider With Rosie we read too... Bleak House... Macbeth... Obviously I was far more interested in Just Seventeen, Smash Hits and Stephen King books at the time to appreciate them! I remember reading Just Seventeen every week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I remember reading Just Seventeen every week! I used to read that when I was about thirteen. I wonder if any seventeen year olds actually read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Well if we're including reading matter not included on the curriculum then it's Jackie, Smash Hits and various music papers for me - read at the back in Maths. Paid the price and failed my O level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 You mean Jackie wasn't on the curriculum?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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