Top Ten Tuesday #36
Books Commonly Assigned in School that I Didn’t Read
I honestly love the original prompt, but I haven’t been feeling well since Sunday and I forgot to get my Top Ten Tuesday post ready. I find I’m in a bit of a rush and I can’t spend the needed time to find the covers I’d like for that prompt. Instead, I’m going to save today’s prompt for later and pivot to one I saw Bookwyrm Knits do for the school freebie back in August. The prompt is “Books Commonly Assigned in School that I Didn’t Read.”
When I was in high school, I hated reading. I avoided it at all costs if I could help it. To get through my classes, I watched movie adaptations or checked out the novel’s Cliff Notes (predecessor to Spark Notes). The only book I read in an English class was THE SCARLET LETTER.
Anyway, here are ten books I didn’t read when they were assigned to me in school:
The only book on this list that I’ve since read on my own is THE JOY LUCK CLUB. I do want to read a couple of the others, but many of these still hold no interest for me.
I’m still not feeling the greatest so I may not respond until later this week. I’ll try to return the favor as well, and I may just let this week passby without worrying about it. Thanks for commenting still on this post!
What about you? Were there any books you were assigned in school to read and didn’t? Do we have any in common?
Great list and interesting choice of prompt. I find this change in season brutal this year, and I hope you feel better soon.
Here is my TTT: https://herseriallife.com/top-10-books-with-typographic-covers/
Have a great week 😊
Thanks, Rae! 😀 I appreciate the well wishes.
I love the way Amy Tan’s name is displayed in the first cover. The author’s name needs to be prominent. My TTT: https://bonniereadsandwrites.com/2022/09/27/top-ten-tuesday-typographic-book-covers-toptentuesday-thepowerofwords/
Agreed! 😀 Sometimes it’s hard to see who the author is. There’s no mistake with The Joy Luck Club.
I read about half of this list when I was in high school. I couldn’t skip or avoid reading the assignments as I was in an advanced English class (similar to AP, but before that existed). Because of that, we had A LOT of reading to do.
I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/ten-book-titles-starting-with-the-letter-a/
I’m so glad I wasn’t in an AP English glass. It would’ve killed me, lol. 😀
I like that cover for Of Mice and Men.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-typographic-book-covers/
It’s a nice cover, isn’t it? 😀
Get well soon! I’ve read a couple of these whilst at school. It’s sometimes nice to look back at what you did (or didn’t!) read back in the day!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/27/top-ten-tuesday-typographic-book-covers/
It is very fun to take a look back at our reading habits. I’ve been slowly moving my way through the classics and it’s fun to check off the ones I wish I had read. 😀
I HATED Lord of the flies. Great Gatsby was lovely and I’ve read it a couple of times. Of Mice and Men are actually my Classics Club selection for the latest spin, so I will read it soon.
Hope you feel better soon!
Elza Reads
I’ve heard a lot of people dislike Lord of the Flies. I’d like to read it someday just to see why it’s so controversial. 🙂
I remember reading The Outsiders as a teenager – not for school but just on my own. It’s one I reread several times. One that was required for school that I didn’t read was 1984. Ugh, I tried but just couldn’t get through it.
My book club read 1984 a few years back. I didn’t read it either. It just wasn’t very interesting to me and I hated Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM. I really want to read THE OUTSIDERS some time. I think it’s one I might enjoy. 😀
You are much younger than I am yet quite a few of the choices were the same for me. I loved to read in high school so I enjoyed any excuse to do so. I haven’t read “The Joy Luck Club” but I think I’ve read most of the others, either in high school or afterward. Hope you’re better soon!
That’s awesome. I feel like I missed out on a lot because of my refusal to read. I’m glad I love to read now and I’m slowly making my way through the classics. 😀
Great topic choice! I’ve only read Lord of the Flies from this list when I was in school. Hope you’ll feel better soon!
Thanks, Lindsey! 😀 I enjoyed thinking about all the books I ignored or didn’t read when I was in school. It brings back some fond memories, lol.
Ooh The Outsiders. Never read it although I have good memories of the 80’s film. Always loved the cover for Gatsby. I did read Huck Finn though…
I don’t think I’ve seen THE OUTSIDERS movie unless we watched it as a class. I can’t remember now. I’d love to watch it after I read the book some time. 😀
Sorry you are not feeling well, I hope you are better soon. I barely remember what was assigned reading in school. I did not have to read most of what was on your list.
Thanks, Cindy! 😀 I appreciate your well wishes. I remembered most of these, but I did have to look up a list of popular books assigned in high school to remember a few of the others.
Honestly, having read some of these when they were assigned reading… Can confirm you missed nothing, lol. Of Mice and Men and Huck Finn in particular were hideous. You had the right idea!
FangirlFlax @ FangirlFlax
https://fangirlflax.wordpress.com/2022/09/27/top-ten-tuesday-five-books-with-typographic-covers/
Lol. That’s good to know. I don’t know if I’d like OF MICE AND MEN or GRAPES OF WRATH. I did like Steinbeck’s EAST OF EDEN but that was because of the allegory. I’m not a huge fan of Mark Twain. I haven’t read any of his books, but I have seen plenty of movie adaptations and the stories just never interested me. 😀
This is a fun top teen prompt. Our favorite we read in school is The Great Gatsby.
I’d love to read it and watch the new movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. I watched the original movie with Robert Redford back in the day, but I don’t remember anything about the story, lol. 😀
I hope you feel better soon, Jenni. I love this twist on the prompt. I know I read Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby in school, but I don’t think I read any of the others.
Thanks, Wendy! 😀 I know the story of ROMEO AND JULIET and I’ve read passages. I had to memorize the balcony scene as well as Shakespeare’s “Lend me your ears” speech from JULIUS CAESAR. But, I haven’t read the whole plays. I watched the original Gatsby movie with Robert Redford back in the day, but I don’t remember anything about the story, lol.
I’ve always felt like classics are best when you read them because you want to, not because you have to for a class! Hope you feel better soon. 😀
Agreed! In college, I was forced to read a few classics and I just hated them because of it. I’d probably like the stories more now if I read them on my own. 😀
I’ve read half of these, but the only ones I really liked were THE OUTSIDERS and THE JOY LUCK CLUB. I don’t know why kids are assigned such boring books in school—even if they are classics! I prefer more exciting reads 🙂
I hope you start feeling better soon. Take care!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Right?! I don’t know why they assign such boring books in school either. I did take a sci-fi class in high school and I read DUNE in that class. It was the only book I got through and I loved it! I also read a couple of Mary Higgins Clark books for another class and I enjoyed those. I don’t really count them as assigned reading, though. 😀
First off, I really hope you feel better soon Jenni! The only one of these I had to read for school was Lord of The Flies and I HATED IT. Such a dull book, if I hadn’t had to read it for my exam, I definitely would have given up. I think the only book I ever didn’t finish that I had to read for school was Jane Eyre, I moved up an English set towards the end of the summer term in Year 9, and had to catch up on where they were in the book so I did but I found it so dull that I didn’t carry on, and then our sets changed for GCSE anyway, so I didn’t have to finish it!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/27/top-ten-tuesday-387/
Thank you so much, Jo! 😀 I’ve heard a lot of hate for LORD OF THE FLIES. I’d like to read it someday just to see what all the controversy and hate is about. I like to punish myself, lol.
In the UK we tend to refer to school as the place you go until you are 16 or 18. I don’t remember being given certain books to read, other than the three we did for our English Literature O Level. (An exam we took at 16). I had to read Of Mice and Men and I loathed it. We also read The Pearl by Steinbeck and that was no better, so I just don’t think his books are for me! A Kestrel for a Knave (made into a film called Kes) was also popular but I think that was because it was set fairly locally.
At University any reading was related to the degree I was studying for, so they were all science books/journals.
It’s interesting how different school systems are. I only know how school works in the UK because of Harry Potter and I know that’s just fantasy. Harry Potter did teach me about prefects, the OWL- and NEWT-like exams, and that school starts around September 1. When I first read Harry Potter, I had no idea that Rowling used real British boarding schools as inspiration until I started reading other books. 😀