TTT: Books I Read in School and What I Remember About Them

Top Ten Tuesday: 

Books I Was Assigned to Read in School and What I Remember About Them.

I honestly remember very few books I was required to read in school. I do remember reading three but the details are pretty fuzzy:

The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I am not sure I read this one very well since I had it in my mind until a recent reread (see below) that it was Daisy who died not Gatsby. (High School)

Animal Farm by Orwell. I have the vaguest recollection of mean animals marching around the farm bossing all the other animals around. (Junior High School)

Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway. I remember liking this book and the details about the old man catching the huge fish but then the sharks eating it before he could get back home. I recently reread it and my memory was pretty accurate. (Junior High School)

When I became a high school librarian in 2005, I realized what a poor literary education I had. So I set about the task of reading all the required novels in our textbook room, which English teachers assigned to their students. I didn't finish the task but here are the books I did manage to read, trying to catch up with what I missed while in school myself:

A Brave New World by Huxley --- I was shocked at how much sex (or at least references to sex) this book contained and at all the racism toward indigenous man. Why is this book still assigned for classes? Not a favorite.

Lord of the Flies by Golding. --- Kids complained bitterly about this book, but I found it to hold such truth about the nature of man that I think about it often, even today. For example, the mob on January 6th that stormed the Capitol, were under the spell of group think. In the book the book the boys turn wild in short order. I've noticed how often this is true today, too. Glad I read it.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Lee. --- Can you believe I hadn't read this book until 2005? It is a favorite and now I've reread it several times. Love it!

Bless Me, Ultima by Anaya. --- One of my first introductions to magical realism. This book assignment caused a big ruckus by parents who didn't want their kids reading it. But I was transported by the prose and highly recommend it to you. Loved it.!

As I Lay Dying by Faulkner. --- One kid warned me off reading this book, telling me how awful it was. Faulkner's stream-of-consciousness makes for odd reading, for sure. I agree with the student. Yuck!

The Outsiders by Hinton. --- Kids were assigned to read this book in junior high so I wanted to read it to catch up. Powerful story written by S.E. Hinton when she was a teen. Very good.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain. --- I read an abridged version of this book when I was in elementary school. I had really fond memories of it. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of the whole book as an adult. This book, for all the obvious reasons, was rarely assigned by teachers for classes. I think it that is a pity. Twain is so witty and if taught right it has a powerful message. 

Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. --- I have a lot of trouble reading plays. Then it dawned on me that I could listen it and let voice actors bring the story alive. They did and I loved it anew. This play was assigned to 9th graders. Every year students were expected to read something by Shakespeare (Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream) but this is the only one I got to. Sigh.

Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury.--- Burning books. Oh my. Bradbury was looking both back and forward in this powerful book.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston. --- This is a good audiobook since Hurston wrote it in Black, Southern vernacular. It is difficult to read. I would tell the kids to read it out loud to themselves to help them understand it. The audiobook solved that problem for me and I enjoyed it.

The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. --- When I finally got around to reading Gatsby as an adult I was shocked by it. I had so many details muddled in my brain. This is the novel that ushered in the Jazz Age and is also often sited as the number one book of all times. For those reasons alone, I recommend it.

Frankenstein by Shelley. --- I just read Frankenstein last year. It is another book I thought I knew better than I did. I had seen so many movies made from it. Not a favorite, but I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

Great Expectations by Dickens. --- Sometimes I am shocked by how much a book has influenced popular culture and language. This is one of those books. Another book I was glad I read FINALLY!

Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. --- I can't remember if this book was in our textbook room in class sets or not. It should have been if it's not. This story is like reading history and should be required to understand our past. Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men was required reading and was very popular with students. I think that had something to do with how short it was.

Things Fall Apart by Achebe. --- things certainly do fall apart when countries think they can transport their culture and impose it on another culture. This book contains a powerful message, if only we'd listen.

1984 by Orwell. --- Oh man. This book should be required reading for humans in 2024. It is so prescient. Doublethink: "Freedom is slavery"; "Ignorance is strength"; "War is peace." When Trump said in a speech he'd be a dictator on day one, believe him. He is taking his ideas straight from this dystopian novel. I hope teachers did a good job teaching this book at our school. But I never heard how students felt about it.

-Anne