best and worst books you've ever been forced to read

[billi vanilli]

best: catcher in the rye, the great gatsby.

there are a lot of candidates for worst, but i really really really couldn't stand the scarlet letter. gag on a damn spoon.

yourselves?

[kuumuus]

best: 1984, catcher in the rye, the things they carried, to kill a mockingbird, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, kaffir boy

worst: the great gatsby, a separate peace (HAAAAAAAATED both)

i enjoyed the books they made us read for the most part.

[grissom]

Only good one I can remember was The Hobbit. I'd read it before that though anyway. We've had to read a lot of shit, hard to choose the worst

[kupomog]

How funny, The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby were my choices for books I just absolutely could not enjoy even if you paid me to. Utterly boring.

The Crucible is one that I ended up enjoying, much to my surprise.

[caribou]

Best: Yeah, gotta go with Catcher and 1984 here, even though I read both of them before they were assigned for school.

Worst: Hands down, the Narrative of Sojourner Truth. It may have historical significance and all, but goddamn if this wasn't the most tedious thing ever. My English teacher agreed.

[Thomas]

The Great Gatsby and Romeo & Juliet were absolutely painful.

Animal Farm was by far the best.

[box elder]

well, being assigned Catcher in the Rye is what got me into reading in the first place (and i ended up becomeing an English major), so i'll go with that one for best. worst...well, i had to read Are You Threre God, It's Me Margaret once and let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea.

btw, Great Gatsby is my favorite book, and i'd suggest giving it another go if you didn't like it, but i'll leave it at that. :-X

[billi vanilli]

How funny, The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby were my choices for books I just absolutely could not enjoy even if you paid me to. Utterly boring.

The Crucible is one that I ended up enjoying, much to my surprise.
heh, the crucible, scarlet letter, and gatsby were the three required reading books for sophomore year. whataretheoddsofthathappening???

[Gabbo]

I actually really enjoyed The Great Gatsby :-X I also liked 1984 and most mythology stuff we read interested me.

I absolutely hated The Scarlet Letter though, mainly because our teacher put wayyyyyyyy to much emphasis on it and made us do so much extra crap with it.

We only got to read excerpts from The Things They Carried, but I wish we could have read more because it seemed really cool. Our teacher said it was too graphic or some shit. Never got around to reading it on my own though.

[Rekart]

Best: 1984, easily. Fahrenheit 451 was also ok.
Worst: Hell, we've read Siddhartha and Things Fall Apart this year alone, those are a good start.

[lisalover1]

I've been forced to read Maniac Magee, but when I read it, I realized how great it was!

[Gabbo]

I've been forced to read Maniac Magee, but when I read it, I realized how great it was!

wow, they don't force you to read the dictionary or some shit at your super school for super kids.

[box elder]

wow, they don't force you to read the dictionary or some shit at your super school for super kids.


leave the genius alone. "Girls just wanna have sums" is the 3rd best Simpsons episode EVER!

[Homer Jay]

Does it have to be a book or can it be a poem or essay?

The best thing I've been forced to read was Dante's Divine Comedy followed by Ovid's Metamorphoses, and the best book was probably Huck Finn. The worst was either the Scarlet Letter or Romeo and Juliet

[kuumuus]

I've been forced to read Maniac Magee, but when I read it, I realized how great it was!

i was obsessed with jerry spinelli books in middle school. maniac magee, crash, wringer, dump days, there's a girl in my hammerlock, picklemania, report to the principal's office... all awesome.

check those out if you haven't already.

[My Little Needle]

heh, the crucible, scarlet letter, and gatsby were the three required reading books for sophomore year. whataretheoddsofthathappening???
same here. it's an english teacher conspiracy.

I had to read the bean trees by barbara kingsolver a couple years ago, the same year I also had to read the devil's arithmetic, which were extremely mediocre and below our reading level (even though it was 7th grade). I also remember not being fond of the old man and the sea, although I could appreciate it.

on the positive spectrum, there's animal farm, tale of two cities, the elephant man, and to kill a mockingbird.

I too loved jerry spinelli. crash, maniac magee, and wringer were some of my favorite books in 5th grade.

[penny]

Going back as far as elementary school....(I have quite a long list of "likes," all that I thought were worth a mention)

Best: Definitely Catcher in the Rye. Also enjoyed Johnny Got His Gun, The Book of Three, Anne Frank, Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, A Wrinkle in Time, James and the Giant Peach (actually this was read to the class outloud by our 3rd grade teacher), Dollhouse Murderers, A Day no Pigs Would Die, The Outsiders, Lord of the Flies, Flowers for Algernon, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Lyddie
Worst: The Chocolate War, My Life in the 7th Grade, Pride and Prejudice, All Quiet on the Western Front, and a whole bunch of unmemorable books that I don't care to google.

[mayo]

best: catcher in the rye

worst: can't think of a specific one, but i've had to *ahem* "read" some real snoozers over the year. i remember this one book (forgot the title) in 11th grade english that was so boring that most of the class hit up sparknotes (myself included) for project ideas

[Homer Jay]

Island of the Blue Dolphins
I loved this book, I remember reading it in third grade, it was the first time that I remembered enjoyed reading outside of Dr. Seuss

[Dead Nigga Storage]

best: catch-22 (was forced to read it by my DAD, not school, but in regards to the thread title, that doesn't matter), inherit the wind, james and the giant peach, of mice and men, grapes of wrath, huck finn, the mysterious stranger, the stranger, and the great gatsby

worst: catcher in the rye, to kill a mockingbird, lord of the flies, the red pony, the pearl, romeo and juliet

[lisalover1]

LPN: Actually, I learn this stuff myself, and my dad made me read it. My school's in the 3rd least educated state in the U.S.A! In fact, I came to a horrifying conclusion as of the second newest episode: Springfield's 4th grade is learning the stuff that we're learning in 7th! [Well, actually I already know it]

[lund]

Through high school I enjoyed Of Mice And Men, Catcher In The Rye, Night, The Great Gatsby and Jurassic Park the most. I hated Their Eyes Were Watching God and A Seperate Peace. But I absolutely lothe Brave New World. Worst book ever.

[lisalover1]

Dosn't ANYONE know the story of Maniac Magee?

[pat]

My school's in the 3rd least educated state in the U.S.A!
fuck yeah

[billi vanilli]

worst:to kill a mockingbird
hahahha

i know you're serious, just thought that was funny.

[Gabbo]

worst: the red pony

i'd also like to add this to my list. the stupid thing dies in like the first chapter. end of story.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

oh yeah, and "a wrinkle in time". fuck that, what are they making us read LSD fantasies in 4th grade for?

[billi vanilli]

oh! i HATED their eyes were watching god.

thinking about that book makes me want to punch any pretentious english teachers in the face.

[box elder]

nobody has an opinion on Ulysses? usually that's among the most "hated" or most "loved" for many college students. personally, i thought it was good, but i must admit that i was reading the Cliff's Notes as i read the book to help me understand some of the more minute details. i love the last lines though, and the fact that the last word of the novel appears (backwards) in the first word (stately).

[Mr. Sparkle]

But I absolutely lothe Brave New World. Worst book ever.

what? Brave New World was on my list for best books. The other would be Of Mice and Men.

worst- Beloved, Scarlet Letter


Am I the only one who wasn't that impressed by Catcher in the Rye. Its a decent book, but nothing spectacular. Most of my time was spent thinking about how much of an assbag Holden was.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

nope:
worst: catcher in the rye

[box elder]

Am I the only one who wasn't that impressed by Catcher in the Rye. Its a decent book, but nothing spectacular. Most of my time was spent thinking about how much of an assbag Holden was.

Holden is one of the most genuinely human characters ever written. of course he has problems, that's partially the point; but he also has a good sense of people, and that's the main arc to the novel.

[penny]

Don't be so flitty.

[caribou]

Worst: The Chocolate War
Oh, man, no way! Robert Cormier was my favorite author in junior high.

But I absolutely lothe Brave New World. Worst book ever.
I really should have included this on my best list. What exactly did you hate about it?

[Larson Something]

Best: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, Arms And The Man, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord Of The Flies, En Attendant Godot (was one of three people in my Grade 13 French class to pick it over Le Petit Prince. Not that I'm bragging or anything :norris: )

Worst: The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Twelfth Night, A Tale Of Two Cities.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Holden is one of the most genuinely human characters ever written. of course he has problems, that's partially the point; but he also has a good sense of people, and that's the main arc to the novel.


reading inane stories of the life of a person who may be relatable doesn't make it a very good book for me. if there were some type of real conflict that could draw me in and make me really care what happens to the protagonist, then I might consider it a great book. for me, it was a 7/10.

[kevin]

thread from a couple years ago: http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?t=35557

still lord of the flies. i haven't really been forced to read much over the last two years, but i had to read crime and punishment and it was terribly boring.

[Semaj]

Some books were incredibly boring pieces of summer reading, while others turned out surprisingly interesting.

Best: 1984, Of Mice and Men, Brave New World, Catcher in the Rye, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, The Merchant of Venice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hamlet

Worst: The Crucible, The Scarlett Letter, Ethan Frome, Tale of Two Cities

[lolpenis_taco]

Best: Anything by Edgar Allen Poe
Worst: Summer of the Monkeys, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, The Sign of the Beaver. I think I see a pattern here.

[Lisa's First Word]

Best: All Harry Potter books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Flowers for Algernon

Worst: To Kill the Mockingbird, Macbeth

[Mayor Quimby]

Am I the only one who wasn't that impressed by Catcher in the Rye. Its a decent book, but nothing spectacular. Most of my time was spent thinking about how much of an assbag Holden was.


I completely agree. I didn't care much for the book it was okay on some levels, but nothing spectacular.

Best: To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Gatsby, When Legends Die

Worst: Seperate Peace, I know why the Caged Bird sings, The Pearl-Worst book ever.

[Homer Jay]

I know why the Caged Bird sings
I was wrong, this was the worst book I've ever read, I've successfully driven it out of my mind until you mentioned it

[Mayor Quimby]

I apologize. I hated every second of reading this book, sadly my english teacher loved it and turned it into one of the worst lessons ever which concluded with a paper over how we have overcome obstacles in our life.

[skittlebrau]

I'll go with the majority of people here and say:

Best: 1984, The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and any Greek mythology

Worst: A Tale of Two Cities, The Scarlet Fucking Letter

[mayo]

it was their eyes were watching god that everyone in my class sparknoted... hahaha.

[Rekart]

Has no one else read Siddhartha or Things Fall Apart? I forgot about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings though, and we never actually finished that book, but it was terrible.

[Homer Jay]

Best: any Greek mythology]
Even the Argonautika? That was just deadly, Homer and Hesoid were great though.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

Has no one else read Siddhartha or Things Fall Apart? I forgot about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings though, and we never actually finished that book, but it was terrible.i meant to mention siddhartha in my post under the worst books category. my english teacher told us it would be a life changing book. she was right, i am now completely sworn off of being an english major.

[mayo]

had to read siddhartha this year. my roommate said it was awesome.. didn't think it was that great. worst? eh.... more like mediocre

[My Little Needle]

I think robert cormier is really talented as a writer stylistically but I couldn't stand the way he executed his plots and such. I know why the caged bird sings and brave new world are both very mediocre.

[Spartan]

i've had to read To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Gatsby, a Prayer for Owen Meany, all of Shakespeare's major/popular plays, Scarlet Letter, the Awakening, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A Separate Peace, Crucible, The Pearl, and of Mice and Men.

I think that's all of them...there are some others mentioned here that i've read, but not forced to.

there are aspects to each book that i liked, of course some more than others, but i really can't say i disliked one of them. may have disliked a particular teacher's approach and interpretation, but that's different.

[billi vanilli]

that's actually a good point. i think i might've enjoyed a lot of required reading had the teacher's interpretation not been so far-fetched or, alternatively, ridiculously simple.

also: reading questions really kill my enjoyment of a book. without fail.

[Curtis]

Greatest Book Ever:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/Book_cover_1984.jpg/250px-Book_cover_1984.jpg
1984

Worst:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0804106304.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Joy Luck Club

[aoife]

It makes me ill, that so many of you put Catcher in the Rye, under best books.

Best: Paradise, The Fall (and still one of my favorite books), The Sound and the Fury, Notes From the Underground

All for now, and worst ones later.

[DotheBartman]

Best was probably 1984, although I wasn't really "forced" in the traditional sense as I actually chose the class (you could pretty much choose all your classes and your program at my high school). But of course it was excellent and I was kicking myself for not having read it earlier. Brave New World followed, but I wasn't as thrilled with that.

Worst might be "Z" for Zachariah in middle school. I don't know if anyone else read that, but basically it was about a girl who seems to be the only survivor of a nuclear disaster or something. Anyways, considering the subject matter it was remarkably dull.

[vox]

best: i dunno. i liked mockingbird and the catcher in the rye a lot in the 8th grade. and when i was in 5th grade, my mom made me read animal farm, and although i didn't understand it, the sheer thought of talking animals made it second to only "find waldo yet again".

worst: without a doubt, jane eyre. i spark noted the entire book, and owned every fucking essay, even though the teacher claimed she read spark notes and would design the questions so we would have to actually read the text. that teacher is now fired. also, my final paper topic was why i disliked the book, because for some reason my mom told the teacher i disliked it. i got an a and that book is no longer on the curriculum.

[caribou]

Best: All Harry Potter books
I've got nothing against the Harry Potter books; I've read quite a few of them myself. But who on earth would force you to read the entire series?

EDIT: Needle, what've you read by Cormier? Just curious.

[Ihaveblink]

Best: To Kill A Mocking Bird, 1984, Of Mice And Men, The Giver, And Then There Were None

Worst: The Maltese Falcon

[lund]

I really should have included this on my best list. What exactly did you hate about it?
Maybe it was how the teach taught it. She also made A Seperate Peace tottaly unbearable. I just couldn't stand every word of it. I also don't much care for Science Fiction as a genre. I'd say I would give it another chance but naaah.

[Tobes]

one word, dracula

[SideshowTim]

best: to kill a mockingbird
worst: anything by shakespeare (macbeth, the tempest). utter rubish in my eyes.

[Tobes]

oh yah, forgot shakespeare..... uggghhhh even the simpsons cant make macbeth good

[lisalover1]

Hasn't ANYBODY heard of Maniac Magee?

[Lisa's First Word]

Hasn't ANYBODY heard of Maniac Magee?

Yeah, I've read it, pretty good book

[box elder]

worst: anything by shakespeare (macbeth, the tempest). utter rubish in my eyes.


hmm. i love Shakespeare and have taken more than one class entirely dovoted to him. although....

A woman's face with nature's own hand painted,
Hast thou the master mistress of my passion,
A woman's gentle heart but not acquainted
With shifting change as is false women's fashion,
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling:
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth,
A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created,
Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.

:gay:

[George]

best: to kill a mockingbird
worst: white fang. fuck you jack london

gotta read catcher, 1984, catch-22 and of mice and men.

[The mayor of Albuquerque]

Best: Catch-22, 1984, Animal Farm (I feel original!), and some well-written Civil War texts.
Worst: The Kongolese Saint Anthony for an African history class. I was unimpressed with A Catcher in the Rye also.

[pocketfox]

Favorites include 1984 and Lord of The Flies

Even though I usually like Jerry Spinelli, I couldn't stand Wringer.

[boogie down mikel]

best: of mice and men, romeo and juliet, a separate peace, the contender

worst: moby fucking dick, scarlet fucking letter, the fucking pearl, and ethan fucking frome

[vinceq]

never been forced to read a good book, the forcing of the book makes me instinctually dislike it but the following were just atrocious: Obisan, The Stone Angel and Who Do You Think You Are (middle aged threesomes are really offputting)

[My Little Needle]

I've got nothing against the Harry Potter books; I've read quite a few of them myself. But who on earth would force you to read the entire series?

EDIT: Needle, what've you read by Cormier? Just curious.

only the chocolate war and i am the cheese. the latter is probably his best, i was really referring more to the first. my friend was telling me about a book called tenderness or something where it turns out the reason he is killing women with brown hair is because he has an oedipal complex, and we both agreed that was just terrible plot execution.

[brockman1988]

Best - To Kill a Mockingbird, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Animal Farm

Worst - House on Mango Street, The Scarlet Letter, Shoeless Joe (sorry, not a baseball fan)

[Homer Jay]

WorstShoeless Joe
Heartless bastard

[mayo]

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

awesome. what class was this?

[tim]

best: catcher, f451, a farewell to arms

worst: on the road. ugh.

[Ihaveblink]

I liked Manaiac Magee. But I was 12 at the time. I also remember reading Holes and liking that a lot.

[TheForbiddenDonut]

oh yah, forgot shakespeare..... uggghhhh even the simpsons cant make macbeth good

The Simpsons did a Hamlet episode, not Macbeth. Have you even read Shakespeare?

As for my favorite books: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, Huck Finn.

Worst: All Quiet on the Western Front, others.

[doyle]

has no one mentioned the metamorphosis yet?

i love the scarlet letter. ethan frome, a separate peace, and beloved were all poison though.

[El Sid]

Best: Invisible Man, Stones From the River, Hamlet, East of Eden, Huck Finn, anything by Aristophanes, anything by Plautus, Herodotus' Histories

Worst: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

[Spartan]

has no one mentioned the metamorphosis yet?

yeah, forgot about that one. another story i liked, and it was with a good teacher.

[QuimbyD'ohPimp]

The James Version Bible.. I have nothing against Bibles but it's really boring.. Good thing I read it at nights

[Wonderlicious]

Best: I really enjoyed Of Mice and Men, and I have to admit that I liked Romeo and Juliet. Other favourites include The Handmaid's Tale, Animal Farm, A Christmas Carol and Gulliver's Travels. I'm also reading Birdsong at the moment, and I'm lovin' it.

Worst: There were a number of really lame crappy kids' novels that I had to read up until around 2001-ish, most of which were truly bad and I can't even remember the names of (I think a book called The Pram Race sticks out). One adult book that drove me nuts was Hamlet. I really don't see the popularity. Oliver Twist was also pretty lame; call me blasphemous, but I prefered the musical. Oh, and Strange Meeting...I had to read it over the Summer, and can't even remember what happened.

[The "Urban" Lenny]

Best:Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Othello,The Giver,Things fall apart, Fences, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Of Mice and Men, Death and the Maiden
Worst:The Old Man and the Sea, The Color Purple, Brave New World

[D DEBBS]

WORST: The Incredible Journey-read it in junior high, and it didn't left me with any impression.

Suffer The Children: The Story Of Thalidomide-it was so graphic about the birth defects that I nearly freaked out reading it.

BEST: The 'Harry Potter' series
Mommie Dearest-the abuse described in detail made me not want to stop reading.

[penny]

How are people being forced to read the Harry Potter series?

[Dead Nigga Storage]

Worst: PRIDE AND PREJUDICEding ding ding. winner
has no one mentioned the metamorphosis yet?for best or worse? it's another one of my favorites that i forgot to mention

BEST: The 'Harry Potter' series
you're like, 40 years old...who the fuck "forced" you to read anything?

two notes:
1) the lack of huck finn on people's best list, or the lack of mark twain in general is appalling
2) there are too many people holding 8th grade grudges against shakespeare for having to read romeo and juliet and being too retarded at the time to get it. i very much doubt those haters have read more than 2 plays by him.

[vinceq]

for Shakespeare, Hamlet & the Scottish play were rather good. Not great, I wouldn't call them 'best' but good none-the-less. R&J, I didn't like but didn't hate. Twelvth Night was crap, plain and simple, I hated that one. Lear, it was just too stuffy for me. I don't think it flowed well. But I agree with President Logan. Too many people (in general) hold grudges against Shakespeare because they were forced to read some and overanalyze every little line. The teaching of Shakespeare can be appalling these days, not so much the plays themselves.

[Homer Jay]

2) there are too many people holding 8th grade grudges against shakespeare for having to read romeo and juliet and being too retarded at the time to get it. i very much doubt those haters have read more than 2 plays by him.
I said I dislike Romeo and Juliet, that does not mean that I dislike Shakespeare. I don't care for his sonnets, but that's because I don't like poetry. I loved MacBeth, Hamlet wasn't as good, but I still liked it. But Romeo and Juliet simply wasn't enjoyable. The mark by which I judge what I have to read is simply "Did I care what happened?" for anything in narrative form or "Did I care what the writer said?" for things like philosophical works or essays. The answer for Romeo and Juliet was a resounding "no"

[Dead Nigga Storage]

i wasn't talking about you. read the first 2 posts on this page (assuming you have 30 per page)

[Ignignot]

Fuck Journey to the Center of the Earth.

[doyle]

for best or worse?
definitely best. probably the first or second best thing i've read.

[bluemoose]

best: David Copperfield (not for school, my dad made me read it), Huckleberry Finn, Slaughterhouse Five (or, for that matter, anything by Vonnegut)
worst: The Pearl. Stupid fucking Pearl. Man, did I hate that book.

Being forced to read for school always makes books a little less enjoyable (for me). Getting forced to read by parents isn't as bad.

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Vonnegut. Maybe I'm the only one who loves his work. :(

Note: The fact that I didn't like The Pearl does not mean that I don't like everything else by Steinbeck.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

you're the only one to mention vonnegut because not alot of people get FORCED to read his work. i don't know any schools that require reading his books, but they should.

[bluemoose]

My dad asked me to read Slaughterhouse Five, which was what got me into Vonnegut. I've never been forced to read it in school, though. If I were an English teacher, he would definitely be in my curriculum.

[box elder]

i remember Slaughterhouse Five was one of the many books we could choose to read for the 4 reports we had to do for senior year honors english class. i actually didn't choose that one, but read it later for pleasure. so it is in the high school curriculum, it just isn't necessarily a book that gets "forced" onto kids.

[Gabbo]

we had to do an "independent" reading project on a book from a list of about 200, and i picked slaughterhouse five. i really enjoyed it.

[Dr Zaius]

I wouldn't say forced but I have just gotten hyped up to read The Da Vinci Code. I can't say anything good about it that hasn't already been said, but it really is fuckain amazing.

[penny]

Worst: Pride and Prejudice
ding ding ding.
Pay attention, douchebag. =P

[The mayor of Albuquerque]

Ah, Slaughterhouse Five. I forgot that I had that as a school-assigned book. Loved it, and have read many other Vonnegut works since then.
I also enjoyed Brave New World, but it doesn't make a list of my favorites.

Regarding Shakespeare - I have always had trouble reading his work, but I have enjoyed the all of the many live performances I've seen.

[Sampson]

best - darkness at noon

worst - i dunno really, i dont hate it but the sun also rises was really underwhelming

[Dead Nigga Storage]

Pay attention, douchebag. =Pfine, 2 points for pennycandy as well.

[brockman1988]

awesome. what class was this?

English III Honors. Great class. Teacher can occasionally be a jerk, though.

[Old Man Simpson]

I'd like to mention the thread title. "Best and Worst Books You've Ever Been forced to read"? I don't know about you, but I don't think I've been forced to read anything (Well, except for "Tom Sawyer", which turned out to be kind of good). But then, I'm one of those wierd people who actually considers reading to be a source of entertainment.
Unless you're talking about books you read for school or something.

[aoife]

More from memory...

Worst- A Seperate Peace, The shortstory by Jamaica Kinkaid where a girl gets her first period, reading the worst shortstories by great writers ( ex. reading The Necklace), Anything Hemmingway, Any Shakespeare that wasn't a tragedy - and out of all the tragedies, there are only two, maybe, that are decent, ...more later

[billi vanilli]

out of curiosity, which two?

[My Little Needle]

Unless you're talking about books you read for school or something.
yeah, basically.

I forgot about the pearl, I hated that book (although I loved of mice and men)

[aoife]

Hamlet- it seems like a good adaption of the Norse legend ( haven't read that), the characters are quite twisted, dark, etc.
Julius Ceasar

[Run CMB]

Ugh, the Scarlet Letter...

[rickey]

best: ulysses, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, a farewell to arms, old man and the sea, catch 22, FLLV

worst: lord of the flies, the giver

[aoife]

More best/worse after looking through the thread...
Worst- The Pearl,
Best- Huck Finn--When I was little, I had a bias against Mark Twain, except for the Mysterious Stranger. I thought they were awful books for children, so glad I was wrong. I have loved Twain ever since , Linden Hills, Lysistrata,

Interestng blah blah facts- In my hell yeshiva high school, my awesome 10th grade English teacher, had to fight the adminstration, to teach the Scarlet Letter. How sad is that. :jackson: SHe wanted us to read a different book instead, but the rabbis went apreshit. I am so glad I escaped.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

I had a bias against Mark Twain, except for the Mysterious Stranger.:aww: that's my favorite book ever that no one else seems to have read.

[bluemoose]

Speaking of Mark Twain, there's a new book out by him now. It's one that they just found among his papers or something. It's pretty good, and the whole explanantion at the end is hilarious.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393043762/qid=1147581534/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-6397652-3446357?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

It's a very quick read.

[Ivan]

BEST: Tomorrow When The War Began / The Other Side Of Dawn

(Tomorrow When The War Began is the first book in a seven book series. The Other Side Of Dawn is the seventh book in the same series)

WORST: Edge of Fear **shudder**

(It's by two different people, their last names are Helen and Frances. Our teacher thought their name WAS Helen Frances, but me and my friend proved her wrong in front of the class...as payback for reading that treacherous book)

[Sloppy Jimbo IV]

best - where's waldo

worst - where's waldo 2 (but only cos they didnt put waldo in it...that i know of)

[grissom]

worst: lord of the flies, the giver
There's one I should've mentioned for worst. That was a downright horrible book.

[caribou]

Lois Lowry spoke at my college a few years back, in a tiny room adjacent to the library. I sat down in the (unmarked) seat reserved for her up front by the podium, and two minutes later I was shooed back a row by one of her associates. Ms. Lowry then came in and sat immediately in front of me. I could have punched her in the back of the head, I could have, only I didn't because I actually liked The Giver. Granted, I haven't read it since the 4th grade, and in the 4th grade I also enjoyed Say Cheese and Die!...

[JimmytheGeek]

Best: 1984, Animal Farm

Worst: Scarlet Letter(the absolute most boring piece of shit ever written)

[pocketfox]

I was lucky; we only read part of the pearl in 9th grade. I did quite well on the assignments for it, include a 100 on a 'creative' writing assignment where we had to write an additional ending. Even that, hwoever, couldn't make up for what a piece of crap that was. Hard to believe how good steinbeck's other books are....