Alwyn Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 What was the worst book that you had to read in school? Any grade, any age, any type, be it theatre, Poetry or Prose. What was that one book that you agonized through, that every page was a toture, that made you want to toss it aside adn return to teh books you chose more than ever before? For me it would be a toss up between two Moliere plays, "Le Malade Imaginair" ("The imaginary Invalid") which I couldn't even bring myself to finish, and "L'ecole des Femmes" ("The school for Wives") I actually finished that one, but it was painful and not at all funny. This might have something to do with the fact that they're both plays and I really prefer to watch plays rather than read them, the story is better handled. But ever here it was tough to watch the play, the French think Moliere is their Shakespeare, but Shakespeare was far better. So what about you, the worst book you were ever made to read in school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colder Hands Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 i know this is a classic. but the great gatsby. i hate it. perhaps i was too young to appreciate it at the time, but every page was like a kick in my ribs. it was the worse book i ever had to get through in school. not sure why, just did not fit my style i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snuffaluffalee Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Sound and the Fury by Faulkner. Hated it. A lot. But I revised my scathing personal review by enjoying it for the study of its structure. I always look for something positive, lol. i know this is a classic. but the great gatsby. i hate it. perhaps i was too young to appreciate it at the time, but every page was like a kick in my ribs. it was the worse book i ever had to get through in school. not sure why, just did not fit my style i guess. And had to read that for my american lit course this term... didn't like it either. Just wasn't my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dawn Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 House of the Seven Gables by Hawthorne. That man wrote no good unto this world, only terrible evils. I feel as though that book is Pandora's box. I think Fitzgerald is a fine author, but I much prefer Hemingway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Les Miserables -- and any other book by Hugo. I took a 19th century French lit. course (requirement for a french major) and goooooooooods -- that dork is teh suck in any language. Weirdly, I really enjoy Stendahl. Also: Eugene O'Neill. :sick: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastress of Winterfell Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Wow I never read books my English teachers assign.....all required books of the state curriculum suck because they have to be so strong in theme......I think the only book I ever finished was Lord of the Flies because that was alright. I can't believe so many of you actually read the books when their are obviously so much better books out there in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I can't believe so many of you actually read the books when their are obviously so much better books out there in the world. uhhh..maybe some of us wanted to pass the fucking class? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dawn Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 uhhh..maybe some of us wanted to pass the fucking class? I do have to admit that I pulled a couple of high 90's on research papers in which I only read half of the book. HS English courses are all about being able to bullshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. X Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 "Gauss: Titan of Science", which I just finished reading for my History of Math class, is a contender. I still lack any real sense of Gauss' chronology. All I remember of the books I read in high school and undergrad are the ones I enjoyed. Maybe if I think about it I'll remember the ones I hated (which were most likely the ones I never finished). uhhh..maybe some of us wanted to pass the fucking class? That, and maybe even learn something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roeh61 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Catcher in the Rye It was pretentious, pointless, rambling, and boring. Actually, i must confess i didn't actually read the whole thing, i looked it up at sparknotes.com Although I also had to read a Toni Morrison book, which was pretty bad...hmmm. Maybe it was a toss-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dawn Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I'll toss a second vote to Catcher in the Rye, wholly overrated, if we'd needed 50's disenchantment I would have prefered Kerouac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. X Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Although I also had to read a Toni Morrison book, which was pretty bad...hmmm. Maybe it was a toss-up. I never had to read Toni Morrison for class, but I did read "Jazz" with a number of friends who were reading it for their class, and it was pretty awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukkake Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I'm another one who never read the books I was assigned. I got A's in HS lit classes though. Literary criticisms like Bloom or cliff notes were much more suited to my short attention span. Besides a few Shakespeare plays and a Tale of Two Cities for some reason, I haven't read a single book thats considered classic. But I read critcisms of everything just for fun. I manage to hold my own in discussions of these works when I talk to my friends who have degrees in English. But the worst book of my school days was the Great Gatsby. Even hearing about the pages of that book, or reading all the inane crap people said about it, was like pulling teeth. Painful doesn't even begin to describe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeye Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Kafka, the Trial, I think it was called. I'm sure it had some interesting points, but it hurt! I feel guilty writing this because I think you think I should feel guilty!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. X Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I'll toss a second vote to Catcher in the Rye, wholly overrated, if we'd needed 50's disenchantment I would have prefered Kerouac. When I was a senior in high school, I really liked Catcher in the Rye. Then I read it again in my 20's and hated it. Holden Caufield is one whiny little mofo who could use a good whipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastress of Winterfell Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I don't read the books and guess what, Xray? I'm on scholarship and in the NHS! (I sound really conceited right now, but I'm trying to prove a point). All of my friends and me pass easily without ever reading a word of the book! It's all in the bullshit, my friend(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwyn Posted April 11, 2006 Author Share Posted April 11, 2006 I do have to admit that I pulled a couple of high 90's on research papers in which I only read half of the book. HS English courses are all about being able to bullshit. I've done that too, with "Dom Juan" (once again by Moliere) I got about half way through it, got bored and abandonned it. The thing was we talked about it in class so much that I figured out the ending and I scored higher on the test (with simple questions to make sure we'd read and understood) than my friend who actually finished the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgoth Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I would have to say... A Tale of 2 Cities Moby Dick...dreadfully dull although it was a good story Tom Sawyer was dull too. I do have to admit that I pulled a couple of high 90's on research papers in which I only read half of the book. HS English courses are all about being able to bullshit. I made a living at doing that. Not only writing my papers but writing other people's papers too...with BULLSHIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Lord Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Anything Dickens. Just cannot stand his writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 (I sound really conceited right now. Yes, you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.