Half the time we were assigned books in school, we just turned to SparkNotes. Even future English majors like myself- sometimes, the book just wasn't that interesting. However, here are the top five that stuck out to me the most over the years.
1. "Flowers for Algernon"
We only read part of this in eighth grade language arts, and I didn't realize our textbook only had excerpts until I checked the full version out of the library the following summer and read it on a flight. I loved it. It was a very powerful story that I still remember despite not having reread it in the last 10 years.
2. "The Great Gatsby"
To be fair, I transferred English classes halfway through junior year and was assigned to read this twice, and I only read it the second time after my AP English class had already explained the symbolism to me. Still an engaging story.
3. "Animal Farm"
I thought this was a hilarious-yet-too-real political commentary, and it was the only book I was assigned to read for 10th grade English class that I purchased my own copy of later. Unless you count "The Hunger Games", but I chose that from a list of potential books to use for my project, so I don't count it as an assignment.
4. "Pictures of Hollis Woods"
I have not read this since we finished it in fifth grade, but there are parts of it that stuck with me all these years. Hollis Woods might be young, but she has seen some things and knows how to tell a powerful story (I know she's not the author, just a well-written character).
5. "The Well of Loneliness"
This has been the only book I've been assigned to read in college thus far that has really stuck out to me and made me want to read more, even if the story was so sad at times that reading the book was emotionally draining and took more energy than I had to give at the time. I highly recommend it.
What were your favorite assigned readings in school?
