I gave up on it but still plan on trying it again.
I went through a phase where I liked "heavy" books. Which was the time period in which I tried to read these ones. So many books from that time period are all about suffering! You have to be in the right frame of mind for it. I gave up on the tortured books and moved into more philosophical reads. Anyway, good for you for trying again later. I couldn't finish LOTR first time I read it, now it is hands down my all time favorite book of all time. But I'm still not going to try W&P again
I gave up on it but still plan on trying it again.
I went through a phase where I liked "heavy" books. Which was the time period in which I tried to read these ones. So many books from that time period are all about suffering! You have to be in the right frame of mind for it. I gave up on the tortured books and moved into more philosophical reads. Anyway, good for you for trying again later. I couldn't finish LOTR first time I read it, now it is hands down my all time favorite book of all time. But I'm still not going to try W&P again
Anna karenina is on my unofficial summer reading list. Another 'serious lit'. Is Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. I have attempted it twice. I'm determined to finish. When I don't finish a book it's usually a case of setting aside and me starting another book and just not returning. Of course I plan on much fun summer reading along with the 'serious authors'
Animal lover Banjo Player Fanfiction writer Oklahoma Sooners fan A High School Junior
I wish I could say that I finished every book I started, but that is not the case. Sometimes I just have t give up on the book. For example I recently started reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It is considered classic so I thought It was worth a try. It was so unpleasant I had to give up on it. It just made me think that sometimes boys can be complete jerks!
Lord of the Flies is on my Summer Reading List. I feel guilty about not finishing it. My list of 'serious lit ' for this summer is: Anna Karenina, Finnegan's Wake, Lord of the Flies, and Mrs. Dalloway. This rest will probably be, ( hopefully ) British teen chick lit, mysteries ( hello Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot) and revisit dragons of Pern and Andre Norton's Witch World
Animal lover Banjo Player Fanfiction writer Oklahoma Sooners fan A High School Junior
I wish I could say that I finished every book I started, but that is not the case. Sometimes I just have t give up on the book. For example I recently started reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It is considered classic so I thought It was worth a try. It was so unpleasant I had to give up on it. It just made me think that sometimes boys can be complete jerks!
Lord of the Flies is on my Summer Reading List. I feel guilty about not finishing it. My list of 'serious lit ' for this summer is: Anna Karenina, Finnegan's Wake, Lord of the Flies, and Mrs. Dalloway. This rest will probably be, ( hopefully ) British teen chick lit, mysteries ( hello Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot) and revisit dragons of Pern and Andre Norton's Witch World
Particularly with Russian lit, I have found that the translator makes a big difference in the enjoyment. for Anna Karenina I liked the Richard Pevear/Larissa Volokhonsky edition.
I had to read Lord of the Flies as a class assignment...and write a college level paper on it. I hated it all the way thru & I wasn't complimentary in the paper I wrote. The faculty member didn't like my attitude towards it but then he revered "true literature" and how dare I disagree with the "cognoscenti"? Yep, not a good grade on that one, but I stood by my paper! As you can guess, I've never read it since (I got rid of the copy after that class) and never bothered with the movie. As I've said before, deal with them when you have to read them, but otherwise, life is too short to waste it reading stuff because others say it's "wonderful"! If you don't like it, put it down & start something else!
I had to read Lord of the Flies as a class assignment...and write a college level paper on it. I hated it all the way thru & I wasn't complimentary in the paper I wrote. The faculty member didn't like my attitude towards it but then he revered "true literature" and how dare I disagree with the "cognoscenti"? Yep, not a good grade on that one, but I stood by my paper! As you can guess, I've never read it since (I got rid of the copy after that class) and never bothered with the movie. As I've said before, deal with them when you have to read them, but otherwise, life is too short to waste it reading stuff because others say it's "wonderful"! If you don't like it, put it down & start something else!
I had to read it in high school (I did not read it and my grade was poor for the final report on the book), there's a reason why I blocked it from my mind, but not the stupid (it was stupid) experiment the teacher tried to do. The teacher brought donuts (12) we were 24 (25 with him) in the class. He said he wanted us to figure out how to feed everyone or to vote for the students who would be eating them. One or the other. There was more to it and I am not doing a good job at explaining it, but it's what I remember from memory. Anyhow, the teacher did not specify how they could be distributed, we cut them in half and shared (simple math honestly, or an oversight on his part). Our voting went as follows, if we liked glazed we raised our hands and the students who did would then play rock paper scissor. The winners would take the glazed, and so on. I mean we had a few arguments from those who wanted to eat their favorites and lost, but one kid pointed out all we had to do was eat some, which was better than nothing. Needles to say the point of the experiment did not go as he planned.
Last Edit: Apr 29, 2021 10:53:27 GMT -7 by linviolet: adding a note
I am in an extreme minority here...The Lord of the Flies was one of the only books I enjoyed as part of my compulsory school reading list, not that I have ever reread it or intend to. It may have something to do with the teacher because I hated English as a subject, it was a subject I struggled with until I was in year 10 (for us that is 16 years old). Then I finally had the best teacher of my life who taught so well and enthusiastically that I actually started to enjoy and appreciate poetry, Shakespeare and other great writers which until then I had hated. Always was a reader but the more literary works never did anything for me but she changed my mind.
Required books for school I liked 1) Animal Farm 2) Lord of the Flies 3) Great Expectations 4) 1984 ( a preview of politico & communication systems out of control. By "Big Brother." )
mlover just curious, Animal House or Animal Farm? If so we liked the same books! I enjoyed 1984 more when I listened to it about 5 years ago. Anything by G Orwell has aged well.
Lord of the Flies is on my Summer Reading List. I feel guilty about not finishing it. My list of 'serious lit ' for this summer is: Anna Karenina, Finnegan's Wake, Lord of the Flies, and Mrs. Dalloway. This rest will probably be, ( hopefully ) British teen chick lit, mysteries ( hello Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot) and revisit dragons of Pern and Andre Norton's Witch World
Particularly with Russian lit, I have found that the translator makes a big difference in the enjoyment. for Anna Karenina I liked the Richard Pevear/Larissa Volokhonsky edition.
Thank you for the suggestion. I'll definitely be looking for that translation/ edition!
Animal lover Banjo Player Fanfiction writer Oklahoma Sooners fan A High School Junior
mlover just curious, Animal House or Animal Farm? If so we liked the same books! I enjoyed 1984 more when I listened to it about 5 years ago. Anything by G Orwell has aged well.
You have sharp eyes! Oops, I meant Animal Farm (& I corrected it above). I loved the pigs! Sorry. Various Dickens' books. Jayne Eyre.
The movie "1984" w/ Richard Burton was so gloomy.
My late bro, in HS, had to read a 'classic' book. It was a PB & he wrote on the outside "in case of fire, throw this in."
I had to read Great Expectations in 8th grade lit class: we were divided into 4 person groups & had to discuss/describe/write a paper about it as a group; I think I was the only one that actually finished it! 3 guys made up the rest of the group; asked how I finished it: I told myself I couldn't read anything else until I did! I did read & enjoyed Our Mutual Friend by Dickens in college; that & Christmas Carol are the only Dickens titles that I really enjoyed. Weird, I guess!
I had to read Great Expectations in 8th grade lit class: we were divided into 4 person groups & had to discuss/describe/write a paper about it as a group; I think I was the only one that actually finished it! 3 guys made up the rest of the group; asked how I finished it: I told myself I couldn't read anything else until I did! I did read & enjoyed Our Mutual Friend by Dickens in college; that & Christmas Carol are the only Dickens titles that I really enjoyed. Weird, I guess!
I could/can not read Dickens; he was a requirement in Grade 10 English and I made an agreement with my teacher to read 4 other authors instead. I remember one was John Steinbeck (the Grapes of Wrath) but can't remember the other 3 she specified. To be fair to my memory that would have been 50+ years ago and I have literally read thousands of books/authors since then.
Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.