Top Ten Tuesday

TTT – Books I Was Assigned To Read In School

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Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.

This week’s prompt is books I was assigned to read in school, with bonus points for offering my own thoughts on the book. The vast majority of my schooling was long enough ago that I really had to think about the books that stood out in the vast index of my mind. Here’s what I came up with and whatever I was able to remember:

  1. The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde — I was assigned to read this book in high school. It’s been long enough back that all I remember was that I absolutely despised it, couldn’t understand why so many people liked it, and it was my first official DNF. I had to get the Cliff’s Notes for this one.
  2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens — This one was for my 11th grade class, and I was surprised to discover that I actually enjoyed it.
  3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut — I’m pretty sure that this was a 10th grade assignment, and I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I don’t remember anything else about it, which means it should be on my reread list.
  4. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl — I was assigned this book in graduate school, but it stuck with me the most out of this whole list. It’s fantastic and I recommend that everyone read it. 
  5. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck — In senior year, we were given a list of books and told to choose one to do a thorough term paper on one of them. I chose this one, and it was such an incredibly wonderful book about how society was in previous centuries in China. Interesting side note: While Buck is not Chinese, she was brought up in China.
  6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare — We read this one in 10th grade, and it really helped that I had a great teacher, but this is a really interesting story. 
  7. Lord of the Flies by William Golding — I can’t remember if this was summer reading or assigned classroom reading, but I do remember that I flew through the book and actually thought it was good. I’m curious to see what I’d think of it now, though.
  8. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — This is another one from junior year of high school, and it was a good book, but it was the first book I ever read that was set on Long Island, where I live!
  9. The Crucible by Arthur Miller — A senior year book, this one stands out because my best friend wasn’t paying attention, and she called Tituba “tissue box.”
  10. Beloved by Toni Morrison — An outstanding read, this one was probably the most intense story I had read at the time. I reread it a few years ago, and appreciated it even more as an adult.

Have you read any of these? Which books did you have to read in school?

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38 replies »

    • Thank you, you’re so sweet! I wanted to include the reasons I listed them, because some were books that I loved and there was at least one that I despised, and it has stuck around for decades.

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  3. I don’t think I read any of these books as assigned reading for school. But I imagine Lord of the Flies will be on a lot of lists this week, since it’s one that’s still being taught (my son read it last year for his Pre-AP ELA class). I hope you have a great week.

    Here’s my TTT if you wish to visit – https://justanothergirlandherbooks.blogspot.com/2024/10/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-was-assigned-to.html

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    • I know that my assigned readings in Honors English were different from the typical English class assigned readings. But it’s interesting that Lord of the Flies is still in schools!

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    • I don’t remember if there was a movie version when I was in school, but I read a really cool trans retelling that blew my mind a while ago!

      As much as kids hate Shakespeare, they’re still teaching him. I discovered that my library has an entire shelf of Shakespeare “translations” – it has the original version on one side and the translation to modern English on the other, and wondered why no one had done that when I was in school!

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  5. I feel like I’ve read something by Pearl Buck, but it was so long ago, that I can’t be sure. As for what I know I read from your list: Hamlet, Lord of the Flies, and The Great Gatsby. The only one I really remember anything about is Hamlet. While school was a long time ago, I have vivid memories or reading some books, and I’m not sure if it’s because I enjoyed them or dispised them. LOL!

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!

    https://readbakecreate.com/books-i-think-they-should-discuss-in-school/

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    • I really loved Pearl S. Buck’s writing – I need to check out her other books, especially since The Good Earth was just book one in a trilogy. It sounds like we had some overlap in our curricula, and I remember Hamlet so vividly because we read the book, watched multiple movie adaptations, and discussed that book until I didn’t want to hear anything about it again lol.

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  7. That is so funny about your friend’s mistake! I remember reading The Crucible in school too. I loved that one. Actually I loved so many of these on your list. Surprise, surprise. Lol. Kurt Vonnegut is my dad’s favorite author so he started me on his books when I was in high school. I really liked Welcome to the Monkey House.

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    • That was such a funny mistake, and she said it IN CLASS when the teacher called on her and we were just cracking up.

      I haven’t read anything else by Vonnegut, but after giving Slaughterhouse Five a reread, I think I’m going to have to branch out. Also, I’m not surprised that our taste in books even encompasses the assigned readings we liked!

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  8. I read THE GREAT GATSBY in high school and hated it. I reread it a few years ago with my son and I STILL hated it. (He did too). Ha ha.

    My husband has been urging me to read MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING for years and I finally did it this year. It’s a very profound book. I don’t know why I waited so long to read it!

    Happy TTT!

    Susan

    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

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    • I didn’t love The Great Gatsby, but I did love a gender-swapped retelling of it.

      I had to read Man’s Search For Meaning as part of a graduate class on death, dying, and bereavement. It really is a deep and meaningful book, so I’m glad you finally gave it a chance!

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  10. Yes- Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, and The Crucible were all required books for books (didn’t like them: struggled more with giving books a chance back in high school). There were only some required books I did love

    Tale of Two Cities- that wasn’t required, but a recommendation by my dad; he knew I would like it and he was right

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    • I remember being surprised at how much I liked A Tale of Two Cities in school. I think the only way that I was able to get through other classics was in school – when the teacher would break things down by paragraph, sometimes by sentence. I liked the more modern classics at that age, and remember wishing that they were part of the curriculum.

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      • I struggled to get through Shakespeare and Tragedies in high school- the two things I really wasn’t giving a fair enough chance. Never knew I had misinterpreted tragedy (my big mistake)

        Here’s the strange thing– never realized “The Iliad” was a tragedy (only thought it was a myth when it was read in 10th grade)

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    • I’m willing to bet it’s better on stage – we watched two movie versions of it, but I’d love to see it as an actual play! I liked the movies, but it didn’t hurt that I understood what they were talking about because we had discussed the book in so much depth.

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