you ever re-read a book assigned to you in high school?

Dune was an intruiging novel, and the movie was a steaming pile of shit.

And I love that dunecat pic. the first time I aever saw it I laughed for an hour.

How about Adentures of Huckleberry Finn? My favorite HS English teacher assigned that, and when I was in college I took an upper division course dedicated entirely to Mark Twain.

Getting a little of the HS nostalgia track here, but for an interesting perspective on American ingenuity and invention and technology and how we live (or fail to live) with it, read these three books:

Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in King Aurthur's Court
Vonnegut: Player Piano
Theroux: Mosquito Coast

 

I rarely reread titles, but I've read The Sun Also Rises, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Great Gatsby several times each.

 

Ender's Game FTW!!! I was assigned that book in highschool and liked it. I eventually reread that one and the entire series stemming from it. Great series and I highly recommend Ender's Game first then Ender's Shadow to start off the series.

 

The Great Gatsby! Couldn't think of what that was called, had to read that one as well and watch the movie junior year.

 

The Iliad is next. Going to start that after the Holidays.

 

Great read...the 3 above are my favorite classics. Any more I mostly read mindless detective mysteries to relax or contemporary literary fiction...oh, and I forgot The Godfather! I've read that a few times as well.

 

Me exactly. I read any time I have spare time and I like the actual book in my hand (no nooks or ipads for me). I always have one with me in case I have time. That being said, I typically read non-fiction (burned through 7 Mike Savage books in the past few weeks) and nothing like the stuff they force fed us in school. I think I would had read more if the books in HS had interested me more.

 

No.

 

The bad thing about a Nook and bringing it with you is that currently I have 7 books started and almost started a new one last night.

 

I've reread "Catcher in the Rye", "Animal Farm" and "1984" since high school. All three were much better reads the second time around.

 

Yeah, Dave, I think that's it. We simply lack the life experience when young to fully appreciate what is in these books.

It's kind of like going to historical places on family vacations as a kid. Boooooooooring. As an adult, I can't get enough history...you can feel it.

 

Nope. I hate reading books. I feel like I can make more productive use out of my time than sitting and reading a book.

I read magazines and the internet a lot though. The only books I've read recently were the study materials to get my GA Commerical pesticide applicators license so I can legally treat lawns and plants for my landscape business.

I got a C in my world lit class in college and only read one book during the whole course. I attribute my success to spark notes and the interwebz.

My fiance is the complete opposite of me. She'll read til her eyes fall out. When we were on vacation this year at the beach, she read 8 books during that week.

 

Online plot summaries for the win

 

That is a whole other discussion I wish I had time for right now.

I will say that the lack of book reading is directly related to lack of imagination.

 

i can't remember back that far...high school was kind of a "blur" for me

 

Great point, I also had a music teacher in high school who was into Simon & Garfunkle. He had us listen to the albums and then he used to break down the lyrics one line at a time. No one agreed with him, and the music has never sounded the same since. The guy ruined some good old tunes for a bunch of folks. Music and books are best left to be interpreted by the reader or listener the way they want to, IMO.

 

This!

We had a reading list of about 200 books that you earned points for reading and taking the tests on. First one I read was Stephen King's "Skeleton Crew" for that, and it led me to a lot of his other works that both were and weren't on there.

I have read a lot of King's books since then that I read in high school and still enjoy him, although I get little if any reading time nowadays.

 

A book is a mental discussion between the author and the reader. A good teacher or professor who knows more about the author than you do can help you access some additional perspectives on where the author was coming from or what influenced the author, such as historical ontext or biogrpahicla facts. Like a guide of sorts. But the moutains of literary theory that claim one true way to interpret a work are insane. A marxist deconstruction of The Fountainhead...

A good author taps into universal themes that will resonate with anyone. After that, the next level is possible shared or similar personal experience with the author.

If you and the author do the same drugs, you will probably like the book.

 

We had a teacher who did that with music sometimes, such as U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday". He told you what he felt about it but never forced it on you and asked for your thoughts as well..nor did he ever score you on it. Then you had to write a paper about a song you chose and what you thought it meant, but he made it clear there's no wrong answers but rather how you explain yourself.

And music video? Bah! Just kidding, but never been a huge fan of the stuff and mostly because a lot of the bands I like don't make them.

 

I actually found my paper going through some stuff at my parents' old house.."When Heaven Comes Down" by Dokken.