Monday 12 January 2009

Musing Monday

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about assigned reading…
How did you react to assigned reading when you were in school/university/college/etc? How do you think on these books now? What book were you 'forced' to read when you where in school that you've since reread and loved?

I enjoyed most things that I was required to read in school. In fact I didn't find anything I disliked until I got to University and that was William Faulkner. And its difficult to say I disliked this because I never read more than a few chapters! I spent a whole year trying to read one of the four texts on the course reading list but in the end I just avoided any exam questions that involved his work! I would like to read something by Faulkner but I'm put off by the feelings I had 12 years ago.

But I discovered Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, T.S Eliot, Arthur Miller and many others through School and University reading lists all of which I enjoyed at the time and still do now.

Dickens is the exception to the rule here for me. I really enjoyed Dickens when I was 'forced' to read it but my appreciation is decreasing steadily as my years increase. I just don't seem to enjoy it anymore. My old teachers and lecturers would be disgusted! Lol

7 comments:

Lisa (Southern Girl Reads) said...

My school reading was much more limited than yours. I've never read any Dickens or Faulkner and honestly, don't know if I ever will, based on what I hear from other readers. I may check out some books from the library to see for myself. I recently acquired some Atwood novels that I'm looking forward to reading.

Beth F said...

Poor Faulkner . . . I don't know why people dislike him. I haven't read his books in ages, but I remember reading several of them in a row (not for class!).

Anonymous said...

I wish I had been given Wilkie Collins!! I love A Woman in White and Moonstone.

gautami tripathy said...

I still like some of the books by Dickens...

Here is mine

Anonymous said...

I have so much catching up to do as far as the "classics" go.

Jo said...

Lisa, I think Margeret Atwood is fantastic. Oryx and Crake is on one of my challenge lists for this year.

Beth, I will try really hard to get through something by faulkner this year. I need to clear some time though!

Bluestocking, I like them both but The Moonstone is my favourite.

Gautami, I think I might try to reada dickens I haven't read yet to see if that re-ignites what I used to feel about him.

Carol, so do I! Can you believe I've read no Steinbeck, or Hemmingway? Or To Kill a Mockingbird? With my aversion to Faulkner I think I'm seriously neglecting American literature.

And I'm really new to this so I'd just like to thank you all for commenting.

Rebecca Johnson said...

Ah, avoiding the essay question for the book you didn't read - a tactic I know well ;)