...did you read it?

Nope, got about 2 chapters in and gave it up as a bad job. Classic it may be, but I have no interest in depressing stories, and that was pretty depressing stuff right there.

Nope, got about 2 chapters in and gave it up as a bad job. Classic it may be, but I have no interest in depressing stories, and that was pretty depressing stuff right there.

PS: Wait for the poll.


:buddies:

I never read Catcher in the Rye. It wasn't required reading in honors and AP level English, and when I tried to read it after high school I just couldn't get into it. I did read Franny and Zooey though, and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Never read it and forget what it was about.

I know Mark David Chapman was motivated to murder John Lennon because of Catcher in the Rye.

Yep, required reading when I was in junior high school.

I never read Catcher in the Rye. It wasn't required reading in honors and AP level English, and when I tried to read it after high school I just couldn't get into it. I did read Franny and Zooey though, and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Really?? :confused:

Yep, required reading when I was in junior high school.

:yeahthat:

I read it but my poll answer would be somewhere between:
Yes, must read
Yes, wasted on me

I'm not a big fan of pointless teen angst stories. Grow up and get a freakin' life.

Really?? :confused:
Nope. We were too busy reading Dante, Kafka, etc. :dead:

Really?? :confused:
Depends on your locale and timing. It wasn't required for me either.

According to wikipedia:lol: it is one of the most censored books in public schools. However, it's also one of the top books that is required reading in public schools. Districts either love it or hate it.

I don't remember having to read it......we did have The Red Badge of Courage as required reading material....still enjoy that book.

Nope. We were too busy reading Dante, Kafka, etc. :dead:

i had the pleasure of reading all of those exciting books too. Metamorphosis was possibly the dumbest book ever, but that made it all the more amusing. :killingme


Depends on your locale and timing. It wasn't required for me either.

According to wikipedia:lol: it is one of the most censored books in public schools. However, it's also one of the top books that is required reading in public schools. Districts either love it or hate it.

true, maybe it's because i'm a little younger, but my AP teachers never cared for what was censored or not anyway. they went with the best literary works and didn't care what people said

I don't remember having to read it......we did have The Red Badge of Courage as required reading material....still enjoy that book.
We had to read Tale of Two Cities, which was pretty damn boring. I also had to read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Still love that book to this day.

Depends on your locale and timing. It wasn't required for me either.

According to wikipedia:lol: it is one of the most censored books in public schools. However, it's also one of the top books that is required reading in public schools. Districts either love it or hate it.

Locale and timing..

PG County...stone age. :lol:

Also had to read Grapes Of Wrath the same year.

true, maybe it's because i'm a little younger, but my AP teachers never cared for what was censored or not anyway. they went with the best literary works and didn't care what people said
The only "required" reading for us was what was assigned over the summer. During the school year we chose whatever we wanted from a long list of recommended reading, usually 2 a quarter I think, for papers and such.

Oh yeah...forgot about Of Mice and Men. That was just...ok.

Locale and timing..

PG County...stone age. :lol:

Also had to read Grapes Of Wrath the same year.
Grapes of wrath: ran out of food/money, needed to move. found a place, had a hard time finding work, ran out of food/money, needed to move. So on and so forth. :banghead:

That was possibly the most difficult read of my life. We had to read Scarlet Letter and Grapes of Wrath back to back. I'm not sure a single person in my class was able to read both fully through...we could only tolerate one or the other.

The only "required" reading for us was what was assigned over the summer. During the school year we chose whatever we wanted from a long list of recommended reading, usually 2 a quarter I think, for papers and such.
oh ok...we had to read a ton of books and didn't get many options until the end of the year.

Oh yeah...forgot about Of Mice and Men. That was just...ok.
i can't remember it well but i had to read that too

We read it in 7th or 8th grade. :yawn: I hate to say this but I was in the middle of "Portnoy's Complaint" when we got the book assignment, so ol' Holden and his issues didn't really grab my attention.

i can't remember it well but i had to read that too
Typical Steinbeck novel based near the California rusty plains. About a man and his retarded buddy during the Great Depression. Near the climax the buddy commits a horrid act (forget what exactly) and there's a mob looking to string him up. The man finds his buddy first but decides to kill him himself instead of leaving him to the mob. Cue the sobs...

I read it somewhere between 5th and 6th grade. Not really a fan. I liked it ok, but i guess I never got into it like some. And I got really mad when he wouldn't sleep with the prostitute..not sure why.:killingme just seemed unnatural.

It's not on my "classics I loathe list" Like the Awakening is:coffee:

It's not on my "classics I loathe list" Like the Awakening is:coffee:
See, I liked The Awakening. I can't really remember why, because the story is pretty jacked up. I think it was probably the writing. :lol: Then again, I hated Pride and Prejudice when I had to read it in high school, but it's one of my favorite books now.

I don't think I read it. Heck, I can't remember what I read in high school. :lol: Lots of Shakespeare, and I think Jane Eyre maybe. Who knows what else. :lol:

Typical Steinbeck novel based near the California rusty plains. About a man and his retarded buddy during the Great Depression. Near the climax the buddy commits a horrid act (forget what exactly) and there's a mob looking to string him up. The man finds his buddy first but decides to kill him himself instead of leaving him to the mob. Cue the sobs...


Lenny snapped Curley's wifes neck!

Lenny snapped Curley's wifes neck!
Oh yeah...good ol' Curly and his ho' of a wife.:yay:

I'm not a big fan of "literature", with it's imagery and symbolism and all that crap. To me a cigar is almost always just a cigar, and I don't care to find a deeper meaning.

Oh yeah...good ol' Curly and his ho' of a wife.:yay:

don't forget his glove full of vaseline!

sidebar: what ps3 ID are you using?

I'm not a big fan of "literature", with it's imagery and symbolism and all that crap. To me a cigar is almost always just a cigar, and I don't care to find a deeper meaning.

But that's is exactly the part I like. When you read a book, no one forces you to see anything other than a cigar. You can see it as a cigar, or you can apply the symbol to the story, but you don't have to do either. And, as I am a master of doing, you can make it mean whatever you want. Some of my best papers have been a crazy thesis and my attempt at making it fit.

Some of my best papers have been a crazy thesis and my attempt at making it fit.

My friend Meg used to do that in our HS lit class, make up some weird allegorical theme for whatever lame book we were reading. I was like, how did you get that out of this?? And she'd reply, I didn't - I just made that up to screw with the teacher. :lol:

I'm surprised they didn't have her locked up.

It was required summer reading for me. I was a total book worm, avid reader but I only made it thru about 2 chapters and then chucked it across the room.

That was the one and only book report I didn't have ready to turn in on the day it was due in my entire school career. Lucky for me my teacher told me if I wrote a 1500 word essay explaining why I didn't do it and turned it in the next day, he would grade it and that would be my grade for the missing report. I proceeded to craft "My Procrastinating Vacation" and was given an A-. :biggrin:

...did you read it?

no, we had a choice between Catcher in the rye and Lord of the flies, I went the other way.

no, we had a choice between Catcher in the rye and Lord of the flies, I went the other way.

They were both required reading. Catcher in the Rye was an excellent book. Lord of the Flies is my favorite.

no, we had a choice between Catcher in the rye and Lord of the flies, I went the other way.

####ING FLIES!

It was required summer reading for me. I was a total book worm, avid reader but I only made it thru about 2 chapters and then chucked it across the room.



Same here. Great way to teach a teen to hate reading.

Yes, I certainly wasn't averse to reading, they wanted me to read this in I think 8th or 9th grade (suburb of Boston, late 70s), and by that time I had already read the entire Lord of the Rings, and the Complete Sherlock Holmes, amongst hundreds of other books, and enjoyed the Shakespeare they had tossed our way. But those first two chapters were so damn depressing.