Assigned Reading

[JohnnyPsycho]

Another topic got me to think about this... do any of you own books that you've never read, or perhaps know a commonly read book that you've never read yourself?

Example: I'm often surprised when people tell me they've never read books like To Kill a Mockingbird or Brave New World, yet I've never read Catcher in the Rye, even though it's apparently one of those books that people often read in highschool English classes. I even have a copy that magically appeared on my bookshelf (I think an old roommate may have left it behind). Anyone else have similar "must read" books left on their shelves?
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[Xebulon]

To be honest, I haven't read any of the above. I tended to infuriate my English teachers by replacing the assigned reading with something else entirely. My essay on Arthur C. Clark's space trilogy actually got me an A.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[kommy]

Oddly, I have never read either Catcher in the Rye or Brave New World. But then, for all the centuries long controversy over it, I'm still shocked how few people have read On the Origin of Species. For a book long science text, it's a surprisingly easy and enjoyable read that's stood the test of time.

I have no unread books on my shelves. I don't own many literary classics, though. Most are scholarly texts or more popular fiction. Though I do have Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, and Frankenstein. The last is rather near and dear to my heart.[/i]
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"Doktor! Are you sure this will work?!" "HAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!"

[HSHP]

Never read 'World' or 'Rye' myself. 'Mockingbird', on the other hand, is my favorite book. I don't know which classics I could list, though there are tons I'm sure, but the Harry Potter books and LotR are all currently collecting dust in my collection (read 'The Hobbit' though).
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"Women are like Voltron. The more you hook up, the better it gets."

[Xebulon]

I've started reading 'Brave New World' now. JohnnyPsycho, you're right. It is a good book. A little disturbing, but good.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[JohnnyPsycho]

Yeah, I've never read all the way through LotR myself... I think I only managed to finish Fellowship of the Ring when i was about 12...

I just thought of another book I haven't read that's often assigned reading in schools: Animal Farm by George Orwell. I remember seeing the live-action film that came out in the late 90's, but never actually got around to reading the book itself. Then again, by the time I was in highschool, the Soviet Union had already collapsed, so I suppose a book satirizing Stalinist Soviet Russia would seem a bit dated by then...
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Johnny's Fanfics (including Sureshot! A Bon Bon Tale)

Johnny's backstory
Johnny, Mark II (Project Aten character)

[MrWolf12]

I have to admit, I'm more into reading the works of Shakespeare. The Comedy of Errors and The Tempest among my favorites. When it comes to modern works, a favorite book is The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Also, for ones who like horror, the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley I highly recommend!!

[Xebulon]

[JohnnyPsycho]

It's not often that schools assign sci-fi in their classrooms, unfortunately. That's probably why I liked Brave New World so much.

It's also why I loved my World History and Sociology classes in high school, because the teacher was a huge Trekkie, and he even showed us episodes of Star Trek for a couple of lessons...
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Johnny's Fanfics (including Sureshot! A Bon Bon Tale)

Johnny's backstory
Johnny, Mark II (Project Aten character)

[HSHP]

[Nightwolf]

I read Brave New World back in high school. Though I forget parts of it, I do remember liking the story. I'm also kind of a sci-fi nut myself. I love Star Trek TNG and Voyager, but I'm not a trekkie I don't think.

Homer's The Odyssey was pretty cool too.

[Xebulon]

I'm trying to gear myself up to reading Shogun. That'll take me a while, I fear.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.