# Books you had read in high school that you absolutely hated **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [September 4, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732 "2025-09-04T01:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/61 "2025-09-04T17:48:07Z")
He’s just going to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of his soul the uncreated conscience of his race. Pretty basic, really. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/62 "2025-09-04T17:58:31Z")
Add me as another one who didn’t like _Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man._ I didn’t get it either, and thought it was a big waste of time. Surprisingly, given that I’d heard so many people tell me how terrible and boring it was, I liked _Moby-Dick._ Maybe not the long treatise on whaling that Melville stuck into the middle of it, but the rest was pretty good. Never really got into Shakespeare. The poetic language never did anything for me, so most of his plays we had to read were a slog. If I can mention one book that I absolutely hated that wasn’t in high school, but in a novel writing certificate program I did a few years ago at Stanford, it’s _Beloved._ I know that’s probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely despised the book, to the point where I ended up having to read the Cliff Notes just so I could get past that part of the class. Oddly, for the same class, I loved _The Goldfinch._ People were complaining because it was so long, but I found it fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/63 "2025-09-04T18:21:43Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The Brothers Karamazov – did someone say long? I just never got into it. And i even had a good teacher for that one. Ditto! The Grand Inquisitor chapter surrounded by hundreds of boring pages featuring characters all of whom had three names, all of them the same. “Welcome, Dmitri Dmitrivitch.” “Same to you Alexei Alexiovitch.” On the plus side it save me hundreds of hours in my life by making me never want to read another long Russian novel. Right up to Cancer Ward. Even worse was "“Look Homeward Angel” by Thomas Wolfe featuring people I didn’t care about in a place I didn’t care about doing things I didn’t care about. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/64 "2025-09-04T18:25:32Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Did the sun at least rise? Something of Jake’s didn’t. I read it long after high school, and it inspired me to write a parody for my column with Jake and Lady Brett loading Windows. And drinking every drink in the books (there are a lot) all in about 100 words. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/65 "2025-09-04T18:36:06Z")
Huh, unlike the rest of you, i really liked _heart of darkness_. It was scary and depressing and incredibly beautifully written. I bought a book of Conrad’s collected works after reading that, although i don’t think i ever finished it. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/66 "2025-09-04T18:42:12Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > But I remember absolutely hating John Knowles, _A Separate Peace_ in high school freshman year. Summary of that book: Teenage boys are real jerks to each other. Who would have thought? We did that snoozefest my sophomore year. Junior year was The Scarlet Letter. That book was so boring I resorted to coasting through by using CliffsNotes. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/67 "2025-09-04T18:47:14Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Huh, unlike the rest of you, i really liked _heart of darkness_. It was scary and depressing and incredibly beautifully written. I bought a book of Conrad’s collected works after reading that, although i don’t think i ever finished it. I liked it too, but I read it during a college philosophy class on existential literature, with a teacher I loved, so I imagine that informed the experience. I think it had a lot of important things to say, especially about the colonization of so-called “savages." Also, that professor was from Boston but schooled at Oxford and wore ridiculous sweaters, and every time I think of that book I hear his Bostonian but somehow stuffy accent as he said, " The horrah, the horrah.” ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/68 "2025-09-04T18:50:48Z")
I wouldn’t have thought I could hate any book in high school more than The _Catcher in the Rye_. And then I had to read _As I Lay Dying_, by William Faulkner. I didn’t think I could hate any other book that much. Then I had to read _Sanctuary_ (another Faulkner) in college. I’m no fan of _Rabbit, Run_ either. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/69 "2025-09-04T19:01:46Z")
Worst. Anne of Withering Green Heights and Gables. Pretty sure I’m conflating two, possibly three hated books. Also sure I got an ‘F’ for those book reports - copying random stuff from the book jacket blurbs will do that. I was a voracious reader of histories though. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/70 "2025-09-04T19:19:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Huh, unlike the rest of you, i really liked _heart of darkness_. It was scary and depressing I like it too, but it pales beside the actual horror of colonial Congo. It’s kinda like a book about the motor pool at Auschwitz. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/71 "2025-09-04T19:23:43Z")
Most of mine have been mentioned, namely _Silas Marner, Ethan Frome,_ and worst of all, _Wuthering Heights._ I never would have passed the test on _Wuthering Heights_ if it hadn’t been for Cliffs Notes. The Bronte sisters were immediately placed on my permanently-banned list for books to read. Oddly, I thought _The Scarlet Letter_ was OK when I had to read it in high school, but then I reread it in my 30s thinking that I would appreciate it more as an adult. Instead, I found it very boring and ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/72 "2025-09-04T19:24:57Z")
I found _The Sound and the Fury_ tough going. That was one I definitely needed Cliff Notes to figure out what was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/73 "2025-09-04T19:27:18Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > The Bronte sisters were immediately placed on my permanently-banned list for books to read. _Jane Eyre_ seems to be the only one of their novels anyone talks about anymore, though you might occasionally hear _Villette_ mentioned at certain dinner parties. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/74 "2025-09-04T19:27:57Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I’m sorry for those who had lousy English teachers. I like to think you might have enjoyed my assignments better. For example, here’s one of the assignment blocks for a novel they read, after the basic conversations and activities about themes, structure, relevance, etc.: > > - Reading: _The Left Hand of Darkness_ by Ursula K. Le Guin > - Activity: I’ve posted the first paragraph (in one case, the first two) of every novel published by Le Guin to date. Read them, then talk at your table about the similarities and differences you see in these openings. > - Assignment: In your table group, list the similarites and differences you think are most important in illustrating Le Guin’s content and style. > - Activity: I’ve posted the groups’ similarities/differences lists. Look at them and talk with your table group about what the other groups included or didn’t include. Which do you agree with or disagree with? > - Assignment: Write a Le Guinian opening paragraph based on the class’s observations. After your paragraph, list the factors you chose to include, then explain why you chose those aspects of her style as your model. > - Follow-up: A new Le Guin novel is being published next month. When it’s available, I’ll post that first paragraph plus all of yours anonymously. You’ll each vote on which is really Le Guin’s and why you think so, then we’ll have a class discussion about this and how to identify an author’s style. As much as I hated reading certain books in English class, I would have hated them even more if I’d had to do assignments like yours. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/75 "2025-09-04T19:28:22Z")
I fortunately didn’t have to read _A Separate Peace_,but the kids who did universally despised it. I liked most of what we read, but hated **Heart of Darkness** and anything by Wm. Faulkner. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/76 "2025-09-04T19:29:16Z")
I agree with you. Heart of Darkness is one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/77 "2025-09-04T19:30:49Z")
Wow. . ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/78 "2025-09-04T19:52:28Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > As much as I hated reading certain books in English class, I would have hated them even more if I’d had to do assignments like yours. Really. I only discovered Ursula K. Le Guin a few years ago and read a few of her books, including “The Left Hand Of Darkness”, and found them interesting and intriguing, definitely food for thought, especially given the time in which they were written. I would have loved to have already encountered her in school, but these assignments would have taken all the fun out of it, and I probably never would have touched any of her books again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/79 "2025-09-04T20:06:44Z")
Most of the books we had to read in high school were good or very good, none were detestable, most reflected the personality of the teacher. I’m sure I would have much more insight if I reread some of them now. Some of them were not things I would have chosen to read - particularly The Stone Angel and Goodbye Mister Chips. Some would be worth rereading - the major Shakespeares, A Handmaid’s Tale, Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, Something Wicked This Way Comes… ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732/80 "2025-09-04T20:35:56Z")
> [@susan](#): > > - Reading: _The Left Hand of Darkness_ by Ursula K. Le Guin > - Activity > … I’m not sure whether 17 yo me would’ve liked these assignments or not, but you were at least getting to read somebody who could _write_. I went to her high school and we never got assigned any LeGuin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-hated/1022732.md?page=5)