# What was the most interesting book you were ever forced to read for a class? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409 "2013-04-22T16:02:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/21 "2013-04-22T18:05:19Z")
**Clarissa**. Like hanging by my thumbs for a whole quarter, but man is that thing memorable. **Moby Dick**. šŸ˜› I reread it every 5 years or so. **Persuasion**. I struggled through it as a teenager and thought it was all teacups and boredom. Now it is probably my favorite book. **Dune**. My first science fiction novel and it was so much fun I couldnā€™t believe it was really an assignment. I was married to that book in the tenth grade. [I wonder if all you Dickens haters would have wound up liking him any better if you had been forced to read \*\*Bleak House\*\* in high school, rather than \*\*Great Expectations\*\*?] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/22 "2013-04-22T18:24:35Z")
\*Androcles and the Lion \*by George Bernard Shaw. Read it in senior English and thought it so hilarious, I started reading some of his other works ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/23 "2013-04-22T18:27:49Z")
A **Wrinkle in Time** & **Bridge to Terabithia** both ended up becoming favorites of mine. **The Good Earth, Jane Eyre** and Urisā€™s \*\*Battle Cry \*\*were also really really good. The latter moved me so much I had trouble writing my report on it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/24 "2013-04-22T18:29:12Z")
As a senior in high school, I took an elective course on Russian history. For that class, I was required to read Ivan Turgenevā€™s\*\*\* Fathers and Sons\*\*\*, which is still one of my all-time favorite novels. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/25 "2013-04-22T18:44:31Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > A **Wrinkle in Time** & **Bridge to Terabithia** both ended up becoming favorites of mineā€¦ Oooh, I forgot about **Bridge to Terabithia**! Great book. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/26 "2013-04-22T18:45:09Z")
I actually enjoyed _The Chrysalids_. I donā€™t remember much about the book, just that I did enjoy reading it. Iā€™m thankful I didnā€™t have to read **1984** in school because of the way you have to analyze and pick apart books in class. I read it years later when I went back to school as an adult for a free-choice book report and I loved it. One line scared me so much I had to physically put the book down and walk away from it for a few hours. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/27 "2013-04-22T18:49:22Z")
1984 was pretty good. I also liked Beowulf and the Shakespeare plays we were assigned (Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and Macbeth) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/28 "2013-04-22T19:35:51Z")
Of Mice and Men ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/29 "2013-04-22T19:36:22Z")
For a college course on experimental modern and postmodern literature, Italo Calvinoā€™s **Invisible Cities**. It had a profound effect on me. It was like nothing Iā€™d ever encountered before, and gave me bewildering new ideas as to what constitutes a novel. ---
**Author:** ![recks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@recks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recks)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/30 "2013-04-22T19:54:30Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > **1984** I did a book report in the tenth grade where we had to pick a book to read and compare it to one of our required readings. I picked 1984 and compared it to the required reading _Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress_, by Dai Sijie. I ended up liking the Dai Sijie book much more for it. Way to go Teachā€™, making me learn and appreciate books more. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/31 "2013-04-22T20:25:55Z")
_Candide_ I really didnā€™t get it at the time (as if I do now) but that was some whacky stuff. I was in school in the late 60s - early 70s, in the less than smart English classes. They usually let us read whatever junk was popular because, and they let us know this, we werenā€™t going to be using it anyway. Thank you high school English, for letting me enjoy books and learn to appreciate the classics without your interference. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/32 "2013-04-22T20:31:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > **Cannery Row** , by Steinbeck. My favorite novel to this day. Easily my favorite of the books I had to read for a class. I re-read it just a year or so ago, and itā€™s still a thing of beauty. Another that wasnā€™t required reading, but rather a book that the librarian read _to_ us when we were in elementary school, was **The Phantom Tollbooth**. Still one of the best kidsā€™ books ever. The Firebug ought to be ready for it in the next year or two, and Iā€™m really looking forward to reading it to him. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/33 "2013-04-22T20:33:39Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > _Things Fall Apart_ - great story, told from a unique perspective. A real downer, though. This was going to be my answer, but since you stole it ;), Iā€™ll mention my very close runner-up: **Black Like Me**. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/34 "2013-04-22T20:40:53Z")
I read Brave New World for an English class. Really enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/35 "2013-04-22T20:43:03Z")
_Johnny Tremain_. History buff,+ itā€™s set here in Boston. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/36 "2013-04-22T20:44:12Z")
In eleventh grade I had to read _Lord of the Flies_. I was bowled over. Itā€™s still one of my favorite books. Some parents made a fuss, and the school pulled it from the reading list the next semester. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/37 "2013-04-22T21:27:30Z")
I once took a Spanish literature class because I needed the elective and it was in a time slot I had empty. I came away with a deep love for Gabriel Garcƭa MƔrquez, espically _One Hundred Years of Solitude_ ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/38 "2013-04-22T21:30:30Z")
Does a Shakespeare play count as a ā€œbookā€ in this context? Because if so, _A Comedy of Errors_. Most enjoyable school read ever. If you only mean novels, Iā€™ll go with _To Kill a Mockingbird_ as well, but with _Adventures of Tom Sawyer_ a close second. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/39 "2013-04-22T21:45:21Z")
_East of Eden_ I remember my best friend and I groaned when we saw how thick it was. We couldnā€™t put it down. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/40 "2013-04-22T22:17:14Z")
_Demian_ by Hermann Hesse I think it was the timing of when I read it. At every page I felt like Emil Sinclair. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409.md?page=3)