# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/61 "2013-04-23T13:57:49Z")
**The Hobbit** , which is kind of cheating, since I’d read it twice before even being assigned it. Did a little fist pump when it was assigned to us. Shakespeare, any and all. I became a lifelong fan after 9th grade Romeo and Juliet. Julius Caesar was 10th grade. in 11th, MacBeth, in 12th we did selected sonnets, I think. I liked **Silas Marner** a lot more than expected, and a lot more than the rest of my class did. Though I couldn’t tell you much about it now. Poe. “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado”… those stuck with me. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/62 "2013-04-23T14:12:30Z")
As a student I tried to make a point of never reading any required books but I slipped up on a couple of occasions. I loved **Only Yesterday**. It was a history of the 1920s. It really caught me up in that decade. It is an era that still fascinates me. The other book that captured my attentions was **The Long Death**. It is a history of the treatment of the American Indian by the U.S. I heard later that the author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee had stolen a number of sections from this book and had to pay for that literary sin. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Not\_Appearing\_In\_This\_Film](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Sir\_Not\_Appearing\_In\_This\_Film](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Not_Appearing_In_This_Film)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/63 "2013-04-23T14:15:16Z")
_Things Fall Apart_, Chinua Achebe _The Sun Also Rises_, Hemmingway _All the Kings Men_, Robert Penn Warren _Song of Solomon_, Toni Morrison All of these stand out as books I wouldn’t have read on my own but were great reads and broadened my horizons in literature and philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/64 "2013-04-23T15:22:42Z")
Probably _Animal Farm_, if we’re only counting novels. Otherwise it’d be _From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film_ ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/65 "2013-04-23T15:27:09Z")
Several Steinbeck novels mentioned, but I didn’t see anyone else say “The Grapes of Wrath”. Got assigned that one in a high school English class and thought it would be deadly boring, but I loved it. That’s when i first realized “classic novel” did not automatically mean “boring novel”. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/66 "2013-04-23T16:31:01Z")
If plays count, _Death of a Salesman_. Depressed the hell out of me, but I liked it. Also kind of liked _Babbitt_ and _The Spoon River Anthology_. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/67 "2013-04-23T17:05:59Z")
**Vipers Tangle** by Mauriac. I was assigned this in college and it really opened by eyes to alternate ways of telling a story through non-traditional structure. The fact that the narrator was in the field of irony really opened my eyes to see possibilities of story structuring and meaning I had not before. It was also really entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/68 "2013-04-23T17:43:16Z")
Catcher in the Rye had a profound effect on me. At the time, I was 16 and also a student at the very school J D Salinger was writing about. So needless to say, a disaffected youth, attending a military school that he didn’t want to be at would obviously gravitate to that book. ---
**Author:** ![Swamp\_Adder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@Swamp\_Adder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swamp_Adder)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/69 "2013-04-23T19:12:54Z")
In middle school - _Where the Red Fern Grows_ In high school - _East of Eden_ In college - _Star Maker_ (from a class on science fiction) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/70 "2013-04-23T19:32:28Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > In eleventh grade I had to read _Lord of the Flies_. I was bowled over. It’s still one of my favorite books. Some parents made a fuss, and the school pulled it from the reading list the next semester. Ditto – except for the parents making a fuss part. This is the book that pretty much turned me into a reader. Before the 11th grade, I’d guess I’d read maybe two or three books by choice. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/71 "2013-04-23T19:54:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It started out as “1984,” but was later surpassed by “ **Fifth Business**.” Bolding mine. Oh, yeah - an all time favorite of mine. Reread it every few years. I found it on my roommate’s shelf after he was assigned it in college. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/72 "2013-04-25T02:35:03Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > _Animal Farm_. Although I wasn’t exactly forced to read it. But it was on the AP exam book list, so I did. This is mine as well. Although I had actually already read it before then, as I’d found a copy at my grandpa’s house. If that doesn’t count, then _Flowers for Algernon_. These are rare for me, liking books with an unhappy endings. Though I do remember always believing that a new revolution was just about to start with _Animal Farm_. I’m still not sure I agree with the more pessimistic interpretation I was taught in class. ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/73 "2013-04-25T02:57:28Z")
Definitely **Heart of Darkness** , but only the second time around. I’d finished it much earlier than anyone else, and my teacher suggested I’d get more out of the book by rereading it. I never did get around to thanking him for the advice. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/74 "2013-04-25T05:56:44Z")
> [@Trick\_Rider](#): > > Definitely **Heart of Darkness** , but only the second time around. I’d finished it much earlier than anyone else, and my teacher suggested I’d get more out of the book by rereading it. I never did get around to thanking him for the advice. Had similiar experience with _Catcher in the Rye_. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/75 "2013-04-25T14:17:35Z")
I wasn’t really forced to read it- it was an option on a required list- but my very great sophomore year English teacher, Mrs. Eleanor Phoenix (I think her name would be a great band name btw) pointed out _Rebecca_ by Daphne Du Maurier as something she thought I’d like. She was right, loved it. I miss that teacher - I felt royally screwed my junior year when she was retiring and although I chose her class, I got a horrible 1st year teacher with Mrs. Phoenix observing her teaching instead. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/76 "2013-04-25T14:24:49Z")
_The Picture of Dorian Gray_. I put off reading it until the day before we had to have it read. Started it as soon as I got home from school, and finished around 2 AM. I thought it was going to be a chore, and simply found I couldn’t put it down. Awesome book. That stuck out immediately to me, though I also quite enjoyed _Catcher in the Rye_, _Night_ by Elie Wiesel, _The Great Gatsby_ and many other assigned books. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/77 "2013-04-25T15:07:13Z")
Not novels but for an English class we read "Harrison Bergeron"and “By the Waters of Babylon.” ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/78 "2013-04-25T15:31:28Z")
Seconding **The Great Gatsby**. I read it for High School English and it remains one of my all-time favorite novels. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/79 "2013-04-25T15:43:59Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > For a college course on experimental modern and postmodern literature, Italo Calvino’s **Invisible Cities**. It had a profound effect on me. It was like nothing I’d ever encountered before, and gave me bewildering new ideas as to what constitutes a novel. Ditto, except I read it for a history class on the role of the city in history. The professor admitted later that it had nothing to do with actual urban history, he just wanted to share it, and because of the name of the class it worked; I liked the book but was still a bit pissed at paying around $8 for it when I was broke and it was unnecessary for the actual class. I had to read _Moby Dick_ for an American Lit class and actually liked it for a while, but the professor took care of that. (I think it was the only book he ever read, and so he talked about it at every lecture analyzing freaking everything about it- it might as well have been a seminar class on Moby Dick alone.) ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/80 "2013-04-25T15:58:06Z")
A lot of people put it on their most-hated list, but **The Scarlet Letter** had a huge impact on me. I absolutely loved it, and it played a role in my decision to major in history in college. I also loved Shakespeare. \*\*Richard III \*\*was a favorite. [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=3) [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=5)