# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/81 "2013-04-25T19:11:09Z")
**Catch 22** is the one I probably never would have picked up any other way and ended up really liking. ---
**Author:** ![Tamarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tamarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamarin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/82 "2013-04-25T20:22:22Z")
_[The Things They Carried](http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/dp/0618706410/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366921031&sr=1-1&keywords=the+things+they+carried)_ I was not thrilled to get a book about the Vietnam war assigned. I am not into war novels at all, but I ended up LOVING this book. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/83 "2013-04-25T20:39:04Z")
At the time, I didn’t really appreciate any of them, but looking back I’d say _ **Hamlet** _, if that counts as a ‘book,’ and _ **To Kill a Mockingbird** _ or _ **The Great Gatsby** _ if not. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/84 "2013-04-25T21:01:02Z")
> [@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. It’s one of my favorite books - though I never was assigned to read it in school. For me, the most interesting book I was assigned to read in school was Borges’ book of short stories, _Ficciones_. Most of the rest of the class hated it though! But for me, they were amazing - each story a perfect polished jewel. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/85 "2013-04-25T21:04:56Z")
A Green History Of The World by Clive Ponting which I read for part of my history degree. By the end I put it in my list of 5 books that I think that everyone needs to read. ---
**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, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/86 "2013-04-25T21:05:30Z")
My favorite Bard work was _Othello_. ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-interesting-book-you-were-ever-forced-to-read-for-a-class/656409/87 "2013-04-26T15:30:26Z")
Wow. Interesting thread but also because of my own experiences. Here’s what I remember, spread out over four years of high school: Outsiders Butterfly Revolution Hiroshima On The Beach Alas, Babylon Lord of the Flies Ordinary People Death of a Salesmen Adventures of Tom Sawyer? Or maybe it was Huck Finn? maybe both? I’m not sure but I think one of them. Here’s my point. I’m an avid reader. I still enjoy reading. And while some assigned reading in college was good and I have looked at those again, but not fully re-read them, I have not re-read any of the books from high school, nor are any of them a favorite of mine. So, I’m surprised at how many people had the assigned reading become a favorite! That’s cool. vislor [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=4)