grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 6, 2014 11:47:03 GMT
One of my favorites. I read it for the first time when I was about 11 but never read it in high school. When DD was in middle school it was required reading and she hated it. I think the forced march through otherwise interesting literature ruins it for a lot of us. I couldn't believe all the "symbolism" and other literary crap the teacher threw at the kids in an effort to ruin a wonderful book. "What does the rabid dog symbolize?" It symbolizes that there was not rabies vaccine in rural depression-era Alabama and that's why you don't pet stray dogs. Wrong. Argh. A great book. Go read it if you haven't. This is *exactly* why I've never liked English classes. Poetry especially can be bad for this. I remember in college someone asked the professor how we know that whatever-it-was symbolized whatever. He replied that "scholars agree..." or something. But if the author is dead then you have no way of really knowing unless he/she actually wrote about the symbolism. Yeah, I never liked picking apart any book, I just wanted to read it. I loved the analysis of the books we read, I just thought that the vast majority of the books we read were complete crap and poorly written. Well, not poorly written, just written in a way that bores the reader. The analysis is the only way I could get through the drivel. I really enjoyed the creativity of the work behind the words to bring imagery, symbolism and themes into the books. The only book that I read in school that didn't completely blow was "My Name Is Asher Lev" by Chaim Potok. I actually went on to read all his books.
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Post by peasapie on Aug 6, 2014 12:14:18 GMT
Hope you both enjoy it as much as I did.
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Post by farmdpea on Aug 6, 2014 13:13:03 GMT
I read it in high school. I grew up just a few miles from Monroeville. It was very vivid and real to us, because we grew up in the area. It was surreal, a little bit, that someone had written a book about us down there in south AL. Same hometown as Sparki I have my required autographed copy of the book. lol The town of Monroeville puts on a performance of the book each spring. It's really good! I know they have traveled all over the world, but I don't know how often they do so.
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Post by gillyp on Aug 6, 2014 13:16:06 GMT
A few summers ago, I decided to read 'classics' I hadn't read or re-read books I read in high school that I couldn't remember or didn't like then. To Kill a Mockingbird was first on my list. It was actually better than I remember, which prompted me to keep going. I managed to get thru Catcher in the Rye & Inherit the Wind before I got off track. I really need to pick that up again. I read Catcher in the Rye for the first time this year and really had to force myself to finish it. Every review of it said how wonderful it was so I kept on going in the hope that it would turn out wonderful. It didn't, imvho.
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tiffanytwisted
Pearl Clutcher
you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave
Posts: 4,538
Jun 26, 2014 15:57:39 GMT
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Post by tiffanytwisted on Aug 6, 2014 18:56:46 GMT
A few summers ago, I decided to read 'classics' I hadn't read or re-read books I read in high school that I couldn't remember or didn't like then. To Kill a Mockingbird was first on my list. It was actually better than I remember, which prompted me to keep going. I managed to get thru Catcher in the Rye & Inherit the Wind before I got off track. I really need to pick that up again. I read Catcher in the Rye for the first time this year and really had to force myself to finish it. Every review of it said how wonderful it was so I kept on going in the hope that it would turn out wonderful. It didn't, imvho. I know! No one told me it ended that way! I read it one nite in bed and it was all I could do not to wake my husband at 3 in the morning to say WTF! This is how it ends?!! Very upsetting.
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Post by sillyrabbit on Aug 6, 2014 19:24:30 GMT
Probably my all time favorite classic novel. I'm due to reread it.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 6, 2014 19:30:48 GMT
My sister says she went to law school because of To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm sure she isn't the only one. Probably not...it was what made me *want* to go to law school. There are a lot of law schools that have a reading list prior to the start of classes, and To Kill A Mockingbird is on a lot of those lists.
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Post by donna on Aug 6, 2014 19:31:04 GMT
Carey Ann, I love Crash Course videos! They do such an awesome job with explaining things. I wish I could be that animated all the time. Of course, when I am that animated my students think I have lost it!
I did not read TKAM until a few years ago. I don't know how I had never read it before. I really love the book! I also did not read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Catcher in the Rye until a few years ago either. Catcher in the Rye was not one of my favorites. I read The Great Gatsby around the same time as these others and hated it! I realize that I do not like books written in that particular voice though.
Funny how many of us missed out on a lot of really good classics. I am afraid that this will happen more and more with the Common Core push towards non-fiction works.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 6, 2014 20:11:31 GMT
This is *exactly* why I've never liked English classes. Poetry especially can be bad for this. I remember in college someone asked the professor how we know that whatever-it-was symbolized whatever. He replied that "scholars agree..." or something. But if the author is dead then you have no way of really knowing unless he/she actually wrote about the symbolism. Yeah, I never liked picking apart any book, I just wanted to read it. I loved the analysis of the books we read, I just thought that the vast majority of the books we read were complete crap and poorly written. Well, not poorly written, just written in a way that bores the reader. The analysis is the only way I could get through the drivel. I really enjoyed the creativity of the work behind the words to bring imagery, symbolism and themes into the books. The only book that I read in school that didn't completely blow was "My Name Is Asher Lev" by Chaim Potok. I actually went on to read all his books. I LOVE "My Name is Asher Lev". I also went on to read all his books, and I should have put these on my list of those I re-read. I forgot all about them. {adding them to my list of books I want to re-read yet again.}
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grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 6, 2014 20:30:33 GMT
I loved the analysis of the books we read, I just thought that the vast majority of the books we read were complete crap and poorly written. Well, not poorly written, just written in a way that bores the reader. The analysis is the only way I could get through the drivel. I really enjoyed the creativity of the work behind the words to bring imagery, symbolism and themes into the books. The only book that I read in school that didn't completely blow was "My Name Is Asher Lev" by Chaim Potok. I actually went on to read all his books. I LOVE "My Name is Asher Lev". I also went on to read all his books, and I should have put these on my list of those I re-read. I forgot all about them. {adding them to my list of books I want to re-read yet again.} I may re-read them as well. I hadn't thought about them in a long time.
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