Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jazzie]

Hi everybody!
This question goes to those who still attend school: What kind of books do you have to read for school lessons? Do you have a favorite book among the books you had to read?

Waiting for your responses
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"You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth." James Stewart in The Shop Around The Corner

[liebe]

Hi Jazzie,

I'm no longer in school (good for me)--but I can still answer your question. It's hard to characterize the books we had to read in high school, I don't think I could assign them to a single category. Usually we have read "classical" books in American literature. It's a shame, but we've read only books that were written by American authors, with a few British ones. Some of the books I liked are To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Things They Carried and also The Glass Menagerie (but it's a play). I didn't enjoy many of the books and the things we have read--perhaps because I don't like it when people force me to read something in a given amount of time. I like to choose my own books and the time to read them.

[jazzie]

Hi Liebe,

Thanks for your response. I already gave up hope that somebody would reply to this topic. Well, we also read classical books in the German lessons. The worst of all was "Antigone" by the Greek Sophocles. It was written some time BC and and I still don't get why we had to read it - it was plain boring. But we also read books that were great, namely "Der Sandmann" (by E.T.A. Hoffmann) and "Bahnw�rter Thiel" (by G. Hauptmann). However, the best books I had to read were "The Wave" and "Animal Farm". Both deal with pretty interesting topics, so that it was kind of sad when I finally finished these books - I would have had no problem if they had 300 or more pages. In general, I agree with you saying it is better to pick one's own books, but I think there's one advantage when you're forced to read certain books: my attention was turned to literature which I wouldn't even touch if I hadn't been forced to. So I got to know a few gems and now I know that I'll never invest my money in Sophocles
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"You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth." James Stewart in The Shop Around The Corner

[openguide]

Hi liebe,
Hi jazzie,

I am a graduate this year, so I think I can answer this question.
I majored in foreign trade, so I have to read for this major. Actually, I am not interest in most of the courses, but I do have a favorite book among the books that is "the world geography" (general introduction of each country) I like this book, because it could take me to anywhere around the world without going out. And most of the content I can remember now. It is usefull for us.

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ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, CALL ME, AND I WILL BE THERE. ^_^

[lioness]

Well, actually I never liked to read at school. Usually I read some summaries. I love reading books, yet I want to decide, when I should read certain one. That's why it wasn't a pleasure. Perhaps I was lazy, but we had to read even one book a week, and then we were asked a number of very detailed questions. What did I read? Well, I'm from Poland, so wrtiting the titles is useless here. All those books were the most important and crucial in Polish literature. Some of them are even fascinating, yet I prefered to read them during holidays. And there was no teacher, who could forced me to read, if I didn't want.