I was in AP English my senior year in HS and our reading list was formidable! We started with chapters from the Bible and worked our way up through the centuries. Among the 19th century works we were required to read was the much-loathed Moby-Dick . We all hated it. I don't even remember why anymore but whenever I think of "books I've loathed", MD comes to mind immediately.

Well I really hated The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo, I had to read it for a geography class, I don't know why anyway I just hated it.

I had to read "The Catcher in the Rye" in tenth grade, and I absolutely hated it. It took almost all of my summer vaction just to get through it, which is saying something since it'd usually take me about a month to get through a book that short. I seriously could not see what the point of that damn book was (still can't, actually). Also, while I didn't hate "A Separate Peace", it doesn't make my list of favorite books, not by a long shot. Lastly, "1984"; insanely well-written, I have considerable respect for George Orwell as a result, but I could not bring myself to like that. Same with "Brave New World". Too pessimistic for me.

The number one top book that I hated that I had to read for a college course was As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. OMG I hated that book. The most annoying chapter was one sentence, "My mother's a fish".

Heather wrote: "Yeah that is pretty funny, Hannahhr. Again, I think it was mostly my teacher putting a different perspective from my own, not to mention having been through the same emotional trauma from my father..."

Understandable. A really good teacher can work miracles. And yes, your own perspective plays a tremendous part in how you receive a book.

Yeah that is pretty funny, Hannahhr. Again, I think it was mostly my teacher putting a different perspective from my own, not to mention having been through the same emotional trauma from my father that Kafka experienced with his.

Heather wrote: "Really? The Metamorphosis was one of the best books I read in high school. The big thing to me was the psychology behind it. My teacher had told us a little bit about Kafka's life, so it was intere..."

LOL - isn't it funny that my most loathed book from high school is one of your faves from high school? I guess I'm happy someone somewhere got something out of that book!

Really? The Metamorphosis was one of the best books I read in high school. The big thing to me was the psychology behind it. My teacher had told us a little bit about Kafka's life, so it was interesting to see the connections.

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is without a doubt my most hated high school read, bar none. Idiotic tale of a man turned cockroach. Hate the book, the author, and cockroaches equally to this day almost 30 years later...

Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. Made we want to gouge my eyes out so I could never read more of the interminable, smug , and self satisfied writing. I was also forced to read Middlemarch in college. Horrible.

I was an English major and pride myself on reading most of Dickens and Austen. I am baffled why Eliot receives the accolades she does.

Back in my freshman year (I'm a junior now) I read some really bad books. Probably the worst was, as a few other people have mentioned, A Seperate Peace. I didn't even finish it. I got 30 pages in and I was bored to tears. Of course, there's always a catch though, so I had a homework assignment, which was horrible as well. As it turned out, we had a different teacher who gave us a "complimentary" 85 on it. She didn't collect it either, so if I'd known that, I would've written my assignment on how much the book sucked. Even our teachers hated it.

I loathed To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, god it was sooo boring! I could barely strain myself to continue reading.

Good Lord, I would not lump Harry Potter in with Twilight...


Peter wrote: "I've always been a slow reader, so in school I would usually read the first 3 chapters, then it would be the day before the test, so I'd read the last chapter the night before.

Since then (and sin..."

GRAPES OF WRATH! Ughhh!

Wow, Karen. I think I would have preferred your method of teaching than your fellow Literature professor. Shakespeare is too complex to not have a discussion of his plays' content.

Heather wrote: "I don't remember, Karen, but I think it was in response to the person posting an account of their teacher who was assigning Pride and Prejudice the movie as apposed to the book."

I once had a fellow Literature Prof at a community college ask me how I taught Hamlet. I spent hours putting together a carefully thought out packet of materials and handouts with suggested essay assignments and some of my past exams. She looked at it all and said "I'll just show them the movie." And walked away.

I don't remember, Karen, but I think it was in response to the person posting an account of their teacher who was assigning Pride and Prejudice the movie as apposed to the book.

Petra wrote: "I read Silas Marner by choice and loved it! I also read some of the other books here on my own (Great Gatsby, Siddhartha) and enjoyed them.

The two that put me to sleep were: Ivanhoe and Mada..."

Agree on on Madame Bovary. I had to read it French and in English and hated it both times.

a big book is BILLY BUD, and BARTLEBY of MELVILLE, THE mistery of universe man, beatiful and lonely and very pathetic. Shakespeare forever wonderfull, the tales of HAWTHORNE .... FANTASTICS.

Karen wrote: "Manuel wrote: "In high school, I loved Shakespeare, I endured Billy Bud, I tolerated The Scarlet Letter.....

but I absolutely detested and loathed "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. Such mindless..."

Heather wrote: "Now that's ridiculous. Since when do teachers allow you to do that?"


Hey Heather, including some of the post would be helpful. Who are you addressing this to anyway?

I don't know anyone who liked A Separate Peace. Can we petition to have it stricken from high school curricula everywhere?

I absolutely hated, loathed, despised, there-aren't-even-any-good-words-to-describe-it-it-was-so-bad A Separate Peace. So don't worry, you're not the only one who loathed it. Our whole class did.

Kristin wrote: "Wow, Heather. That seems really late to be reading The Westing Game in class. Even if much of the class a(not including you, obviously) had low comprehension level, that book just seems too young ..."

I agree with Kristin's comment; Heather, that sounds like a really unfortunate high school English class.

I remember loving The Westing Game; I think I was about eight years old.

You see, for me they weren't that bad. It said my spelling skills were off the chart by fourth grade, and that my comprehension and grammatical structure were high school around that time. The math, on the other hand, has always been average at best.

Heather wrote: "Anna, what was really bad was that there was a program meant for those who excelled in their classes and were bored to tears. The problem was that they were so selective. You had to get a certain s..."

Standardized tests are the bain of my existence. According to one we use, my math skills are so low, I'm not college material at all....

Anna, what was really bad was that there was a program meant for those who excelled in their classes and were bored to tears. The problem was that they were so selective. You had to get a certain score in three tests: one for reading, one for mathematics, and the third for writing, in order to get into this group. Unfortunately, my standardized test scores said I was an excellent student; however, I was a few percentage points too low in the mathematics test, specifically the pattern identification, to get in. Otherwise, public primary school would have been much more pleasant for me.

Heather wrote: "Anna, they do tend to go by those standards at the schools I attended. I remember finding it mind numbing to be reading Poinsetta and the Firefighters in second grade at school when I was reading T..."

This makes me angry. I bet more of my students would be excited about learning on the college level if they had more choice in what to read in high school and middle school. The ed system seems to be trying to stamp out any desire to read or be creative at a young age.

Michelle- All Quiet on the Western Front gave me nightmares. I hated the book so much then they made us watch the movie. I get shivers just thinking about it.

All Quiet on the Western Front.

HATED IT. and so did everyone else. I suppose it was only for history, but that was TERRIBLE. Dragged on for dayyys.

Anna, they do tend to go by those standards at the schools I attended. I remember finding it mind numbing to be reading Poinsetta and the Firefighters in second grade at school when I was reading The Odyssey on my own. That's why it was so great when I switched to a charter school in sixth grade and got to read the unabridged literal translation of The Odyssey instead of the dumbed down literature I had become accustomed to in public school. Sadly high school literature classes were better in public than in charter.
At least the librarian never questioned my choice of literature; in fact, she was quite happy to see students reading period.

I couldn't possibly express my hatred for "Girl in a Cage", which I had to read in seventh grade. Historic fiction isn't my favorite genre.

Heather wrote: "Believe it or not, it was assigned in high school. The public school system where I live sucks, and that particular teacher was a first-year teacher. Actually, I don't think she had a degree, becau..."

Oh, you poor thing. I feel like I should appolgize on behalf of educators everywhere. Although, I have to say I've never understood the reading level thing. I'm in higher ed so we assume all of ours are adult readers, I guess. Do high schools really go by a strict measurement like that? "Hmm, these students are all fifteen. That must mean they can't comprehend anything beyond A Separate Peace." (Which I personally loathed more than I can say). I do remember getting into a fight with my grade school librarian in 3rd grade because she would not let me check out My Friend Flicka, a 5th grade reading book. My parents were called. It got ugly, but I took Flicka home with me.

Believe it or not, it was assigned in high school. The public school system where I live sucks, and that particular teacher was a first-year teacher. Actually, I don't think she had a degree, because the charter school I was going to at the time was pretty lax on credentials.

Heather wrote: "Kristen, the reason I hated The Westing Game so was that I read it in my freshman year of high school, when my comprehension levels were that of someone in their first year of college. I had gone f..."

Ouch. I discovered The Westing Game for myself in our grade school library. I think I was 10. Or younger? I loved it. Actually, I still reread it every year or so. I cannot imagine this children's book being assigned to high school students.

Treasure Island. I don't know if it was just being young and having to read it, the insufferable journal entries, or just the fact that the book literally stunk and had a strange stench...

Helena wrote: "Amanda, I absolutely loved The Picture of Dorian Grey. I did have an absolutely fantastic teacher though."

I loved it too. I didn't have it as assigned reading until college though. I remember seeing it on TV as a kid back in the Sixties. The ending scared the crap out of me. I thought the story was great, both in film and on the page.

Amanda, I absolutely loved The Picture of Dorian Grey. I did have an absolutely fantastic teacher though.

In high school The Bean Trees and Their Eyes Were Watching God were both totally forgettable. And I know this will make me unpopular but I didn't enjoy Pride and Prejudice one bit.

We were running out of time and we told her we wanted to read Pride and Prejudice so she got the movie.

That's odd. My teachers would have been appalled by that. We always used the movie version as a comparison.

When I was in junior high back in 1973 or 1974, I was in the advanced English/Social Studies classes. We watched the movie of The Lord of the Flies instead of reading the book.

Now that's ridiculous. Since when do teachers allow you to do that?

We didn't read Pride and Prejudice. Our lesson was, get this: watch the movie.

I know. The sad thing was, most of the classics I had read in elementary school were ones I read for pleasure. Black Beauty in fourth grade, The Odyssey in second, Romeo and Juliet in third, Moby Dick in fifth. Those were all my personal choices. Needless to say it was bothersome that we read books like Dear Mr. Henshaw and The Westing Game.

Do they even make kids read the so-called classics anymore? Seriously, some of the books mentioned in this thread could put a kid off reading forever.

Joni wrote: "Tom - The Scarlett Letter was one of my all-time favorite books. The themes and message spoke to me so strongly. A book I hated in school was The Chocolate War. :-)"

Haha ohmygosh! i didn't even have to read the chocolate war for school but i heard it was "good" and read it.
I did not like it at all. it was super weird. and stupid

Tom - The Scarlett Letter was one of my all-time favorite books. The themes and message spoke to me so strongly. A book I hated in school was The Chocolate War. :-)

Manuel wrote: "In high school, I loved Shakespeare, I endured Billy Bud, I tolerated The Scarlet Letter.....

but I absolutely detested and loathed "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. Such mindless dribble about ..."

I loved Shakespeare, and I love anything written by Hawthorne, My major in college was Brit Lit and even I was knuckled under by A Separate Peace" I remember going to the teacher and saying "I'm not reading this drivel...I'll take the F." I did that with Moby Dick too...also crappy.

I'm back in college now and have to read for some 1000 level class, "Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" I've actually thrown the book. I've never done that before. This book is SO terribly written and SO detestable that I wonder just how many people the author slept with to get it published because it certainly didn't get done on merit.

Oh, the horror of school books! It began in sixth grade, with a little book called Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt... and that was the tip of the iceberg.

I did not enjoy Jane Eyre when I was told to read it. I outright refused to read Grendel. However, if I had to cite my most painful school book, it would be Staring Down the Dragon by Dorothea Buckingham. I can't even begin to say where the book goes wrong. Terrible characterization, non-existant plot, cry of help for writing skills? It was roughly 200 pages, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had the misfortune of plowing through.

"Roll of thunder hear my cry", i which it could have after i read it!

'My side of the mountain" BLEH

ORLY