Task #24: An assigned book you hated (or never finished)

[Sheri]

Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer - I hated this so much in school it was the one book I couldn't actually finish event hough it was short. I skimmed just enough to get through the project we had to do on it. The one that had the secret sharer was the only one available right away digitally, so I read both, hated both still. I don't understand why this is considered such a classic, even short it's a misery to read.

[Deb]

I'm getting a lot of great ideas from these posts! For me, the immediate choice was Jane Eyre, a book so many readers love and that I hated (partly because I was in a gifted class where girls were assigned it while the boys read All Quiet on the Western Front -- hard to believe but I vividly remember it).

But I'm really dragging my feet on that one so I'm trying to think of other choices. I've come up with Crime and Punishment, The Sun Also Rises (never liked Hemingway), Grapes of Wrath (a book I read but might appreciate more now), and Great Expectations (a book I read and hated).

[Melissa]

Daph wrote: "Kate wrote: "My reading time is too limited to force myself to read something I already have a negative perception of. So instead of going with something I hated, I'm going with something I didn't ..."

A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favs. I remember reading it in high school and falling in love with it. Have read it since and still loved it.

[Joy]

Wuthering Heights It was such a struggle to get through this book.

[Tracy]

Planning on Lord of the Flies for this one, Im pretty sure I didn't finish it in high school. Or maybe The Great Gatsby? I don't think I finished that either.

Edit: Other choices from college:On the Road or The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test....Ugh.

[Tabitha]

Whelp, looks like I'm reading All Quiet on the Western Front for this one. I actually forgot about this book, I hated it right off and didn't bother reading it. My brother was just kind enough to remind me when I said I was struggling to find a book for this task lol his words "I loved that book and you didn't even give it a chance" xD

[Megan]

I ended up reading two books in one for this: The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London. I couldn't remember if I'd read The Call of the Wild (I must have read at least portions of it because several passages were familiar), but I definitely remembered drudging through White Fang in middle school. There were a couple of other assigned titles that I disliked more, but I thought this might be one that I'd at least appreciate more as an adult and I did.

[Milena]

I read The Little Prince. I had read it and hated it in school. I liked it this time. Maybe you have to be older to appreciate the allegorical aspects. As a kid, I just thought it was a boring story.

[Rachel..♦]

Invisible Man was assigned in high school and college and both times I could just not get past the half way mark. Maybe after 20 years of "wisdom" behind me, I can do a bit better.

[Aly]

Rachel wrote: "Invisible Man was assigned in high school and college and both times I could just not get past the half way mark. Maybe after 20 years of "wisdom" behind me, I can do a bit better."

I am also going to give Invisible Man another go. We'll see...

[Andrea]

When completing reading assignments for English class, I could always select from a list of classic titles. One book that would turn up frequently on the list was The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. I could never bring myself to pick it then, so I have done so now.

[Mya]

Andrea wrote: "When completing reading assignments for English class, I could always select from a list of classic titles. One book that would turn up frequently on the list was The Red Badge of Courage."

Andrea, I will be curious what you think. I know I read that book a million years ago for school. I remember really liking it. But I remember nothing of the substance of the book, & have no idea if I would still like it ~30-40 years later.

[Andrea]

Although this story is a powerful and beautifully written one, I can understand why I did not select it during my youth. It is about a farm boy who enlists in the United States Army during the Civil War (view spoiler)[for very nonpolitical reasons, waxes philosophical over human behavior while still a "better" man, and then gives a detailed account of his initial battle engagement. (hide spoiler)]

[Joanna]

I'm trying Wuthering Heights again--I absolutely hated it before. We'll see how far I get. It's either that or Great Expectations, the only Dickens novel that I've never liked!

[Wellington]

I read Flowers For Algernon for this challenge. For whatever reason I didn’t finish this in high school. I ended up really liking it. I took away a lot from it and it really made me think.

[Tammy]

I thought I might go for Animal Farm for this, but ended up reading A Wrinkle in Time. I think we had to read it in elementary school, and I was not into it. Maybe it had something to do with the cover: . I'm still not a big fantasy person, but enjoyed it a lot this time, and plan to watch the movie!

[Lisa]

I started reading The Canterbury Tales, as we did not read the entire book in high school. I’m really enjoying it so far, but at the rate I’ve been reading it, I don’t think I will finish before the end of the year, and this is only one of two tasks I have left to finish for 2018. Soooo, I’ve switched gears a bit and decided to start Beowulf, which I absolutely loathed in high school. I’m giving it another shot - wish me luck!

[Deb]

Lisa B Dorn wrote: "I started reading The Canterbury Tales, as we did not read the entire book in high school. I’m really enjoying it so far, but at the rate I’ve been reading it, I don’t think I will finish before th..."

I was also thinking of Beowulf, but have not found a copy yet. I do remember it being assigned, but I do not know if I finished it (Probably not as the class was intensive and I was collaborating with a couple of classmates to get the work done, we split tasks and summarized for each other) and I definitely do not remember it so I assume I did not like it.

[Lisa]

Deb wrote: "Lisa B Dorn wrote: "I started reading The Canterbury Tales, as we did not read the entire book in high school. I’m really enjoying it so far, but at the rate I’ve been reading it, I don’t think I w..."

I found a copy at my local library; this one is translated by Seamus Heaney.

[Kate]

Finally got this one done today - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, a book club pick I never even started. I can't say I was too fond of it - overly twee and try-hard in its attempts to borrow from Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum. At least it's done!

[Yrinsyde]

Just started reading A Wrinkle in Time - wish me luck! I first read this for school when I was 13-14 and I loathed it with a passion! Be interesting to find out what I think of it now and rediscover why I hated it so much.

[Milena]

Yrinsyde wrote: "Just started reading A Wrinkle in Time - wish me luck! I first read this for school when I was 13-14 and I loathed it with a passion! Be interesting to find out what I think of it now and rediscove..."

I just started it yesterday and am already 30% in. So at least it will be quick.

[Melody]

I read Graham Greene's The Quiet American which bored me to death in high school. I appreciated it so much more this time around (with age comes wisdom...or something). I think I may owe my English teacher an apology, but I seem to recall this was not his favorite book in the curriculum either!

[Emily]

I remember not loving Things Fall Apart in high school, so I'm going to revisit that one for this task.

[Lisa]

Update: I’m halfway through Beowulf and not hating it. Where was Seamus Heaney’s translation when I was in high school?!

[Emily]

There wasn't a book that really stood out to me as one that I was assigned in school and absolutely hated, but there were definitely several that I never finished or just watched the movie adaptation of thanks to a very lazy English teacher, so I picked Of Mice and Men because I definitely don't remember finishing it.

[Chrissy]

This is my final prompt for the year, and I am rereading Lord of the Flies. I’m only 6% in, and already hate it all over again! At least it is short...

[Yrinsyde]

I finished a Wrinkle in Time and I know why I hated it so much. I dislike it now. Badly written, full of xtian sermonising and anti-communist propaganda - which is no wonder since it was written during the 'reds under the beds' scare campaign. Ugh!!!!!

[Libby is now on Storygraph]

I'm hoping to power through Dharma Bums before the end of the year! Hopefully I get more out of it than I did when I was 18.