As school approaches (two weeks from tomorrow, eeek), I'm having to admit that I really do need to get my homework done and stop reading "fun books" all day long. I've just finished The Things They Carried, the third and final "required reading" book for my AP Lit class, and it's kind of left me thinking about something.
I didn't especially enjoy any of the assigned school books; I found 1984 to be kind of dry and repetitive, A Prayer for Owen Meany went on for too long and I didn't particularly like the writing style, and The Things They Carried had too much gore and swearing with too little concrete plot. None of them were horrible, but none of them made me think "ooh this is really good" like a lot of the YA stuff I enjoy.
But while I would not have told anyone "these are fantastic books and you should read them 'cause they're awesome," they have all made me think. 1984 is a lot about solipsism and the idea of what reality means, plus a lot of stuff about the role of government. Owen Meany has a really original take on faith and believing in something. The Things They Carried is about war. They have these ideas that just get in your head and make you keep thinking about them. They'd be great books to discuss - just not exactly "fun" reading.
Has anyone else ever noticed this? Books that you don't necessarily enjoy but that you would still like to talk about? Let me know what you think. :)
I know exactly what you mean. I've never enjoyed books that I've had to read for school, and yet, I always have a lot to say about them. Usually I can even discuss them more than the books I read for fun. I'm glad I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, found your blog through the Hop. :]
I look forward to your upcoming posts.