Friday, August 17, 2007

Guest Blog--Required Reading - my list

Reading "The Bloggers" list of favorite required reading inspired me to do the same. I'm sure there were many novels I didn't enjoy but for some reason the only novel I can only think of right now is Gulliver's Travels. Jonathan Swift seriously must have been smoking something...like cocaine.

I can remember many required novels or texts I did enjoy.

  • Tess of the D'Urbervilles - I thoroughly enjoyed my first Thomas Hardy experience. There were some very real life experiences with Alec that shocked me as a teenage girl and I loved Angel and Tess's love story, as dysfunctional as it was. It was the first time as I reader that I learned about tragedy and truly felt agony for a character. I really should re-read Tess to see if I still feel the same way.
  • Why Nations Go to War - I had to read this text by John Stoessinger for a Political Science class. I assumed the writing would be daunting and I'd have to work to keep myself awake. You can imagine my surprise when I was drawn by the way Stoessinger made history into enthralling stories. This text helped me become Pro-Palestinian after reading about the conflicts in the Middle East. I would recommend Nations to anyone wanting to learn more about the wars of the twentieth century.
  • The Great Gatsby - I enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel about Gatsby and his love for Daisy. I loved all of the symbolism and imagery in this novel. Probably something I may not have seen if I hadn't read Gatsby in school. Another novel I need to re-read. It also didn't hurt that the movie versions of the novel had Robert Redford and Toby Stephens as Gatsby - sigh!!

3 comments:

Blogger said...

The first time I read Tess, I did not like it. However, it's one of those books I had to read multiple times in school, and the more I read it, the more I like it. I also enjoyed your assertion that Jonathan Swift smoked cocaine. I'll have to do some research on that.

Wanna-Be Lit said...

Can you smoke cocaine?

Blogger said...

I just trust she knows what she's talking about. I am innocent of all drug knowledge.