/lit/ - Literature

You know, back in high school, I outright refused to read several of the books we were assigned to read, because they were all the same fucking bullshit kinda garbage I couldn't even stand. Member of the Wedding, I remember specifically, bored the ever-loving FUCK out of me. I made it maybe halfway through and was so filled with bored rage I wanted to tear the damn book in half. WHAT WAS THE FUCKING PLOT. There was also some other book, I don't even remember the name, I got 1/4 through it and it was some other "Story of a young Victorian woman coming of age" like all the other damn books we'd read. I think we had Pride and Prejudice, some other Jane Austen shit, fuck, I don't know. THEY HONESTLY ALL SEEMED THE SAME TO ME. And the writing was always so dry and boring; there was no way that drab subject material could be made interesting without some fantastic writing style that was never delivered.

When I finally got the chance to read The Great Gatsby, I fell in love instantly. A character I could relate to, the guy stuck in the circle of friends who led vastly more interesting lives than himself, something I could actually EMPATHIZE with, for ONCE. The writing style engaged me, too, I found myself interested in the man's story, in where he was going. Then I got to read Mythology, which was a subject I had always actually been interested in, and thought the stories were great. And then the Odyssey, which I loved. And then I got to read Fahrenheit 451, and it was the first time I was ASSIGNED to read a sci-fi book. I fucking loved it. And then Animal Farm, which felt like the first time we'd ever read any kind of honest political satire at ALL. And then Brave New World... That was okay, too! I couldn't even see why they made us read that other crap to begin with!

Basically, what I'm getting at: What books were crammed down your throat in school, and which of those did you end up actually enjoying?