tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post6149254392260302348..comments2023-10-06T07:19:02.829-04:00Comments on The YA-5: Can assigned reading ever be fun? Or, you know, at least tolerable?YA-5http://www.blogger.com/profile/02762785894451338169noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-55621179896482339062010-07-28T14:29:24.224-04:002010-07-28T14:29:24.224-04:00Yeah. For me the reading assignments themselves we...Yeah. For me the reading assignments themselves were not what was lacking. It was the utter lack of imagination in the questions we had to answer about the books. Tedious and not in any way engaging, they made the entire experience one I could do without.Georgia McBridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14111050984780232624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-81503979657168964752010-07-27T16:58:36.308-04:002010-07-27T16:58:36.308-04:00Honestly, I think so much of how we experience boo...Honestly, I think so much of how we experience books that are assigned has to do with the quality of the conversation that precedes and follows the actual reading of the book. When you read a book on your own, then you're building your own conversation around it based on your experiences, what else you've been reading, what's happening in the world, etc. If you're in a class in which you're totally grooving on the discussion, then you'll dig the book because it's part of the larger conversation. If not, the book will fall flat.<br /><br />In the end, it's all about the context, you know?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-31917976907571108652010-07-27T10:32:00.500-04:002010-07-27T10:32:00.500-04:00This article reminds me of the Yellow Wallpaper. ...This article reminds me of the Yellow Wallpaper. I hated that story in high school, and when I saw it (as well as other stories by the same author) on the required reading list in college I dropped the class and signed up for another.<br /><br />On the other hand, I read The Things They Carried on my own, and loved it. I think having things assigned automatically sucks the fun out of them. It's a rule somewhere.Justina!https://www.blogger.com/profile/16961822442399135939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-16500745565425634452010-07-27T02:26:20.258-04:002010-07-27T02:26:20.258-04:00I have just recently (as in, 8 years after finishi...I have just recently (as in, 8 years after finishing highschool) begun to pick up and re-read the novels I was assigned. Turns out that To Kill a Mockingbird really isn't bad, Frankenstein either. The Jane Austen we were assigned is still like reading a dull soap opera.<br /><br />Thankfully I enjoyed my assigned reading from college, especially when it was introduced with "we're going to read old books that were banned in the US" by a teacher who surely knows how to win the hearts of 17 year olds.satakielihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06970513257350487870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-8996942179096329162010-07-27T01:21:46.664-04:002010-07-27T01:21:46.664-04:00Cholisose, I also loved To Kill a Mockingbird, and...Cholisose, I also loved To Kill a Mockingbird, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too! But I *did* like Shakespeare. I have always been into languages, though, and part of why I liked it was that it was almost like discovering a new language. I'm really glad we were never assigned Fahrenheit 451, though, because it bodes well for me reading and enjoying it someday! <br /><br />Dawn, I haven't even heard of a few of the titles you're referencing! It's always cool to learn that schools are totally different, and that we're all reading such different literature! Sorry to hear you didn't like McCarthy's first book. The Road is my first McCarthy and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes postapocalyptic literature. And like you I'm glad some of the books I read were assigned. Lord of the Flies is one of my all-time faves and I might never have picked it up!E. Kristin Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08405307562720655313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-42585408669844717782010-07-26T20:51:03.146-04:002010-07-26T20:51:03.146-04:00Assigned reading can be good or bad. There are tim...Assigned reading can be good or bad. There are times in high school and college where it helped me discover an amazing book. College it was American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which even then we only got to read cause it was an honors class cause some of the discussions were a bit ... questionable. (Talked about proper way to cut one's own neck.)<br /><br />In high school I never would have read Far From the Madding Crowd, A Separate Peace, The Outsiders, or Pride and Prejudice (my choice but only cause we had to pick a classic book). <br /><br />On the other hand, there were books I didn't like at all. In high school, for academic decathlon, the book was "Cry, the Beloved Country". I just couldn't figure out what was going on and the lack of dialogue symbols made it worst. The movie made more sense for once. In college, the book was Cormac McCarthy's first book that had to read for novel writing class. The Orchard Keeper made no sense to me. I understood Shakespeare on my own in junior high but in college, I had no idea what was going on in this book. Hated reading it.Dawn Embershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00214560861614476799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268777026208375846.post-28530981994675790492010-07-26T20:25:41.649-04:002010-07-26T20:25:41.649-04:00It always depended on the book for me. I loved rea...It always depended on the book for me. I loved reading To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, and Silas Marner, for example. <br />Most of the others weren't so fun though. >_> I had to kind of speed-read them. I could never get into Shakespeare much, for example. Just too old and confusing for me, I suppose.Cholisosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12045871264049455969noreply@blogger.com