My Favourite Books from High School

My Freshman year of high school was the worst for me in terms of enjoying the books we were required to read.  I suppose I was too young for the Odyssey so I never really understood the story. 

My Sophomore year reading list was quite bleak; All Quiet on the Western Front, Mouse II, Jane Eyre, etc.  They didn't really inspire any particular love of reading.

It was in my Junior year where I finally honed in on my love of writing and after reading Catcher in the Rye, I finally decided I also liked reading again.  

My senior year was by far the best year for the reading list.  I took Great Books and AP English IV: literature and composition.  I think it was more down to how my teachers addressed the books but Dante's inferno and The Aeneid were definitely my favourite of the so called "Great Books".  In English class we read a variety of pieces from the UK, such as Paradise Lost, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and The Dubliners. 

In the order that I read them, here is my list...

1. The Odyssey

I first read this freshman year of high school.  I hated it.  I didn't understand it and I just want to take this time to thank the creators of Sparknotes for getting me through the first half of freshman year.

But I read it again in my senior year and i'm not sure what kind of knowledge I had gained but this time round was a far easier read.  So if you've already read it and didn't understand it, read it again...if you want...i'm not your mum, not going to tell you what to do.  It's from this book that The Illiad, and the Aenied were derived and the epic elements in all three books are indicative of both Ancient Greek and Latin language, culture, and mythology. 

2. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer

Join Christopher McCandless' adventures of hitchhiking and living in the wild.  Honestly, the idea of reverting back to humanity's natural state and fending for yourself with tools you make yourself and building your own shelter seem absolutely crazy to me.  However, it's still an interesting story to follow.

3. Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Sallinger

Teenage angst in every direction. Is Holden trying to grow up too fast?  It was this story that renewed my love of reading.  I suppose it was the relatable teenage angst that drew and most of classmates in.

4. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

The perfect amount of English drama, class system struggles and pompousness.  Brontê included many elements of the Gothic that contribute to that bleakness I was talking about earlier.

5. Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney

An epic poem originally written in middle english.  This poem gives its readers an idea about the medieval past and the importance placed on warrior culture.  Heroic masculinity, which comes under this warrior culture is about male bonds, extreme violence, and getting drunk on mead in the mead hall with fellow warriors.

6. The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Hilarious fart jokes left and right.  It also sheds light on the concept of Chivalric masculinity, this idea of courtly love, and everything else that heroic masculinity entails.

7. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

Think about what is more important than social class and wealth.  What will Pip learn as he grows older?

8. Hamlet, William Shakespeare

The Prince of Denmark has gone crazy.  Or has he?  I wrote a paper on this play in which I tried to argue that Hamlet had schizophrenia and that's why he was seeing the ghost of his father.... my teacher didn't seem that impressed by it.

9. The Aeneid, Virgil

Aeneas the warrior.  Controls his emotions.  Doesn't get distracted. Stays on task.  Divine intervention always causes problems.

10. Inferno, Dante

Dante the Totally-Not-A-Warrior.  He faints and weeps frequently.  He gets distracted by all the poor sinners enjoying an eternity of torture.  Divine intervention is always the main problem.

Hope you enjoyed my list!  I would say I recommend reading these but most American high schools require you to read most of them anyway.  Happy reading :)