finally read The Scarlet Letter after 4 attempts

[Jeannie in NJ]

in the past year of so, I tried to read the Scarlet Letter 4 times, could not stand the book and then someone on here suggested skipping the intro part that takes 45 pages. Well, I did skip that part and found the actual story quite interesting. Will not say that I liked it but I did not dislike it. Glad that I finally read it. I will be homeschooling my high schooler next year so want to read ahead some of the books that I am thinking about having her read. Here are some and my impressions

 

The Old Man and the Sea - liked it very much

The Pearl by Steinbeck - HATED it, will not have dd read it

Pride and Prejudice - LOVed it, will read Emma soon

Great Expectations - so so, but will still have dd read it for 11th grade British Lit

Moby Dick - really liked it, will have dd read it

 

am currently reading Autobiography of Ben Franklin - almost finished with it and I love it.

 

still to read this summer are:

 

Uncle Tom's Cabin

THe Call of the Wild

The Red Badge of Courage

Animal Farm - dh said that I have to read this, he can't believe that I did not read this in school

 

I have read To Kill a Mockingbird several times in my life and love it

I did read some classics as a teen such as Wurthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, etc but only remember that I liked them as a teen.

 

I also want to read A Tale of Two Cities just because I want to.

[LatinTea]

Here's my take on some of the same books, having read them as an adult:

 

The Old Man and the Sea - did NOT like it, couldn't wait for that fish to be finished off by the sharks

The Pearl by Steinbeck - Liked it very much, concise, sad, strange

Pride and Prejudice - LOVED it too and read Emma, which was wonderful.

Moby Dick - liked it in the beginning, but I got totally annoyed when he started going on AND on about whale body parts and cutting whales up (I mean, okay already, I get the picture!)

To Kill a Mockingbird - Loved the book, loved the movie

 

I thought it was funny how we liked (or didn't like) most of these books in a different way. One author I really like is Edith Wharton, but that's another story. :)

Edited May 26, 2010 by LatinTea

[Jeannie in NJ]

Margo, I laughed when I read your takes of the first 2 books, so different from mine. I always find it interesting how different people feel about books from each other. I had hated Steinbeck in high school but I actually went into reading the Pearl with an open mind, but no, me and Steinbeck just do not get along. The Old Man and the Sea is my first Hemmingway .

 

I am going to have dd skip the parts in Moby Dick per Lighting Literature suggestions, the same parts that you mentioned. The author of Lightning Lit says that those chapers don't further ths story so she sees no harm in skipping.

[naturalmom]

Which chapters are those in Moby Dick? My dd is reading it, and I'm sure she'd like to avoid unnecessary gore!

[Michelle in AL]

Hi Jeannie, glad to meet someone else who couldn't get into Scarlet Letter! I wrote the post about wanting to poke my eyes out during the middle 3rd.

 

I skipped the Customs House portion right away. Liked the 1st chapter or 2, then it became dreadfully tedious. It did pick up though and I ended up enjoying the last 3rd very much.

 

I read Hawthorne's short story Young Goodman Brown after and liked it much better. This might be a good intro for your dd. It's short, moves quicker, yet still gets the reader used to the dialect.

[Jane in NC]

 

I am going to have dd skip the parts in Moby Dick per Lighting Literature suggestions, the same parts that you mentioned. The author of Lightning Lit says that those chapers don't further ths story so she sees no harm in skipping.

 

My son says if you skip parts you are missing the point in that there is more to Moby Dick than just plot. Some of these passages may not move the action of the storyline, but he feels that the background explains why the characters do some of the things they do and helps one understand the magnitude not only of whales but of the profession of whaling.

 

I agree with him. But then both of us really like this book.

[Jeannie in NJ]

naturalmom. here are the suggested chapters in Moby Dick to Skip:

 

24, 25, 32 thru 35,42-45, 52-58,60,62,63,65,68,74-77,79,80,82,83,85,86,88,90,92,94-98,101-105

[Jeannie in NJ]

just remembered another book I am going to read

 

The Great Gatsby

 

I have seen the movie tons of times but never read the book (had a thing for Robert REdford lol)

[Nan in Mass]

I think of it this way (and I have a question):

Sometimes the author does things to make you feel what he wants you to feel. He will write tons of details about the gory details of war so you will feel the disgust and disillusionment. Or he will write long boring descriptions of a party so you will feel as bored at the party as the character attending it. Or he will make the plot confusing in places so you will feel the confusion of the main character. If you skip parts, you are undoing the author's careful work. It is like being served a gourmet meal by a famous chef and asking to have the sauce on the side so you can skip it if you don't like it.

 

Those of us with vivid imaginations and those of us who are going to be haunted forever by the gory details of butchering such intelligent beings aren't going to do well with Moby Dick (unless we think the message is so very important to us that it is worth being haunted). Other people, those with better control over their memories, who aren't going to think of whale massacres every time they see the ocean for the whole rest of their lives having every trip to the beach spoiled, probably love the vividness of the classics.

 

I try to save classics like Moby Dick for the time in my life when I might be able to deal with them rather than spoil them by reading them in a skippy sort of way and hating them. There are things now that I like that I would have (or did) hate when I read them when I was younger. The message outweighs the discomfort, now, or I am old enough now to be haunted by many similar things and find it comforting to read somebody else's haunting, or I am old enough to know that that particular discomfort doesn't last, that there are many worse things out there. This (I think??? maybe somebody can confirm it) is what is meant by being old enough to appreciate a book. If I need to know the contents of a book and can't bear to read it, then I skip, of course. There are many books that I don't read sequentially. I only read the really good ones that way. Most non-fiction I read backwards.

 

-Nan

[Carol in Cal.]

Much better would be "The Moon Is Down" (which is one of my favorite books) or "The Fields of Heaven". "Of Mice and Men" is also very good, but kind of over exposed due to the movie.

 

I can't STAND Hemingway. I keep thinking I should like him, and I never do.

 

You might want to have a look at "That Hideous Strength" by C. S. Lewis. It's not on any lists that I know of, but it elucidates sort of a parochial, 50's view of normal life contrasted with mechanized progress better than any other book I know.

[naturalmom]

Thanks, Jeannie, for the chapter list! My daughter is definitely one with a vivid imagination, as Nan in Mass put it!

[Greta Lea]

It IS an interesting story, but I think I'm in the summer of mode and want to read something a little easier. I'll try again later, I think, but need something lighter and easier right now.

 

I LOVE To Kill a Mocking Bird! Only fiction book I've ever read more than once.

[Greta Lea]

I don't think I've ever seen the movie.

[Brilliant]

still to read this summer are:

 

Animal Farm - dh said that I have to read this, he can't believe that I did not read this in school

 

 

Just wanted to say that my dd had to read this a couple of years ago. We were leaving for a road trip so we got it on tape and LOVED listening to it. I'm sorry I'm not sure of the narrator; but looking it up at the library we *probably* got it from, the narrator was Patrick Tull. That's not the one available at audible.com, but you might also be able to find it at a library. The narrator even sang the songs which was very cool.

[Faithr]

Animal Farm is written by a British author. All the other authors you've listed are American. Just so you know!

 

I love all the books you've listed except I have never, ever made it through Moby Dick! I have tried twice now. One day I shall conquer!

 

Oh wait, I just realized that you have listed other lit by Brit authors. I didn't read the end of your post closely enough!

Edited May 27, 2010 by Faithr
added something!

[Jeannie in NJ]

Faithr'

I guess my original post might have been confusing. My dd will be doing American Literature next year so I am reading the books that I will be requiring her to read next year. SHe will be doing British Literature her jr. year. I am reading some of the British lit. books that I have at home just because I have always wanted to read them. I have a lot of the classics here at home (bought at various used book stores and library sales) . I had never gotten around to reading them so thought I would spend this summer reading as many of the classics as I can and have time for. It might result in me spending a little less time on here lol.

[LisaKinVA]

I saw your thread title, and couldn't help but chuckle. Why?

 

In my 8th grade honors English class, we read and analyzed The Scarlett Letter.

In my 9th grade honors English class, we read and analyzed The Scarlett Letter.

In my 10th grade honors English class, we read and analyzed The Scarlett Letter.

In my 11th grade homeschool English class, we read and wrote about The Scarlett Letter (It was assigned by our satellite school... I didn't have a choice).

 

I studied The Scarlett Letter four years in a row. The first time through was grueling, but it got easier :D

 

I'm actually looking forward to this book with my children, but we're only going through it once... :lol:

 

It now holds a very special place in my heart.