mo2 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 but are going to make your kids read anyway? This is just for fun, not so much for my list. I despise anything by Mark Twain, but I'm going to read Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer again with the kids anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'm not a fan of Dickens - but you've got to do what you've got to do :-) Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in CA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 John Steinbeck, still on the fence about it actually - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'd never make my kids read a book that I really don't like. There are just so many great books to read, and my boys love to read. I have no problem with them not reading *every* classic book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie in OR Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I despise anything by Mark Twain I love Mark Twain so I'm really curious about this! Please tell me more, if you don't mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 But I love so many books. If I just introduce DD to most of the ones I love, she will have a great education. I don't need to push both of us through "David Copperfield" to educate her. If she wants to read it, I have no objection; but I'm not going to push it or require it. PS OK, maybe Don Quixote. But then again, maybe not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Grapes of Wrath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Well, I would never read aloud a book I despised; I'm pretty sure my bias would come through. But neither would I prejudice a child against a book or author prior to their reading it. I've never been partial to Dickens, and C.S. Lewis just makes me see red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesloonybin Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I really do not like the book 1984. I would rather read Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'd never make my kids read a book that I really don't like. There are just so many great books to read, and my boys love to read. I have no problem with them not reading *every* classic book. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 The Scarlet Letter I do think it's important for people to read from a cultural literacy standpoint but ugh, I don't like that book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Wow! I just read The Scarlet Letter expecting to hate it and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I've found that a lot of books I didn't like or 'get' when I was younger, I appreciated much more as I 'matured' (got old!). However, I just read The Canterbury Tales and Gulliver's Travels again with my teens and I have to say, I didn't care for them the second time anymore than I did the first time back in school. I just don't get the humor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Gosh...I like all the "hated" books so far. I'm going to struggle in this category. Can I have World Capitols for 500? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I read aloud quite a few children's books I don't care for, if someone wants to hear them - Mary Poppins and Heidi come quickly to mind. I don't really like Winnie the Pooh either although I do like Milne's poetry. I really don't care for Hemingway or D.H. Lawrence. I'm not sure if a terrible college class has tainted them for life or if I would have disliked both authors regardless. Either way, I will suggest but not require that these authors be read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Oh my, oh my! Twain, Dickens, Hemingway, Hawthorne, Lawrence, Orwell, Steinbeck, some of my greatest literary heroes dumped in the "hated" category. Oh my, oh my! Whose next? Dostoevsky? Faulkner? Joyce? Dreiser? Melville? Painful just to read this thread :lol: But after pulling the band on my thinking-hat tight I've come up with two: "Mein Kamf" by Adolf Hitler was very "hateful" to me (no surpeise there) but I was glad to have read this back in junior-high as I wanted some understanding of his type of evil. Do recall making a book-cover from a brown grocery bag, because I didn't want to be caught dead reading this one. "Jurassic Park". Great concept, but this Michael Crichton has to be the worst writer I've ever encountered. "Look dinosaur..run run." His dialog made "Dick and Jane" books look sophisticated. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Oh mercy, the only book I've ever really HATED was Moby Dick, and I don't know if I'd make her read it or not, haven't gotten there yet. If you hate the book, just get Cliff Notes or read the teacher's or an annotated edition and cheat your way through it I guess. I don't necessarily read everything I discuss with dd. That's what the teacher's notes and good guessing are for. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 OhElizabeth!!! NOT MOBY DICK. NO NO SAY IT AIN"T SO!!! Bill (who is in physical pain) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Didn't like Mary Poppins either. That's one where I definitely prefer the movie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I think it's because of the quotable, profound truths I would find, like "To obey God, one must disobey himself," and that kind of thing. I will agree that the plot moves very slowly because of all the "extra" stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Oh mercy, the only book I've ever really HATED was Moby Dick, and I don't know if I'd make her read it or not, haven't gotten there yet. If you hate the book, just get Cliff Notes or read the teacher's or an annotated edition and cheat your way through it I guess. I don't necessarily read everything I discuss with dd. That's what the teacher's notes and good guessing are for. ;) I barely made it through the Cliff Notes for Moby Dick!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Shakespeare. Much Ado About Nothing, I agree. I do not understand the fuss about Shakespeare. It is torturous for me to read his comedies as they all read like a cheesy sitcom. That said, I "made" my ds and dd read Lamb's Shakespeare. They liked most of them. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shasta Mom Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 most of these books I've treasured......I'm somewhat speechless.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I'd never make my kids read a book that I really don't like. There are just so many great books to read, and my boys love to read. I have no problem with them not reading *every* classic book. I'm with you. And - if they dislike one of my favs - well, there are still plenty of other good books out there from which to choose. For instance - I LOVE Kipling and my kids can't stand him. So - they read Jack London, who I can't stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I can't stand Steinbeck and I'm not going to inflict him on my dd. If she wants to read him on her own, so be it, but otherwise, no thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusPair Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 I didn't like The Old Man and the Sea. It may have been the age--6th grade. Or maybe it's a book men enjoy more than young girls. It was my dad's favorite and my bro. loved it, too. My ds will read it when I feel he's ready. I might make my dd read it, depending.... (the ol' gender police from my alma mater are hot on my tail now!) I'll read it again then. Maybe I'll like it better the 2nd time around. interesting question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 OhElizabeth!!! NOT MOBY DICK. NO NO SAY IT AIN"T SO!!! Bill (who is in physical pain) :iagree:I loved Moby Dick - I laughed out loud, absolutely out LOUD, at several points. I love Melville's description of Nantucket, for instance. One of the funniest books I've ever read. I do not understand why folks don't like it:confused:. I found Brave New World to be shocking and didn't care for it one bit. I also didn't care for The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway or The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I don't like imaginary books, with animals that talk etc. Books like Peter Rabbit, Narnia, and Wind in the Willows just never caught my interest. There are some more adult ones, too, but they're not coming to mind. (I have a few exceptions that particularly remind me of human beings I know -- Frog & Toad, Francis, & Bilbo :o) However, I have felt ds should at least be exposed to some of the books I don't like for 2 reasons: (1) Just in case that's the kind of literature that he especially likes, and (2) because many are classics that are referenced in our culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlashine Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 "Jurassic Park". Great concept, but this Michael Crichton has to be the worst writer I've ever encountered. "Look dinosaur..run run." His dialog made "Dick and Jane" books look sophisticated. Bill :lol: I'm with you, man, all his books are like that. Great concept, horrible, pedantic writing. But the "Dick and Jane" comparison? Priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I can only think of one book that was painful for me to read,and that was The Yearling. The grammar, the dialect drove me so crazy I couldn't focus on the story. But the movie I loved. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I can only think of one book that was painful for me to read,and that was The Yearling. The grammar, the dialect drove me so crazy I couldn't focus on the story. But the movie I loved. Janet I'm so glad to hear that! I looked at the book & knew ds would only see that it's LONG!! But I saw there was a movie. Glad to hear the movie didn't ruin the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Love love love Steinbeck, though. Not too crazy about Hawthorne's short stories, but "The Scarlet Letter" and "The House of the Seven Gables" will be required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 So sorry to be causing pain with my Scarlet Letter hatred, LOL. I majored in Literature, I looooooove to read. I've read man, many, many "classics" and love them. From Shakespeare (LOVE Shakespeare) to Greek tragedies. I just do not like The Scarlet Letter. BLEH!! :iagree:I loved Moby Dick - I laughed out loud, absolutely out LOUD, at several points. I love Melville's description of Nantucket, for instance. One of the funniest books I've ever read. I do not understand why folks don't like it:confused:. I found Brave New World to be shocking and didn't care for it one bit. I also didn't care for The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway or The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I like Moby Dick OK. Brave New World is actually one of my favorite books and I think it SHOULD be shocking. I know a lot of people who don't like The Great Gatsby (or even Great Expectations) because they think the characters are annoying. I think the characters are annoying but as long as annoying characters have to pay the piper by the end, I'm happy. I hate books where the good-for-nothing characters get everything they want and/or don't die and/or don't learn anything by the end. WHAT was the point of the story then!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I'm not a huge fan of Shakespeare but I'm sure I'll cover something with my kids. I think a lot of my dislike of books is that I was forced to take AP English lit in high school and it was the first class of the day. I'm now going back and trying to re-read some of the things from there. We never had to read Jane Austen and after watching the movie "Jane" I went and picked up Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice at Barnes and Noble but after the first few chapters of S&S I just can't get into it. Next on the list is Thomas Hardy. I really hated Jude the Obscure in high school, but had to do my research paper on Hardy and read Tess of the D'urbervilles. It was ok but very similar to Jude which was a bit annoying after being forced to read Jude. I'm now going to give Far from the Madding crowd and The Mayor of Casterbridge a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 So sorry to be causing pain with my Scarlet Letter hatred, LOL. I majored in Literature, I looooooove to read. I've read man, many, many "classics" and love them. From Shakespeare (LOVE Shakespeare) to Greek tragedies. I just do not like The Scarlet Letter. BLEH!! I like Moby Dick OK. Brave New World is actually one of my favorite books and I think it SHOULD be shocking. I know a lot of people who don't like The Great Gatsby (or even Great Expectations) because they think the characters are annoying. I think the characters are annoying but as long as annoying characters have to pay the piper by the end, I'm happy. I hate books where the good-for-nothing characters get everything they want and/or don't die and/or don't learn anything by the end. WHAT was the point of the story then!? Yes, you are right - Brave New World should be shocking. I guess I just don't like being shocked;). I think I was pretty naive about the world when I read it too and it kind of blew me away at that point in my life. You're right, too, about books with annoying characters getting their just rewards - again, I read these in high school and I think I didn't have enough personal experience to bring to these stories to make them meaningful for me. Perhaps I should read them again after 30 years of living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Ditto! (re: Plaid Dad's Steinbeck post). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tristangrace Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I can't speak for the previous anti-Moby Dick posters, but I personally couldn't stand it because between the first few chapters and the last few chapters, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS, and BOY, HOWDY, there are a LOT of chapters between the first few chapters and the last few chapters! We're talking dozens and dozens of chapters. More than a few. Many, many, MANY chapters. In which nothing happens. (Or did I mention that earlier?) (And don't tell my alma mater I said so, or they may revoke my English Lit. degree, because Lit. majors are supposed to appreciate the quiet subtleties of great art, and not complain if the plot's a total snoozer.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Oh mercy, the only book I've ever really HATED was Moby Dick, and I don't know if I'd make her read it or not, haven't gotten there yet. If you hate the book, just get Cliff Notes or read the teacher's or an annotated edition and cheat your way through it I guess. I don't necessarily read everything I discuss with dd. That's what the teacher's notes and good guessing are for. ;) I told my kids when they could not only read Moby Dick but write me a quality essay analyzing it I would say they graduated from homeschooling no matter how old they are. There really isn't any books that I hated that I would make my kids read. I have not read alot of the books listed so far, and those I did read I enjoyed. I will be reading many of these for the first time right along with my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryknits Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Catch 22 - hated it in college, hated it when I tried it again as an adult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 In our house, it depended on whether or not I was going to be teaching a lesson on the book. There are several authors that I didn't care for, such as Dickens, which I did have my dds read. One of them really liked his books, the other just sort of liked him. I didn't attempt to teach - I just assigned them. However, when I taught an American Lit class to a local group, I omitted Hemingway and Steinbeck because I dislike them intensely and there's no way I could teach them without allowing that dislike to come through. The girls will have future opportunities to love H and S - without me!!! Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hate would be too strong a word for any book I can think of. There are plenty that I would not myself read if I wasn't homeschooling, but i do enjoy them when I am enticed to read for the good of my children! I actually enjoyed all literature at highschool- Hardy, Lawrence, 1984, even the Lord of the Flies...except for the Odyssey because it was tiny print and we weren't hand held enough. And I love the Odyssey now. Although, I am embarrassed to say, even watching Shakespeare is slightly tortuous to me, let alone listening to it, or worse, reading it. I find it boring, and I am sure there is so much more I should be getting out of it. I am still doing Shakespeare with my kids though and I am hoping it will grow on me. Its a bit like classical music, I am hoping- I studied it a school but would never choose to listen to it, but now as an adult, I appreciate it much more, and do listen to it for pleasure, at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWTW93 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I despise anything by Mark Twain, but I'm going to read Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer again with the kids anyway. I also can't stand Twain's writing. I think it's because I live in Hannibal, Twain's boyhood home, and everything here is Mark Twain this and Mark Twain that. Drives me nuts! I don't think I could handle reading The Scarlet Letter one more time. I read it twice in school - once in sixth grade and then again in college. I hated in the first time and despised it the second time. I vowed I would never read it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jillybean Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Me either. I get lost quickly. I let my kids pick their own books for the most part, except for core ones such as in Omnibus. I don't like to ruin their day or mine. I'm a new poster although I've been lurking around this site for years. (Hello) I'm always so amazed at the creative things people do and the collective knowledge in the posts. Jillybean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I am having a FIT trying to get through Moby Dick right now, and y'all are telling me it doesn't get any better? I hate books where nothing happens!! Slog... slog... slog... Now I read Gulliver's Travels just before this and I loved it. I liked Laputa and Balnibarbi the best of all - I laughed out loud at some points there. Just a very sharp, pointed, timeless wit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kls126s Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Maybe I'm just too undiscerning a reader. (Indiscerning? Indiscriminate? Not picky...) I love to read and rarely find a book I don't enjoy on some level. I'm sitting here racking my brains trying to come up with a book I hated. Have to agree with the pp on Moby Dick though. :001_huh: I guess I would say poetry in general. Although a few poems have captured me here and there, I just haven't been able to really enjoy any "complete poems of..." books. Back to that undiscerning thing, I suppose. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I can't speak for the previous anti-Moby Dick posters, but I personally couldn't stand it because between the first few chapters and the last few chapters, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS, and BOY, HOWDY, there are a LOT of chapters between the first few chapters and the last few chapters! We're talking dozens and dozens of chapters. More than a few. Many, many, MANY chapters. In which nothing happens. (Or did I mention that earlier?) Oh, I will be chuckling about this post for days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelissaM Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Just because I like or dislike a book doesn't mean they will. I will have dc read several books I don't care for. If the book's a hit then that's fine. If not, that's fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieinCO Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 So many people raved about him but I simply could not "get into" his books. Connie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom to Aly Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 The list is somewhat long, many "classics" are included, but topping them all, is MOBY DICK!!!! And, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, he wrote another--BILLY BUDD!!!! That, and then, Bartelby the Scrivener, which I'd forgotten was by Herman Melville until this minute. Never has a story so haunted me as that one, since 5th grade on (and on, and on!). For those who didn't like Twain or Dickens--I am so stunned! My 9 yo loves Dickens already--she read the abridged Oliver Twist, and had to have the unabridged, said it was too wonderful, but short and obviously cut off, and now is going to David Copperfield. And Twain is close to Oscar Wilde for me, which says a lot. His novels are not as great as I remembered (tried to teach Tom Sawyer in a hs book club a couple of years ago, and couldn't get through it, kept falling asleep) but I ADORE his short stories!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatt2mama Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Yes, Billy Budd was truly awful (imo). We had to read it in high school, and it was the only assigned book in my entire school career that I didn't finish. I can do all the others-Steinbeck (I once created a Grapes of Wrath board game and children's book), Twain, Hawthorne, Joyce, Shakespeare, Lawrence, Fitzgerald-I can do them all. But Melville, I could never do. It's just too male for me, I could never get into it. The other one I had to read in high school and severely disliked was Walden. Talk about a book where nothing happens! An entire chapter devoted to describing an ant war. That's a *thrilling* narrative, right there. But I did read it all the way through, and I would probably encourage my kids to read it, because of the philosophy it puts forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie in OR Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hillaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales. Hated it. Kids loved it (especially ds9). Read it for the Classics Book Club our dc are in and every mom hated it too. Every kid loved it. Hmmmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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