why does it seem that no matter what book we have to read in class it seems awful. Nobody actually wants to read these books and they were all written 200 years ago. why not try and pick more modern books to read so students can relate to it or at least enjoy it. 

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I think the teachers/people who make the curriculum want us to read books that they think are timeless and influenced society in some way. Although My Antonia applied to neither of those, I think that's what they're looking for. But I agree, an interesting, modern book would be nice for once. 
I agree, I really enjoyed First They Killed 
My Father but that seemed to be the most recent. Everything we read seems to be so old and unrelatable.

OMG!!! Finally I have somebody that agrees with me. I love to read and I am a writer but the novels we read in class, makes me not want to read any more. These b.c books as I call them really can put me to sleep. It maybe interesting to read another person's writing, but if it looses your interest, how well would most comprehend? It can slowly make you loose interest of reading.

An example is Catcher in The Rye. I still didn't get the point of reading that book. It was confusing and boring and Holden was depressed all the time. That made me even more depressed about having to read the book for a school requirement. Majority of teenagers enjoy reading more up to date books,or stories like a series rather than a 1879 book they're not focused  on. Comprehension is needed for the essay required, but how can you write a good paper if the dullness of the book takes away focus and understanding. I think teachers should give more up to date, exciting books.

I agree with Tyler. I think the teachers made the curriculum like that so we can understand what the author's writing style 200 years ago were.I actually enjoyed first they killed my father because it was written recently and that we already knew about how horrific genocides were.Also, first they killed my father actually has a point in our lives. Books 200 years doesn't seem to be relatable in our lives anymore, but it still teaches us a few lessons.

I don't think that is the reason why people don't like to read the books from school.  The reason people don't like the books is because we are forced to read them and it is not our choice.  I like most of the books we read because I don't act like I'm being forced to read them even though I  am.  Just because a book is 200 years old, it doesn't mean that we can't relate it to our lives now.  Think of Frankenstein.  I bet that many of you can relate to at least one of the many themes in that book, and it is 200 years old.

i would agree with you except i think that since we were really young we have been forced to read. this fact takes away from what could truly come out of reading but we are already so sick of reading. i think if you actually take time to sit back and realize its for your own good so you can grow as a intellectual mind you may find it better. next time you are reading really read the story the author has created and absorb all the little details that really go into making a novel. it may be boring but maybe you just have to get into it and feel where the person is coming from this could very well make your reading much more pleasurable. i know it did for me. 

Amen to that brotha!!!!

I absolutely love it when teachers give us books to keep. They fuel my fireplace during the winter. Good thing A Tale of Two cities is like a thousand pages long. That thing kept my house warm for like two days... Dont even get me started on The Scarlet Letter... I have something called my "literary cannon". It's a steel toed boot that I use to dropkick books I dont like off of my balcony.

When we are forced to read books, it really ruins the experience. Since we are assigned books, we dont have the option of reading books we enjoy and are motivated to read. It gets worse when we are required to "analyze" these infernal books. I just want a good experience from a book, not a 1k page thesis on the significance of why the character is riding a bike instead of walking or something completely irrational like that.

I think there's a list circulating around the world of books that are terrible.

... TRoLLz()r  and excalibur agree with me. :)

Amen, Praise the lord, all that jazz. Over the time that I've been in high school, I think I've read one or two(maybe) books that I actually liked and wanted to keep. Needless to say, I have neither. I assume that the authors of the books, when hunched over their quills and candles a few million or hundred years ago, were trying to write a good book. Or at least, I hope they were. Dead trolls are the worst. Anyway, a good book for their time period does not necessarily mean it is a good book now. Sure, there are some great books that truly are timeless, but they are few and far between. And at school, we're lucky to come across one. Lets face it: The greats just aren't that great. I got a copy of Jane Eyre through school last year. It is now one of my most hated novels, in part due to analysis. Well there's my two cents. And, Angel, since when do you have a fireplace?

I agree. Right now I am reading Ethan frome. And it's awful. I don't understand the plot and what's going on. I wish our teachers would combine modern books and some old ones,because that would be a compromise. Also I think it would get a lot of unactive readers reading because then they might actually relate to the more modern books.

I completely agree Ben. It seems that if teachers actually cared about getting their students enthused about English they would choose more interesting books. I enjoy reading, but having to read theses old, boring books just makes me dread it. 

Honestly I don't think the teachers do all that bad at picking out what books we should read. Some are definitely better than others, I know I barely understood Tale of Two Cities, but overall I think the choices are at least justified. It would be nice if everything we read was written from a modern day american's point of view, but the reality is the vast majority of everything that has ever been written was written from a perspective that was different from ours. This definitely makes it harder to read the books, but if we ignored everything that was different I think we would miss out a lot of concepts and ideas.

I 100% agree that the school board should try to pick more modern books. The books we read in class today are a lot of the books that our parent read when they were our age. Times have changed and so has writing styles. I know that books from 200 years ago are greater literature and include more literary elements, yet they're just boring to read. Most student don't even read and instead spark note. In order for us to want to read and not fall asleep reading these books, more modern books should be picked. 


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