when i was a young girl, i liked all kinds of books. my favorites tho were science fiction, mythology, and fantasy. (i also liked some of the adult paperbacks i found in my mama's nightstand drawer.)
i was probably in junior high when i started making regular trips to the neighborhood library. i had already fallen in love with books and reading but no one had ever suggested i visit the library until i needed to do a project or some research or somethin' like that.
i hated any "assigned" reading, preferring to read only what i thought of as "the good stuff". the good stuff was any fiction in my favorite genres. the boring stuff was anything remotely connected with school work. that included cliff notes. (y'all remember them right?)
when i got to university for the second time -- several lifetimes after high school graduation -- i knew i would be required to read the boring stuff. i was an english major you see and horror of horrors, i tested well enough to qualify for the english honors class. which i had to take in addition to the regular english class because the regular one was required for my major.
so there i was crying over the stupid literature i would have to read for the first semester, for not just one, but two classes. the book i thought i would hate most was the 900-page monster i had to drag to my regular english class. grrrrrr! my shoulder still hurts from that one.
in english honors we were to read only female authors that semester. (it was an all-female university.) ummm... okay... was that supposed to make me feel better?
imagine my surprise when we began reading our dull books and i found them to be... interesting. some of the reading was even quite good. i found myself anxious to get to class to dissect what i'd read with my professor (same one for both classes) and my classmates.
i learned a lot from both my english courses, about literature and myself. today my bookshelves include books by bronte and some other folks who wouldn't have gotten a second look from me back in the day.
thank God for enlightenment!
and nosey bee that you are (no, not that kind of bee; i mean the one that buzzes), fly on over to CrazyHipBlogMamas to see what other people are saying on the topic of “One thing you never thought you’d be “into” but really enjoy”.
.
i was probably in junior high when i started making regular trips to the neighborhood library. i had already fallen in love with books and reading but no one had ever suggested i visit the library until i needed to do a project or some research or somethin' like that.
i hated any "assigned" reading, preferring to read only what i thought of as "the good stuff". the good stuff was any fiction in my favorite genres. the boring stuff was anything remotely connected with school work. that included cliff notes. (y'all remember them right?)
when i got to university for the second time -- several lifetimes after high school graduation -- i knew i would be required to read the boring stuff. i was an english major you see and horror of horrors, i tested well enough to qualify for the english honors class. which i had to take in addition to the regular english class because the regular one was required for my major.
so there i was crying over the stupid literature i would have to read for the first semester, for not just one, but two classes. the book i thought i would hate most was the 900-page monster i had to drag to my regular english class. grrrrrr! my shoulder still hurts from that one.
in english honors we were to read only female authors that semester. (it was an all-female university.) ummm... okay... was that supposed to make me feel better?
imagine my surprise when we began reading our dull books and i found them to be... interesting. some of the reading was even quite good. i found myself anxious to get to class to dissect what i'd read with my professor (same one for both classes) and my classmates.
i learned a lot from both my english courses, about literature and myself. today my bookshelves include books by bronte and some other folks who wouldn't have gotten a second look from me back in the day.
thank God for enlightenment!
and nosey bee that you are (no, not that kind of bee; i mean the one that buzzes), fly on over to CrazyHipBlogMamas to see what other people are saying on the topic of “One thing you never thought you’d be “into” but really enjoy”.
.
4 comments:
One of my favorite things in the world is discovering a new author! Loved the post!
I get a little snobby about authors and types of books... and then I am usually pleasantly surprised when I branch out a bit and try something new. Great post!
I definitely agree that many of the "classics" are actually pretty interesting stories. Unfortunately, the way that most public schools teach them absolutely does turn students off literature. I'm sure as a fellow homeschooling mom you can totally appreciate that! :-)
OMG I haven't heard about Cliff Notes in years! I was like you -- Cliff Notes for everything assigned. But get me into a book that I'm really into and I'm immersed in it for hours!
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