We are to Wednesday, everyone! Yay! I’ve checked quite a few things off my to-do list so far this week, which always feels good. Plus, I’ve gotten a lot of reading done! Just one more book on my January TBR and I’ve hit all the books I wanted to this month. I don’t always do that, but it does give me a feeling of accomplishment. As long as my TBR lists don’t feel like required reading, which is what we’ll be talking about today’s Top Five Wednesday post!
Required reading happened a lot, as a lit major. It can definitely be hit and miss, especially in terms of diversity. Whether or not you enjoy the book can also depend on the teacher, I think. Even if the book isn’t super engaging, the teacher/professor can make it more interesting with assignments and other book connections. At least, that’s what makes a book stand out for me! Here are my top five favorite required reading from my school years (from high school to college).
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Visit my shop for recommendation lists here.
Top 5 Required Reading
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
This is absolutely one of my favorite classics. Maybe because it reads a bit like young adult lit. I actually wrote a paper in grad school about how a lot of Victorian lit lends itself to YA adaptations because so much of it is coming of age. Like Jane Eyre! Maybe the re-tellings make it more feminist, but I still love the story just the same.
2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Similar era of literature, so I suppose this one isn’t surprising, either. Gothic and foreboding, this is such an atmospheric novel. When I took Victorian lit, I liked these kinds of novels that we read. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of Dickens (sorry, not sorry), but I loved the Brontes. Maybe because they weren’t quite as long?
3. Othello by Shakespeare
This might be my favorite Shakespeare play I read in high school, and I think it’s because of what I mentioned in my intro. It’s the way that my teacher at the time taught the play. It was really engaging and I learned a lot in that classes. Honestly, it was classes like this that made me interested in studying English in college, too.
4. The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Is this cheating because I read it for a children’s lit class? Oh well, I’m counting it anyway. One advantage of being a children’s lit major is that sometimes, I got to read books like this as required reading. There’s nothing better than reading children’s or young adult books for class. It definitely made reading feel less like homework!
5. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
Another cheating moment, possibly, but I took a vampire class in my undergrad and got to read this book. We read a lot of cool books in that class, actually. This one in particular stood out to me, as it was different than the others. If you want a different vampire book, definitely check this one out.