I discovered fanfiction in highschool and that was honestly more impactful than any single book. I realized none of the protagonists in the stories we were reading were like me, and countless others felt the same way and so were writing themselves into the stories. The resulting struggle of characters trying to simultaneously embody both hero archetypes and feminine archetypes made it clear to me the mutual exclusion of many traits between the two. To be feminine or to be the hero, but never both successfully. It was the same struggle we were going through in real life.
I read "As I Lay Dying" at 14 and was enthralled. Although I was a Pacific Northwest child, I absolutely recognized the strange behavior and feelings of the family. Before that, though I read far beyond my age group, I'd never read anything that felt that . . . twisty and rich and true. After that I set myself a goal of reading classics and best sellers and seeing if I could tell what made one a classic and another a best seller.
I graduated high school in 1975; there were 2 books that probably had the most impact- in junior high we read Go Ask Alice and in high school we read Of Mice and Men. I have to admit though that I was and still am an avid reader since 2nd grade.
So, somebody please tell me what is so great about Middlemarch. I have never managed to read less than 100 pages. I just couldn't find it compelling. yet it is trumpeted as the best book of all English times
I took a college seminar on George Eliot and when I read Middlemarch, I stayed up as late as I could reading- found it hard to put down. I also have like a lot of gothic novels too.
I discovered fanfiction in highschool and that was honestly more impactful than any single book. I realized none of the protagonists in the stories we were reading were like me, and countless others felt the same way and so were writing themselves into the stories. The resulting struggle of characters trying to simultaneously embody both hero archetypes and feminine archetypes made it clear to me the mutual exclusion of many traits between the two. To be feminine or to be the hero, but never both successfully. It was the same struggle we were going through in real life.
I read "As I Lay Dying" at 14 and was enthralled. Although I was a Pacific Northwest child, I absolutely recognized the strange behavior and feelings of the family. Before that, though I read far beyond my age group, I'd never read anything that felt that . . . twisty and rich and true. After that I set myself a goal of reading classics and best sellers and seeing if I could tell what made one a classic and another a best seller.
I graduated high school in 1975; there were 2 books that probably had the most impact- in junior high we read Go Ask Alice and in high school we read Of Mice and Men. I have to admit though that I was and still am an avid reader since 2nd grade.
Yeah, Catcher in the Rye spoke to me when I was about 15. It seemed like a news story to me about somebody in the dorm next to mine.
So, somebody please tell me what is so great about Middlemarch. I have never managed to read less than 100 pages. I just couldn't find it compelling. yet it is trumpeted as the best book of all English times
I took a college seminar on George Eliot and when I read Middlemarch, I stayed up as late as I could reading- found it hard to put down. I also have like a lot of gothic novels too.
Can't reading the Cliff Notes create a memorable impression?