The only book I loved reading for school was Das Versprechen by Dürrenmatt. At the time I didn’t go to school very often, so that might have helped. Schools have a tendency to kill all excitement one might have for a topic.

The book also has a pretty good movie with Jack Nicholson.

Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles.

I was on the verge of ditching books altogether as we were only given books with stories or characters I didn’t care for at all or that I didnt engage with.

Then I picked the Martian Chronicles and that book elicited colours and images. I didn’t really understand the subtext at the time but the poetic impression it left in me was so powerful I started to read books with joy. Always chasing the poetry, rhythm, feelings I once felt.

I loved Glass Castle. Probably had to read it for a few classes from what I remember and loved it every time.

The Grapes of Wrath.

MAN, that book was NOT what I thought it would be.

The Outsiders.

I read it twice in school, 5th and 7th grade. I loved that it was written by a teenager for teenagers. It taught me that everyone struggles, everyone is fighting something, and outside appearances are nearly always deceiving. Some of the toughest looking people out there are the most sensitive and kind.

I don’t think I would have been as open minded about different ‘cliques’ as a teen if I hadn’t read it, and that translated into being more accepting of people from all walks of life as I became an adult.

I also loved To Kill a Mockingbird, and I mention it because I took away a lot of the same lessons as well as a stronger sense of justice and integrity through the story.

i hated every single book i was forced to read in school and that shit put me off reading for years after.

A collection of short stories. Can’t recall what the actual title was called, but the book was just a collection of short stories by different authors. The different writing by each and the adoration that my professor had for each one just drew me to the stories even more. Can’t say I’m a big fan of literature like he was, but I definitely respected that.

best was definately the wizard of earthsea. An interesting bit is I hated romeo and juliet and would complain about it in comparison to macbeth. After college though I substitute taught a bit and had a class doing romeo and juliet and it was kinda funny how I could appreciate the literary analysis at that point.

Lord of the Rings and The Magician’s Nephew

I read The Giver in the sixth grade and it blew my mind a little bit. I think it was the first time I was exposed to the concept of a dystopian society and it was very interesting to me. Then later in 10th grade I read Catch-22 for a book report and that is definitely up there too.

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Of Mice and Men. Reading this very much shaped what I enjoy out of a book ever since.

The Truce, by Mario Benedetti. I was 13 or 14, and it’s the first time I cried while reading a book. I finished it seated on a park bench, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, maybe I’m really afraid about old age.

The Great Gatsby. Its last page makes a killing, pun intended.

Probably Fahrenheit 451.

The way that book predicted and depicted streaming as a vapid activity that will make you numb is what stuck with me most both then and now.