Spring Break
The Daily OrangeThe Daily Orange reviews the required reading for the spring semester
By
Posted: 1/16/08, 12:04 AM EST Section: Bindings
Hardest Book You'll Ever Read (Old School edition)
James Joyce's "Ulysses" (ETS 320)
I can't even begin to explain this book. Supposedly, it's (loosely) based off of "The Odyssey." And that's as far as I can go to summing up the plot. Though those who survive the novel do enjoy it. Each year on June 16, fans of the book celebrate on "Bloomsday" in Dublin. It's rumored the holiday somehow relates to "Ulysses."
Hardest Book You'll Ever Read (Current edition)
Toni Morrison's "Beloved" (ETS 464)
Considered one of the greatest books of the last quarter-century, Morrison's "Beloved" deals with slavery in a way that's unique and well, a bit complicated. Sure, you'll probably like the novel when it's over, but if you're new to Morrison, maybe start off with an easier selection: "The Bluest Eye" (ETS 192).
Best Comic Book Ever.
Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" (ETS 360)
Don't judge a graphic novel by its cover. Bechdel's award-winning autobiography is an intense (but also darkly humorous) story about a daughter trying to understand her own homosexuality and her relationship with her recently deceased father.
A Must Read For Hipsters
J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (ETS 420)
Holden Caulfield is regarded as many a hipster's hero with his dry, sarcastic humor and insights that are quite enlightening for a 17 year old. Salinger's debut novel follows protagonist Caulfield as he is expelled from his prep school and finds himself dealing with the "phoniness" of the real world. And since pretty much everything except thrift stores, tattoos and not having body fat is phony to hipsters, Holden is their boy.
Don't read this book unless you read Jane Eyre (and liked it)
Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" (ETS 440)
Rhys's novel is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's celebrated "Jane Eyre." Yes, a different author wrote this sequel. So this novel is like the postmodern equivalent of a Star Wars nerd writing fan fiction. On the other hand, "Wide Sargasso Sea" does deal with important themes, while explaining the tragic background of the first Mrs. Rochester, who in "Jane Eyre" is merely a raving lunatic.
James Joyce's "Ulysses" (ETS 320)
I can't even begin to explain this book. Supposedly, it's (loosely) based off of "The Odyssey." And that's as far as I can go to summing up the plot. Though those who survive the novel do enjoy it. Each year on June 16, fans of the book celebrate on "Bloomsday" in Dublin. It's rumored the holiday somehow relates to "Ulysses."
Hardest Book You'll Ever Read (Current edition)
Toni Morrison's "Beloved" (ETS 464)
Considered one of the greatest books of the last quarter-century, Morrison's "Beloved" deals with slavery in a way that's unique and well, a bit complicated. Sure, you'll probably like the novel when it's over, but if you're new to Morrison, maybe start off with an easier selection: "The Bluest Eye" (ETS 192).
Best Comic Book Ever.
Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" (ETS 360)
Don't judge a graphic novel by its cover. Bechdel's award-winning autobiography is an intense (but also darkly humorous) story about a daughter trying to understand her own homosexuality and her relationship with her recently deceased father.
A Must Read For Hipsters
J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (ETS 420)
Holden Caulfield is regarded as many a hipster's hero with his dry, sarcastic humor and insights that are quite enlightening for a 17 year old. Salinger's debut novel follows protagonist Caulfield as he is expelled from his prep school and finds himself dealing with the "phoniness" of the real world. And since pretty much everything except thrift stores, tattoos and not having body fat is phony to hipsters, Holden is their boy.
Don't read this book unless you read Jane Eyre (and liked it)
Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" (ETS 440)
Rhys's novel is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's celebrated "Jane Eyre." Yes, a different author wrote this sequel. So this novel is like the postmodern equivalent of a Star Wars nerd writing fan fiction. On the other hand, "Wide Sargasso Sea" does deal with important themes, while explaining the tragic background of the first Mrs. Rochester, who in "Jane Eyre" is merely a raving lunatic.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Catherine Burke-Plumadore
posted 1/16/08 @ 12:24 PM EST
I'm sorry to be picky - but as someone who studies Old English, I have to.
Shakespeare writes in Modern English. It is not Old English (see "Beowulf") or even Middle English (see "Piers Plowman"). (Continued…)
Post a Comment