<p>Do you read the books you are assigned in English class, or do you read book summaries online?
I use to do all my readings. But then I figured out that half my classmates never opened the book. Is there something to be gained by reading the actual text versus just finding out what happens via online summaries? What do you think?</p>
<p>I usually read the chapter(s) assigned and then Sparknote it to see if I missed anything important. I definitely read a lot more carefully this year b/c my teacher gives a lot of pop quizzes, which he grades pretty harshly. For me, if I just read the Sparknotes and not the book, I find it more difficult to remember what happened. Plus there might be something significant in the book that Sparknotes left out for some reason…</p>
<p>I never touched any of my books last year in English 10 Honors - I left A Tale Of Two Cities in my locker for months, and somehow pulled off a 97 on the essay we had on it, which I wrote solely based on what I learned in class from class discussions. </p>
<p>Now I’m in AP English Lang as a Junior - so we don’t read books, just articles :3 - however, I’m going to have to clean up my act next year in AP Lit. No more screwing around. LOL.</p>
<p>For my english class thios semester, I didn’t read Paradise Lost and some other texts but I did read Frankenstein. The teacher usually talks about it enough to fill me in on the important parts.</p>
<p>Wow I didn<code>t realize smart people actually didn</code>t always read the books. I always have just read them.</p>
<p>In AP English Lit this year, too much time taken up by sports and homework for my other AP and honors classes. I read the books in Ap prep 10, but back then my schedule was easier. BTW don’t just use spark notes, you need to use 3 or more summaries, to fill in what the others left out. I actually do read my outside reading books though, because we have much longer to read them.</p>
<p>Freshman and sophomore year I did most of the readings but there was always a book or two I did not get to due to projects/other classes, so I would just use sparknotes. This year I am making an effort to read all the books so that I am better prepared for all the standardized testing we will be dealing with, so far I have read 3/3 (6/6 if you include summer reading).</p>
<p>Depends on the book. I read To Kill A Mockingbird before the class got to chapter 13 (we were reading in class) so I sat there for two weeks doing nothing…</p>
<p>I read the books. Every single one. Multiple times.</p>
<p>I looked at a Sparknotes printout for a novel we read once that a friend had, and I was like “…what.” Massive information overload.</p>
<p>I always read the book, then Sparknote the book after reading the chapters assigned. I also listen to the class discussions.</p>
<p>Yeah… Until we started reading Heart of Darkness and Othello, Sparknotes is now my best friend.</p>
<p>Yeah. My teacher reads the Sparknotes for our books and makes sure to ask questions that aren’t on there. They’re not that bad. The class discussions are more fun if you read.</p>
<p>That depends purely on the book.</p>
<p>I read like 1/3 of Anna Karenina, 1/2 of All Quiet on the Western Front, like 5 pages of A Farewell to Arms, 1/3 of A Tale of Two Cities. Stuff like that. I usually pull of decent grades by reading Sparknotes.</p>
<p>But some books I really enjoy. I read The Crucible, The Glass Menagerie, The Stranger, and a few other books. I read all 1162 pages of Atlas Shrugged, though it was not particularly enjoyable, and The Language Police, which was quite boring.</p>
<p>I use Sparknotes only for Shakespeare and themes.</p>
<p>I honestly love reading, so I usually end up reading whatever my teacher gives me by the first week, purely because I just get so caught up in the story…and then it ends. There are exceptions though: The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) was one that I hated, and gave up halfway through. Another one was Awakening (Kate Chopin), which I dragged myself through because I thought it would have a fulfilling ending…and then it didn’t. So frustrating.</p>
<p>And collegeluva101, I LOVED STRANGER. One of my favorite books I’ve read in high school. I loved it’s theme of absurdity, I loved the way it balanced philosophical preaching with purity of story. It was a work of art; so much so, that I wrote my Columbia essay on it.</p>
<p>I usually read then use online resources (sparknotes, Wiki summary, etc.). I remember things more if I actually read the book than if I don’t, so it helps my performance in class.</p>
<p>Last year, I read the entirety of The Brothers K for summer but then my teacher didn’t even put in grades for our summer essays :(.</p>
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<p>SHAME.</p>
<p>This is such an awesome book.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, OP; water does taste good.</p>