<p>The Great Gatsby is a quick read, easy to understand, and applicable to a lot of prompts.
Same with The Things They Carried.
Hamlet gets a lot of respect, so it’s something you can pull out to impress people.
The Grapes of Wrath is a personal favorite of mine, but it’s lengthier and more complex plot-wise.
Otherwise, it pretty much depends on your personal interests as a reader. All of the books listed are great classics, though, so you really can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>Fahrenheit-451 is my absolute favorite of that list. And I have to say Hamlet, b/c I love all things Shakespeare.</p>
<p>Although my response may be a bit biased considering I haven’t read all the books, but Kite Runner, 1984, Catch-22, and F451 are great books.</p>
<p>I’ve read Hamlet, The Things They Carried, The Great Gatsby, and The Grapes of Wrath. Though I enjoyed The Things They Carried the most, all of them are great novels.</p>
<p>I liked Of Mice and Men in comparison to the other books that I had to read. 1984 was good and it caught my interest. I have to read The Awakening this summer for AP Lit and I have yet to really get into it. Thank god it’s so short…</p>
<p>grapes of wrath, my oh my, great book</p>
<p>If you are looking for good and fast, fahrenheit 451 or the Great Gatsby
If you are looking for good and modern, the kite runner or the things they carried or catch 22
If you are looking for good but will take longer, 1984 or Catch 22</p>
<p>if you want to feel like you are reading a book for english class, read the others.</p>
<p>The Great Gatsby- I liked this book a lot; it was short and very easy to read. If you’ve ever read anything by Fitzgerald, the book is very easy to comprehend.</p>
<p>1984- This was my favorite required summer reading book ever. It’s scary to see how much of today’s culture is reflected into Orwell’s story. Spectacular book, a must read.</p>
<p>Hamlet- Out of all of Shakespeare’s plays, this has to be my second favorite. The play was just so odd; it was unique. There is a lot of psychoanalysis going on this play. If this play is listed as a choice to write about on the AP essay question, do not write about this play. AP test readers have said Hamlet is overdone, and they find very few exceptional Hamlet essays. </p>
<p>Wuthering Heights- Out of all the books we read in AP Lit last year, this was my favorite. I love the foreshadowing techniques and the complicated love triangle. I’m sad that this was the only book ever written by Emily Bronte.</p>
<p>Love Wuthering Heights, 1984, and Hamlet, but I’m going to go off the list here and say that without a doubt the 2 BEST books for answering any ANY ANY prompt are One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Heart of Darkness. So read those too. Not to mention, the intricacy of the language in Heart of Darkness is just AMAZING once you recognize it, especially considering English wasn’t even his first language.</p>
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<p>Literally? ;)</p>
<p>^lol. all kidding aside, i loved the long descriptions =]</p>
<p>Great Gatsby - A classic; the storyline is complex and the ideas are big.</p>
<p>Wuthering Heights - One of my favorites; the love triangle is one thing but the ideals, the depiction of human personality, and although it’s a dark novel, it does an amazing job showing that all people have some good in them.</p>
<p>I’m going to go off-topic and introduce some of my other favorite novels:</p>
<p>Macbeth - Loved it: the ideas, the storyline, and talks about the vulnerability of people.</p>
<p>Power and the Glory - Just read it. Loved it. Words cannot explain the beauty of this novel.</p>
<p>Sons and Lovers - Currently reading it, but really loving it.</p>
<p>The Great Gatsby- was one that was loved by pretty much my whole class, but I didn’t care much for it. A pretty easy read though.</p>
<p>The Kite Runner- I am about to start reading this as a summer reading book for my AP Lite class.</p>
<p>1984- Probably my favorite on your list. I loved this book. I read it this past year and I think it is a must read. Some of my friends had read it a few years ago and hated it, but I think I was a bit older and was able to appreciate/understand it better.</p>
<p>Fahreheit 451- A very good book. Read this two summers ago, and it was among my favorite American Lit books. A short, but worthwhile read.</p>
<p>Of Mice and Men- I ahve never read this. In my American Lit class we watched the movie. It was right after finals and she wanted to give us a break, so let us watch it instead of reading it. She said it was almost exactly like the book though. I loved the movie (one of my favorites) and plan to read it when I get the time. </p>
<p>Wuthering Heights- I started reading this last year, but became busy and never had the chance to finish it. I plan to finish it after my summer reading list for AP next year. From how far I got and what my freinds said, it is a very good book.</p>
<p>Sorry for the lengthy response. :)</p>
<p>Power and the Glory just didn’t click for me.
Heart of Darkness did. I second whoever suggested that. There are so many different themes to talk about, and some are very debatable.</p>
<p>Aw I loved Power and the Glory. D: </p>
<p>I also loved Heart of Darkness. :D</p>
<p>gatsby definitely</p>
<p>Heart of Darkness is a great book. Another book written in the same form is The Good Soldier… not nearly as good of a plot, but the form is really what I admire.
Another book with great form – The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.</p>
<p>Of Mice and Men … blech…
The Great Gatsby… it’s okay. Everyone seems to have read it. I can’t come up with a reason why you MUST read it, though.
1984… AMAZING book. Who cares if it’s cliche? It’s a must-read.
Their Eyes Were Watching God… it’s decent, but not outstanding.
The Grapes of Wrath … maybe I’m just not a Steinbeck fan, but I was bored to tears with this one.</p>
<p>^I said you must read it because it’s just one of those things :). I don’t know why you must read it, but you must read it.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m on a re-read of Heart of Darkness right now: SO MUCH BETTER. One example: after three pages of such vivid setting description (a tranquil and “gloomy” setting), wherein each paragraph is long and no word is spoken, the silence is interrupted with this one line paragraph: “‘And this also,’ said Marlow suddenly, ‘has been one of the dark places of the earth.’” One of the best lines ever, imo.</p>
<p>Gatsby-enough said.
The Awakening-if you can deal with a lot of whining and get over it, this book is amazing. It’s applicable for ANY open-ended question you get, trust me.
Hamlet-ehh. Classic Shakespeare. it’s not that bad though, as far as Shakespeare goes.
Crime & Punishment-a long/tough read, but worth it. So many layers of meaning that you could read it 4958345 times and get something different out of it every time.
The Things They Carried-easy to read and understand. Pretty sad but very touching.</p>
<p>I absolutely HATED Heart of Darkness, but that was because my teacher basically had no idea what to do with it.</p>
<p>Beloved was kind of disappointing. I think I might reread it. So many people have loved it and my teacher (again) didn’t know what to do with it, so I think I missed a lot.</p>
<p>I loved The Great Gatsby…</p>