Is it worth it to read books in high school that you'll have to read again in college

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>I'm interested in reading many of the "classic" books such as Republic, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, The Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, Canterbury Tales, Middlemarch, Pride and Prejudice, Communist Manifesto, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Wuthering Heights, Civil Disobedience, Les Miserables, and many more. If I will have to read some of these books in college, is it worth reading them in high school? I know many of you would probably say yes; however, I have thousands of books I want to read in my life and I don't like re-reading books, even classics (except for a few). What books are commonly in read in college courses? I know this varies quite a bit; however, I'd just like to get a general idea. Also, what challenging/interesting/good books would you suggest for a 12th Grade High School Literature Class? (Preferably classics, but a few good lighter reads would be good too.) I'm asking this because I'm trying to come up with a curriculum for an Independent Study course.</p>

2

<p>You don’t even know what books you will be reading in college yet, so if you haven’t made a decision on where to attend yet no-one can give you an answer close to definite. And if you do end up having to read a book in college after you’ve already read it, then it holds benefits than can outweigh the disinterest towards re-reading it twice. Though if you really insist, you can read a specific time period/culture of books (ex. 17th century, japanese literature, etc.) so that you’d be able mark a similar class as one likely to cover books you’ve already read.</p>

3

<p>But re-reading books (and re-watching movies) is such fun! You get all these ‘Oh, now I get it’ moments.</p>

4

<p>I agree with HarveyLewis.
But if you read it and can’t get that “meaning” of the book (after all, it’s a college course book, and those books are written for people older than you), you will still have to read it again at college. </p>

<p>My younger sister is in your shoes (and she’s going to be an 8th grader soon D: ). She read Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, Emma, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, etc. etc. etc…
But in the end she kind of went, “I think I’m going to stick with books for my age level, and read other classics when I’m older.” Hahaha.</p>

<p>Sorry about the list of college books… Because I have no clue :open_mouth: I’m still in high school xp</p>

5

<p>According to College Board, one should read several of the books mentioned before BEFORE entering college: [101</a> Great Books](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Stay Motivated – BigFuture | College Board)</p>

<p>EDIT: :frowning: I’ve only read 25 from the list :(</p>

6

<p>Wow I’ve only read 4 from that list. That’s what I get for exclusively reading fantasy and contemporary fiction…</p>

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<p>^Don’t worry. That list is sooo d***m biased. So many great books are not listed and a certain amount of plain books are classified as great books. :(</p>

8

<p>^ agreed on Pride and Prejudice and Les Miserables, but that is what happens when one reads only fantasy</p>

9

<p>this is when you can read the books for fun. before you roll your eyes at me, let me explain myself. if you read it for fun, you’re more likely to absorb it better because when you read it for a class, you’re in a more analytical/dissecting mode and sometimes that’s not in the right mode for a person to be to really understand the purpose/significance of a book. and if you read it for fun, all you’re doing next time you have to read is either layering a solid opinion or breaking down misconceptions you still had before. (sometimes it takes a couple of reads to really enjoy a book, believe it or not.)</p>

<p>i would read as much as you can but /TRY/ enjoy reading it. try to be stimulated by it because it’ll stick in your head better. that’s my advice.</p>

10

<p>^Exactly. I usually only read books I will enjoy, besides assigned books for school.</p>

11

<p>

Aren’t some of these books what you read in English in middle and HS?
Reading is a nice investiment of your time, and reading Crime and Punishment in your spare time can’t hurt right? :)</p>

12

<p>I count 34 on that list that I’ve gotten down, and in progress on another. Highly recommend 1984 and Brave New World, along with anything by Kafka. Maybe have a Japanese literature through time as an independent study, start with Tale of Genji and go with some stuff by Kawabata, Tanazaki, Oe, and some other authors?</p>