My Book Club

Oprah has picked her latest book club pick. This time around she has chosen Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.

I hate to read. I've never understood why everyone is so pretentious about reading. The next time you are at a party, mention to the group your distaste for books and watch the reaction. There is a general look of astonishment mixed with disgust as they look down their noses at you. My feeling is, if the book is that good, someone will make it into a movie. Truth be told,...I’ve always thought of reading as a chore. Back in 7th grade we were assigned Johnny Tremain, the story of a young boy in the Revolutionary War who worked as a silversmith. Could there be anything less interesting? How about Ethan Frome in 8th grade? I realize I shouldn’t judge all books from the bad experiences of grammar school, but what 13 year old wants to read about a miserable married man living in a winter wilderness. A lack of interest and a learning disability don’t help matters. It’s astonishing how many book reports I have faked through movies, book reviews and cliff’s notes.

The following is a list of books I was supposed to read. I've wrote essay's, writen book reports, and taken tests on everything listed. However I have never read more then a couple chapters each.

Johnny Tremain
Ethan Frome
Great Expectations
Julius Caesar
Macbeth
Summer of My German Soldier
To Kill a Mockingbird
One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest
Catch 22
Death Be Not Proud
My Brother Sam is Dead
Lord of the Fly’s
Of Mice and Men
James and the Giant Peach
Frankenstein
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Odyssey
Beowulf
The Pearl

P.S. The last book I read completely was the ‘Devil Wears Prada.’ I read it before I saw the movie, and I still liked the movie better.