This week, bookstores and libraries are full of kids rushing to finish summer reading assignments.
I was thinking back to one of my favorite required reading assignments, one that I did my senior year. Each student needed to do an author study that would last the whole year, reading five books and completing a lengthy paper. We got to choose our author (mainly from the canon) and which books we would read.
I chose Thomas Hardy, because I had recently watched the Polanski adaptation of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and thought the book had high promise to be romantic, and maybe a little naughty. (Little did I know that Jude the Obscure would be even naughtier!)
I fell in love with Hardy, and the themes of his work remain my favorites in literature and film—the struggle against fate and circumstances, and a lesser one that I like to call “smart people, foolish choices.” I don’t know whether I was drawn to him because I was already intrigued by these themes, or if my love of Hardy’s books caused prompted by interest.
Most kids rail against summer reading, and I was no exception. I also had to read Great Expectations, a book with similar themes, and hated it. Why? The easy answer is, Great Expectations was required of all, but Hardy was my choice.
Required reading isn’t necesarily a bad thing, but having some choice always helps. Do any of you have required books that you remember fondly?