I hate being "forced" to read a book. Tell me I must, and I just can't do it. I never read anything that was "required" because it was impossible for me to do so. I didn't read To Kill a Mockingbird until about ten years ago. I had read the Cliff's Notes so I could ace the test, but the book? Nope.

I also tried to join a book club, but it was the same thing: HAVING to read a book is 180° from WANTING to read a book.

I belong to the book group in the library. Some of the books have been very depressing, and if I don't want to finish them, I don't. Then I skip the discussion and read the next book. Some of the books have been very good, so overall it's worth it.

Nothing I "had" to read in HS (1966-70) affected me that much. I think they picked mostly safe choices from the classic authors: Dickens, London, Sinclair, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Streinbeck, Hemmingway, Williams and others. Nothing too controversial or even fairly recently written then and no science fiction, fantasy or horror. I read on my own books that really took me awhile to process like Brave New World, 1984, A Canticle for Leibowitz, and anything by Bradbury, Clarke, Philip K Dick. The more controversial the better.

Fahrenheit 451. Strangely, when I took the kids to see Wall-e, it had a very disturbing effect on me as well.

I read for for pleasure and escape, not for discussion and debate. I have dropped out of several book groups. Love the wine and cheese, but not the literature.

I have never had to read a book I did not want to. In high school we never ever had to read a certain book. It was just not required. Had a small library there and I was checking out books almost every day. I still love to read. Sorry you are having a hard time with it.

Sue

Scott, I named my first cat "Charly" after Cliff Robertson's portrayal in the film version of Flowers for Algernon, what a beautiful (and sad) story.

I can't remember anything from high school or college that I could not bring myself to read. I do remember reading A Tale of Two Cities and loving it. The worst book my book club ever chose (and we all agreed) was Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. We all nearly died struggling through that.

I remember reading Animal Farm and 1984 and they were so bizarre and foreign to anything else I had ever read, I had a hard time after. And I read a lot of books. The usual require HS reading came before those two - Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. There was another book I can't recall now that was also really strange. Then I saw Clockwork Orange at the movies and same thing. I just didn't get it. Now I just quit reading if it's too disturbing.

Sue, I am so sorry that you weren't required to read a book in your school. Teacher guided discussions of great classics were one of the joys of my education. I'm so glad that you turned into a great reader in spite of it....good for you!

We usually had a choice. I started to read "Grapes of Wrath" and couldn't take it. I don't remember what the replacement was, but what a relief!

Worst book group book ever:

Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar. The hopscotch part comes from the suggested order of reading. One starts at chapter 73 and then you hopscotch through the book, in the order suggested. Soooo very confusing. I did not finish it, I probably quit after the 3rd or 4th hopscotch.

I just remember having to read Ivanhoe, in high school. Trying to read Shakespeare is hard enough, let alone, a teenager that didn't want to read, and certainly not Ivanhoe! I must have used Cliff notes too. I always thought maybe I should try to read it now, as a mature adult just to see if I would like it. .....nah.

Didn't enjoy reading the "classics" in HS... probably because of how they were presented. We'd get assigned a number of pages/chapters and then get quizzed on what happened. Can't remember any big discussions.

Reread "To Kill a Mockingbird" about 2 years ago along with students. I'm sure I enjoyed it more this time than back in HS when I HAD to read it.

Had never read "Animal Farm" until around the same time... again with students I help as a teacher aide. I don't think it was among "required reading" in HS, anyway.

Read "Catcher in the Rye" last year. I know we didn't read that in HS... was probably still "banned" at the time?!? Teacher was very young (maybe 30 max), kids were 10th graders. I thought the book was supposed to be "dirty" but no serious profanity until very near the end. Story was well "before my time" but know the kids (and probably teacher) have no clue what things were like back then.

I never read anything just for fun until well into my 30s when my brother introduced me to Stephen King... "The Shining".

The Edible Woman and Waiting for Godot - talk about symbolism that I never understood. And then there was Pilgrim's Progress - OMG, talk about a slog.

Loved Lord of the Flies and Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies was, for me, a tale of adventure while Fahrenheit 451 was science fiction which I do enjoy on a simple level. And I did wind up liking To Kill a Mockingbird which I finished after university.

My dad introduced me to fun-adult reading during university with The Drifters by James Michener and then spy thrillers.

I found a book called Perelandra by CS Lewis that was that intense when I was in HS. It was not required reading; I found it in the public library. Became a fan of all his books and those of George MacDonald, that you have to ponder on a while before you keep reading. And want to reread. Is that what you mean?

Well I just looked up "lilac girls' and realize that is not what you meant. I read that book by Elie in college bc I had to. and never want to think of it again--too upsetting. So the book you are reading is based on reality. I prefer not to dwell on the Holocaust but I know it happened. I think most posters misunderstood your question. As I did until I looked up the book. Well, good luck with the book, and no offense intended. If something makes me upset I avoid it nowadays, but I know the truth is intriguing.

Glad to see another person struggle through Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Torture!

I attended two different high schools many years ago and don't remember ever being assigned a book to read and discuss. I do love reading though.

The Chosen. (Chaim Potok). This was not school assigned. I probably have actually repressed the memory of this book, because I remember so little about it now. I cried quite a bit while reading it, and so read it only in private. I identified with the pain, the struggle, the dignity, the disagreement, the study, the "search." If I re-read this, I think I might remember my young self better.

Both my brothers, meanwhile, were reading tons of sci-fi, a genre I still don't care for. I did not pass the book on to them, but did strongly recommend it to my good friend (who I don't think read it). My feeling of isolation when wishing for someone to share the book with was probably similar to a bit of the emotion the book stirred.

matthias, please read The Chosen again. It is a rich, satisfying, and uplifting story. Hugs to you.

Like others, I struggled with some required reading in high school and college. I see no need to struggle through a book I do not enjoy. If I keep walking away from it, I don't bother finishing it. I don't expect to enjoy every book that crosses my path.

I love reading and never felt forced to read a book. I always devoured everything, especially complex works of fiction. No wonder I went on to get a Ph.D. in literature! To answer the question I do recall two high school books that broke my heart due to their sensitive content about young people, relationships, tragedy; that is, life. A Separate Peace and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

I finished Lilac Girls at 2:08 a.m. today.

Jim, are you glad that you read it?

We were very fortunate in our small Alabama town to have wonderful teachers in HD, both English and math. Our English and literature teachers let us through Shakespeare and poetry (I still remember Poe, Frost and many others) so that it was both fun and understandable.

We read To Kill a Mockingbird and I also got to interview Philip Alford (the boy who played Jem) for our school newspaper. I won't forget that.

I enjoyed the required reading in school. I didn't like the tests, but I enjoyed learning about the symbolism and meaning behind some of it. It was often books I would have never read on my own. My children are now reading some of the same books in school. It's kind of neat to be able to discuss the stories with the kids.

I haven't read "Lilac Girls". I cannot read several 'dark' books one after the other without reaching a state of mourning. I will read one such book at a time, to be reminded that the 'dark' exists within individuals and groups.

I too recently read my allotted 'dark' book, "The Lie" by Helen Dunmore. There are no horrifying 'experiments', other than the large scale waste of trench warfare in WWI. This focuses on one temporary survivor, a sensitive young man eventually driven to his death by the suspicious, grasping lower class into which he was born.

There was 'darkness' in the first book I ever read by myself. It was my mother's copy of "Black Beauty", written with words in syllables for the young reader. I cried over the thoughtless cruelty.

It's a good sign to be upset by reading about 'inhuman' actions.

I happened to be in the airport today and looked at Lilac Girls. I didn't know anything about it and noted that it was about Ravensbruck, the women's Nazi concentration camp. It has great reviews, but I have to tell you, Jim, that last year I read Sarah Helm's masterful history of Ravensbruck and the "rabbits" and it still haunts me. It is an in-depth well researched history of the horror of the place. There were true heroes among the women; stories of incredible survival and moral courage. I'm glad I read it--we need to remember--but it scarred my psyche in an indelible way. One cannot fathom man's inhumanity to man.

Lilac Girls was a good book. This was the first published novel by the author. I am amazed at the ability of some writers who do what they do to get me 'into' the story.

I believe that she got me too much into the story. I did not know all the details prior to reading it, some do lots of research before beginning - I don't. There were several characters in the book who were not very uplifting and I had a difficult time dealing with their travails.

I recommend it. Be aware, it is not an easy read. You have to think!

Always wanted to read Virginia Woolf. Tried when I was young, and didn't like her all that much. Now that I'm retired, I'm going to give her another chance.