Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was Assigned In School

This post is a part of Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl since 2018. I'm a new blogger (It'll be a month soon), so I've never done this before. It seems like a lot of fun, and I'd love to interact with and make some bookish friends.

This week's topic:  Books I was assigned to read in school

I've always been a fantasy reader, and sadly, the books assigned in my school were hardly ever anything other than classics. At the time, I was not interested in reading classics at all. It's so interesting that our school years never leave us. It's been almost a decade since I was a student, yet each one of these books brings back memories, and not all good.

1. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels is the first book I remember being a compulsory read for me in school, and as such, I was bored out of my mind. My school didn't assign books from the beginning, although they did give out recommended reading lists that students didn't find important. I still remember feeling excited when my teacher was handing this book out. I didn't own many books then, so I was thrilled at getting a 'free' paperback. I'm not one to judge a book by its cover, but the cover was so dull that it made me dread opening it. It was the first time I was asked to read a classic, and as you can imagine, it did not go well. I vaguely recall a few scenes, but nothing sticks out to me. I've never felt the need to revisit Gulliver's Travels despite years passing. 

2. The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

The Canterville Ghost was Okay to me, nothing great but nothing awful. It was pretty short, so I already liked it more than Gulliver's Travels. I don't remember it much now, but I remember finding it pleasant enough to read. 

3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

Okay, so, I was scared for months after reading this book! I thought invisible men were hiding everywhere, and since I was young I sometimes found it hard to sleep. It is an interesting story, especially since I believe it was the first sci-fi book I had read. I still own the paperback, even though I haven't read it since then. I might try reading it again soon.

4. The Story Of My Life by Helen Keller

I'm not one for reading autobiographies now, and I wasn't when I was in school. Despite that, I loved this book. It was emotional, and so inspiring that it made me feel that I could overcome anything. Reading about Helen Keller's determination made me think deeply about my own capabilities and changed my views toward education.

5. Silas Marner by George Elliot

Strangely, I loved this book. I reread it so often that it didn't feel like an assignment. My friends couldn't understand my attachment, and honestly, neither could I at the time. I've sadly lost my copy over the years, but it's always on my To Buy list. This tale about a kind man wronged by others given hope by a golden-haired child who brings about such beautiful changes in his life makes me feel emotional even as  I am typing this out today. And it's nearly been a decade since it was assigned to me in school.

6.  Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K Jerome

Three men in a boat was a surprise to me. I had to read this after reading Gulliver's Travels (which I disliked), so I wasn't going into it feeling great, but it was strangely fun to read. I don't recall much about it except that I read it more easily, and I even found it funny at times.

Now, those are all the books that I was assigned to read, but since I want to make it an even ten, I'm going to talk about a few books that were on my school-recommended reading lists.

7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

For a while, Life of Pi gained popularity while I was in school. I remember my friend gushing about the book on the bus ride home. I know I read it then, but it's not that memorable to me now, in fact, I can hardly remember it. I tried reading the book again a few years ago since it was assigned to my brother for school, but I didn't get past the first few chapters.

8. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice was on nearly all the reading lists I got from school every year. So in my tenth year, I decided to go for it. I was still a little new to classics so I was apprehensive about what I would think, but I liked the book a lot. The wit and sarcasm were unexpected for me, but I loved them. I reread Pride and Prejudice a few years ago, and I absolutely loved it. I haven't been able to read Jane Austen's other books yet, but they are always on my ever-expanding TBR, starting with Emma.

9. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

I remember staring at my 5th or 6th-grade reading list just looking at the title of this book. Perhaps it was because I had loved the movie that I felt a strange yearning to read it. They had copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, although I was always too anxious to pick any other book than an Enid Blyton one for the longest of times. One day, years later, my sister purchased the book from a used bookstore, and I finally got a chance to read it. I liked it, admittedly, nostalgia was what added to my experience. It was an intriguing combination of whimsical and unsettling, but I am glad I was able to read it.

10. A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Nearly every year, a book by Arthur Conan Doyle was a familiar face on my yearly reading list the teacher would hand out. I wasn't very keen on reading them, but when I did I became a little obsessed with everything Sherlock Holmes. I loved the camaraderie between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as they cleverly unraveled mystery after mystery. A Study in Scarlet was the first of the Sherlock books I read and I am so glad I got the chance to read them. 

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If you haven't read my review of We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal yet, you can do so here.

If you haven't read my review of The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, you can do so here (my next review will be the 2nd book in the series).

Join me for my next post, on Saturday where I list 15 Must Read Middle-Grades.