Random List: Books I Probably Wouldn't Have Read If Not For Required Reading

Inspired by a post I saw on a blog I can't remember (sorry), I decided to create this little list.  I was then reminded I hadn't finished it when I saw The Broke and The Bookish's A Cocktail and Conversation. I decided to post some of my favourite books that were required reading.  I'm not saying I would have never read these books, but way back in my school days, I probably wouldn't have picked them up by choice.  These required books, from both high school and university have stayed with me over the years.  They have led me to favourite authors and enriched my reading life.

1. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

2. Coming Through Slaughter, by Michael Ondaatje

3. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal, by William Wordsworth (I know it's a poem, but I had to include it.)

4. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath

5. The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham

6. Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare

7. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens

8. Kindred, by Octavia Butler

9. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

10. Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder

I decided to stick with ten, a nice round number.  I should mention though, that I would never have read Ethel Wilson, Edith Wharton, Henry James or Thomas Hardy without required reading... and probably a whole slew of other fantastic authors.  I know required reading is often dreaded, but so many times I didn't need to worry.

Gathering Dust: The Top Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf The Longest

I want to read all of these books, I really do.  For some reason, I've never gotten around to it.  Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, here are the top ten books that have been sitting on my shelf a very long time and have never been read.

1. The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks - Purchased for a class in first year university and I never got around to reading it for the class.  Because of the class I know what it's about and I can't bring myself to start it.

2. Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand - Purchased for a class in second year university, then I changed my mind and read something else.

3. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller - I saw it and thought it was a good purchase, while in University, after reading The Crucible. 

4. The Green Mile Part 5 and 6, by Stephen King - The Green Mile was originally published as a six part serial.  I got these for my birthday in high school.  The girls who gave them to me knew I read Stephen King, but who gives you the fifth and sixth book in a series?

5. Possession, by A.S. Byatt - Purchased in high school on a recommendation.  I remember not being able to get into it.  I've heard good things since and should try it again.

6. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson - Bought I think around the 8th grade.  I had been reading books like Tom Sawyer and Anne of Green Gables.  I don't know why I never got around to this one.

7. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - I saw it around the end of university and thought it would be a good idea to read it. 

8. Fury, by Salman Rushdie - I saw this on sale while in university and had learned about who Salman Rushdie was, so I picked it up.

9. True at First Light, by Ernest Hemingway - I had recently read Men Without Women, saw this on sale and wanted to read more Hemingway.  I still want to read more Hemingway.

10. The Orange Girl, by Jostein Gaarder - I loved Sophie's World and started buying more books by Gaarder as I came across them.  I've read two other of his novels since, but this one keeps getting put off.

What books do you have gathering dust?

The Ringmaster’s Daughter

The Spider is the Ringmaster. He had a web of 'performers' that he controlled, his artists. He had a lost daughter. There were people who wished him harm. The Spider was the Ringmaster.

Who is Petter at the end of the story? By the conclusion, he was an extraordinary man who wanted to live an ordinary life; he wanted to be ordinary. I don't know if that could be true. Petter always lived life in a unique way, due to his abilities and manner of thought. Though, his extraordinary life has been damaging. Can he be average now? He says it is what he wants. It is left up to the reader to decide what the character will do.