When night falls and high school students are getting ready for bed, most are facing the question of how to wind down. Some students scroll on their phone, while others watch TV and complete homework. However, many face the unfortunate reality of being forced to read for school. Reading - a concept so ancient in the age of videos and screens everywhere - is an important aspect of high school education. The pages evoke imagination and creativity that a Youtube video could never provide. However, many would agree, that there is a major difference between analyzing a book for school and personal pleasure. The joy of reading is killed when it is followed by an assignment that requires in-depth annotations. As important as analyzing the significance of an author writing “the curtain was blue”, it is tedious and considered unnecessary by many. Here are some of my (least) favorite books I have read in school!
The Road:
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is certainly a thought-provoking novel. McCarthy depicts a boy and his father traveling through a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. Hidden in the emotional feelings of sadness and loneliness are themes of perseverance, dedication, and trust. The most recognizable aspect of his writing in this book and his other works are strange patterns of punctuation. Specifically, McCarthy does not use commas or quotation marks, but opts for alternating sentence lengths. This creates a very unique and smooth flow that is distinguishable against the other texts we are required to read throughout high school. . Thomas Monaghan, a senior at BHS who was assigned The Road last year, claimed he “enjoyed the slow paced world building introduction in the barren wasteland that is the US”, but also “finds the boy to be slightly irritating with his constant stream of dialogue.” In the end, however, I feel like this novel was extremely disturbing and not something I would recommend to a friend. Common themes of murder, death, and cannibalism extend beyond grotesque and into a realm of absolute disgust. Aside from the content being composed of revolting imagery that literally gives me nightmares months after reading it, it is not a bad book. 4/10.
Fahrenheit 451:
Yet another dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451 delves into a fictional world where books are outlawed. The main character is a firefighter, but not in the way we think. Rather than saving lives from a flaming house or rescuing a kitten stuck in a tree, the man burns books for a living. Written in the 1950's, Fahrenheit 451 reflects a theme of government control and censorship during the Cold War era. The story follows Guy and his internal conflict of navigating through a society of censorship. This story actually made me think really hard and deep, which is unusual with books for school. 7/10.
Edgar Allan Poe Short Stories:
The last piece of literature I am reviewing is a series of short stories from Edgar Allan Poe. Writings such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven are blood-curling classics that truly put the reader in the eyes of a psychotic serial killer. The vivid imagery and onomatopoeia of the tell tale heart begs the question: is the character really dead? Meanwhile, The Raven depicts a much more dreary setting with repetition of the word “nevermore”. While the exact theme alternates between Poe’s different stories, a continuity in his works lies in his ability to truly grab the reader's attention. His opening hooks range from smooth rhyming schemes to direct descriptions of murders. The only criticism I have is that some of his work actually feels too short and ends abruptly. For these reasons, I would recommend Edgar Allen Poe short stories. 8/10.
Written by Miles Ermann
Photography by Ada Gaines
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