Top Five Wednesday : Favorite Required Reading

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey on YouTube.

Hey guys! Stephanie here! Today’s topic for top 5 is required reading. Seeing as I’m now out of school for 2 years and working as a graphic designer, I’m going to take a walk down memory lane and show you guys my top five favorite required reads from my middle school- college days.

1. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck (Read in 10th grade)
   BLESS THIS BOOK. One of my all time classic favorites. Of Mice and Men was something I read my sophomore year of high school and it was one of the first books I read on my own that made me sob. Ugly sob. This book just had some strings that got me to connect so whole heartedly with most of the characters.  It’s truly a quick, lovely read.
2. Night by Elie Wiesel (Read in 8th grade)
   We read Night in the 8th grade as part of our teaching on the Holocaust. This book was so real and so raw with emotion and fact, it was so compelling and thought provoking. I felt so naive before reading Night. But getting through it, and coming out of reading this book, I appreciated that whole era, and everyone who survived what Wiesel went through himself. I don’t know why I didn’t relate to Diary of Anne Frank like I did Night. Maybe because this was more of a story rather than entry style, but if you haven’t read Night, do so. It’s truly amazing and moving.
3. 1984 by George Orwell (Read in 12th grade)
   I loved 1984! It was my first dip into sci-fi. I appreciated the art that was 1984. I loved the story line, although the gout was kind of gross, but that was quickly overlooked. I loved the settings and how it was all described and I loved the way Orwell used his words and the descriptiveness of it all. It was truly a classic.
4. The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien (Read in 11th grade)
   American Literature was never my favorite, but one of the first multi character POV, The Things They Carried was a great required read for me. I never went home dreading to do the homework for this book. It was just one of those books you get swept up in wanting to know each and every possible perspective and what would happen next.
5. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption : A Story from Different Seasons by Stephen King (Read in 12th grade)
   So this short story was one that completely got me into King’s writing and I thank my senior high school teacher leaps and bound for that. I never knew where to start with King and this was the most amazing introduction into his writing. And it was absolutely amazing. I gobbled this one up and I’ve been chipping away at King’s works ever since.