1st Semester Books

There were books that we read last semester that I liked, but I also disliked some.

A Mid Summer Night’s Dream- I actually like reading this play. Like people before me said, it was light and a nice read. I enjoyed listening to it being read and understood most of it. When I read Romeo and Juliet last year, I had a really hard time understanding it and ended up confused most of the time. I liked how this play was written and to me, it was just interesting to read. The plot was interesting because it wasn’t the same as other books i have read. It changed it up. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite.

The Catcher in the Rye- I’m not sure if I liked or dislike this book. I felt kind of annoyed with Holden and his thoughts. I wish he wasn’t so obsessed with not conforming and being his own person. By doing that he was just like all the others trying not to conform. That bothered me a lot. I also don’t understand why he wanted to keep children so safe from the cruel world, when he himself hadn’t experienced much of this world. Yes, he stayed a few nights alone in the city, but I don’t qualify that as experiencing what an adult would. I wasn’t bored though. I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what Holden would do next. I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

First They Killed My Father- I didn’t like this memoir so much. I can see how it’s sad and it did depress me a little bit. I think I was expecting more. I was looking forward to reading this, the most out of all the things we were to read. I like these types of books because they are more believable because they are real. It might sound bad, but for me, this memoir didn’t have that much action. I thought there would be killing and lots of hardships and although it did seem hard for Loung and her family, I wasn’t interested all the time. I had to make myself read 20 pages every night during break and it was a little depressing so close to Christmas. I finished the book on the way to California and pretty much forgot about it. It didn’t have as much impact as I wanted it to have.

My Antonia- Like many people before me, this book was very blah the whole way through. I didn’t get the overall concept. Jim and Antonia become friends and grow up together is Nebraska, but what else? I could clearly see where the characters were during the story because of all the description. The plot didn’t pull me in or make me want to read more. I ended up skipping over things and then going back and trying to find the important stuff. I definitely think if I was older and had already lived my childhood, I would appreciate the novel more.

Inherit the Wind- I think this was my favorite thing that we read 1st semester. I like the concept of evolution versus creationism. The trial was entertaining to read about and it keep me guessing until the end. Although I feel like I should have known which side would win. I’m not too fond of the fact that it was written in play form. That style mostly confuses me, but this wasn’t too difficult to keep track of. I like the fact that the characters had stories behind them and it wasn’t all about the trial. Their backgrounds didn’t seem cheesy or fake to me. I also really like the use of the quote during the trial. I didn’t think I would like this play as much as I did.

Madison Kneller