Re reading a Leaving cert book

09-02-2015 06:45PM #1

Anyone re read a leaving cert book as an adult, now I liked school and like poetry but I could never warm to the tedious novels we forced to read The mayor of Casterbridge has got to be one of the most boring book ever and I would rather chew it that reread it, yet I know a few people who reread the boring Victorian book that were forced on us and love them.

mikhail · 09-02-2015 06:55PM

People have different tastes.

In particular, people who read a lot will have very different tastes from someone who doesn't.

It's pretty much the same thing as film critics having a load of obscure stuff on their annual 'best of' lists.

Duggy747 · 09-02-2015 06:56PM

I find myself doing this typically in my nightmares when I realise I'm back in Leaving Cert, I haven't studied for the bastard English exam and I have no idea what's going to come up in the paper.

I wake up relieved to be back in reality.

Then I realise I have to get up for work so I go back to sleep and sit the Leaving Cert........naked............while trying to get my Macbeth back from McHammer because I stole his Twix.

Rubberlegs · 09-02-2015 06:56PM

I'm a total weirdo, and kept all Junior Cert / Leaving Cert plays and novels. I have them on the shelf. I've re read Silas Marner since school, can't remember if it was Junior or Leaving Cert. I even loved Peig, such a nerd !

Woshy · 09-02-2015 06:59PM

I've re-read the novel I did a couple of times since leaving school. It was Margaret Atwood Cat's Eye which I enjoyed.

To Kill A Mockingbird was our Junior Cert book so again, has definitely been re-read! I kept them both

The Peanut · 09-02-2015 06:59PM

I had very little interest in most of the literature we read in school except for the poetry. I actually bought the Soundings poetry book when it was re-issued a few years ago. Always loved most of the Irish poems and appreciated them more as I got older.

KatW4 · 09-02-2015 07:00PM

I loved all of my LC books apart from the Shakespeare plays. I've read them all more than once and have read Wuthering Heights about 10 times (own about 6 copies too).

bee06 · 09-02-2015 07:03PM

We did Emma for leaving cert and I have re-read it a few times. Jane Austen is one of my favourite writers. For JC we did to Kill a Mockingbird and Summer of my German Soldier, both fantastic books that I have re-read since. Can't wait for the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.

mikhail · 09-02-2015 07:07PM

The Peanut wrote: »

I had very little interest in most of the literature we read in school except for the poetry. I actually bought the Soundings poetry book when it was re-issued a few years ago. Always loved most of the Irish poems and appreciated them more as I got older.

It was very popular at the time, I think. Possibly more out of nostalgia than anything else, but maybe that's cynnical.

I probably got more into the plays I studied than the novels.

dodderangler · 09-02-2015 07:17PM

See spot run.
Run spot run!!
Man that was so much harder in me leaving cert

bodice ripper · 09-02-2015 07:53PM

Soundings FTW.

Still have mine from school.

anncoates · 09-02-2015 07:55PM

Persuasion will always be sh1te, sorry.

WoollyRedHat · 09-02-2015 07:56PM

Whatever about leaving cert, how about old school, bit of Tara and Ben, that was were it was at.
http://homepage.eircom.net/~seaghan/book/intro.htm

razorblunt · 09-02-2015 09:15PM

Had Tuppence to Cross the Mersey for JC, never going near it again.
Can't remember the name of the LC book, it was to do with two friends joining the army, once the son of a Lord the other, a stable hand of some sort. Was decent enough, wouldnt mind going over it again.

Tonyandthewhale · 09-02-2015 09:31PM

Brian Friel's 'Philadelphia here I come' was our leaving cert play. Read it there recently enough, it holds up.

Turtyturd · 09-02-2015 09:35PM

Lord of the flies, and death of a salesman are two I have revisited since.

Collie D · 09-02-2015 10:21PM

Turtyturd wrote: »

Lord of the flies, and death of a salesman are two I have revisited since.

Might re-read Lord of the Flies. Read Animal Farm in school. Can't remember whether it was Leaving or Junior. Reread it a couple of years ago and finished it on return six mile bus journey to work. In hindsight no idea how the teacher dragged that one out for a whole term

namloc1980 · 09-02-2015 10:39PM

Hard Times by Dickens for the Leaving Cert. What an excruciating read it was. It was so bad I actually never read it. Relied on the notes/summary book. Got a good grade as well!

JohnMearsheimer · 10-02-2015 12:02AM

We read This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff in transition year. I have re-read the book since and the movie isn't bad. I've read 3 other books by Wolff as well.

ArnoldJRimmer · 10-02-2015 12:12AM

Still have a copy of Soundings lying around and appreciate it more now than I did back then. Its a nice collection of poetry

But Silas Marner still makes me shudder. It really is an awful pile of steaming turd, only made tolerable at the time by having a young Patsy Kensit play Eppie in the BBC version

LoonyLovegood · 10-02-2015 12:51AM

razorblunt wrote: »

Had Tuppence to Cross the Mersey for JC, never going near it again.
Can't remember the name of the LC book, it was to do with two friends joining the army, once the son of a Lord the other, a stable hand of some sort. Was decent enough, wouldnt mind going over it again.

How Many Miles To Babylon? Did that for my leaving, if the teacher hadn't gone on about homoerotic subtext I might have liked it more.

razorblunt · 10-02-2015 12:31PM

CTYIgirl wrote: »

How Many Miles To Babylon? Did that for my leaving, if the teacher hadn't gone on about homoerotic subtext I might have liked it more.

Yes! That's the one.
Our teacher was hinting at the homoerotic subtext to a classroom of 32 lads, some brave lad was the first to suggest it openly. The teacher took it as a sign of maturity that we all agreed with him

conorh91 · 10-02-2015 08:38PM

I didn't think HMMTB had a homoerotic subtext at all. The relationship between Gerry and Alec is one which is supposed to contrast with Alec's cold relationship with the rest of his world, perhaps as a symbol of wartime solidarity between soldiers. There is nothing erotic about it.

super_furry · 10-02-2015 08:41PM

Did Great Expectations, always thought it was a decent book. Did the Mayor of Casterbridge too and honestly can't remember a single thing about it - just tried to read the wikipedia summary and my eyes glazed over through boredom halfway through.

10-02-2015 08:58PM

We did read a Steinbeck book one year and it did prompt me to read the rest of his books and would still rate them so it wasn't all bad.

Cookie_Monster · 10-02-2015 09:02PM

Would never read any of the books / play I did again. They were terrible at the time and will still be terrible now. Especially Of Mice and Men, utter drivel.

xLisaBx · 10-02-2015 09:40PM

namloc1980 wrote: »

Hard Times by Dickens for the Leaving Cert. What an excruciating read it was. It was so bad I actually never read it. Relied on the notes/summary book. Got a good grade as well!

I thought that was only something I did, never heard of anyone else not reading the book

razorblunt · 10-02-2015 09:44PM

conorh91 wrote: »

I didn't think HMMTB had a homoerotic subtext at all. The relationship between Gerry and Alec is one which is supposed to contrast with Alec's cold relationship with the rest of his world, perhaps as a symbol of wartime solidarity between soldiers. There is nothing erotic about it.

Nah it did alright, or at least you could argue it was there at the very least.

HeidiHeidi · 10-02-2015 09:48PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

Soundings FTW.

Still have mine from school.

There was nearly a fist fight over our family's one - youngest sister got it, possession being 9/10ths of the law and all that. I'd love it if only to see all the scribblings in the margins again.

xLisaBx wrote: »

I thought that was only something I did, never heard of anyone else not reading the book

I managed to pass Hons English LC without ever finishing Persuasion. Started it up again recently and once again never quite made it to the end, even though I found it entertaining enough. Same with Wuthering Heights - never made it across the finish line. I've read and re-read Great Expectations a few times though. Don't know why, it's a bit on the grim side.

I keep meaning to try the Shakespeare plays again, but until Google comes up with a Shakespearian translate programme I suspect I'd be wasting my time

I've re-read a lot of the short stories again, and some of them were brilliant - The Confirmation Suit and First Communion being two of the standouts.

Prose and poetry leave me cold. Apart from some Patrick Kavanagh.

xLisaBx · 11-02-2015 12:18AM

I managed to pass Hons English LC without ever finishing Persuasion. Started it up again recently and once again never quite made it to the end, even though I found it entertaining enough. Same with Wuthering Heights - never made it across the finish line. I've read and re-read Great Expectations a few times though. Don't know why, it's a bit on the grim side.

I keep meaning to try the Shakespeare plays again, but until Google comes up with a Shakespearian translate programme I suspect I'd be wasting my time

I've re-read a lot of the short stories again, and some of them were brilliant - The Confirmation Suit and First Communion being two of the standouts.

Prose and poetry leave me cold. Apart from some Patrick Kavanagh.[/QUOTE]

I didn't read How Many Miles to Babylon, just detested it for some reason! If you get a Leaving Cert Shakespearean play edition there are translations in a seperate column at the side of each page

Really helps me as I love Shakespeare!

JohnMearsheimer · 11-02-2015 12:23AM

I read To Kill a Mocking Bird for my Junior Cert. I'll definitely give Harper Lee's follow up a read when it comes out later this year.

Re reading a Leaving cert book

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