3 Pros and Cons With Assigned Books in School

As a reader, I have a huge TBR of books that I want to read and usually, I divide it up by month. This works great during the summer when you have all the time in the world to read. But when the school year starts, some teachers may give you an assigned book to read and analyze. It sounds fun and reading is something you love to do, but you already have a lot of books to read in private. There are many pros and cons with assigned books in school and that is what I am going to discuss today.

P R O S

1. You might get a book that you have been meaning to read anyway and this is a push to finally picking it up. Yesterday, I got a book from a teacher to read in 10 weeks and then write an essay on. I was happy to know that it was Jane Eyre, a classic that I still have not read but really want to. So it can be something positive this way.

2. The book might become a new favorite of yours. It is a great way of getting introduced to new books and sometimes you really love what the school picks out for you. To give an example from my life, last year I had to read Lord of the Flies, a book that I had heard of but did not think that I would like. Instead, I ended up loving the story and even had a favorite character, Simon. 

3. You might get to discuss the book with other people. I have friends who read, but not always the same books that I read. Therefore I do not really have anyone to discuss books with. That is why this is a great opportunity to do this with the other classmates. I think it is very fun to analyze the characters and such with others and for those readers who are not very social IRL (me), it also gives an opportunity to reach out and talk to people about something that you like. You might even discover that there is another reader in your class.


C O N S

1. You are already reading a book and you cannot keep up with two stories at the same time. This is probably a common problem for readers who go to school. I am experiencing it right now with Jane Eyre. I hope that I can finish the book I am reading now (The Heart of Betrayal) before picking up Jane Eyre. I mean, I still have 10 weeks and Jane Eyre is only about 500 pages. 

2. You end up disliking everything about the book. This might happen and if you do not like the book you are reading, then it makes the whole process of reading the book and then writing an essay about it boring. I have heard about many readers that have bad luck and who do not like the assigned books in school, but my only advice is that you have to push through it. 

3. The school destroys the joy of the book with a heavy assignment that makes you dislike the book and you have a harder time getting through it. This is so sad because you might actually have liked the book if you had read it on your own. The assignment for the book should be fun and interesting and it should inspire you.


We all have had required reading in school. It is something important that is meant to educate the students. Even though there are some cons to it, it is important to remember that books are something beautiful, meant to read with joy and love. Is it okay to dislike a book and if that happens, you can read it anyway for the assignment's sake and then move on and continue reading your own books.

The Undomestic Goddess | Book Review (Spoiler Free)

Author: Sophie Kinsella
Pages: 404
My Rating: 5/5
Published: April 25th, 2006

"If I've learned one lesson from all that's happened to me, it's that there is no such thing as the biggest mistake of your existence. There's no such thing as ruining your life. Life's a pretty resilient thing, it turns out."

Goodreads Description
Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. 

Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. 

But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?


Review
Sophie Kinsella writes an amazing book about finding yourself in this life. Samantha is a great example of a aorkaholic in a modern society. She discovers that she would rather explore life and its possibilities, than be in an office 24/7. Kinsella reminds us that is does not matter what you do, as long as you love it and remember to treat yourself to some rest every now and then.

I do not really have a lot to write about this book. Sometimes that happens and it is okay. I can say though that I loved this book. It is an easy read, but it still leaves you inspired and with a warm fuzzy feeling. I had a hard time putting it down. It kept me hooked all the way toward the end. It was hilarious and embarrassing at the same time. Read it! 

Leah on the Offbeat | Book Review (Spoiler Alert!)

Author: Becky Albertalli

Author: Becky Albertalli

Pages: 343

My rating: 5/5

Published: April 24th, 2018

“I swear, people can’t wrap their minds around the concept of a fat girl who doesn’t diet. Is it that hard to believe I might actually like my body?” 

Goodreads Description 

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

Review

This is the sequel to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, a book that made me love all of the characters from the start and left me wanting more, a wish that came true. After Simon had gotten the guy, it's Leah's turn to stand in the spotlight in this love story, and she does it very well. Leah is a very strong character that isn't afraid to say what she thinks. Her personality made me dislike her in the first book of the Creekwood series, because of her tendency to get moody "all of the time", but after getting her perspective, I saw her character evolve and now I would love having her as one of my best friends, along with the rest of the gang. 

There is a lot going on in this book and a lot has happened since we last saw the gang. After all, it's been a year. It was good to jump back into this world and see how Simon and Bram are doing. This book put me in such a good mood. It is important, intriguing, fun, filled with love and takes an unexpected turn. I had no idea that Leah was going to fall for Abby and the other way around. But I liked it. I think it was clever of Becky Albertalli to not make it so obvious of who Leah was going to end up with, because in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I kind of guessed who Blue was before it was revealed, but reading this book I was clueless, until Leah started thinking about Abby a lot. 

Something I do not like about Leah on the Offbeat is how Nick acted after Abby broke up with him. I wished that the author would make him a little less insane and a little more sensible. That he made out with Taylor was just wrong, in my opinion. Of course, Leah, Simon, Bram, and Abby could joke about it in the end, but I really liked Nick and I thought he would be more reasonable, even when going thru something as heartbreaking as a breakup.

It was weird to see the characters finishing High School. It is like you have known them for a long time and then they are suddenly so old and are already going to College. I just can not believe it. I hope this is not the end of the Creekwood series. I want more, so much more. Becky Albertalli has made me adore these characters and I do not want to leave them just yet. I guess I am kind of lucky that I still have The Upside of Unrequited to read. I can not wait to get more of the 'Simonverse'.