I'm thinking of majoring in English. So what books do you suggest I read (and review) before college?

Question

I'm currently in AP English so I've read some of the books that are often read in a college English class but I feel there are more that I should considering reading. So what are you're top suggestions of books I should read? (So far, I've read books such as Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, The Heart of Darkness, The Scarlet Letter, Jane Eyre, etc. I would also would appreciate it if you let me know what books I should consider BUYING also. Thanks in advance!)

Answer 1

I am not an English major, but I feel that the classics are very important. I think at least one book by Charles Dickens might be a good idea to include in your list of books to hopefully get read. At least one book by each of George Orwell, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and/or Emily Brontes also would be desirable. Evelyn Waugh is also a good choice e.g. 'Brideshead Revisited', 'Decline and Fall' and 'Vile Bodies' (the film 'Bright Young Things', about three years since release, is based on 'Vile Bodies'; therefore watching the film or DVD might be to your advantage if you are pressed for time.A lot of good names already have been mentioned in the previous answers.

Oh yes, please do not forget to keep up on the plays! Be sure to read something by Henrik Ibsen, such as 'A Doll's House', 'Hedda Gabler' or 'Ghosts' by Ibsen. Shakespeare, of course, is a must. Oscar Wilde plays are good to either see or read, if not both. 'The Importance of Being Ernest' is a good play by Oscar Wilde. It has been made into a movie. Tom Stoppard, whose plays span roughly the time from the 1960s to the 1990s, would be highly recommended, specially 'Arcadia'. 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' allegedly won wide acclaim, but I have not seen it. It might be a movie as well.

A lot of American authors are important. Steinbeck, Hemmingway and Salinger are three that come to mind.

I agree with what some others have written, that if you really like reading for pleasure, you should maybe consider majoring in something else, or else focus on writing skills.

Answer 2

The Odyssey by Homer
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
and anything by the major British writers: Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Tennyson, Browning, Yeats, Eliot

Answer 3

If you are majoring in English, you may eventually have to take the GRE Literature test. There are several reading lists for that test that you may want to take a look at, and you can find them on the web. The link for the list I'm using is below. Even if you aren't taking the GRE, it's a great list to work through of American and British authors.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/5187/gre.html

Many colleges also have a suggested reading list like the ones below.

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~wcd/rutlist.htm

http://www.belmontabbeycollege.edu/academics/programs/majors/english/english-reading-list.pdf

Answer 4

Don't sweat it in advance! If you're comfortable with all that literature you've already read, you'll do fine. You might want to polish up your writing and analytical skills, but you're probably getting plenty of that in HS.

If you haven't already done so, maybe you could read some plays and/or poetry to broaden your horizons. Also, I had to take a class called "the contemporary American novel," so don't ignore the best seller lists.

In response to the "great, another English major" guy... the hell with him. The ability to write and critique others' writing is valuable in many different fields. I have had great jobs, none of them teaching, using my degree.

Answer 5

Start getting as broad a view of literature as possible, not simply 'English' lit. Read literary criticism too as soon as possible (start Barry, 'Beginning Theory'). A chronological approach is traditional, which might be a good way to structure your reading (just don't take literary periods too seriously). Try reading a wide range of things; the Odyssey, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Spenser's 'Faerie Queene', Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, D. H. Lawrence 'Women in Love' etc..etc.
Ease yourself into a new, consciously critical way of reading.

Answer 6

Don't bother unless it's for enjoyment. Let your professors guide you when you get there. Once you get into it, you will be able to decide if that's what you really want to do long term. A lot can happen once you get there. I would probably focus more on writing than on reading. Take creative writing, if available, in your high school. BA English, Rutgers College.

Answer 7

Brave New World is a must read as well as Fahrenheit 451, they are somewhat depressing but overall they are awesome. A book that is just enjoyable would be Chinese Cinderella. Hope this helps!!!!!

Answer 8

It sounds like you already have a good start. The books read in classes will vary from professor to professor. One good one you might want to add to your collection would be a collection of Shakespeare's plays.

Answer 9

1984
To Kill a mockingbird
War and Peace
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
The Stand
Animal Farm

Answer 10

Great, another English Major. Unless you plan to teach, and get at least a masters, go for another Major. Seek a good career councelor who can assess your aptitudes. Then,if you do decide to stay with it, I recommend reading Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Arthur Clarke, Asimov, etc to round out your self education. Also Stokers Dracula, Shelly's Frankenstein, etc.