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At one time or another, we all had to read books for school. Most of them are boring, and you'd rather kill yourself than read it. But admit it -- there was at least one you actually liked, even if just a little.

For me:

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat - I need to pick it up again. But it's about a naturalist who is assigned by the Canadian Wildlife Services to go into the wild and observes wolves. He discovers that they aren't really "savages" like the government says, but living beings and a family. Very cool.

The Great Gatbsy by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Currently reading, but I like it so far.

Diary of Anne Frank - Depressing as s**t. Beautiful though.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - If you didn't like these, you are a lying ********> - A survivalist coming of age story. It's more or less about a boy who survives a plain crash. It's a beautiful and sad story. I loved it. I was all about survivalist stories when I was a kid. I still like them.

Dear me. Brave New World indeed is a kickass piece... You like Heart of Darkness? Do you mean as a book, or for the ideas it conveys? I found the Heart to be one of the driest reads I've ever subjected myself too, although the beginning was especially bad. Regardless, I appreciate its spirit. Lord of the Flies, however, I did enjoy immensely, although that's probably do to my fondness of watching classmates finally realize how ******** up the tale is; I enjoy watching them take their first dive into the contemplation of the corruption of the human.

I enjoyed those books for their fantasy; I thought the connections to Christianity thing surplus knowledge, as it tainted my perception of the creativity of C.S. Lewis; in any case, I regardlessly respect him for Out of the Silent Planet and the rest of that trilogy. That Hideous Strength I consider ambrosia for its style and flavor.

Required reading is a mere fraction of my total reading; Occasionally I'll be required to read a book I wish to read but couldn't ever bother to get around to; for example, I'll be reading ALL of Immanuel Kant's Critiques of Pure and Practical Reason, as well as the Critique of Judgement for history; I once started reading it, but never finished for its lack of grippingness. I like the majority of required books, if not only because I know that in reading them I will have accomplished by force something I meant to do but never got around to. Some books I've enjoyed while reading in a required fashion are The Giver, Animal Farm, 1984, Salome, The Prince, Tao Te Jing, and a good number of others.

Itsy Bitsy Spider. Classic.