The Daily Orange reviews the required reading for the spring semester

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Posted: 1/16/08

Hardest Book You'll Ever Read (Old School edition)

James Joyce's "Ulysses" (ETS 320)

I can't even begin to explain this book. Supposedly, it's (loosely) based off of "The Odyssey." And that's as far as I can go to summing up the plot. Though those who survive the novel do enjoy it. Each year on June 16, fans of the book celebrate on "Bloomsday" in Dublin. It's rumored the holiday somehow relates to "Ulysses."

Hardest Book You'll Ever Read (Current edition)

Toni Morrison's "Beloved" (ETS 464)

Considered one of the greatest books of the last quarter-century, Morrison's "Beloved" deals with slavery in a way that's unique and well, a bit complicated. Sure, you'll probably like the novel when it's over, but if you're new to Morrison, maybe start off with an easier selection: "The Bluest Eye" (ETS 192).

Best Comic Book Ever.

Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" (ETS 360)

Don't judge a graphic novel by its cover. Bechdel's award-winning autobiography is an intense (but also darkly humorous) story about a daughter trying to understand her own homosexuality and her relationship with her recently deceased father.

A Must Read For Hipsters

J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" (ETS 420)

Holden Caulfield is regarded as many a hipster's hero with his dry, sarcastic humor and insights that are quite enlightening for a 17 year old. Salinger's debut novel follows protagonist Caulfield as he is expelled from his prep school and finds himself dealing with the "phoniness" of the real world. And since pretty much everything except thrift stores, tattoos and not having body fat is phony to hipsters, Holden is their boy.

Don't read this book unless you read Jane Eyre (and liked it)

Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" (ETS 440)

Rhys's novel is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's celebrated "Jane Eyre." Yes, a different author wrote this sequel. So this novel is like the postmodern equivalent of a Star Wars nerd writing fan fiction. On the other hand, "Wide Sargasso Sea" does deal with important themes, while explaining the tragic background of the first Mrs. Rochester, who in "Jane Eyre" is merely a raving lunatic.

Best Shakespearean Play

William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

Blood. Backstabbing. Witches. C-sections. Yep, this Shakespeare play has it all. Just as long as you can get past the Old English style (just be glad you're not reading one of his comedies), Macbeth is one of Bill's best. Famed movie director Akira Kurosawa even turned the tale into one of his best movie's "Throne of Blood."

Best Play (Non-Shakespeare edition)

Oleanna's "David Mamet" (ETS 152)

Mamet's play starts with a conversation about grades between a male professor and his female student and turns into a frightening confrontation. Once a sexual harassment accusation arises, it turns into an interesting case study on morality.

The Great Gatsby is apparently a popular book

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (ETS 181, ETS 153, ETS 420)

Three English professors at least have Fitzgerald's classic on their required reading list for the spring semester. Are there really people that haven't read this book sometime in their formative years? If you read it in high school, you get to read it again! Or just pretend.

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told (Or Not)

Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" (ETS 242)

Yep, another version. Romeo and Juliet redux. Told through flashbacks and a pretty boring writing style, the love of Catherine and Heathcliff is thwarted by those snobby English aristocrats. Don't worry though; Heathcliff will get some sweet, sweet revenge. Also, there are ghosts.