books I've used in real life

For my humanities 101 class I spent an evening in the library reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It was excruciating. Not because of the plot or style, but because I had to sit for three hours straight speed reading. I had to tap my toes and bounce my knee just to keep myself sitting. When I finished the play, I checked off that I’d read it before class and left the library. I still don’t know what happened in Hamlet. I read it too quickly to absorb any of the plot and all I can remember was what is referenced in Freaky Friday. The last time I watched the movie I was like, “there was a ghost?” Apparently this is important to the plot.

The Hamlet speed-read was about three years ago and since then I’ve taken my humanities and literature classes much more seriously. For example, I try very hard not to force myself to do the reading at the very last possible second. If I do, I just end up reading Sparknotes anyway to understand it.

Now I’m not wise and don’t consider myself well-read. The more I learn, the more I realize I barely know anything. But there are books I read as academic assignments that I have actually referenced in conversation and applied to real life. Here is the list of the 10 novels I've used in real life:

1    1)  Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo

2    2) Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

      3) F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

      4) Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

      5) Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

      6) Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man    

      7) Forrest Carter's The Education of Little Tree

      8) The poetry of Sylvia Plath

      9) Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf 

     10) Chariton's Callirhoe 

I'    I've actually never discussed Callirhoe outside of a classroom, but I think it's a delightful adventure. There were several things about the story I didn't like, I won't mention them for the sake of plot spoiling. It feels rather funny, trying not to give away the plot of a 2,000 year-old novel. 

      I'm currently reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and I haven't decided the next novel on my list, any suggestions? What books have you read that improved your mind, enlightened your perspective or were the topic of lively conversation?