My high school education, as far as reading goes, was not the best. We didn’t read Of Mice and Men, 1984, or Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. For whatever reason, we were assigned books other than the classics.
As an adult, I’ve tried to make up for that by adding the classics into my reading. In between romance, murder mysteries, and other things, I try to add in classics. I don’t want to read boring classics, but many of these books are classic for a reason, and as a writer, I think it’s important that I read as many of them as I can.
That being said, I recently read something mentioning The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain. This 1934 novel is not on most high school reading lists, but it is one of those books I’ve often heard about. It was made into four movies, the most recent one done in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange.
I got it from the library, and it’s a really fast read. Full of sexual tension, intrigue, and murder, it’s not what I was expecting for a book written almost 100 years ago. If you’ve never read it, and you like murder, I’d recommend putting it on your reading list. It’s a great book for a lazy afternoon.
And just in case you’re curious, here’s a link to a high school reading list. I’m kind of ashamed to say that I’ve only read 11 of the books on the list. I need to work on that!
Doree Weller 