Going on my fourth year of taking literature classes, I’ve had my fair share of assigned reading lists full of books that were so boring I couldn’t even bring myself to open them. It’s hard to admit, but unfortunately, it’s the truth.
As much as I want to sit here and say I was always a good little English student that read all her books, my morals won’t let me lie to you. However, since I’m taking my last couple of literature classes, I decided that this semester was going to be different; I swore to read every book that made itself known on my syllabus.
I know it’s only been a couple weeks in the semester, but I have to say, I’ve been killing it so far. On top of that, I’m not just reading the books, I’m genuinely enjoying them.
My literature class this semester is focused on British and American crime fiction written by women. So far we have only read two books, Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie and The Trespasser by Tana French. These two books alone have opened my eyes to a whole new world of literature.
This is the first time I’ve read crime fiction literature and the best way I can describe it is that it feels like you’re trying to get out of an escape room. While I was reading these books, I felt like I could have actually solved the cases even though I wasn’t even close to doing so.
I think that’s what makes this genre so enjoyable: right when you think you got it figured it out, you realize you haven’t. There is never a dull moment when the detectives and the evolving cases are constantly making me think in ways I never have when reading other books.
For the first time, I have extremely high hopes for the rest of the books that I will be reading for this class and hopefully, if you’re anything like me, I’ve encouraged you to give your class books a chance. Who knows, you might find your new favorite book.