As people seem to remember this, name the best or worst book that was on your summer reading list when you were back in school.

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Hands down...Silas Marner. I still remember how much I hated that book many years later.

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Without a doubt it was Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Karen
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien was on my summer reading list when I was in 8th grade. I remember that I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I knew that I had to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which ended up being my standard for great fantasy. 

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The best book I ever had to read was A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. This is a true story about child abuse, and how it changed a child's life. This book was so shocking, sad, and filled with so many emotions --- I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I couldn't put it down. I am forever thankful that Dave Pelzer never gave up. I truly admire him and his courage to write about such horrors he endured as a child. He is making such a difference today in people's lives as a speaker and educator about child abuse. 

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I graduated from high school back in 1938, when there were no computer games (nor computers) nor TV to distract us, and reading was a pleasant pastime after strenuous outdoor games or quiet rainy days. Our teachers often suggested books, but since we had no required list, obviously I can't answer this question as stated.

Wouldn't it be wise if students were presented with a list of books --- categorized sports, mystery, nature, adventure, etc. NONE of which would be required --- just a guide to help them choose a book? Added to the list might be a book or two required for the following semester, not for summer reading unless they choose to read it ahead of time for a head start in the school year. 

Part of a class period at the end of the school year might be spent answering questions as to what particular books are about, reading excerpts or book jackets, eliciting opinions from children who may already have read a book on the list, and promoting a general interest in reading.

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The best summer read I can remember was A Stone for Danny Fisher by Harold Robbins, way back in the early '50s. I was only a teenager and thought this was a wonderful book, and I am sure that I --- like many others of that era --- read the bar mitzvah scene aloud to all my friends. Harold Robbins was considered very "adult." My parents never believed in censorship and this was a book I will never forget. I am sure that by today's standards it is considered fine, but then it was a book that was controversial for my age group.

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We had to read To Kill a Mockingbird. To me this is such a beautifully written book that it will forever remain a classic. Needless to say, I was not too upset at having been forced to read it.

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Actually the best and worst was the same book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton! This was before the movie. It was a great book, BUT it also gave us kids some wild ideas. Didn't harm anyone or run away, but had some fun!

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My Antonia by Willa Cather. I found it painful to read. I almost died of boredom.

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The best? To Kill A Mockingbird

The worst? Silas Marner (YUCK!!!!!!!!!)

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As I recall, The Red Badge of Courage, A Tale of Two Cities, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar were required summer reading going in to my Jr. year. I have no memory of my senior assignment...I was too busy that year.

Katie in New Jersey
The worst book I ever read, and one of only two books I just couldn't finish reading, was Something Happened by Joseph Heller. Nothing did.

Anonymous from Middletown, CT
Best Book: Madame Bovary
Worst Book: A tie between Siddhartha and The Metamorphisis

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The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

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LOVED 1984 (pre-1984!) and Brave New World --- choices from a senior English list. Don't think I hated any --- I was, and still am, a voracious reader with a broad base of interests.

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I never had a summer reading list. I do, however, have a cousin who just started high school and I got to live vicariously through him this summer. I thought his teacher had assembled a pretty great list from which they got to choose 3: Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Milagro Beanfield War and Lord of the Flies. He spend at least a month complaining and procrastinating over the whole affair but finally did get three of them completed, and he called on me to help with the analysis. I am not a big fan of dissecting literature, but I found it very rewarding to be able to engage in conversations with him about the books and their themes. It was a bonding moment and he thought I was genius. One that I wish had been on the list that was part of my high school curriculum was A Separate Peace, still one of my favorites after all this time.     

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I may be slightly dating myself.
The best: To Kill a Mockingbird
The worst: Lord of the Flies

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I am Dutch, but we had the obligatory booklists in college --- as I had to learn French, German and English, there were booklists as well for our own language. The book I most disliked but had to read was A Christmas Carol (Dickens) but that is an English author. I liked Salinger very much, but that will be no news to you.

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Best: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Worst: An American Tragedy by Theodore Drieser

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Vanity Fair!

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I was not required to do summer reading when I was in school. I do remember a book that was required reading during school and that was The Red Badge of Courage. That book has stayed with me since I have read it some 25 or so years ago.

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The very best:
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee