Zelda Krup: Just Say ‘No’ To ‘Lord Jim’

Zelda Krup: It’s still hard for me to believe that books such as “Catch-22” and “Rabbit Is Rich” were on the bestseller lists compared to the crud that populates the it today. Maybe the tipping point was “Valley of the Dolls” (yeah, I read it in high school). Naughty. Everybody has a lit. survey book that knocked them unconscious. “Lord Jim” was pure Seconal for me. But one or two bad experiences shouldn’t make you abandon yourself to pulp fiction.

Question: The required-reading classic that was sleep-inducing for me during my high school days was George Eliot’s “Silas Marner.” I gave it a second chance as an adult — and was still bored to death of it. What required-reading school days classic was seconal for you?