cambridge english reading lists

has anyone got their english reading lists yet? what do they contain?

Last year I got mine at Easter. The content varies from college to college as everyone does different papers at different times.

Reply 2

PhilomenaGuinea

blissy

Last year I got mine at Easter. The content varies from college to college as everyone does different papers at different times.

thanks! are they very long? a list of 200 books received in august would not be very fun

Reply 3

blissy

faculty reading lists are about 1000 books per paper (one paper per term) but noone ever reads that many. ever. You will most likely get told which books you'll be doing in the first four weeks and have two texts per week to read. You might be asked to read around in the period to help you choose the last four weeks' work. You will probably be given some theory and glossaries to read and a text book to work from for the language paper.

Most people had read about 10 books of the period and some extras. FOr the following terms you read during the holiday for the next term's work: so holiday jobs over christmas and easter aren't plausible. Plus there is revision to do over easter!

Reply 4

PhilomenaGuinea

wow! two texts a week! i'm going to have to start reading faster.

before you go up in october to start the undergrad course, do they send you a general list of books? my ppe oxford friend was told to read dostoevsky...

if there is such a list, is it the same for all colleges, or do they differ? this would be interesting and might help people choose their colleges better. like if king's is really a red hotbed do they get you to read marx and dickens- whereas in trinity you read virginia woolf and leavis?

Reply 5

blissy

All exams are university-wide and your college (and you - you can influence decisions and also you can *shock horror* read outside of supervisions) will decide which books you study. FOr the exams there are "core texts" that you must answer on and you must demonstrate knowledge of the full breadth of the period. As long as you are original and don't use material more than once in an exam you're fine. College to college I haven't noticed any marked difference in approach. All lectures are faculty-based so if you want to go to a lecture on leavis, then you just DO.

Reply 6

Tnacilppa

Could anyone post an actual reading list? It would be interesting to see what is on it!

Reply 7

PhilomenaGuinea

Tnacilppa

Could anyone post an actual reading list? It would be interesting to see what is on it!

hmmm yeah.... a reading list for any subject would be interesting. is there any way of accessing them before they send them out on the internet?

anyone??

I left mine at home.

I expect the supervisors haven't decided what they want to teach you - everything is kind of free-and-easy (in some senses) at Cambridge. Stop stressing, you'll have plenty of time.

Oh, and my reading speed has increased since I've been here. I read 700 pages of bleak house in a day - pretty good going eh?

Reply 10

blissy

Got 'em yet? Our offer holders got them when they came up yesterday.

<tucks into her chocolate orange slice of fudge from the legendary fudge shop>

The fudge is really nice and flavoursome - but it's rather insubstantial. Roly's doesn't melt away into nothing so quickly.