huppumies: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.
ConsulCaesar: Fun fact: my high school Literature teacher decided to break the tradition of forcing (and torturing) all 16-year-old students to read the whole Quixote and replaced it with the Lazarillo. I'm still grateful for that!
huppumies: Oh man, I tried reading Don Quixote some time ago and found it kind of awful. The translation may not have been the best, but I don't think that made a huge difference. I made it through Part 1 and just stopped, as I wasn't ejoying reading the book at all. Part 2 may be better, but I doubt I'll ever finish it. Being forced to read that at 16? Tortrure sounds about right.
Making the bulk of youngsters read that title does not make much sense. It is a book best read in maturity. Finding out about the author's life might lead to a better appreciation, too.