The scarlet letter, as it is used in today's speech refers to a mark of shame, not necessarily adultery, but something that would put you out of the favor of society. It is one of those phrases that derives from a book title (like "catch-22") that is altogether overused with people that I talk to.

It's not that the people that I talk to are highly literate (though a few are). It's that they probably had English teachers who used a lot of vocabulary words derived from literature, and as such, after writing each word 25 times, and using it in a sentence, it magically became part of their vocabulary.

This novel is part of the "you were forced to read it in high school, so naturally, you hate it" series. And if you hate it, I don't blame you. Many of my English teachers had a knack for sucking all things interesting out of a book.

But, hey, read it again, please. You'll find a bizarre love triangle, and betrayal of more than one sort. You'll find parts to smile about, and parts to shed a tear about. And in the end, you'll probably be thinking: "Man, that was a pretty good book," unless you're not a "read-y" person, then you'll probably say "Man, why couldn't I have just watched the movie?!" (and then you're left with the choice of which one to see, but since you're not all that read-y, you'll probably pick the 1995 adaptation with Gary Oldman and Demi Moore.)

The story, if you've been living under a rock since 1850, is about adultery. Hester Prynne is caught, pregnant, and shamed in front of her neighbors in Boston. She is forced to wear a scarlet letter in the shape of an A, for, of course, adultery.

It's essentially a retelling of the "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone" part of the Bible, only set in New England, and raising questions of purity, even among the clergy.

This is definitely one of those books you should read before you die (in fact, I think it's on that one list). I think that if you like classic literature, you'll definitely enjoy this book. Otherwise, you'll probably be "meh" about it. The smallest minority of people will hate this book, but they're just high school students with particularly dull teachers. ( )

This novel was required reading in high school. I didn't care too much for the book then. I have considered re-reading the book to see if I'd like it more now. Just haven't gotten around to it. ( )

This showed how much your emotions can influence you in several different ways. ( )

A classic that shows the struggle women faced in medieval times. A truly touching story that will leave you thankful to live in modern times. ( )