I would think The Color Purple was on the readinglist for English, but I can't remember if the book was well known straight away (1982), maybe it wasn't on there until I finished highschool. Then again, I went for non-popular books back then, for "reasons";)

Ahw yes, I totally understand too, it took me a while to get into it, even as an "adult". I'm making an effort to write you an e-mail before Claiming starts (do you have the countdown clock in another tab too, or is that just me?) Yay for reading!