Article about reading the classics in 2013!

[Jeane, Book-tator]

A very interesting article about reading the classics in 2013!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-chris...

[Natasha]

Thanks! I like his definition of "classic" :-)

Jeane wrote: "A very interesting article about reading the classics in 2013!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-chris..."

[Nell]

What a great idea! I like this challenge and his definition of 'classic'. Personally my goal is to read one classic each month.

[Donna]

What a fab article! Thank you for sharing.
I agree with John Ruskin. A great quote.

"All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time."

I, in the past have always been dismissive of the real classics. However after just finishing Great Expectations and enjoying it, I take on this challenge wholeheartedly!

I have found over the years a mixture of choices amongst friends. Many prefer to read classics and also cult books, whereas some will read more modern literature and also debut novels.

Reading older literature takes us on a journey through not just time but also language, which I for one, love. And also, I agree with the article author here, in the importance of reading different perspectives.

I have enjoyed reading this whilst on my short lunch break, with my soup.

Which classics do people have in mind to read in the near future?

[Karena]

Donna Louise wrote: "What a fab article! Thank you for sharing.
I agree with John Ruskin. A great quote.

"All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time."

I, in the past h..."

I've gotten the ones for our group, so that's at least three if I only read one Sherlock in March (that's not going to happen, it'll probably be more), plus this month I decided to read Wuthering Heights, Catch-22, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Time Machine, The Sound and the Fury, and The Catcher in the Rye.

Will I be able to read all these in a month? I don't know, but I'm able to read the books of the hour that quickly, so why not something a little older? The first step is to try, right?

[Toni]

Thanks for sharing this article! I agree with Smith that we ignore the past too much; one curse of being human is that we forget easily. Classics are there to remind us, and many books of this hour will someday serve to remind us, too.

[Jeane, Book-tator]

Toni wrote: "Thanks for sharing this article! I agree with Smith that we ignore the past too much; one curse of being human is that we forget easily. Classics are there to remind us, and many books of this hour..."

Yeah, actually I got this article from our Shelf-tator Angie. I think just being in this bookclub helps me read some of the classics. I definitely want to read the rest of Jane Austen's writings this year! So hopefully I will get a good start on reading classics between that and this bookclub.

[Julied]

In my twenties I had an unwritten rule for myself that for every two "new" books I had to read a classic. I found that each classic novel was easier than the one before it. The prose was so different in the classic novels, I actually had to think! In my thirties, I became a mother...my reading changed drastically...lots of children's books and not much time for reading classic novels...the wonderful prose didn't lend itself well to being interrupted numerous times. Maybe it was just me and my lack of brain cells, but I would lose my train of thought way too easy! Now the boys are older, reading their own books (if I can make them!!) and I can read for myself again. I still like to blend classics in with newer books, but now I tend to find that I enjoy the classics a bit more than most newer material. I like the slower pace, mulling over the language and ideas.

[Angie Downs]

Karena wrote: "Donna Louise wrote: "What a fab article! Thank you for sharing.
I agree with John Ruskin. A great quote.

"All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all tim..."

Well, reading a book of the hour generally can be a bit easier to read than a classic novel. Often, books of the hour are written with less complex language, simpler plots, and shallow characters. Whereas, classics more often have complex plots, language and characters. Because of this, reading a classic probably should take longer than reading a book of the hour. (At least it does for me.) But you are much faster reader than me, so maybe they won't slow you up as much. :)

I will definitely take on the challenge, and it shouldn't be too difficult being in this book club and reading everything my son reads in his 9th grade honors language arts class. This should be fun and a great reading experience.

[Karena]

Angie wrote: "Karena wrote: "Donna Louise wrote: "What a fab article! Thank you for sharing.
I agree with John Ruskin. A great quote.

"All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the b..."

Yeah, I realize the language and such is more complex. I should have said I should treatthem like I do the books of the hour and not treating them like they're homework.

Jeane wrote: "Toni wrote: "Thanks for sharing this article! I agree with Smith that we ignore the past too much; one curse of being human is that we forget easily. Classics are there to remind us, and many books..."

This is funny because I had also retweeted it from Huffpost on the Twitter feed on the same day. Great minds and all that.

[Margaret]

Angie wrote: "I will definitely take on the challenge, and it shouldn't be too difficult being in this book club and reading everything my son reads in his 9th grade honors language arts class. This should be fun and a great reading experience."

I generally enjoy classics or at least older books much more than books of the moment. So much of contemporary fiction (maybe just American?) seems so bleak, so full of dysfunction. I know authors are trying to write about life as it is, but so often it just gets to be too much.

I homeschool my 8th and 9th graders so I would love to know what books your son (and you!) are reading. We are about to start Beowulf to go along with medieval history and I want to read To Kill A Mockingbird with them this year. They are both into dystopian literature right now (Hunger Games and Divergent)so I think it's time for Lord of the Flies too. I love sharing books with my teens. :-)

[Amanda]

My mother-in-law did this before where she read one classic for every non-classic! I always thought that was a great idea. I'm trying to read more classics because I've read so little, not even in middle or high school or even my college English classes.

Thanks for sharing this article!

[Donna]

Karena wrote: "Donna Louise wrote: "What a fab article! Thank you for sharing.
I agree with John Ruskin. A great quote.

"All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all tim..."

Hey, there are some great reads there. Wuthering Heights I have read twice now, such a wonderful story.

I plan to read the others that you have listed too.

[Angie Downs]

Margaret wrote: "Angie wrote: "I will definitely take on the challenge, and it shouldn't be too difficult being in this book club and reading everything my son reads in his 9th grade honors language arts class. Thi..."

His class recently finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and he also read Slaughterhouse Five. The just started The Importance of Being Earnest, so I read that yesterday since I never have. The will be reading Great Expectations next I think.

My son is also very much interested in dystopian young adult literature, so I had him read Lord of the Flies over the summer. :) He liked it very much. We have read The Hunger Games trilogy, The Maze Runner Trilogy, and the Chaos Walking Trilogy together. Chaos Walking is, hands down, the best! I highly recommend them. Amazing!

[Angie Downs]

Angie wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Angie wrote: "I will definitely take on the challenge, and it shouldn't be too difficult being in this book club and reading everything my son reads in his 9th grade honors languag..."

Oh, and as a side note, I hear that a movie will be made for the first Chaos Walking book called The Knife of Never Letting Go, and it will be out in 2014.

[Kim Barberi]

Jeane wrote: "A very interesting article about reading the classics in 2013!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-chris..."

Great article! Thanks for sharing!

[Jessica]

Oddly enough...I am kind of doing that. Great article! Thanks for sharing this!