Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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Please Introduce Yourself
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Pink
(last edited May 30, 2015 10:38AM)
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May 15, 2015 06:43AM
Welcome Shirley, I hope you enjoy our group. Polls open tomorrow for our July group reads if you'd like to join in. Meanwhile good luck with your studies
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i m rachid from morocco , I love reading classics,
Hello Rachid, welcome to the group, I'm sure you'll find lots of like minded classic book lovers here. Feel free to jump into any of our discussions, or get involved with voting for our next books.
Hi, I'm Samantha. I'm an English teacher, and although I don't get to teach the classics, I really enjoy reading them myself. It's hard to find folks where I live who read them or even desire to read them, so I look forward to being part of this group.
Samantha wrote: "Hi, I'm Samantha. I'm an English teacher, and although I don't get to teach the classics, I really enjoy reading them myself. It's hard to find folks where I live who read them or even desire to ..."Welcome Samantha! I'm glad you found our group, and I hope you'll jump in to discuss some classics with us! :-)
Desislava wrote: "Hello, everyone! I don't usually do these introductions but I thought I might try it this time.My name is Desislava and I'm from Bulgaria (Europe). In my spare time, I love reading classics, hist..."
Hello Desislava! I agree that we don't have to give high ratings to a book just because it's a classic. I loved several of the books on your list (Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice) but some others I didn't enjoy. I also think it's very possible to appreciate the literary significance of a book without actually liking it personally, which makes it difficult to rate.
Welcome to the group!
Christine wrote: "I also think it's very possible to appreciate the literary significance of a book without actually liking it personally, which makes it difficult to rate."This doesn't apply only to classics, though, I feel the same way of many contemporary books (or maybe not their "significance" but their overall quality). I tend to rate them at about three stars. But with classics I can also appreciate their originality at the time, even though the same have been done better later. Someone has to be the first so others can be influenced by them.
Welcome Samantha and Desislava :)Samantha, I don't have many readers in my personal life, so being able to discuss classics with like minded people is great for me. It's also really great for getting suggestions of books I might enjoy, as most of what I read is unheard of by my friends and family, even the more well known classics! I hope you enjoy discussing your reads with our group too, dive into any of our conversations :)
Desislava, thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself. It's always nice to get to know a little more about our members. You've mentioned a couple of my favourite classics, but most of them I still haven't read. I guess I'm still catching up myself! I sort of agree about not feeling obliged to rate classics higher, just because they are old, but like Tytti, I find it a problem with newer books too. I don't mind how anyone rates their books, but it doesn't help me much when people continually give 5/5 for every book they read, or even for books they had problems with. Mind you, I'm quite harsh with my ratings, so it could just be me! Anyway, I hope you get involved with some more of our group reads and discussions and enjoy our group :)
I have read some reviews where people have said that they didn't like the book and didn't think it was even good "objectively", won't be reading the sequals and still have given them four stars. One even apologised advance to anyone whom her poor review (four stars) might offend (it was a normal review)... But I can give 1 or 2 stars even to a prize winner if I don't find them good in any way, though usually they are just overly hyped books which I don't usually even read. The current book I am reading, the winner of multiple prizes, will probably get four stars from me, though I'm not sure exactly what is missing for it to get five.
Tytti wrote: "I have read some reviews where people have said that they didn't like the book and didn't think it was even good "objectively", won't be reading the sequals and still have given them four stars. On..."Exactly! I rate exactly as Goodreads suggests. If I don't like it, then 1 star, 2 stars is an okay book, not a bad book, just okay. Yet people think this is such a bad rating and wouldn't ever do it themselves. I know someone on here that has only ever awarded 5 stars, they read 100+ books every year and review copies from authors and publishers (which they must love) but their reviews are meaningless to me, as I already know that they'll simply say they loved it and award 5 stars. That tells me absolutely nothing. Not every book can be 5 star worthy!
I can't use that GR suggestion because I realise a book can be good even though personally I don't like it. For example I didn't like The Rabbit Back Literature Society but at the same time some of the things that made it unlikable to me were things that were good in it, if that makes sense. It is just a wrong genre for me. It's also one of those books that I would have loved to have discussed right after reading it. (The author posted a blog with some clues to solving the "mystery", so I just might have to borrow it again.)
Samantha wrote: "Hi, I'm Samantha. I'm an English teacher, and although I don't get to teach the classics, I really enjoy reading them myself. It's hard to find folks where I live who read them or even desire to ..."Hello Samantha! Welcome to the group! I'm probably the only high school student in my school who loves C/classics so we're at a same page! (Pun very much intended)
Hi I'm Ginny and obviously new here. I've been drawn to classic books most of my life. I went into our small town library when I was 11 or 12 and asked where their copy of Jane Eyre was. The part time librarian had never heard of it (!!) and tried to talk me into some Harlequin romances. I'm also in the process of reading from Boxall's 1001 books you must read before you die.
I'm on summer break (I interpret for a Deaf student in elementary school) and am recovering from a broken hip and hip surgery this past February. When I'm not incapicitated with injuries,I run for stress relief,but reading is also great for that as well.
It's nice to be here.
Ginny wrote: "Hi I'm Ginny and obviously new here. I've been drawn to classic books most of my life. I went into our small town library when I was 11 or 12 and asked where their copy of Jane Eyre was. The part t..."Hello Ginny! Welcome to the group!
It might seem rude of me but I laughed at your story with the librarian because I was coaxed too into reading Harlequins.
Wow, I should also be working on that Boxall's list, too! You have such an interesting background :) Hope you enjoy the group, friend.
Ginny wrote: "Hi I'm Ginny and obviously new here. I've been drawn to classic books most of my life. I went into our small town library when I was 11 or 12 and asked where their copy of Jane Eyre was. The part t..."Hi Ginny! Your story reminded me of when I was teased about my "light summer reading" by a librarian when I was checking out The Scarlet Letter when I was about 13. Nothing wrong with getting an early start on the classics! :-)
I'm also very slowly picking my way through Boxall's list - I think I'm up to about 49 now. I hope you heal and recover quickly, but in the meantime maybe you can read a lot of great books!
Welcome to the group!
I don't think I've ever even seen Harlequins in libraries, only in stores next to the magazines, and nowhere near where they sell "real" books. Some time ago the subject came up and a friend mentioned reading one of them to see whether they were really as bad as their reputation. The answer was yes. I think she is the only one I know who has actually read them.I'm not really "doing" the Boxall but sometimes I use it to decide which book I want to read by some author or to see what are the classics of some country. I have a few other lists so sometimes I check which books are on two or three of them. They are probably worth reading.
Welcome to the group Ginny, I think I'm in the minority, in that I've never heard of the 'Harlequin romances' but it doesn't sound like I'm missing out! Sorry to hear that you're incapacitated, but hope your hip is healing well. Sounds like you'll be doing more reading than running for a little while, which isn't a bad thing of course.
I'm sort of working through the Boxall list, along with some other best classics lists, like Tytti sometimes I see which books are multiples, as I figure they might be a better choice. Mostly I just check off what I've read every couple of months. I'm not sure I'll ever read them all.
Hi, my name is Anna and I like reading not only classics, but I believe that's true of everyone here. My favourite classics authors are among others Balzac Dostoyevsky, Hugo, and from the XX century - Garcia Marquez, Tolkien, Graham Greene, Gore Vidal. I think I have to read up on English literature though, there are many interesting books I've missed so far judging by your bookshelf. I also want to participate in yearly challenge, so I guess I'd better go straight to that section and start my thread because we are already close to the middle of the year :)Anyway, I hope I'll be able to participate in at least some of your monthly reads.
Welcome to the group Anna :) There's some great authors you've mentioned, though not all of them that I've read! Good luck with your challenge, I'm glad you've decided to participate (I'll go and take a look in a minute). Hopefully you'll be able to join in with some of our group discussions too. There's no obligation to read any of the books, just join in with whatever interests you :)
Hi. My name is Michelle. I am an avid reader and have been for most of my life. I love many genres and am specifically a huge fan of the classics! Some of my favorites include Crime & Punishment, Anna Karenina, Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird, and One Hundred Years of Solitude. There are so many others...I could go on and on. I have read these mentioned here more than once and will ilk read them all again at some point along the way. I have been in the habit recently of reading multiple books at one time. It's the only way I can figure out to read all the books I want to read!
Mod
You have a nice list of some greats for favorites. Hope you enjoy the group, it's a nice friendly bunch of people.
Michelle wrote: "Hi. My name is Michelle. I am an avid reader and have been for most of my life. I love many genres and am specifically a huge fan of the classics! Some of my favorites include Crime & Punishmen..."Welcome Michelle.
Since I've joined GR I have quadrupled the amount of books that I read and now find myself reading several books at once when I never did in the past.
Previously, I thought the reading of several books at once was " schitzo."
Welcome to the group, Michelle! I hope you enjoy the time you spend here as much as I do!
Hi Michelle, welcome to the group. I also read multiple books at once nowadays, though I usually make sure they're different genres, so I don't get confused. It's only a really captivating book that I read from start to finish without anything else in-between.
Nathan wrote: "Welcome to the group, Michelle! I hope you enjoy the time you spend here as much as I do!"Thanks for the invite Nathan!
Hi, my name is Cindy and I'm a high-school English teacher who spends way more time grading than reading, unfortunately! I obviously love the classics (hence the career!) but will read anything that is well-written. My favorite classic authors are Austen, Dickens, Milton, Wharton, Shakespeare, and the Brontes. I also love Stephen King, horror/zombie fiction, and everything in between! I was drawn to this group when I saw that you are currently reading Gone With the Wind, and that your July reads are Don Quixote and The Princess Bride. I love all of them! I like the variety and choices that are offered in the reading selections. I look forward to some enjoyable discussions!
Mod
Welcome Cindy, I'm looking forward to starting Don Quixote next month as well, so hope to discuss it with you too. I've previously read and loved The Princess Bride, it's such a good book (and film!).
Hi. I'm hoping to start Don Quixote as well. Are we reading the abridged version or the unabridged version?
Michelle wrote: "Hi. I'm hoping to start Don Quixote as well. Are we reading the abridged version or the unabridged version?"Unabridged, though of course you can read the abridged version if you'd prefer.
I'll have to give that some thought. I think I have both. Lol
Hey everyone! I'm Laura and I live in Corpus Christi, TX. I'm a single girl and couldn't find a book group to join here so I thought I would try an online group! I love to read just about anything, but have recently decided to read all the classics I missed growing up :-) I also love to cook and do cross stitch and am trying to learn how to knit and crochet, although that is slow going. I'm glad I found this group and am excited to finally have some "accountability" when it comes to my reading goals! Nice to meet everyone!
Mod
Hi Laura. You Tube has tons of videos for knitting and crocheting. There is also a site called Ravelry which is great for that too.
Welcome Laura, hope we help with your classic reading goals and good luck with the knitting and crochet :)
Thanks guys! I have tried going with the online tutorials but I don't seem to follow them as well when I don't have someone to answer my questions. I haven't tried Ravelry - thanks for the tip!
What is this Boxall's list that everyone seems to be trying to complete? I'm I that out of the loop? (Probably ;-))
Laura, Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die is a book with classic/great books that everyone should read. They update the book every so often and a list can probably be found online. There is a dedicated book group here on Goodreads too.
Pink wrote: "Laura, Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die is a book with classic/great books that everyone should read. They update the book every so often and a list can probably be fo..."I'm going to have to quit my job and live on the streets so that all I have to do is read to get through all of those books!!! lol
Thanks! I'll have to look for it!
I'll join you Laura, but I probably still wouldn't complete the list within my lifetime! I done something very foolish a couple of years ago, I calculated roughly how many books I'd be able to read within my lifetime. It made me cross a lot of 'maybe' books off my list.
I'm not sure if it's a list one should slavishly follow. For example I'm not sure why The Manila Rope by Veijo Meri (RIP, he died yesterday) has been chosen as one of the four books from Finland. I also wish it wasn't so Anglo-American centric, about 2/3 are from UK or USA. One or two books per author, thanks...
I agree it's definitely a biased list, but most classic lists are. I like to see which books crop up again and again as well as finding some older classics I've never heard of.
These two are maybe a bit more diverse, I think:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
and
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Mod
I also did a little what if about how many more books I might have left in my life time. It was one of the sadist things I've ever done.
Greetings. I'm Al from Cal, formerly Mork from New York. Or something like that. Slow reader, fast tawker, family person, loner, gawker. Unsure of the protocol. New to Goodreads but I sucked in my Amazon books and rated them so I guess that's a start. What's happening over here?
Welcome Al, glad to have you join us. So you're new to Goodreads too, I hope you're getting used to things here, there's plenty of groups and features for book lovers. If you need any guidance feel free to ask and we'll do our best to help. In terms of what's going on in our group. Here's a link to how our group works https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and here's another for what's happening this month https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Feel free to look around the group, comment on any topics that you're interested in and maybe join in some book discussions :)
Hello! My name is Wiktoria and I'm from Poland. Not that long ago I've decided that it's time for me to catch up on some classics but I still haven't got round doing that.
Hello Wiktoria, I hope our group helps you with catching up on classics. The great thing is there's such a variety that if you don't like one sort of classic, there's always something else to try. I hope you'll join in with some of our book reads and discussions :)
Hi, I'm Jessica from Melbourne. I am an international student from China. I love reading, music, art, media.I love to read: classics, romance, science fiction, biographies
Glad to see you all here.
Hi Jessica, glad you've joined us. What are you studying in Melbourne? I love to read biographies too, but struggle more with science fiction, unless they're older classics. I hope you'll enjoy our group :)
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