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Classics: To Read or Not to Read...
Not sure if I should be embarrassed to say that I haven't read anything on this list. I nearly read "Of Mice and Men" as my school used to alternate the book that was studied at GCSE each year, but I was in the year that read "To Kill a Mockingbird" instead :)
I think at some point I would like to read 1984, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, Pride and Prejudice and some Charles Dickens.
I Would Like to Read
: ~ I think I know what I should concentrate on next year!The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Emma by Jane Austen
A Tale of Two Cities
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Read, Discussed, Touched on In High School :
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
The Divine Comedy Volume I: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens ~ I enjoyed this and would read it again.
The Odyssey by Homer
Tried to Read on my Own : ~ I think I would make a 2nd attempt at all of these.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck ~ Ok Maybe not this one. I found it very difficult to get into.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Read As an Adult :
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster ~ It was okay. Verbose!
Have No Interest In Reading :
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville ~ I don't even want this on my bookshelf.
I've read many classics. Some of my favorite books are classics. ;)I read them in high school, a combination of always being in a library and not having money for books. I enjoyed them though. I think part of the reason was my grandmother shared with me her favorite old movies, many of which were based on classics. Actually my favorite classic book Jane Eyre also happens to be my favorite classic movie.
My favorites are: Emma and Persuasion by Jane Austen. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Alice's Adv in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. (Not on the list but I love Hunchback too). The Secret Garden. And my favorite from this list, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
I want to read: Dickens. I have read his A Christmas Story but I want to read A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, or Great Expectations. I've always wanted to read Conrad's Heart of Darkness. I would like to read Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.
Never say Never: Moby Dick by Melville. I *tried* to read this. Put it down and never returned. I hated it! But I won't say I'll never try again.
I've read many of these back in college, where I was an English major. I'll need to go through the list when I'm on a real computer at some point, but I remember particularly liking Anna Karenina. Dubliners is a collection of short stories and would likely be a great entry point to Irish lot classics. I loved it.
My English major dirty secret is that I am not a fan of the Austen-era British lit. I haven't read them if they were never assigned and struggled through the ones that were. I've been meaning to give Jane Eyre another try for years but can't bring myself to do it.
If you want a really comprehensive/overwhelming list, check this one: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...
Read in high school/college
Candide by Voltaire
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
The Divine Comedy Volume I: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Touched on, studied, or read an illustrated classic
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Odyssey by Homer
1984 by George Orwell
Read on my own
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
That covers this list. I just finished a re-read of Tale of Two Cities last week. I once tried Great Expectations but didn't get halfway. I'd like to try that again, and some other Dickens. I've been tempted to start Bleak House.
Steinbeck is an author I really like. I need to fully tackle Grapes of Wrath someday.
I've never tried Moby Dick and never really wanted to. But I did read Melville's "Bartleby the Scribner" and it's one of my favorite classic short stories.
Wow, Emily. That list is Hooooge.
Everyone's bound to find something they like! :)
I have a dirty secret to admit: I hate Austen and Austen era works. Refused to completely read Moby Dick (read only required sections and totally got kicked out of class for missing chunks. Well, we all did but one girl. Or what that a different book?)
I've tried Austen and the like, and while I do like her sense of humor I am just not interested in listening to a bunch of dumb girls bleat about finding husbands. I just can't relate to that.
1984 by George Orwell - abandonedThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - loved
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - abandoned and don't remember
The Divine Comedy Volume I: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri - never finished, will try again
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - abandoned
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - abandoned
A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Abandoned
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Meh (the horror, the horror!)
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville - abandoned
The Odyssey by Homer - enjoyed
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - meh
But where's Things Fall Apart? Invisible Man? To Kill A Mockingbird?
That's just he list they've made reading guides from, not a comprehensive list. Lots of great ones missing.
I've been thinking of trying some Twain. I read them as a kid in the form of illustrated classics, but those are heavily abridged.
MrsJoseph (taking back my data & giving GR the middle finger) wrote: "1984 by George Orwell - abandonedThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - loved
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - abandoned and don't remember
The Divine Comedy Volume I: The Infer..."
I think we are kindred spirits. Ha ha.
Chris wrote: "I've been thinking of trying some Twain. I read them as a kid in the form of illustrated classics, but those are heavily abridged."I enjoy Twain (well, the two I've read plus some other crap required in school, lol). Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were both good.
Emily wrote: "That's just he list they've made reading guides from, not a comprehensive list. Lots of great ones missing."^ Yeah, this. I mostly just linked the first list I found. ;)
Felina wrote: "MrsJoseph (taking back my data & giving GR the middle finger) wrote: "1984 by George Orwell - abandonedThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - loved
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharto..."
:-D
I have to admit, the first Twain I think of is Shania.
Chris wrote: "I have to admit, the first Twain I think of is Shania."lol
Read in School1984 by George Orwell - liked
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - liked
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - used cliff notes
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - never read, though I think we were supposed to
The Pearl by John Steinbeck - don't remember much about it
Read on My Own
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
~ both of these were read after the movies, and, honestly, I preferred the movies
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - I *tried* to read this one, but never got past a few chapters
Feel I Ought to Read
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Divine Comedy Volume I: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri (translated by Mark Musa)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - I've sen two movies, I feel I ought to read it
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - I think the musical might be good enough for me on this one
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Not No Way, Not No How
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Colleen wrote: "Not No Way, Not No HowMoby-Dick by Herman Melville
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy "
Agreed.
But my list of no way, no how is much longer, lol.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has absolutely no interest in Moby Dick!I do feel "guilt" (I'm not sure thats the correct term), for not reading (or paying much attention to) more Classic works.
They just really didn't interest me when I was in school, and I never really had to read the assigned books because all of my English/Language Arts teachers would talk about their favorites incessantly!! The problem there, however, is that I wouldn't remember anything after the tests.
MrsJoseph (taking back my data & giving GR the middle finger) wrote: "But my list of no way, no how is much longer, lol."There were quite a few on there I wasn't familiar with at all... only those two really jumped out at me.
I liked reading classics in high school. I think it was the discussions that drove me on. As an adult though, reading classics sounds like a good idea but then I go for it and I'm either bored or not as impressed as I thought I was going to be. I still pick one up from time to time though. This year I hope to read some of Twain's works and The Count of Monte Cristo.The only classics I won't touch are Russian lit. Anna Karenina, War and Peace...no thank you!
Nyssa wrote: "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has absolutely no interest in Moby Dick!I do feel "guilt" (I'm not sure thats the correct term), for not reading (or paying much attention to) more Classi..."
I feel no guilt. Sometimes I feel the need to read it but then I start and go "Oh! This is why I don't read this stuff." and I stop, lol.
I've done a lot of classes on iTunes U. They have a large selection of Lit classes and since all of it is free with no requirements. I listen when commuting (occasionally) but most recently I've been glomming "What You Missed in History Class."
I could add Anna Karenina to my not no how list...
Jackie, I see some buddy reading in our future.
Chris wrote: "Jackie, I see some buddy reading in our future.":)
Colleen wrote: "I could add Anna Karenina to my not no how list..."Stupid Oprah's Book Club suckered me into trying that one.
Colleen wrote: "I could add Anna Karenina to my not no how list..."Yep.
Jackie wrote: "Colleen wrote: "I could add Anna Karenina to my not no how list..."Stupid Oprah's Book Club suckered me into trying that one."
I tend to avoid anything Oprah approves. ;)
From that list I've Read1984 by George Orwell - Loved it!!!!
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - Good. I liked it better than Tom Sawyer.
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - I liked this. I plan on re-reading this before I read Through The Looking Glass
Frankenstein by Mary Wolstencraft Shelley - Loved it!!!
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I liked this. I read it 2X
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - This was good but overly long in sections. Good as a companon to the play, but not sure I like it by itself as much.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville - Long!!! Too many unnecessary chapters, in my opinion on whale carvings, the laws governing whaling, and knotmaking! Liked the story, though. I would like to re-read this but skipping non-story related chapters to see if I like it any better.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - Loved this book. Read 2X
The Pearl by John Steinbeck - Honestly, I read this in 7th grade and can't remember it. I hope to re-read this at some point.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - Loved it!!!
Siddartha by Herman Hesse - Very interesting. I read it recently when my son, Dylan read it for class last year. Not a great, action packed story, but it gives you a lot to think about.
From That List I Want To Read
Age of Innocence by Edith Warton
Agnes Grey by Ann Bronte
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Crime and Punishment by Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller
Dubliners by James Joyce
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Emma by Jane Austen
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Nectar in the Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
War and Peace by Leo Tolestoy
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
There are definitely a lot missing from that list! :(
Emily wrote: "I do love Count of Monte Cristo."Yes! That book was so good.
I'll do my list when in back at my PC, but... Am I the solitary Russian classics lover here?
There there, War and Peace, it's okay. I still love you. *pat pat*
There there, War and Peace, it's okay. I still love you. *pat pat*
Titania, War and Peace is one that I definitely want to read. :)
There are some classics I could be talked into but Russian Lit is not one of them. I'll leave that to you guys.
Emily wrote: "Nope, I really love Anna Karenina!"
Yay! We're not alone!
Anna Karenina is an all-time favourite of mine. It's funny that the book I'm reading right now is beginning to remind me of it in small ways.
Yay! We're not alone!
Anna Karenina is an all-time favourite of mine. It's funny that the book I'm reading right now is beginning to remind me of it in small ways.
Yeah? How about you and me and Jackie and Tom Sawyer?
Chris wrote: "Yeah? How about you and me and Jackie and Tom Sawyer?"
I'll get the cam--
Oh, wait. Right.
I'll get the cam--
Oh, wait. Right.
Chris wrote: "Yeah? How about you and me and Jackie and Tom Sawyer?"If you were talking to me then that would go against my New Years resolution. Ha ha.
Titiana - LOL!!And what are you currently reading?
Either/or/both. Lol I'm easy.
Flights of Fantasy
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This thread is inspired by the Penguin Classics Reading Guide link posted by Colleen in the Dec. 2013 "What are you reading?" thread. (Thank you Colleen)
Which of these classics have you read, would like to read, refuse to read, were encouraged/forced to read, assigned to read, tried to read and/or have never heard of before today?
Recommendations or Warnings welcome.
It is a very long list, use your discretion as to whether you would like to talk about a few, or more, or all.
Enjoy!