Classics: To Read or Not to Read...

[Becky]

I've never read Wuthering Heights so I've tried not to read any of the posts about it. It's on the "soooooon" list though. LOL

[whimsicalmeerkat]

Not a fan of Wuthering Heights. At all.

[Kathy]

Maybe we can do a Wuthering Heights buddy read at some point?

[[deleted user]]

I'd be happy to buddy read Wuthering Heights. I haven't read it since I was a teenager, and I'm hoping to spend more of this year on classics, including rereading a lot of the classics I read as a teen and have half-forgotten.

[Becky]

I'd be in for that.

[Lee]

I'd be up for that.

[Nyssa]

I guess I'd give it a go. Would it be before or after Mistborn?

[Becky]

Wait, I'm sorry. We're doing Mistborn?

[Becky]

I totally want to re-read those. :D

[Emily]

There had been talk of a Mistborn buddy read after Narnia.

[Kathy]

Whenever is good for you guys. I'm flexible. :)

[Nyssa]

I think we may need a buddy read suggestion / schedule / calendar / poll thingamabob.

[[deleted user]]

Nyssa wrote: "I think we may need a buddy read suggestion / schedule / calendar / poll thingamabob."

Good idea. Give me a few minutes to set something up. :)

[[deleted user]]

Okay, we now have an area for buddy reads and planning, so please find your way to the Be My Buddy thread to figure out when we'd like to tackle Wuthering Heights!

Same goes for those of you who'd like to plan Mistborn! :)

[Jackie]

Becky wrote: "I've never read Wuthering Heights so I've tried not to read any of the posts about it. It's on the "soooooon" list though. LOL"

I don't recall ever reading Wuthering Heights, but I read Wide Sargasso Sea in college. I think I used the cliff notes version of Wuthering Heights to compare the two during class. I would love to join in the buddy read whenever you guys decide to have one.

Btw, whenever someone mentions WH I think of Withering Heights, which is a cute cozy mystery. So if I ever type Withering Heights you know what I mean. :)

[Sinistmer]

What a fun thread! I agree with some previous posters--there are definitely some ones missing. One of my favorite classics, Catch 22, is not on there. I'm also really surprised Dracula isn't on there, especially since Frankenstein is.

Read:
1984 (on own, liked Animal Farm better. Still interesting though.)
Crime and Punishment (summer reading for class--I did not enjoy it. I think part of it was the edition I had, but I also had trouble with the story. My class helped me gain an appreciation for what the author was doing though.)
The Inferno (for class-actually got a kick out of this)
The Grapes of Wrath (summer reading for class--not a fan.)
Frankenstein (on own--I liked it okay.)
Jane Eyre (on own--it was..okay.)
Madame Bovary (class--it was not for me. I thought Flaubert went overboard trying to convey his message.)
The Odyssey (class--I loved it. I like stories where there is a journey involved)
Parts of the Orestiae
Pride and Prejudice (well, I had this read to me. I wasn't quite old enough to understand the humor, and I found it boring. I could not get into the fixation with getting married.)

Want to Read:

I have been thinking of trying more classical literature. I enjoy a lot of modern fiction, but I think I would do myself some favors. The problem is getting myself to think about it and then read it.

From the list:

-I have been toying with the idea of trying another Austen book. I have considered Emma, but would be open to other suggestions.

-I would consider getting in on the Wuthering Heights buddy reads. The online summary looks interesting.

-Candide by Voltaire--I've heard good things about it.

-I've also considered Tale of Genji off and on. I read Tale of Heike two years ago, and it was interesting. I think I would need a good annotated version of Genji though...

-Dickens--haven't read anything by him. Should change that. Suggestions from anyone?

Not on the list:
-The Importance of Being Earnest
-Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
-More Norse sagas
-Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
-Count of Monte Cristo (I got a huge kick out of Three Musketeers)

[[deleted user]]

Sinistmer, I'm going off of long-ago memories here, but I think Great Expectations might be a good first Dickens book. Unless you prefer to start with something short, in which case A Christmas Carol is the obvious choice. :) I think GE is the better book though. (I prefer versions of A Christmas Carol that have muppets in them. Yes, I'm a literary heretic.)

[Nyssa]

Titania wrote: "Sinistmer, I'm going off of long-ago memories here, but I think Great Expectations might be a good first Dickens book. Unless you prefer to start with something short, in which case A Christmas Car..."

Ditto on all counts.

[Chris , cookie guilt]

I tried Great Expectations some years ago and didn't make it through. I'll probably give it another go.

Tale of Two Cities I've now read twice. I'm looking at trying Oliver Twist in the near future.

[Sinistmer]

Titania wrote: "Sinistmer, I'm going off of long-ago memories here, but I think Great Expectations might be a good first Dickens book. Unless you prefer to start with something short, in which case A Christmas Car..."

Haha! I have seen the Mickey Mouse version.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

I didn't make it through Oliver Twist, although part of that was timing in life. I have heard great things about A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.

As for the list, I believe it's a list of Penguin guides rather than intended to be a comprehensive list of the classes.

[Lee]

I've tried to read Great Expectations twice but never made it through. I do want to read at least one Dickens in my lifetime. It seems wrong somehow to call myself a reader and I've never read him.

[Felina]

A Christmas Carol, Nienna! Short and awesome.

[Lee]

I think I have it too...

[Emily]

Anyone interested in reading some Holmes? Lord knows I consume enough popular culture Holmes and spin-off Holmes books - I think it's time I dug into the real thing.

[Nyssa]

Yes! But when?

[Felina]

Emily wrote: "Anyone interested in reading some Holmes? Lord knows I consume enough popular culture Holmes and spin-off Holmes books - I think it's time I dug into the real thing."

I would also be interested. I love all the Holmes things I've seen and have never read any if the cannon.

[Emily]

I'm totally open. I will likely not do Wuthering Heights, but also tend to read a lot so could probably squeeze them in no matter when, especially since they are shorter. I was thinking of starting with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes first short stories series as outlined here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_of... - but am open.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

[Nyssa]

Why not go in publication order, starting with A Study in Scarlett ?

[Emily]

Yup, sorry. Thought the short story pub date was a year earlier because I cannot read numbers.

[Felina]

Ha ha. I'll let you guys decide where to start. I don't care about that kind of thing. I'm Titania's nemesis.

[Emily]

I'm down with Study in Scarlet. When do you guys want to start? It's only 108 pages, so I could make it work whenever.

[Chris , cookie guilt]

New series?

You kill an old man.

[Nyssa]

*Shrug* I think I might be the only one who plans to do all of the buddy reads so far, except for Discworld.

[Emily]

I have a credit! And does it count as a series if its just the same main character and not really otherwise connected? Probably... Just looking for a loophole. I am a lawyer after all. :)

[Nyssa]

I was actually wondering the same thing...

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Emily wrote: "Anyone interested in reading some Holmes? Lord knows I consume enough popular culture Holmes and spin-off Holmes books - I think it's time I dug into the real thing."

I would be down... I have The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

[Nyssa]

Where did you get your copy Mrs. J?

[Emily]

I bought a complete set for the Kindle with some of the original illustrations for $2.99 - all four novels and the short stories. I know you can likely get them for free, but I pref to pay at least a little bit for good formatting and whatnot.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Nyssa wrote: "Where did you get your copy Mrs. J?"

Barns & Noble. My copy is actually this edition: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

I think my copy was $20? But it's leatherbound hardback and has that gold leafing on the page edges and a ribbon bookmark. It's very pretty (if a little impractical).

[Nyssa]

I have a copy that I apparently got for free, but I don't remember from where.

I saw this one The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Illustrated) on Amazon for $2.99 but there are complaints about its not being formatted well for the Kindle. I'll most likely just read the one I have, but illustrations would have been nice.

[Emily]

I got this one - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product?ASIN... - formatting looks good and high reviews.

[Nyssa]

Emily wrote: "I got this one - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product?ASIN... - formatting looks good and high reviews."

Thats the same one I linked..LOL So it does have a Table of Contents and the formatting looks good on the Kindle? Have you seen the illustrations as well?

[Nyssa]

MrsJoseph (taking back my data & giving GR the middle finger) wrote: "Nyssa wrote: "Where did you get your copy Mrs. J?"

Barns & Noble. My copy is actually this edition: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

I think my copy was $20? But it's leatherbound har..."

Sounds like it is quite beautiful! :)

[Emily]

It has a working TOC (you have to scroll backwards from where it opens to get to it). I tested a few. The illustrations look good on my iPad and the Paperwhite (color, so better on the iPad of course). I skimmed the first two pages and didn't see major issues. I haven't read it yet, so can't speak much further than that.

[Lee]

Nyssa wrote: "*Shrug* I think I might be the only one who plans to do all of the buddy reads so far, except for Discworld."

Me too. And I'm doing Discworld too. Sort of. :)

[Emily]

I might be able to be convinced on WH. We shall see. I plan to do the rest I think.

I feel like Sherlock is so short that I want to get to it sooner rather than later since I'm interested now. But I know it's almost time for the next Narnia. Thoughts?

[Lee]

And (it shouldn't be a surprise) I would be in for Sherlock Holmes as well. I was just thinking about reading some of the original stories before catching up on the Sherlock episodes I haven't watched yet.

[Nyssa]

Emily wrote: "It has a working TOC (you have to scroll backwards from where it opens to get to it). I tested a few. The illustrations look good on my iPad and the Paperwhite (color, so better on the iPad of cour..."

No, what you said helps...Thanks.

So when you say "Scroll Backwards", If I choose "Go To", will the ToC page show up under the options?

[Emily]

Yes, it does show up if you do that.