Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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Lena
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Oct 15, 2016 01:20PM
Wow 2000. That's a lot even if you were obsessed with short stories.
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I set a nice low obtainable goal. I can't speed read and I take breaks from reading in between books. How dare I join goodreads lol
Wreade1872 wrote: "I have to wonder whether its many people being overly optimistic or whether its just one person who pledged to read like 90 million or something :P ."Haha, now you've got me wondering if there's a limit on how many books we can set our challenges to...
Kim wrote: "Haha, now you've got me wondering if there's a limit on how many books we can set our challenges to... ..."I lurk, off and on in the official Feedback group, and this came up one time.
They probably did instate some sort of limit. The first year, several people pledged ridiculously high numbers - so much so that the average number of books pledged per participant was in the millions.
But I'm sure the limit is pretty high. I remember one of the staff giving the example that if someone were a children's librarian, they'd have a legitimate reason to read a couple thousand books per year.
Melanti wrote: "The first year, several people pledged ridiculously high numbers - so much so that the average number of books pledged per participant was in the millions."Oh, wow. That's annoying. People spoiling it for the rest of us... It's more fun to see honest targets and how many people can actually meet their goals.
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Until then, assuming it wins the poll, I'll try and find time to read it and see if I can learn what all the fuss is about.
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Now as "empty nesters" I won't be doing a reread.
On the other hand, all three top books in the Old School Poll are fabulous choices.
Well, only the first three fit the time requirements for the new school category, so there's that. But I think the appeal may last well into the future. The youngsters in my family, even the ones as young as 6 and 7, are big Harry Potter fans. And I think J.K. Rowling is going to do her best to keep the phenomenon going.
I tend to disagree. This year I made a point to read quality books for my kids and have come up with quite a list. Yet when I was writing a review for one of the books my oldest daughter pointed out that I can't possibly give it 5 stars. Her reasoning-- it doesn't matter how good a book is, nothing will ever be as good as Harry Potter. We are a multigenerational HP family. My older two kids have read the series twice already and the younger two are in the middle of it. True it isn't so enduring yet because it's only 19 years old; however, when I compare it to some of the books I read as a kid-- Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary-- I keep thinking I wish HP was around when I was 8 rather than college age. I am pretty certain people will still be thinking this way when the series turns 30 then 40 years old.
I'm re-reading the whole series right now and just finished book four. The first three are a little on the episodic side for my taste, but the series gets really strong as it goes on. I think Harry Potter will absolutely stand the test of time. Both kids and adults will be reading it in fifty years.Rowling is one of the best storytellers writing today. Mostly, my opinion is based on the skill she shows in her other work like The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo's Calling. I can't wait to see which direction she chooses to go with the rest of her career.
Brina wrote: "I tend to disagree. This year I made a point to read quality books for my kids and have come up with quite a list. Yet when I was writing a review for one of the books my oldest daughter pointed ou..."I think HP will endure, but it will lose a bit of its shine, and IMHO already has. And I think HP will end up like a slightly lukewarm beloved classic. Indifferent classic. A bit like Alice in Wonderland. Not exactly like Alice but close.
Nathan because the event at the end of book 4 changes the direction of the series and makes books 5-7 an epic rather than episodes. I'm sure these books will last and I too wonder where J K is going with her career. She certainly doesn't need the money.
Bob wrote: "It looks like Harry Potter will be the New School Classics runaway winner this month. Having not read it, I can’t comment on the books quality. Don't hate me, but personally I think that at 19 year..."I can understand your view on this one. Me on the other hand can see it easily becoming a classic (if the classification is that it will endure time). Maybe the quality of the writing is not on the level of some other classics. But in the category of children´s classic (but veri suitable for adults like myself ;) ) I think the basic elements are there; friendship, coming-of-age, growing, learning, heroism, loyalty etc. And it brought a new kind of world (which is hint that could be around you) which is at the same time hilarious and serious.
Even though 19 years is nothing to compare many classics, it´s pretty well for a youngster book in this time where everything changes very quickly. But we will see :)
I think HP will definately endure. Maybe I'm biased because I literally grew up with the books and the movies but I think my generation, who love it so much will read it to their children or encourage them to read it and hopefully the cycle will continue from there. Like Enid Blyton - I don't suppose there's many people who haven't read at least one of her book series as a child and I read them because my mum said they were the books of her childhood. Also the reason I read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. They may not be "classics" in the sense of Dickens and Austen are but they are classics of childhood fiction in my opinion.
Bob wrote: "It looks like Harry Potter will be the New School Classics runaway winner this month. Having not read it, I can’t comment on the books quality. Don't hate me, but personally I think that at 19 year..."Well, it's probably less of a fad than, say, Twilight and it affected more than one generation (adults were/are obsessed too) but I agree.
I think right now that people think of the experience surrounding Harry Potter as much as they think of the books themselves. And, yeah, it's probably going to take another 10-20 years for people who didn't grow up during all the hoopla to start reading the books and be able to judge it for the books alone.
Hailee wrote: "Like Enid Blyton - I don't suppose there's many people who haven't read at least one of her book series as a child and I read them because my mum said they were the books of her childhood."Enid Blyton is one who was slightly marginalized by reviews, and grownups bemoaning the dip in quality of children's books. I don't know how related Blyton is to Rowling. They are different, their books more so, and the latter's popularity even more diverging.
Another idea-- could it be that HP is running away with the vote because it is easy reading for the holiday season. In a different group that I moderate I purposely chose books I already read this month because I am busy with my holidays and have no time to read something new. A 500-600 page book may seem daunting but a children's classic that can be read in a few hours is a fun break.
I do think it may last.But nowadays there is a lot more choice to read from, so you can never tell...And I do love it a lot and I hope my children will too..I had like to share it with them
And I agree with Nathan.Her Galbraith books areare really good.
Like Luffy said it may be a fondly remembered book.
And I loved Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew and Hardy boys for the same reason.My mom and aunts loved it.
But , yeah ,we will see
I never read HP. My older son read them as soon as they came out. My younger son didn't read them until after age 20. At 25 he now says his daughter will not see one of the movies until she ahs read the books. :)
I agree 100% with Bob, especially about the Trolls, Pet Rocks and Mood Rings! :)I've never read any of the Harry Potter books. Never saw any of the movies. I just wasn't interested and to be honest I'm still not really interested but, like Bob, I may read the first book, if it wins, just to see what all the fuss is about and I also agree that these books will not go down as great literary works such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice.
Wow! The HP books have hit that generation! Where did the time go?
Loretta wrote: "I also agree that these books will not go down as great literary works such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice. ..."That's not really a fair comparison, though, since you're trying to compare a series with the first book written for 11 year olds to adult novels.
You'd want to compare it to, say Kidnapped (in the top 3 for Old School right now )- or White Fang (New School runner up at the moment) or one of the other Children's classics.
Kidnapped is considered a Classic by most people, but I doubt many would put it in the same ballpark as Wuthering Heights or Austen's books.
Melanti wrote: "Loretta wrote: "I also agree that these books will not go down as great literary works such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice. ..."That's not really a fair comparison, though, since yo..."
Sorry. I don't agree. The point I was trying to make is that, to me, the Harry Potter books will never go down as literary masterpieces, like the books I mentioned or the books Bob mentioned. That's all and I'm certainly entitled to my opinion Melanti.
Loretta wrote: "I may read the first book, if it wins, just to see what all the fuss is about"Ooh read the first book by all means, but please don't judge the HP series on that book alone. HP doesn't really start to earn its epic reputation until book 3 or 4 onwards IMHO. The beginning books are fun to be sure but I tend to think of the whole series as one serialized novel. The first few are really only an introduction to the awesomeness to come :-)
If you do read the first one just remember it gets soooo much better as the novels go on.
It's when you have finished the latter books that you really appreciate the scale of Rowling's creation - little insignificant mention in the first book can come back five books later and change the course of the plot. It is truely amazing... LOL fangirling gush over.
Loretta I have read the series at least 10 times probably more. Books 5-7 are more epic in scope and have more literary appeal. Books 1-4 are great stories and geared toward kids but fun for the whole family. I would compare to a classic kids book as opposed to a classic adult book and see if in 30 or more years people are still reading it. My guess is yes due to the movies and dearth of fan fiction plus Pottermore site on line. I got my mother to read the first book. Her opinion is more like what I'm guessing yours (Loretta ;) ) would be-- it is a good story for kids but as she is not a huge fan of sci go and fantasy she does not see what all the hype is about. Even if you do not rate HP with more timeless classics the first book should only take a few hours and is worth the read.
I have just been reading the whole thread since Harry Potter was brought up and everybody has such different views on whether this is, or will be, a classic. As I said before I am biased and I really hope that it does endure because I want children to feel the same joy I felt as a child when I was waiting outside in the rain ten minutes before midnight and but so friggin' happy because there was a new HP book about to be released that would keep me up all night. But if it doesn't endure then I'm sure there will be another author who will create something wonderful for the next generation.
Some people just won't like Harry Potter (whether its a generational thing or just personal taste) and thats ok but they played such a huge part in my childhood and I love them for it and that makes them a classic to me.
Loretta , Bob and others who are thinking of giving HP a try..do try to read the whole series 1-7, if you can.I hope you like it or at least understand why we like it so much.I liked how Desertorum summed it up.
I still can't help laughing when i read the part of letters floodibg in , the hut and the first time Harry meets Hagrid... So sweet...
Hailee wrote: "I have just been reading the whole thread since Harry Potter was brought up and everybody has such different views on whether this is a classic. As I said before I am biased and I really hope tha..."
Beautifully said Hailee.I hope it endures too.And I hope I can share it with the next generation...
If it doesn't , it doesn't.But it will be a classic to me.
Like Enid Blyton,
Over the course of the HP series the story and the writing seem to age with the characters (and I assume with the original intended audience.) As mentioned it becomes more epic in scope as opposed to just cute stories. It also becomes darker. As several people have mentioned you really can't judge it by the first book at all. I'm also not sure you can judge it strictly on popularity with the next generation. How many children read Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, or Alice in Wonderland now? I think a closer comparison though might be The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, although admittedly without the Christian symbolism. It's still a great good vs. evil epic by the end.
Susan wrote: "Over the course of the HP series the story and the writing seem to age with the characters (and I assume with the original intended audience.) As mentioned it becomes more epic in scope as opposed ..."That's very well explained. That's the message I was trying to get across but you said it so much better :-)
Hailee wrote: "I have just been reading the whole thread since Harry Potter was brought up and everybody has such different views on whether this is, or will be, a classic."You make an excellent point too Hailee - not everyone will like HP because of the genre. I love it, read (and reread) it as an adult, but I like fantasy. (And I might as well confess, I have no children or grandchildren to read it to. But at least that means I didn't have to stand in line late at night.:) )
It don't generally like fantasy. I liked it as an adult because of the good v evil motif and because it's contemporary. Interestingly enough I have tried to read Lord of the Rings-- which is a time tested classic--- many times and I can't get into it at all, book or movie. Shows how we all bring unique opinions to this group :)
Brina wrote: "It don't generally like fantasy. I liked it as an adult because of the good v evil motif and because it's contemporary. Interestingly enough I have tried to read Lord of the Rings-- which is a time..."A unique opinion is a great assest. After all if we all liked the same books and thought the same things about them what would be the point in joining a book group? I could just say to myself "Ooh what do you think of this book? ... really that's interesting, well everyone else is bound to think that as well so I won't bother mentioning it..." That'd be a boring conversation to have with myself time and time again. I'd be sick of the sound of my own voice :-D
I remember reading the first Harry Potter with my kids and then took them to the movie. It was amazing. I won't forget that experience. The first one is almost exactly like the book which is so rare.
Sherry agreed. After the first three movies, there is a lot left out. The first one was perfect.
I suppose that's the downside of the books getting longer. The films couldn't get longer so more and more got cut out. It's a shame the film franchise didn't have the idea of splitting one book into two films before Deathly Hallows. Books 4-6 could have really benefitted.
I was already an adult but wasn't that old when I tried to read the first HP but it just couldn't interest me. Since then I have tried to watch the movies but even they bore me. One problem is that I didn't like how Draco Malfoy is portrayed, as I don't like characters who are nothing but evil and then of course the good guys are always so good, maybe just with little faults. I always find that "black and white" thing boring.
Bob wrote: "It looks like Harry Potter will be the New School Classics runaway winner this month. Having not read it, I can’t comment on the books quality. Don't hate me, but personally I think that at 19 year..."Every group I know that reads classics struggles with the definition of a classic. I happen to agree with you that it's early to know, but I will say that he was adored by younger readers when the books first came out, and my 10 year old grandchildren have devoured all seven books at least once and are working through them again. So that's two generations who love the books. So I think they've got a good chance to become classics, at least in the children's genre (I know many fewer adults who are reading them, though the vote here may make me rethink that). I read several just to see what the fuss was about, but never felt any compulsion to finish the set, though they're all there on our bookshelves (the grandkids have their own copies).
Brina wrote: "Her reasoning-- it doesn't matter how good a book is, nothing will ever be as good as Harry Potter."I feel the same way about giving 5 stars to children's books, except that my standard isn't Harry Potter but Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazon series. Nothing written for children is or ever will be as good as those! (And they qualify as classics, since they were written in the 30s, and are still in print and selling well, at least in England.)
Melanti wrote: "I think right now that people think of the experience surrounding Harry Potter as much as they think of the books themselves. "I think that's a good point, though if the books hadn't made the characters and accessories so compelling it would be different. But yes, it has huge marketing power, and that keeps it in the public eye.
Somewhat like the Lone Ranger of my generation. The comics and movies weren't that compelling, but we all had to have our Lone Ranger guns and masks and go around yelling "HI YO, Silver, AWAY!!!!!"
According to Wikipedia the only books that have sold more than 100 million copies are:Don Quixote
A Tale of Two Cities
The Alchemist
The Little Prince
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The Hobbit
And Then There Were None
Dream of the Red Chamber
Alice in Wonderland
So Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has sold 7 million more copies than The Hobbit and 22 million more copies than The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, despite the fact that those books were published 60 and 47 years earlier respectively.
According to the same Wikipedia article Harry Potter is the number one best selling series of all time.
I have never heard of Dream of the Red Chamber. Has anybody else? Is it that good??(I've read all the others except the Alchemist.)
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The Dream of the Red Chamber.
Looks like a couple of more books that I need to read.
Everyman wrote: "I have never heard of Dream of the Red Chamber. Has anybody else? Is it that good??(I've read all the others except the Alchemist.)"
I haven't heard of it, but with so many copies sold, perhaps I should find out what all the fuss is about.
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The Dream of the Red Chamber is one of China's four iconic classic novels, on par with War and Peace in the West. And in English, it is a 2,500 page novel so it truly is a monster to tackle. I may have to try it someday since it is considered such a masterpiece.
The Dream of the Red Chamber is on YouTube in audiobook form https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yGSs8VH...
Five more days until the end of holiday season and then I can read more than 1 book a week again. So excited.
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