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Classics: Shall We or Shall We Not?
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I'm down for that too! And thanks for the clothbound link ;).
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You all are so flexible! And here I am still making changes haha. I've spent the week researching books working to come up with a final list. In my internet travels I learned Danielle Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter) is staring in Victor Frankenstein coming to theaters October 3rd.
How would we feel about a classic gothic just in time for Halloween instead of The Jungle Book?
Allyson, I'm willing to bet you're read it. :) What do you think? Is it too scary? I don't typically do grossies or scaries ;) but I think a talking snake (a.k.a. Cate Blanchett) freaks me out just as much haha.
A little history on Frankenstein via Wiki, because Mary Shelley is boss!...Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, and John Polidori decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. Guess who won?! :) Who run the world? #Girls haha. I just love that!
Frankenstein is a great read and perfect for Halloween. Not too scary! ;-)
Mod
Frankenstein is brilliant and not at all scary. Unlike the movies and lore that have followed, it is a book about how far should humanity go in trying to "be" God. I have read it for pleasure and have taught it. There is so much there to think about and discuss.
I won't do well with a talking snake, either!
Allyson you totally just sold me on Frankenstein! I enjoy horror when I'm in the mood for it but for some reason never read it or watched the movies (usually I get my horror fix from Stephen King). But as an aspiring doctor there is such a HUGE debate on how far to take science & at what point does it cross into an immoral territory! I never knew the theme of Frankenstein and now I'm beyond intrigued as I just thought it was a monster story. LOVE how classics can be intriguing and relevant WAY later!! :)
Brandi, I am so pleased! And yes, it is amazingly relevant with all that goes on in science and medicine.
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Yes, yes, yes! I love where this is going is going. The classics are such imperative reads and whenever I step out of my reading comfort zone I'm always surprised and left with lessons I didn't see coming.
As an example, last year I read Me Before You and ended up contemplating the debate around assisted suicide for weeks.
Brandi,
My aspiring doc, you might enjoy that one as well. But wait for the movie, because it comes out in 2016 and we know it's already on my list ;)
Allyson,
I didn't know you taught lit, that's wonderful! Where did you teach? Also, what do you think of moderating our classics discussions this year? No pressure, of course, but I know we'd love to have our resident literati teach us a thing or two.
So is our final list for 2015:Vanity fair Jan-mar
Far from the madding crowd apr-June
Frankenstein July-sept
Inferno Oct-dec
???
Mod
Mod
Hello Everyone,I super excited to join this book club and I am a hugh fan of the classics looking forward to reading Vanity fair!
Mod
Future classic thoughts: Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. This book truly changed my life. I will write more about it later from my computer. I thought of it because there is a film adaptation coming out this year (I am beyond excited!).
Mod
Hi. No, I do not know about its release in the US. I only know that it's slated for 2015 in England. If we don't get it here, I will have a fit!There is a tremendous BBC series that was on Masterpiece Theatre in the early 1980s, which is where I first learned of this book and story.
Just wondering do we read any religious fiction here? One of my Favorites is The Shack.
Mod
We don't have an religious fiction on the schedule for 2015, but I wouldn't rule it out for the future. The Shack is one of my all-time fav books (top 10)! I really want to read all of Francine Rivers and Anne Rice's Bible-inspired works.
Jane Austen's novels, the Picture of Dorian Gray, War and Peace, Crime and Punishments, Dracula, Around the World in 80 Days, Little Women, The Beautiful and Damned, The Idiot, Anna Karenina,The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Don Quixote... I could go on! Almost all of these books are available for free on amazon, and I went a little download crazy one day! These have been sitting in my to-read list for a number of years.
Classics are classics for a reason--I say go for it! My advice would be, though, to pick one that's UNDER a certain amount of pages. Classics CAN be a tough thing to get through, and the longer they are, the more likely folks are to fall by the wayside. A few suggestions: "My Antonia" by Willa Cather, "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, and "The Dead" by James Joyce.
I love "The Dead" but would suggest all of THE DUBLINERS stories if we someday go that route. Cather and Chopin are great suggestions, too. I also love Cather's DEATH COMES TO THE ARCHBISHOP, though when I recommended it to my book group ("bricks and mortar" type, not this grand group here!), many disliked it. No accounting for taste. ;-)
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Paper & Glam Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Me Before You (other topics)Frankenstein (other topics)
Jane Austen's England (other topics)
At Home with Jane Austen (other topics)
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What do we think about replacing The Great Gatsby with The Jungle Book in the fall. The Jungle Book releases to theaters October 9th and it's got an all-star cast!
For the Clothbound Classic collectors, here's the book coming out in May: http://goo.gl/WHChJP