Sarah's Classics Challenge

[Sarah]

That sounds tempting!

[Tytti]

Dirty Havana Trilogy

[Sarah]

That looks like a pretty fascinating book. I'm not sure it's for me, though.

[Tytti]

No, probably not for everyone, it's quite long, too. But I am interested in it because it sounds like there is a real reason for why it's been banned. Those are rare.

[Sarah]

That's true. It's not all "Harry Potter makes children interested in witchcraft" stupidity.

This one does look fascinating.

[Sarah]

I finally finished my first! For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Four stars. I really enjoyed this book.

[Pink]

Glad you enjoyed your first book, I haven't read that one, but I've enjoyed most of the Hemingway that I have read.

[Sarah]

Thanks. It was really great and I'm so glad I finally read it.

[Kent]

FWtBT is my favorite Hemingway. If you haven't read it you should!

[Aleta]

I've been wanting to read that for ages. I really enjoy Hemingway's writing style and just finished my second, A Farewell to Arms, in December. Great that your first book from the list turned out to be a good one :)

[Sarah]

Yes, it's very encouraging to have a good book first. I struggled with the writing style at first because it's odd. But then it ended up fitting the story perfectly.

[Aleta]

I know what you mean. Sometimes I think it's the deceptive simplicity of it that sometimes confuse, especially when first encountering it. It also makes his dialogues feel much more believable as they aren't always saying the right thing or profound things.
I also really love how he's so realistic, yet not that depressing. Most realistic writers tend to forget that there is humour and good laughs even when times aren't all paradisiacal, but Hemingway never does.

[Sarah]

There was one point where I burst out laughing and it resolved some frustration I had. It was great.

[Sarah]

I finished Madame Bovary! I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it since it was such a slow start. Excellent writing.

Now I've finished one on 2/4 and one on 4/2. Maybe I can come up with some other crazy combos :)

[Laurie]

I'm glad to see that you enjoyed MB. I want to read it this year for my banned book for bingo.

[Sarah]

Oh, that would be a good one for it. If you decide to read it keep in mind that the first half is pretty slow.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

I'd like to read MB, but I'm not sure when that will happen.

[Sarah]

It's pretty short but it took me forever to read. I think I was averaging about 40 pages per hour. I couldn't tell how much was the text and how much was my wandering attention.

[Laurie]

So many classics start slow and it's hard not to give up. I am currently 164 pages into Middlemarch out of 881. Slow isn't a descriptive enough word for the beginning. I will keep on but it may take weeks.

[Sarah]

Ouch. I have to read that later this year. It's good to know ahead of time. Good luck.

[Pink]

I had the same problem with Madame Bovary, I was so bored during the first 100 pages and kept complaining, but a friend on here told me to keep reading, so I did. In the end I thought it was fantastic!

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Laurie wrote: "So many classics start slow and it's hard not to give up. I am currently 164 pages into Middlemarch out of 881. Slow isn't a descriptive enough word for the beginning. I will keep on but it may ta..."

Sorry to hear this, it's a book I hope to read someday. Hope it gets better.

[Pink]

Laurie, I listened to this on audiobook last year, narrated by Juliet Stevenson and think that really helped me, it ended up being a 5 star read for me.

[April]

In my twenties and thirties I used to reread MB every couple of years. It's a great novel. On the other hand, I hated every page of Middlemarch. I don't think the fault was entirely (or even very much) on George Eliot's side.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

April, I liked Middlemarch but I am struggling with Daniel Deronda--also by Eliot, a selection for another group where I'm active here at GR.

DD is a harder read than MM. I feel as if I should reread certain parts of DD to facilitate understanding of what I am reading, but as I have several books to read for this month, I don't think that I'll have time.

[Christine]

Pink wrote: "Laurie, I listened to this on audiobook last year, narrated by Juliet Stevenson and think that really helped me, it ended up being a 5 star read for me."

I have loved everything I've listened to that was narrated by Juliet Stevenson! She is excellent.

[Sarah]

Finished my third, Catch-22. I really enjoyed it but I had trouble with the non-linear timeline. I also had trouble keeping track of who was who. I think all of that was the point of the novel, but I also feel that rereading would enlighten me a little more each time. Plus, I bought the audiobook that's narrated by Jay O. Sanders and I didn't get to use it!!! That's justification enough for a future reread.

[Kent]

I listened to that audiobook last year. It was really good. It deserves its turn. ;)

[Sarah]

I'm so jealous! I really wanted to listen to it but I was actually so confused at the start that I wasn't totally comfortable with switching. I need to listen to it though. It's too good to pass up. I love Jay O. Sanders.

[[deleted user]]

1984 is good novel , i will start next week

[Sarah]

Conveniently for me The Moonstone was on my list. So I've now finished number four, and curiously, I've rated all of them at four stars.

[Sarah]

Yes, if all my reads were four stars I would be one seriously lucky woman! I'm reading The Beautiful and Damned next, which i don't have very high hopes for. I'll be happy with three stars for that one.

[April]

Sarah wrote: "Yes, if all my reads were four stars I would be one seriously lucky woman! I'm reading The Beautiful and Damned next, which i don't have very high hopes for. I'll be happy with three stars for that..."

I read The Beautiful and the Damned last month and found it hard going. It didn't do what I expected it to do at all. Ultimately I found it a bit depressing, so I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I don't regret the time and effort I put into it.

[Sarah]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to it, I just haven't heard great things about it. Some things are still worth reading, though!

[Alissa]

Sarah wrote: "Thanks. I'm looking forward to it, I just haven't heard great things about it. Some things are still worth reading, though!"

Hope you like it! Even if a book stinks (which I hate when that happens), I always look at it as "well, at least I know... and it's one less book on my TBR" ;-)

[Sarah]

Exactly :)

[Pink]

Sarah wrote: "Thanks. I'm looking forward to it, I just haven't heard great things about it. Some things are still worth reading, though!"

Agreed. I read The Beautiful and Damned recently as well, it took me quite a while to get into as it is slow going and very bleak, but I really appreciated it by the end, definitely worth reading.

[Sarah]

Oh, good! I've heard it's boring and there's nothing even worth a discussion. I'm reading and discussing it with a friend. Thanks for the input, I'm looking forward to it more now.

[Sarah]

I finished The Beautiful and Damned, and to my utter shock, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I was extremely impressed with his descriptions and the perception into the Patch's family. I suppose Fitzgerald isn't for everyone, but I loved this one and enjoyed The Great Gatsby. I think this was better than Gatsby though.

[Pink]

Haha, glad you enjoyed it so much, I found it a pleasant surprise too. I read and loved Gatsby years ago, but haven't read it since. I've been working through Fitzgerald's other books and short stories and The Beautiful and Damned has been my favourite so far.

[Sarah]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! :) I was really surprised because I had heard it was just mediocre.

[Duane]

Your list has some of the great classics. Just read The Woman in White, it was good.

[Sarah]

Oh, that's good to hear. I'm reading that one last I think. These are mostly ones I've wanted to read for a really long time and haven't gotten to.

[Amanda]

Have you decided when are going to be reading Foucault's Pendulum? I really want to read that but am super intimidated by it. Are you interested in a buddy on that one?

[Sarah]

Ami and I are reading it. The set dates are 7/15-8/15. You can join us if you'd like. Or we could discuss it in our buddy reads group and I could discuss it with Ami separately. We could also check with Nathan from the buddy reads group. He wants to read it and he might want to join in. I would love to have you. I'm excited about that book.

[Amanda]

Those dates work for me. I'm happy to discuss it with whoever wants to and wherever works best for you. I've had that one on my radar for a few years but something about it is intimidating!

[Desertorum]

I still have Foucault´s Pendulum to read in this challenge as well!

[Sarah]

Would you like to read it with us? There could be anywhere from two to six participating.

[Desertorum]

Yes it would be fun, if I just get the book by then! Thanks :)

[Nathan]

I would like to join you in reading Foucault's Pendulum if that's okay.