Gergana's 2015 Old and New classics challenge

[Gergana]

Ok, so that's my list! I'm not quite sure I can read all those books, but lets keep our fingers crossed.
Old School
1.Crime and Punishment 1866 Finished-23.01.15
2.Middlemarch 1874
3.Vanity Fair 1848Finished-24.01.15

New School
4.Brave New World 1932
5.To the Lighthouse 1928
6.East of Eden 1952

Random School
7.The Name of the Rose 1980 Finished-24.01.15
8.Don Quixote 1605
9.The Pilgrim's Progress 1678
10.Revolutionary Road 1961
11.The Shadow of the Wind 2001
12.The Bronze Horseman 2001

Sunsitudes
1.The Scarlet Letter 1850 Finished 05.03.15
2.The Warden 1855

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

I read Middlemarch before I joined GR and I really liked it. I highly recco.

I read Crime and Punishment this year with this group. It was an interesting book.

[Sarah]

Nice list. I'm doing The Name of the Rose as well. I really liked Don Quixote. I'm very curious about Middlemarch at this point.

[Sarah]

Crime and Punishment seems a bit difficult.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

I found Crime and Punishment difficult because there were aspects that were hard to understand.

[Gergana]

I'm mainly reading Crime and Punishment out of stubbornness, because everybody have been telling me "You are waaaayy too young to read this book." And I just don't like it when people judge me by my age.
I also read the first chapter of "The name of the rose" and though it seemed a bit slow I'm intrigued.
As for "Don Quixote" I'm supposed to read it for school in the summer of 2015, so I though "Why not?".

[Tytti]

How old are you then, Gergana? I read Uncle Tom's Cabin when I was about 12, and I'm not sure would it have been better if I were a bit older. Maybe I would have found it just as boring anyway. I've seen C&P as a play, went to see it with my school.

I also remember starting The Name of the Rose as a teenager, I think, but at the time I was better at starting books than finishing them...

[Gergana]

Tytti wrote: "How old are you then, Gergana?"

I'm 15. And yeah I know that I am young, but I have already read (and hopefully understood) some Russian classics (War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov etc.) so I'm hoping this one won't be much harder.
Is Uncle Tom's cabin boring? I haven't read it yet and a classmate was strongly recommending it the other day.

[April]

There are some things in your list that I want to read - To the Lighthouse, Vanity Fair, Crime and Punishment and Don Quixote. There are some that I'd like to reread, like Name of the Rose.

Many years ago I struggled through Middlemarch and hated it. It was about the same time as I was reading a lot of nineteenth century literature and enjoying it, so I don't think I was too young. I hope you have a better experience with it.

[Gergana]

April wrote: "There are some things in your list that I want to read - To the Lighthouse, Vanity Fair, Crime and Punishment and Don Quixote. There are some that I'd like to reread, like Name of the Rose.

Many ..."
I hope so too, April. I tend to enjoy 19th century literature. I have read almost everything by the Bronte sisters, but haven't tried George Elliot yet.
My aunth is the biggest Virginia Woolf fan and so after reading Mrs. Dalloway and The waves, I thought I would give one of her best known novels a try.

[Tytti]

Gergana wrote: "I'm 15. And yeah I know that I am young, but I have already read (and hopefully understood) some Russian classics (War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The B..."

Well I don't think you are too young, though I don't find Anna Karenina to be that difficult, either. And I read also Gone with the Wind when I was 12 so I don't really believe in age limits.

The Gabin was for me, I might have stopped reading it but I had chosen it for my book report. I don't remember too much about it so it's hard to say more. It might be one of those books that were important at the time and historically but are not that great literature. Though my translation might have been old, too.

[Sarah]

Uncle Tom's Cabin bored me to tears. I only made it about halfway. I never even got to Simon Legree.

[Katerina]

Gergana wrote: "Tytti wrote: "How old are you then, Gergana?"

I'm 15. And yeah I know that I am young, but I have already read (and hopefully understood) some Russian classics (War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The B..."

I read Anna Karenina in high school. It is the book that hooked me on the classics. I am still partial to Russian novels. I really enjoyed the Name of the Rose too. It is one of my all-time favorites although I haven't re-read it recently. I have heard that Pilgrim's Progress can be difficult, but I enjoyed Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English. There are a couple others on your list I'll be interested to see how you like.

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

You have created an excellent list of books for this challenge. Based on your comments I agree that your age is not a factor for the reading you have selected. From your list I have read four books. The two I enjoyed most are Brave New World and The Shadow of the Wind, both are terrific. I also enjoyed Woolf's, To the Lighthouse, but found Vanity Fair lacking, can't put my finger on why, boring seems to be my best memory. Happy reading!

[Desertorum]

I also try to read Crime and Punishment!

And I really love Name of the Rose (I think I read it somewhere around your age) :)

[Amanda]

Great list! I read Infinite Jest this year and it turned out to be an all time favorite. I also listened to the audio of Middlemarch which was fantastic. All of the others on your list I want to read.

[Pink]

What a great list! I'm reading numbers 5, 8 and 9 this year as well

I agree Middlemarch is great :)

[Sarah]

Middlemarch has gotten so much attention that I put it on my personal challenge for the year. I'm very curious.

[Gergana]

I have been in a reading slump of sorts, so I haven't read any of the books yet! I have started "Crime and punishment" and "The name of the rose" though and both are quite good.

[Julie]

Great list Gergana, several of them on my TBR and several I have read. I really enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind, and is currently reading it's 'sequel' The Angel's Game for my own challenge :-)

[Gergana]

Finished "Crime and punishment"! It was bizarre and yet so intresting.

[Pink]

Well done on finishing your first book...I really need to tackle some bigger books soon!

[Gergana]

Finished "Vanity fair"! I absolutely loved it. In some strange and twisted way I both hated and related to the main heroine.