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Classics for Beginners discussion
Introductions
Hey there. My name is Rachael and I live in Massachusetts. I'm a junior in high school and I love reading, regardless of the genre. Classics have always been my favorite. I suppose my favorite one would have to be 1984 by George Orwell. I'm reading Grapes of Wrath right now! (: I love the recommendations here.
Hi, I'm Hyunghwan from Seoul, Korea. I'm quite familiar with titles of classic books. But, only the titles, I've never fully appreciated their contents. So, I made a new year's resolution this year to read classics and just finished 'The stranger' by Camus last week. Hope I can continue and share my experience here.
Hello Cass, Rachel and Hyunghwan, I am so pleased that you are all inspired to read classics.
Hi! I'm Sami - very new to classics. I'm looking forward to reading Mrs Dalloway with this group :)
Hiya Sami! Enjoy Mrs Dalloway, though I hear it isn't the easiest read, so if you don't like it, don't be put off classics. :)
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Hi! I'm Sarah Grace and I'm somewhat new to the classics. So far my favorites are, well i dont think i have a favorite. I really like the Jane Austen novels, Bronte Sisters (ADORE JANE EYRE), Elizabeth Gaskell, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyal. Right now I'm reading the Forsyte Saga!!
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Hey there, my name is Alex, I'm 16 and I'm from Germany, which is why my grammar is a complete mess sometimes - sorry in advance! I haven't read that many classics, although I'm very interested in them. At the moment, I'm in some kind of on-and-off-relationship with Macbeth, although I'll have to read it in school soon anyway. I have just recently purchased my first kindle and because so many great classics are free on there I guess it will help me read more of the a lot. When I started reading Pride And Prejudice about 2 years ago, I absolutely hated it but I am more than willing to give it another try some day. Other than that I love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and especially E.A. Poe to death. Nice to be here :)
Alex wrote: "Hey there, my name is Alex, I'm 16 and I'm from Germany, which is why my grammar is a complete mess sometimes - sorry in advance! I haven't read that many classics, although I'm very interested in ..."Welcome, Alex. :) Wow - good on you for reading your coursework before you actually have to! I read Macbeth in high school and I found it to be one of the better plays (or at least one of the most interesting, theatrically).
Hi, nicolle, I'm daisy, from china and i am a new here.I like reading books, but i haven't read many in English version, my favorite classic book is Jane Eyre which is also the first foreign book to me.I plan to read more classic in this year, hope i can find more resource about books and more friends here.
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Welcome, Brooke. I hope you're enjoying your Brit Lit class. I'm rather underread in British Literature, unfortunately.
Welcome, Daisy. Jane Eyre is one of my all time favorites.
Hello, I am new to this group and very excited about all this great reading in what looks like a very supportive environment. I look forward to your comments.
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Hello name is Michael. I live in Albuquerque NM and work for HP.
I Love finding new and classic books, talking to people who enjoy and understand what it means to be passionate about reading. I enjoy several good cups of coffee a day and it always makes me smile. I dislike the close minded who are mean to others. I was able to finish last month read Mrs. Dalloway and jumping in to this months read today.
Hi my name is Sue and I am from the Midlands in the UKI mostly read contemporary books, but have a few classics on my book shelf which I never seem to find time to read. I hope this beginners classic group will spur me on.
Susan wrote: "Hi my name is Sue and I am from the Midlands in the UKI mostly read contemporary books, but have a few classics on my book shelf which I never seem to find time to read. I hope this beginners cl..."
I think that reading with a group is the best incentive to tackle books we tend to shy away from. It helps me to stay committed. I am so glad you and Michael joined!
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I do a lot of reviewing and stuff, so it's hard to fit in classics, but I enjoy this group and it encourages me to go back to the classics when I can.
Welcome all!Susan wrote: "Hi my name is Sue and I am from the Midlands in the UK
I mostly read contemporary books, but have a few classics on my book shelf which I never seem to find time to read. I hope this beginners cl..."
Hello Sue. I've found that some classics read more contemporaneously from a modern perspective than do others. Parable-like tales, possibly with somewhat fantastic or more generally speculative settings, or those with humour and wit to offer are the most inviting.
You might like Orwell's work, though Nineteen Eighty-Four, it should be warned, is an emotionally exhausting read (Brave New World is also frequently mentioned when it comes to dystopian fiction, though I haven't got to it yet). From there maybe Voltaire's philosophical tales as can be found in Candide and Other Stories, or the lighter works of Austen and Wilde, or Jules Verne might appeal.
For short stories there are the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, always worthwhile, Modernist short stories as from Joyce to Katherine Mansfield, and perhaps Kafka if his stories suit your taste (give The Hunger Artist a go and see, though novels like The Trial evoke a somewhat different feeling).
Thanks Yasiru, for the recommendation. Some books I ave heard about and are on my to read pile, some books and authors I have not heard about.I agree some classic books have contemporary themes.
I hope to read A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley this month and contribute to the discussion
Yasiru wrote: "Welcome all!Susan wrote: "Hi my name is Sue and I am from the Midlands in the UK
I mostly read contemporary books, but have a few classics on my book shelf which I never seem to find time to re..."
Thank you for that, Yasiru. I find your list very helpful. I also recently read Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis and very much enjoyed it.
No worries. I've been meaning to read Amis senior myself.
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Lit Bug, India. Fond of reading, cooking, traveling and having a good conversation. I enjoy almost every genre of good writing, except perhaps utopias, but otherwise I simply love reading anything. Although I'm not a beginner, having read many classics, I still find myself having a considerate appetite for it. Looking forward to good reading and good discussions! Thank you :)Right now digging deep into sci-fi, particularly feminist cyberpunk for my doctorate (I'd appreciate good novels and critical material for the topic as well)
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Welcome, Leelee! I am fairly new too. I noticed on your bookshelf a Bill Bryson book. I am a great fan of his. His books are full of wit and precious information.
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Hi Leelee welcome to the group. I also love Jane Eyre. Feel free to make yourself a personal classics page near the bottom of the group.
Hey there, I'm Jocelyn from the U.S. I joined this group a while ago but recently noted that I've hardly commented, which is a pity because it looks like you have a nice group here. My main genre is fantasy, but I poke around sci-fi from time to time and I've recently been introduced to comics and graphic novels. My favorite classic is the Lord of the Rings, but my reading experience as of now is pretty narrow and I've been waiting to start reading Mervyn Peake, Alexandre Dumas, Homer, and Charles Dickens for a while.
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Hiya Jocelyn :) I'm glad you've realized how amazing and brilliant our group is. :) I agree with Danielle, read A Christmas Carol it's very good.
Hello, ny name is Squire. I have spent the last 20 years of my life trying to read all those classics I was supposed to have read in high school and college that I didn't (and still I have a ton more!). A lot of my favorite books are classics. The only "classic" I've read this year is Roadside Picninc--a Russian Sci-Fi novel from the 70s. Roadside Picnic I've always manitained that great science fiction is also great fiction and this certainly qualifies, IMO.Currently, I'm half-way though the Ormsby translation of Don Quixote. The last half of the year is open, so I'll add some classics to the mix. Look forward to reading and discussing them with the group!
Hi. I just joined today. I am Naomi from New York. I enjoy reading classics. 2 of my favorite are Jane Eyre. I would like to read Emma by Jane Austen.
Hi I'm John and I'm from NJ, USA. I have decided to take action today and begin a journey to expand my thoughts, my mind, my education. So far, I like the Aeneid.
Welcome, new members. :)@Squire: The only book that I never finished for high school English class was 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles'. I hope that one day I'll be able to finish it. Maybe I won't end up loving it, but it just feels like something I now NEED to do. I admire your dedication to finishing those which you had previously ignored.
@Naomi: I'm ashamed to say that I have not read Jane Eyre yet (though I do own a rather beat-up copy!). Definitely on my bucket list is to read all of the Brontes' novels and Austen's works.
@John: I have never heard of the Aeneid. Definitely adding this to my to-read list-- I really want to try reading more epic poems!
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Hello! I'm Henry from England in the UK. I've read some classics before (namely Jane Eyre), but they were compulsory reading for my GCSEs (and later my A-Levels). While I found them tricky to read and understand at first, I love a challenge and I am determined to read all the unread classics I have on my bookshelves! :-)
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Henry wrote: "Hello! I'm Henry from England in the UK. I've read some classics before (namely Jane Eyre), but they were compulsory reading for my GCSEs (and later my A-Levels). While I found them tricky to read ..."I agree Henry, they super tricky at first, but experience is the best thing, then you can enjoy. :)
Sian wrote: "Hello! I'm Sian and I currently live in Tokyo but I'm originally from Preston (whaddup Nicolle!). I'm an English teacher at a private school, I teach pre-schoolers and 6+. I recently started readin..."Waddup back at you Sian! Preston is sweeeeeeeeet!! Love the shopping there. Welcome to our group. :)
You miss the shops? So you not living there now? I don't think many places in Lancashire are super exciting, but I think it's one of the good parts! :)
Oh cool. I've always wanted to go to Japan. I can imagine the clothes dilemma! Oh yes, Lancashire uni in some lovely place, who knows where? :P
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Hi everyone, I'm Sanoj Jose, 34,i love paranormal books, I've authored the book "My Day Out With An Angel".
Hiya Sanoj, I too am a big fan of paranormal books. Are you interested in classics too?
Hey,I'm Iffy, I'm 16 and am from England. Recently I've been interested in classics. I'm particularly fond of children's literature but I read a lot of mix material.
My favourites include: Wuthering heights, Dracula, Chronicles of Narnia,Lord of the flies, Alice in wonderland, and Frankenstein...
Classics for Beginners
Books mentioned in this topic
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Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (other topics)Victor Hugo (other topics)
Gabrielle Roy (other topics)
Albert Camus (other topics)
W. Somerset Maugham (other topics)
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Last year I read 'Little Women' (Louisa May Alcott), without a doubt one of the loveliest books I've ever read. Last month I read 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' (Betty Smith), which is now one of my favourite books of all time. I think there's something about coming-of-age books; I'm seeing a running theme here among the ones I've read.
I'll be joining in with the reading of 'Mrs Dalloway'. I'm not sure about the discussion part, but I'll have fun reading everyones' thoughts!