Classics Without All the Class discussion

This thread is for adding suggestions to the bookshelf for books that were originally published before 1960-2004. We will be adding these books to our list for future polls. Each month the thread will close and a new thread will open in order to keep the threads shorter.

Before you make a suggestion, please MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE BOOKSHELVES. Your suggestion might already be there. :) Go to the home page of the group, and click the link to the left that says bookshelf. All the suggestions so far are on the shelf. Here are the guidelines for making suggestions for the group:

1. Nothing published after 2004. Please feel free to ask if you are unsure if a book falls under the category of "classic." This can be an especially difficult issue for contemporary classics.

2. No non-fiction

3. No poetry

We are adding young adult and children's books (Not picture books) and plays to the mix for now to see how it goes.

There may be times that exceptions are made for special reasons, and our Shelf-tator Angie has the final say as to what goes on to the bookshelves. If one of your book recommendations doesn't make it, that's okay, because you can still start a thread about it, or anything else in our forums.

Thanks!!

Hello everyone,
A very Happy New Year to you all.
I'm Ana and Portuguese and follow this with interest. Thanks for your suggestions. I try to read in English language tough sometimes it's difficult to a non native that lives in POrtugal.
I'd like to recommend Naguib Mahfouz, from Egypt, a NObel prize with The Cairo trilogy, or any other. The books are wonderfully written and describe very common problems even from today.

Ana wrote: "Hello everyone,
A very Happy New Year to you all.
I'm Ana and Portuguese and follow this with interest. Thanks for your suggestions. I try to read in English language tough sometimes it's difficult..."

Hi Ana! Thanks for joining our group! Can you give us a specific title so that we can do some research on the book. It will make it a lot easier for us. Maybe your favorite book by Naguib Mahfouz?

It is said that maybe his most famous work, The Cairo Trilogy, depicts the lives of three generations of different families in Cairo from World War I until after the 1952 military coup that overthrew King Farouk.
This is divided into three books:
Palace Walk (1956) (Cairo Trilogy, Part 1)
Palace of Desire (1957)(Cairo Trilogy, Part 2)
Sugar Street (1957) (Cairo Trilogy, Part 3)
There are other but i'll try to translate from Portuguese into English if you like. I don't know the names in English.
I also am very fond of Margerite Yourcenar and Margerite Duras ("The lover") two very interesting French writers,i could search titles in English if you think it is apropriate!

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Beth wrote: "In Cold Blood by Truman Capote"

"In Cold Blood" is Capote's only non-fiction novel, so it doesn't count.

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

What about The Kite Runner? And if we're adding YA books, not sure if these meet our def of classics but I'm suggesting The Giver and Hatchet.

Shanea wrote: "Beth wrote: "In Cold Blood by Truman Capote"

"In Cold Blood" is Capote's only non-fiction novel, so it doesn't count."

Exactly. Although I enjoy Capote, we are steering clear of non-fiction for this group. Thanks!

Beth wrote: "In Cold Blood by Truman Capote"

Hi Beth,

It's a great book, and a classic at that. However, it is non-fiction, which we aren't reading in this group.

Thanks though!!

Ana wrote: "It is said that maybe his most famous work, The Cairo Trilogy, depicts the lives of three generations of different families in Cairo from World War I until after the 1952 military coup that overthr..."

Always feel free to give us titles. The worst case scenario is that I might turn it down after some research. :) Let me spend some time this week looking at these titles, and then I will write another message mentioning whether I added them. Thanks!!

Angie

Francie wrote: "The Winds of War by Herman Wouk"

Hi Francie,

Wouk's War series seems like a very interesting historical fiction series to read. Through my research, I find it hard to identify reasons to classify this novel as a "classic." Things I look for are prize winners, authors who are notable for winning the nobel or who have other "classic" literature. At this time, I don't think this novel fits into our category of "classic." Don't get me wrong...I don't mean to say that it isn't worthy. Please feel free to PM me with info that I didn't find if you know anything different.

Thanks! And, keep making suggestions!
Angie

Jennifer wrote: "What about The Kite Runner? And if we're adding YA books, not sure if these meet our def of classics but I'm suggesting The Giver and Hatchet."

Jennifer,

The Kite Runner! Yay! This is the first year that we can add this novel since it is now over 10 years old. :) It is definitely a novel we can add. I feel confident that The Giver can be added too, but I want to double check on Hatchet. All great suggestions!

Thanks!

Angie

Jennifer wrote: "What about The Kite Runner? And if we're adding YA books, not sure if these meet our def of classics but I'm suggesting The Giver and Hatchet."

I added all three! :)

To Kill a Mockingbird
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I forgot In Cold Blood was non-fiction. I haven't read it yet but it is on my TO READ list. I understand why it is not a candidate.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez
Miramar by Naguib Mahfouz
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

I'd like to suggest Sabbath's Theater by Phillip Roth. It won the National Book Award in 1995 and was a Pulitzer finalist in 1996. I've read a few books by Roth, but not this one.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

We are temporarily stopping posts for this because we have an overwhelming number of books currently recommended to us right now. If you absolutely need to request a book that you don't see in our bookshelves PLEASE feel free to send me a PM :) Thanks!