Old Books, New Readers discussion

Comment on and discuss books you read as part of the "2014 Favorite Classics Challenge". Books that aren't part of the challenge should be discussed in other forums. Chat away, and don't forget to credit the fellow reader that inspired your read!

Great idea Gene. I challenge myself to read 3 books. Now I have to re-read the thread and pick out the three I want.

Thanks, Christa! I'm glad you like the idea. So, my list (if I'm successful) will be:

* Gone with the Wind (booknut's list)
* Watership Down (Melissa's List)
* Charlotte's Web (Katherine's List)
* The Princess Bride (Tracey's List)
* Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (every other person's list)

Even though they're not all very old, most of them are over 35 so I don't feel so bad. Plus, I think I chose books that are so popular, they're pretty easy to justify as classics.

I'm eager to see which you choose to read.

EDIT: I just realized that most of the books I picked for my challenge are ones I missed out on as a kid. I guess I'll get to reward myself by re-living part of my childhood, once I make it through Gone with the Wind!

So far, Gone with the Wind is not what I expected. While it's particularly long, it's broken into a number of parts. So I'm each part to take a break for another book.

It's an old book about a spoiled and pretty teenage girl with her head wrapped into romantic notions about every man she can't have. This isn't my typical choice in books, but the part I really like is that Margaret Mitchell is painting a picture of the southern mindset in her writing. For the first time, I'm beginning to see the why and how the people of the South rose up and fought so valiantly in the Civil War.

I'm just beginning part 3, but I'm going to take a little break while I reread this month's book so I can catch up with the rest of the group.

Okay, I have chosen my three books.

1. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Many people recommended it, but in particular thanks to Anthony for your description of the book.

2. Neverwhere. Not a classic, but apparently I am out of the loop for not having read it yet. Thanks to Dane for the suggestion.

3. The Wind in the Willows. I know I saw this one someones list, but I missed whose list it was, and now re-reading the thread I cannot find who put it up. But I know it is there somewhere.

I just realized how lucky it worked out that The Wind in the Willows is this month's book!

I'm hoping to make some progress on mine, soon. I'm about 2/3 of the way through Gone with the Wind. Even though it's big, It's broken into parts. I'll read a part, then read a different book. I'm on part 4/5 right now and it's getting good. I have to say that I'm not sure that there is more that Scarlett O'Hara can do to shock me, though.

Wow, Gone with the Wind was amazing. It kept getting better as I read it. Thanks, booknut!

I finished up with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, just in time! Thanks, pretty much everyone who commented on the Top Five/Ten Books of All Time topic. It turned out to be pretty good.

Overall, I'd say that all 5 books I read were time well spent. Gone with the Wind was long, but surprised me with the way it intertwined history. As a bonus, it entrenched me into a different perspective of viewing the Civil War.

The Princess Bride was a fun read, which closely paralleled the movie (which I love) and Charlotte's Web was just as wonderful in print as it was when I played Wilbur in my 4th grade play.

Watership Down had me worried because I thought it would be just like The Wind in the Willows, which I did not enjoy so much. But Watership Down turned out to be a nearly epic story which I thought was very well done. Despite the characters all being rabbits, I could easily identify with them.

This was a fun way to explore some other people's favorite books. Thanks to everyone who was brave enough to list their favorite books on our forums!