Reading the Classics discussion

I'm currently reading

Right now I am reading "Great Expectations," "Wide Sargasso Sea," "The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales," "Howards End," and "Mister Pip." I am also working on "Don Quixote," but it has been taking me a while to get through.

If any of you have ever read Great Expectations, I would highly recommend "Mister Pip." It is a great novel about the power that literature has in life.

I just finished 'After dark' by Murakami and 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. I just began to read 'rabbit at rest' by Updike.

I am currently reading Catch-22 and loving it. I have also been reading The Plague on and off (I was at a standstill when I tried it in French and it was taking me a while to catch up to where I left off in English). I am also reading The Kite Runner for school.

Oooh, Virginia, I just started 'The Road' ... did you enjoy it?

I am currently reading the "tenant of wildfell hall " by "anne bronte" ( so far so good) !!! I am also planning to read "tale of two cities" and "little women" !! Any thoughts ??? :)

Catharine wrote: "Right now I am reading "Great Expectations," "Wide Sargasso Sea," "The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales," "Howards End," and "Mister Pip." I am also working on "Don Quixote," but it has been taking me..."

Great expectation is great book i loved it though i am not very satisfied with ending !!!
Wide sargasso sea is also a great book i enjoyed reading it , loved it hope you'll love it as well

Hanan wrote: "I am currently reading the "tenant of wildfell hall " by "anne bronte" ( so far so good) !!! I am also planning to read "tale of two cities" and "little women" !! Any thoughts ??? :)"

I just finished "A Tale of Two Cities" not long ago, and loved it. It took me a few chapters to get into, but it has a fantastic story line!

Hanan wrote: "Catharine wrote: "Right now I am reading "Great Expectations," "Wide Sargasso Sea," "The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales," "Howards End," and "Mister Pip." I am also working on "Don Quixote," but it ..."


So far, I'm not really enjoying "Wide Sargasso Sea," but I haven't gotten to far into it, so I might change my mind later on in the book.

I'm just kind of curious as to why Hunger Games is on some people's "never to be read list." And I'm also curious as to why it is at all in a same pile as Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm not judging anyone for their choices, but I'm just wondering about other people's opinions.

But anyways as to be on topic I'm reading Fahrenheit 451 and I just finished Ready Player One which I really enjoyed even though I didn't get any of the 80's references.

Emily wrote: "I'm just kind of curious as to why Hunger Games is on some people's "never to be read list." And I'm also curious as to why it is at all in a same pile as Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm not judging anyo..."

ya know,I'm not sure.That is odd.I have read the first Grey book,it's not for everyone,but then again how would you know if you never tried! :)

I am reading Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence and 1Q84, which is not a classic.

I just have to say that as of a few minutes ago I had the displeasure of having to finish my first experience in reading Pride and Prejudice. The entire roller coaster I just went on is one I wish I could rewind and plus play again and again! I hate how happy moments must end..The book was so amazing!!! Thank you dearest Jane for the pleasure.

Emily wrote: "I'm just kind of curious as to why Hunger Games is on some people's "never to be read list." And I'm also curious as to why it is at all in a same pile as Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm not judging anyo... "

I think that some of us have a kneejerk reaction against anything that's hugely and incredibly popular. For me, that's saved me from ever reading anything Harry Potter-related or Twilight-related. However, until very recently, it also stopped me from reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

I think that - at least partly - is what's behind the instant dismissal of Shades of Grey or The Hunger Games. I don't buy the "it's badly written and therefore shouldn't be a bestseller" argument: because, frankly, when a bestseller *IS* well-written, that's when it's unusual. Sometimes people just want to good plot, a page-turner, and something to talk about with their friends. And, let's be fair, those are more than adequate reasons for reading a book.

Catharine wrote: "Hanan wrote: "I am currently reading the "tenant of wildfell hall " by "anne bronte" ( so far so good) !!! I am also planning to read "tale of two cities" and "little women" !! Any thoughts ??? :)..."

Good to know !!!! Tale of two cities is next on the list :)

Catharine wrote: "Hanan wrote: "Catharine wrote: "Right now I am reading "Great Expectations," "Wide Sargasso Sea," "The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales," "Howards End," and "Mister Pip." I am also working on "Don Qui..."

Just wondering did you read jane eyre you know that wide sargasso sea is a sequel to it !!! Anyway just like any book it takes few chapters to start enjoying it !!! So patience :)

Shannon wrote: "I just have to say that as of a few minutes ago I had the displeasure of having to finish my first experience in reading Pride and Prejudice. The entire roller coaster I just went on is one I wish..."

Deja vu !!!!

Faye wrote: "I am reading Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence and 1Q84, which is not a classic."

Good book !! Hope you are enjoying reading it :)

Now I read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.. i'm at page 34 by now .. Is a quite interesting book even if is a little bit heavy.

You should all look at my new book blog the URL is
Http//www.wonderfulreads.blogspot.com

Ryleigh wrote: "Rick, I want to read The Moonstone, how is it so far?
I'm currently reading Brave New World and The Great Gatsby (again)"

I really want to read the great gatsby

I am reading Night Circus The Night Circusand Jacob's Room Jacob's Room

Shannon wrote: "I just have to say that as of a few minutes ago I had the displeasure of having to finish my first experience in reading Pride and Prejudice. The entire roller coaster I just went on is one I wish..."

It won't be your last :)

Bevin. I loved it.Pure lyricism. A story of parental love and hope in an apocalyptic world. McCarthy's writing is just amazing.

Iulia, Lolita is one of my favourite novels ever. I hope you enjoy it. I love Wilkie Collins too.

Catch 22 and Catcher in the Rye are two "classics" I found to be a complete waste of time.

Virginia wrote: "Bevin. I loved it.Pure lyricism. A story of parental love and hope in an apocalyptic world. McCarthy's writing is just amazing."

I ended up staying up till 4 a.m. to finish it. Absolutely couldn't put it down. I agree with you completely. Simply beautiful.

Ryleigh wrote: "Catch 22 and Catcher in the Rye are two "classics" I found to be a complete waste of time."

Catch 22 is one of the greatest books written in the 20th century.

I've just finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and have begun A Passage To India. Only 60 pages in and already its got me hooked, hopefully today i can get some time to continue reading it.

Michael wrote: "Hello all.

I am a multiple reader. Currently on a Wharton fiction kick. I am reading The Age of Innocence now (read two others and a comentary on her works earlier this year).

Go back and forth i..."

I read the Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome this month and both were good books although Ethan Frome was quite depressing!

The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong

Just finished "Çalıkuşu/The Autobiography of a Turkish Girl", a really beautiful story (I'm trying to read more Balkan literature than just Bulgarian novels) and today i started "The Taming of the Shrew". It's really good so far.

I've just finished The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and I love it. Gonna read more of his books!

just finished The Hunger Games last night! at last!!

I've just started Something Wicked This Way Comes . I remember being fascinated by the movie when I was younger and I'm hoping the book is just as good.

As far as reading trendy best sellers, I do get turned off by all the hype, but I don't know why. I just started reading Harry Potter this year and I think it's the most fantastic thing ever written. Maybe I'll read Shades of Grey someday!

Denise wrote: "I've just started Something Wicked This Way Comes . I remember being fascinated by the movie when I was younger and I'm hoping the book is just as good.

..."

What we're today calling "classics" were sometimes in their day ridiculed or derided for being hype or novelty driven. Such as Samuel "Dictionary" Johnson's famous dismissal of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy with "Nothing odd will do long. Tristram Shandy did not last." (Yeah - a lot longer than *your* novels, Mr Johnson neeeeeeeeh!).

But then Johnson was fond of what we'd call Sound Bites nowadays - such as his ""Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."

I continue to read The Yellow Wallpaper over and over. I see new things in its pages every time I read it. I highly suggest it. It's a novel about human nature and how some mental illnesses can be pushed on us. It's very enlightening.

Giselle wrote: "I've just finished The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and I love it. Gonna read more of his books!"

I read it a long time ago and though I don't remember all of the plot details, I remember being extremely impressed by Fitzgerald's artistic style.

Rozzer wrote: "It's really encouraging to read through the posts on this thread and realize that so many people are independently choosing to read such fine books in such quantity! Are we here on GR the only one..."

I, too,like Rozzer, wonder if GR is the only place where readers are reading so many good books. In my short on-line experience, I certainly haven't found any place else. So glad to be here, and, by the way, Catch-22 is an excellent book.

I've finished reading The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain earlier today and now I'm about 40 pages into Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher.

Ok so I just finished Slaughterhouse Five and I have to say I am confused. I'm not exactly sure what to take from it and don't know if I got much out of it other than the war being bad and some chuckles. Can some people share their opinions on it? I'd love to be enlightened.

Shannon wrote: "Ok so I just finished Slaughterhouse Five and I have to say I am confused. I'm not exactly sure what to take from it and don't know if I got much out of it other than the war being bad and some ch..."

I haven't read it myself but it's definitely on my list and something like that I would be reading spark or cliffs notes alongside, for that very reason. Some classics are very difficult to understand without them. Especially if it's an unfamiliar culture or time period.

I have just started Little Women and The Sea, the Sea

Shannon wrote: "Ok so I just finished Slaughterhouse Five and I have to say I am confused. I'm not exactly sure what to take from it and don't know if I got much out of it other than the war being bad and some ch..."

It's been a few years since I read it but what I find of Vonnegut is that his prose seduced me into reading really quickly (like, really quickly) & then I wouldn't necessarily absorb the details as much as I wanted. What exactly confused you? Oh, & feel free to PM me so we don't spoil it for those who haven't read it. Or maybe there's a thread somewhere?

Shannon wrote: "Ok so I just finished Slaughterhouse Five and I have to say I am confused. I'm not exactly sure what to take from it and don't know if I got much out of it other than the war being bad and some ch..."

did you know that the war sections are largely autobiographical and I believe he was actually in a slaughterhouse as a pow during the firebombing of Dreden?

I just finished Mockingjay. Wow. They call this a children's series?

I'm reading both and a lot of different translations on the net. I know the second is not a classic but it makes the classic less dry when you are not used to eastern philosophy...

I just finished reading
Can you imagine that I started reading it at 1am last night and read its last page at 7am that same morning. Haven't seen the sunset because of a book for a while now. Truelly fascinated me and I am really looking forward reading Insurgent next. :)

I am reading flaubert's parrot..and I find it quite interestin

Alana wrote: "I just finished Mockingjay. Wow. They call this a children's series?"

I know. I've read the series because of my daughters(both in high school).My two girls were responsible for a book club at their school and this series was their group read. If my girls were younger, I don't think I would have been okay with them reading them. At the same time, they were great books, not just for elementary age or lower middle school age.