Let's talk classic lit!

[Dragonfly]

I'm in a re-reading (or, in some cases, reading for the first time) classic literature phase. Right now, I'm reading "Resurrection" by Tolstoy and am just loving it.

So, what are your favorites? Let's hear 'em all... and bonus points for those that are more obscure.

[kittywitty]

My brain's not working well right now. I like mostly Hugo or 17th-20th century British lit. Les Miserables is my absolute favorite book.

I do admit, I never made it very far in any Tolstoy. He is my weakness.

[Amaranth]

My favorite I-can't-believe-I-never-read-this-classic-before book is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", by Betty Smith.

Read it just last year for my book club. I had no idea it was so very good.

[AngelBee]

:

[LaLaLaLa]

I've been trying to catch up on some of the classics I somehow missed in school, too, and trying to give another chance to some I hated as an adolescent, and am really enjoying some of them. I've liked "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," "Pride and Prejudice," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "1984," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Jane Eyre," "Tuck Everlasting," and "Siddhartha."

I've recently read and disliked "Sons and Lovers" and "Emma." I've reread and continued to hate "On the Road" and "Walden."

I won't even make myself try some of the others I remember: "Ethan Frome," "Moby Dick," "Catcher in the Rye," anything by Dreiser.... Awful, awful, and awful.

[zaksma]

So many grea ones, but Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time (classic lit or not0 hands down. I love it and read it at least once a year.

[Dragonfly]

Originally Posted by LaLaLaLa

I've been trying to catch up on some of the classics I somehow missed in school, too, and trying to give another chance to some I hated as an adolescent, and am really enjoying some of them. I've liked "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," "Pride and Prejudice," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "1984," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Jane Eyre," "Tuck Everlasting," and "Siddhartha."

I've recently read and disliked "Sons and Lovers" and "Emma." I've reread and continued to hate "On the Road" and "Walden."

I won't even make myself try some of the others I remember: "Ethan Frome," "Moby Dick," "Catcher in the Rye," anything by Dreiser.... Awful, awful, and awful.

I think we might be mirror images of each other when it comes to reading preferences. Although, admittedly, I haven't read Catcher in the Rye or On the Road in years - not since I was an angsty collegian - so I might not like them as well now. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was hard for me to get into, but I ended up liking it pretty well.

dnw826 - My mom was mentioning a book of Tolstoy short stories yesterday. I didn't know he wrote any. Maybe that might be easier to get into, if you want to read him, anyway (which you may not... and understandably ).

"Resurrection" is still good, but I still haven't read the final Harry Potter and find myself wanting to do that. Hmmm... Tolstoy or Harry Potter? Hard one.

[Valkyrie9]

I just finished "The Sea Wolf" yesterday. I really like Jack London, but that's one I missed up until now. My favorite book of all time is "To Kill a Mockingbird."

I loathed "Emma." I'm not big into any of those stuffy British classics. "Wuthering Heights" is another one I don't care for. : I did like "Jane Eyre" though!

[ledzepplon]

Big Jane Eyre lover here, although not so much Wuthering Heights.

LaLaLaLa, I loved Ethan Frome! Maybe I'll have to reread that one sometime.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is another one of my all-time favorites.

My husband and I have TONS of books, but we have no bookshelves right now, so they're all in boxes in the garage. This thread is motivating me to go crack some open!

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by Valkyrie9

I just finished "The Sea Wolf" yesterday. I really like Jack London, but that's one I missed up until now. My favorite book of all time is "To Kill a Mockingbird."

I loathed "Emma." I'm not big into any of those stuffy British classics. "Wuthering Heights" is another one I don't care for. : I did like "Jane Eyre" though!

Wuthering Heights is easily my second favorite novel. It is so dark and beautiful!

[rainbowmoon]

Originally Posted by Amaranth

My favorite I-can't-believe-I-never-read-this-classic-before book is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", by Betty Smith.

Read it just last year for my book club. I had no idea it was so very good.

this book!

How about Grapes of Wrath?

[Nankay]

I just finished Jude the Obscure by Hardy. I was a blubbering mess in at least 2 sections. OY. I've never read Hunchback of Notre dame. I think that may be next.

[Daffodil]

Wuthering Heights didn't make a big impression on me when I first read it as a teenager, but I really liked it when I read it as an adult. For everyone who liked Jane Eyre, I recommend Villette, if you haven't read it. I liked Catcher in the Rye, but I liked Franny and Zooey (and everything else by Salinger) more. I really enjoyed Les Miserables, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, too (except for the boring parts, one of which unfortunately is the start of the book), although Hunchback is a lot more depressing.

I don't know if all of these count as classics, but some others I've enjoyed are:
The Mill on the Floss
The Magic Mountain
Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse
Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty (one of my all-time favorites)

[mojomom]

I love Classic Lit.
I would get the reading list for the grade level ahead of me when I was in High school and read the books on the list.
Also when I was preggo with both my kids I would get insomnia and would read anything I could get my hands on and visited and revisited some of my favs.

I love Charles Dickens- David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist

Mutiny on the Bounty

The Good Earth
Of Mice and Men
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill A Mocking bird
The Black Pearl
The Old Man and The sea
Last of the Mochiccans (sp?)
Where the Red Fern Grows
Call of The Wild
The Secret Garden
The Yearling
Fahrenhiet 451
1984
All quiet on the Western Front
I am not sure if this is considered classic lit but I loved reading Tennesse William's plays. I think that is why as an adult I have a fondness for Southern writers
And my Favorite book and still has a special place in my heart is Cyrano De Bergerac- That book made me laugh out loud and cry. I just really, really loved reading that book

[rainbowmoon]

Lord of the Flies
Ten Little Indians
The Scarlet Letter

(plays)
Our Town
Barefoot in the Park


If you liked On the Road, I suggest Off the Road by; Carolyn Cassidy (for the other side of the story! awesome read!)

[kangamitroo]

last summer i read john steinbeck's East of Eden, and i was stunned by how much i liked it. i highly recommend it.

another favorite (and winter when it rolls in is the perfect time to read it) is Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

one of my dearest friends has been trying to get me to read Thomas Hardy for years...i can never get past the first chapter of any of them, though i think i'm ready to try Tess again

[rachelle-a-tron]

I have always wanted to read this!

Originally Posted by Amaranth

My favorite I-can't-believe-I-never-read-this-classic-before book is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", by Betty Smith.

Read it just last year for my book club. I had no idea it was so very good.

[rachelle-a-tron]

I loved these books


The Good Earth
To Kill A Mocking bird
The Old Man and The Sea
Where the Red Fern Grows
Animal Farm
Fahrenhiet 451
1984
The Lord of the Flies
The Red Pony
Flowers for Algernon
The Color Purple

[LaLaLaLa]

Ooh, I forgot about Hemingway and Steinbeck! My dad and I read a bunch of Hemingway together when I was in high school and I especially liked "A Farewell to Arms."

One year for summer reading I had to read Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," and I found it so distressing that I didn't read any of his other stuff until college, when my roommate got me into him. "The Grapes of Wrath" and "East of Eden" were both great.

Has anyone mentioned "The Great Gatsby"? What a gorgeous description of the roaring twenties! And what a heartbreaking and beautiful story!

Dragonfly: Holden Caulfield needs to stop his whining. And Kerouac needs to stop mooching off of all of his friends and acquaintances. Get a job, ya bum. Last summer I visited his grave, stuck a pen into it and told him how I felt "face to face."

Kangamitroo: Oh, NO! Don't read Tess! Don't do it! I read that several months ago, not realizing how horribly depressing and totally infuriating it would be.

[lalaland42]

Recently I have been trying to read all the books I was supposed to read in high school but didn't. The last one I read was The Plague and I now regret not reading it in high school because I think I would have liked it. I am about to start on To Kill a Mockingbird which DH insists is good.