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| I've finished 11/13ths of these. |
After a couple of weeks of struggling, I've given up on Corelli's Mandolin and Lorna Doone. And while I'm not exactly pining after them, I do feel a bit like an illiterate boor for having given up on books that have obviously brought pleasure to generations before me. It may be that I've turned into one of those "must-be-entertained" people that tend to get on my nerves. Sigh...
Oh, well. Bring on the 21st century literature, if you please! Hold the cultured bits.
Have you read many classics? Did you like them? Or are you a more modern reader?
16 comments:
I do like some classics, Jane Austin, definitely, Charles Dickens, original fairy tales, Hardy, Fenmore Cooper, and Lewis Carol, to name a few. But I have yet to finish Anna Karenina...
It's funny. I'm not reading as much as I thought I would now that I'm retired. I think there was SO much reading involved in my job that I developed a sort of "skimming" method of taking in the information I needed. Now when I sit down to read I find I lose patience and start "skimming" again. Not good.
We had a mandatory summer reading rogram in high school -- three classics from the list and three "other". Don't stone me but I hated the classics. There was way too much detail to wade through for this ADHD kid.
In later years I read synopsis of them and thought what great stories if only they had left out much of the description.
I took AP English in high school, so we read quite a few classics back then - but with those credits, I only had to take Freshman comp. in college and no lit courses (except the children's reading courses as part of my teaching degree, which is totally different). I don't pick up the classics at the library, so there are very few I've read and even less I remember.
Since I just got my Kindle, I finally downloaded my very first Jane Austin book, but I have yet to start it (most of the classics are free to download).
erica
All in all I don't care for most "classics". A lot of the narrative wordage is so old-fashioned I cannot enjoy it. "Heart of Darkness" by Jos. Conrad was very difficult, can't believe this guy was actually Polish.
Absolutely HATED "Tale of two cities"; Was torture getting through it. The "Classic Demon" got me back though. Twenty years later my daughter was struggling with it and I had to help her. I daresay, talk about Deja Vu.
If you like it read it, if you do not then read something else. There is plenty of great literature written in the 20th century.
A lot of classics are free online books. Wonder why?
It depends on the time period in which they were written--I recently read "classics" like Fahrenheit 452, Animal Farm, and I enjoyed those. But overall, I read many more contemporary books than classics.
I'm definitely a more modern reader. Most of the classics written after 1950 I've enjoyed, while most written before I haven't. It's not that they're bad. Just not my style.
Yay! I'm feeling like less of a dummy since we all seem to be feeling the same way about the classics. I suppose it's like reading every other type of literature, no matter how old it is: Not every book will please every person. So I suppose I've found some books that aren't pleasing to me.
The Great Gatsby?? That is not cool!! I don't like it myself personally!!
Classics really seem boring sometimeS!!
with warm regards
Another Author
Well, "I didn't hate it" was about the best praise I could give it. "I finished it" would be more accurate, I suppose.
I agree about Corelli's Mandolin and the film was only marginally better. I've been lucky with my recent book choices all awesome.
Not a big fan of the classics either. One of those rare times when a film is better than the book - I loved the movie version of Captain Corelli's Mandolin but didn't enjoy the book at all.
I've never seen the movie version of Corelli's Mandolin-- I wanted to read the book first. And then I ended up not liking the book. Guess that's one movie I can cross off my list (or at least move further down). :/
I've read some classics, but mostly am not "into" them. Read more of the modern stuff. :)
I gave up on The Pictures of Dorian Gray, but I plan to give it another try one of these days.
One book that took me by surprise was Moby Dick. I loved it.
@Carol: That's pretty much how I feel.
@Karen: Dorian Gray is on my list! I'm not sure if Moby Dick is; I'll have a look & give it a try. Thanks!
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