*Kelly picks up a gauntlet and hurls it to the floor! It bounces, lands on her toe and she whimpers just a bit before going back to her speech*
I’ve been trying to challenge myself a bit more with reading material as of late. I wanted to read some of the ‘classics’ just so I could tell myself I did it–not for a school assignment years ago, but recently, and just for me. At first it was a little awkward to read novels out of my comfort zone, but I stuck with them and I’m glad I did. The writing is different but impressive in its own way. I think you should give it a shot, too! (Bonus–when your kids have to read these in high school you’ll actually be able to answer questions without Cliffs Notes. Woooo!)
So far, I’ve read and enjoyed:
Animal Farm (George Orwell) A great starter because it’s short, easy to read and easy to see the subtext behind the story.
1984 (George Orwell) More difficult, but I liked this one so much I read it twice in a row and bought my own copy.
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) Slightly easier to read than 1984. Again, liked it enough to buy a copy.
And because I am insane, I decided to really stretch myself and I’m currently reading The Iliad (Homer – translated by Richard Lattimore) which is a novel-length poem about the battle of Troy. I had to read the first 4 pages 3 times and check the Glossary a few times to figure out who was who, but now that I’m into it I’m really enjoying myself. If you know anything about Greek Mythology or have seen the movie Troy (loosely, and I do mean loosely, based on The Iliad) it would be helpful background for this book. This one is the hardest by far that I’ve read, and sometimes I have to re-read a page or double-check a person in the glossary, but I’m getting through and enjoying it immensely.
Waiting patiently on my end table are The Double, Notes From the Underground and The Eternal Husband (all by Dostoevsky – translated by Constance Garnett) as well as The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis). No input on those as I haven’t read them yet, but I’m betting after Homer they’ll look a whole lot easier. lol!
I challenge you to challenge YOU. Go to the library and find a classic to sink your teeth into. You may find it more enjoyable than you think. When you do (or if you have), let’s hear your recommendations.
What are YOUR favorite classics?
I accept your challenge! I love Ray Bradbury and John Steinbeck. I might even start your challenge with Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
I read The Grapes of Wrath my senior year, and I hated the ending so much I vowed to never, EVER read it again.
Now that I have a mother’s perspective, I think I might have to give it another shot. 😀
I never read the classics that were assigned in High School. I was alert enough during class discussions to glean what I needed to, which was a complete waste. I have a lot to catch up on. 😦
The two I remember getting through (besides Grapes, which I enjoyed until the very end) were “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “Far From the Madding Crowd”.
There was a Willa Cather book I read in college that I loved, but I am drawing a blank on the title. My Antonia, maybe?
Wow, I can see it’s time to dust off the classics in my own library.
Good to know, Just a Mom. Had you not accepted, I might have been required to slap you with my glove. *giggle*
Kemi, I can’t for the life of me remember the ending of Grapes of Wrath. Evidently, this is a good thing. *makes a mental note to put that one farther DOWN the list…*
Spoiler alert! The family (Joad?) seek refuge in a railway car, where a man and his son (again… it’s been 16 years, so, ???) are also living. The oldest (Joad?) daughter lost her baby to starvation, but still is producing milk, so she nurses the starving man, and possibly his son.
To a high school senior, it was scandalous and disgusting and completely inappropriate. (It’s Utah, after all.) I remember my AP English teacher mocking me for being so upset, and I swore I’d never read Steinbeck again.
Now I still think it’s gross, but if someone was starving to death and… well, anyway…
*squirming uncomfortably*
The classic that has been sitting on my “to read” shelf for a long time is “Don Quixote” in the original Spanish. I started it once… that was about as far as I got.
I am so much more attracted to contemporary literature that it is hard for me to delve too far into the past without getting very impatient with the book. Twentieth century classics I can get on board with, though.
Kemi–Ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhh. That does ring a bell somewhere in my cobwebby brain. Seems to me our entire class was grossed out as well, although as you said, if you were starving…ports in storms and all that.
Well E, I know “Donde esta el bano” (forgive me, I’m too lazy to hunt down the correct characters right now) and that’s about it for stringing complete sentences together. Don’t think I’d fare well in the Spanish version. ;0)
Now I just know I replied to this… I guess cyber space ate it. *sigh*
I’ve been kicking around the idea of reading Wuthering Heights. Like Elena, I tend to lean toward more modern reading.
Do love Iliad and Odyssey, also Gone with the Wind.
If time allows I try to read what my kids are assigned to read for their classes. To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, and Bless Me Ultima have been recent reads in our house. My daughter is currently reading Lord of the Flies, but keeps saying she hates it, so I’m not sure if I’ll read it or not. I love to read, so I usually enjoyed whatever we were assigned to read in highschool. I remember a book called The Octopus that I haven’t been able to find since. I want to find it and re-read it some day.
Oh, yes! To Kill A Mockingbird and Gone With The Wind are sooooo good. I liked A Tale Of Two Cities by Dickens as well.
I LOVED The Screwtape Letters.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was good, but hard to get into.
The Three Musketeers was easy to read, and even funny.
I absolutely despise Charles Dickens, except for A Tale of Two Cities.
The Canterbury Tales was interesting, if you can handle more poetry style writing (I liked the Iliad and the Odyssey too!).
Les Miserable was pretty good and Death of a Salesman is my absolute favorite play (I even wrote a research paper on it in highschool, and then again in college!).
the girl. not a classic but written around that time, and really great
plus the invisible man, my most favoritest classic ish book ever.
im a grad school english student, no more reading challenges PLEASE! my brain is leaking..
Is that what the sticky stuff is on the floor? Eesh, that’s kinda nasty, Sarah!