I have to wonder what people are using as the definition of a classic? To me classics are works by Shakespeare, Dickens, Poe, Austen, the Brontes, etc, not popular books of the 20th century.
@Janice I was going to say something similar. I was surprised to see Harry Potter mentioned. But I guess modern classics is definitely a thing. Even without that term, I would still consider 20th century works by people such as Steinbeck, Orwell, Hemingway etc. classics even though they are from the 20th century.
Okay, I concede modern classics but I looked up the definition of classic and found it usually means a work that has been considered excellent over a long period of time. I don’t believe the fact that something is wildly popular makes it a classic. (I’m thinking of Harry Potter here)
@Lisa I liked it. There is a movie adaptation of it starring Gary Cooper and a very young and beautiful Ingrid Bergman that was very faithful to the book.
@Giorgi Maybe it’s the fact I was reading English translation. I’m not sure. But the infinite attention to every minute detail turned me off. I got to page 350, and then I had to put it down. I may go back to it, but I’m not sure I have it in me.
He spent 1 1/2 pages describing one cannonball shoot through the air and miss its’ target. That’s when I couldn’t keep going.
@Ryan That attention to every detail is what i like the most about tolstoy, george eliot and balzac , and i think in war and peace he created one of the most fascinating charecters in literature. Natasha, helen , andrei , piere ….. .
@Giorgi Maybe if I’d been a literature major in college and had to read these books with weekly group discussions I’d appreciate them more.
I took some senior level literature classes, though, and studied American Transcendentalist Literature, and Japanese Popular Fiction.
I tried to appreciate Greek Literature, but only two plays and the Iliad, which we read in high school stand out to me.
I read a lot of French Literature, also, in my upperclassmen French language classes, but my interest was mostly the existential movement, and not any of the classics.
The books I really liked the most from back then were Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, 1984, The Metamorphosis, Lord of the Flies, The Hobbit, etc.
Maybe, after a few more contemporary novels I’ll go back to W&P and pick up on page #350. Maybe it will grow on me.
I realize I’m in the minority nowadays on this one, but I really liked The Scarlet Letter.
I have no intention to read Harry Potter. Mainly, because, as you said, I’m an adult. I didn’t care for the first couple movies in the series, and I don’t think it would be worth the time to read.
@Luis I think I may have enjoyed The Scarlet Letter more than I did if it wasn’t required reading for AP English. I don’t dislike it because it was required reading, but how dull and uninspiring the teacher made it. Tried reading it on my own and couldn’t. But, the wonderful thing about books is they are like people: different, but beautiful! For each, there is one.
Yeah, read it my Junior year. My teacher was fantastic. To be honest, I’m sure I would not have appreciated it as much if not for wonderful insights and perspectives. In fact it was she who opened my eyes to the world of books. With that said, not even she could get me to like Death of a Salesman. Lol
@Sheri The weird thing is, as much as I hated Mrs. Sherling and how boring Ms. Babcox was, I thoroughly enjoyed The Outsiders and To Kill A Mockingbird…but what’s her face at Goose Creek, was by far the better English teacher…and I HATED The Scarlet Letter!
I can see how you can like it 🙂 I guess I was just already getting my adventure fix from Redwall when I was a kid which it kind of reminded me of actually.
@Nichole I’m just not a gothic romance fan, lol. I’d get shouted down just about anywhere. I disliked Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, but there may be other works I’d prefer. Perhaps I haven’t explored it enough.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS!. It’s such a dreary, dismal book, in my opinion. And why it’s been hyped up so much, I’ll never know. But what is the definition of a ‘classic’? Is it a book that is more than 100 years old? Is it a well-thought piece of literature? (Methinks friend Google will have to come to the rescue!) Bought GIRL ON THE TRAIN when it first came out. (And, No, I don’t regard it as a classic at all.)Tried to read it, found I couldn’t, then it was made into a film. Some of the ones the group has mentioned are good, in my opinion, again. Just goes to show – As long as people love to read, there will always be books. Way, Hay!
Eva Christou Well, the definition says it “stands the test of time”. I don’t think 100 years is necessary, but certainly more than the four years of Girl on the Train or the 8 years of Fifty Shades.
@Eva I just really like that style of writing. I grew up reading classics as my mum had lots in the house so got used to it very early. I liked the story too.
@Kari It stands the test, for sure. HP is a classic…One I read, but won’t read again and, probably because I was an adult when I read them, think they’re overhyped.
Calling the other two classics is like calling last year’s corvette model a “classic car” or last year’s top rock band “classic rock”. It’s just silly. Lol. You would think bibliophiles would be a little more careful with word selection. ?
I can see the HP series becoming a classic in the same vein that I think Roald Dahl has several children’s books which are classic even if not yet classics. Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle series can reasonably be considered classic, too, albeit “children’s books” becoming timeless. Gone Girl IMHO will never be as “classic” as Agatha Christie, though is she an author of classics?
Great Gatsby
@Jessica I didn’t like it either, I liked Tender is the Night so much better
Elanor oliphant
I absolutely hated that book. I had to DNF.
@Monique lmao and i dont even know what dnf means lol
Carrie it means did not finish.
Lol ok
@Carrie Doesn’t qualify as classic. Not yet, at least.
It’s a contemporary
Oliver twist
The Little Engine That Could!
@Nicholas ugh. My son went through a phase where I loved this book. The clown creeps me out.
Lol. Clowns , in general, always make me uncomfortable.
Probably more my issue than the clowns but still.
@Nicholas Nope. This guy is a little too John Wayne Gacy for my liking.
@Jessica lol. Gacyesque
Lolita ?
@Laura ? never!
Definitely Ulysses ?
For a moment I thought of it …??
1984 (I thought Animal Farm was a million times better).
@Monique i bought 1984 because of animal farm?
Agree! I cannot get through it!
Anna Karenina
@Danielle why ?
@Giorgi 800 pages a little tiny print about farming. I had to read it for uni – it was a drag and a exercise in self-discipline
well i read it in Russian and i am so in love with his language that even if he is talking about farming a love it .
To Kill a Mockingbird
Moby Dick
@Pat the most boring book ever!!!!
@Courtney Indeed.
Hamlet
Death of a Salesman
A Wrinkle In Time
The Art of War
You got the balls…
Indeed, I do.
The Great Gatsby.
@Madikeri I love Gatsby
@Michael But for me it was a great let down, probably it was because of over expectation.
@Madikeri Just the opposite for me. I went into it expecting it to be mediocre but was swept away by it.
@Michael Now I know why you liked it so much and I didn’t. ??
@Madikeri Gatsby is one of my favourite books ever ?
the Diary of Anne Frank.
Harry potter
Not a classic though, it’s a contemporary
Definitely Swann’s Way.
I have to wonder what people are using as the definition of a classic? To me classics are works by Shakespeare, Dickens, Poe, Austen, the Brontes, etc, not popular books of the 20th century.
Modern classics? Classic just basically means noteworthy. It doesn’t mean it has to be old ?♀️
@Janice I was going to say something similar. I was surprised to see Harry Potter mentioned. But I guess modern classics is definitely a thing. Even without that term, I would still consider 20th century works by people such as Steinbeck, Orwell, Hemingway etc. classics even though they are from the 20th century.
Okay, I concede modern classics but I looked up the definition of classic and found it usually means a work that has been considered excellent over a long period of time. I don’t believe the fact that something is wildly popular makes it a classic. (I’m thinking of Harry Potter here)
Yes, I agree. A classic has to stand the test of time.
Anna Karenina
Moby Dick
Atlas Shrugged
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Agreed. I love Hemingway & I hated this one.
@Lisa I liked it. There is a movie adaptation of it starring Gary Cooper and a very young and beautiful Ingrid Bergman that was very faithful to the book.
War and Peace.
@Ryan why ? It is one of my favorite novels and i am just curious.
@Giorgi Maybe it’s the fact I was reading English translation. I’m not sure. But the infinite attention to every minute detail turned me off. I got to page 350, and then I had to put it down. I may go back to it, but I’m not sure I have it in me.
He spent 1 1/2 pages describing one cannonball shoot through the air and miss its’ target. That’s when I couldn’t keep going.
@Ryan That attention to every detail is what i like the most about tolstoy, george eliot and balzac , and i think in war and peace he created one of the most fascinating charecters in literature. Natasha, helen , andrei , piere ….. .
@Giorgi Maybe if I’d been a literature major in college and had to read these books with weekly group discussions I’d appreciate them more.
I took some senior level literature classes, though, and studied American Transcendentalist Literature, and Japanese Popular Fiction.
I tried to appreciate Greek Literature, but only two plays and the Iliad, which we read in high school stand out to me.
I read a lot of French Literature, also, in my upperclassmen French language classes, but my interest was mostly the existential movement, and not any of the classics.
The books I really liked the most from back then were Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, 1984, The Metamorphosis, Lord of the Flies, The Hobbit, etc.
Maybe, after a few more contemporary novels I’ll go back to W&P and pick up on page #350. Maybe it will grow on me.
Several: Moby Dick, For Whom the bell tolls, Anna Karenina…..
Catcher in the Rye
Don quixote
Ulysses
@Amber definitely agreed
Anything Shakespeare
@Dodi I agree
Shantaram – hated that book
@Lynne me too
Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Love In The Time of Cholera, A Brave New World
Of the books we think first when we say CLASSICS, I would say The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Of the NEW CLASSICS, I would say Harry Potter, but I was also an adult when I read them, so that may make a difference.
I realize I’m in the minority nowadays on this one, but I really liked The Scarlet Letter.
I have no intention to read Harry Potter. Mainly, because, as you said, I’m an adult. I didn’t care for the first couple movies in the series, and I don’t think it would be worth the time to read.
@Luis I think I may have enjoyed The Scarlet Letter more than I did if it wasn’t required reading for AP English. I don’t dislike it because it was required reading, but how dull and uninspiring the teacher made it. Tried reading it on my own and couldn’t. But, the wonderful thing about books is they are like people: different, but beautiful! For each, there is one.
Yeah, read it my Junior year. My teacher was fantastic. To be honest, I’m sure I would not have appreciated it as much if not for wonderful insights and perspectives. In fact it was she who opened my eyes to the world of books. With that said, not even she could get me to like Death of a Salesman. Lol
Yes a teacher can make all the difference.
@Sheri The weird thing is, as much as I hated Mrs. Sherling and how boring Ms. Babcox was, I thoroughly enjoyed The Outsiders and To Kill A Mockingbird…but what’s her face at Goose Creek, was by far the better English teacher…and I HATED The Scarlet Letter!
”new classic” is an oxymoron
War and peace
The Old Man and the Sea, Lord of the Flies
I started reading both Catcher in the rye and High fidelity but couldn’t get past the first 2 or 3 chapters. Not my cup of tea!
Treasure Island just didn’t seem like anything special, but maybe back in the old days it was something fresh.
@Ashley I loved Treasure Island! I agree though that it wad probably much more magical in long ago times.
I can see how you can like it 🙂 I guess I was just already getting my adventure fix from Redwall when I was a kid which it kind of reminded me of actually.
To kill a mockingbird
Er, I’m scared of answering because I haven’t read the book that is my answer. ?
All of them lol
Great Expectations
Honestly, most of them.
Crime and Punishment.
Lost Horizon by
James Hilton
The idea of a serene place of peace & beauty gave me hope in the turbulent 60’s. And I was only @14 when I read it.
Oh, no! I love Lost Horizon! I love the adventure and the hope and the idea. Do you think he made it? One can only hope so for him.
The unknown is part of the appeal isn’t it♡
Catcher In The Rye
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Moby Dick
@Donna agree
I really enjoyed it. 🙂
50 shades of grey
@Melissa probably the worst writing ever
Why is my reply to this gone? ?♀️
It said classic book…….
Agree that it is a terrible waste of writing but it is not a classic.
Lord of the Flies.
The scarlet letter.
Rebecca
@Shelley I loved Rebecca ?
1984
Catcher in the Rye. The Great Gatsby.
@Nena please don’t say Gatsby?
I thought it was boring. ?♀️
Catcher in the Rye
To Kill A Mockingbird.
Sorry. ??♂️
The Bible? *ahem* j/k
Gone with the Wind
To kill a mockingbird
Pride and Prejudice
Wuthering Heights
Lolita
Lolitia
Romeo and Juliet.
Great Gatsby
@Nichole I agree
@Jill me too
The Bible!
Silas Marner
Ready Player One. The concept is incredible. The writer is so bad…
Anything by the Brontë sisters.
??
@Nichole I’m just not a gothic romance fan, lol. I’d get shouted down just about anywhere. I disliked Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, but there may be other works I’d prefer. Perhaps I haven’t explored it enough.
@Emmie those kind of books aren’t for everyone but still makes me a little sad because I love them…lol
@Nichole I feel your feels when I learn others do not enjoy Pride & Prejudice or Persuasion or Emma or Sense and Sensibility.
@Kimberly I love those ones, lol
CATCHER IN THE RYE!!!
My god, I don’t know what people see in that book!
@NJ, I agree with you.
Moby Dick
Yep. My vote goes to Moby Dick. 3 times I tried to read it, 3 times I failed. It’s soooooooo boriiiinnng.
@Darcy Same here. Couldn’t handle the language.
War & Peace.
Jane Eyre
Amen
@Evie I liked this book, but could NEVER understand her devotion to Mr. Rochester!
@Rae I think I may have felt differently had I not read Wuthering Heights first. This seemed so bland after that novel.
The Great Gatsby
Another overrated classic.
grapes of wrath
you are on glue…
??
I am not recomending this book to anybody Russell Braddon, The Inseparables. It may be a thin paperback, but its a real heavy weight.
Grapes of Wrath
@Sheri Than you didn’t read it right or understand it! Junior Asparagus was only trying to be nice! ? #YesThatIsAVeggieTalesReference #SorryNotSorry
https://youtu.be/Fw1hgdp7EdY
??
@Rae haha!
The Girl on the Train ( loved Grapes ? of Wrath though)
Old man and the sea. Tess of the Dubervilles
Awful.
@Katharine loved Tess of the d’Urbervilles ?
Anything by Jane Austen
Agreed. I had to make myself finish Emma! The most boring book I have ever read.
I totally disagree, Marilyn and Cathy. Love all the J.A books! They’re so witty and show us the ways in which people in a different era behaved.
@Eva Sorry, just find them so boring! They look good on the bookcase though!
@Eva Funnily enough I love Wuthering Heights!
@Marilyn me, too!
I’m just kidding. I do love me some Jane Austin but a few of the books were kind of boring. I loved the movie Emma but couldn’t get through the book.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS!. It’s such a dreary, dismal book, in my opinion. And why it’s been hyped up so much, I’ll never know.
But what is the definition of a ‘classic’? Is it a book that is more than 100 years old? Is it a well-thought piece of literature? (Methinks friend Google will have to come to the rescue!)
Bought GIRL ON THE TRAIN when it first came out. (And, No, I don’t regard it as a classic at all.)Tried to read it, found I couldn’t, then it was made into a film. Some of the ones the group has mentioned are good, in my opinion, again.
Just goes to show – As long as people love to read, there will always be books. Way, Hay!
Eva Christou Well, the definition says it “stands the test of time”. I don’t think 100 years is necessary, but certainly more than the four years of Girl on the Train or the 8 years of Fifty Shades.
@Eva oh i agree!
@Eva love Wuthering Heights ?
@Patricia Is it the prose you like or the story. Neither moved me, I’m afraid. Maybe I should give it another go?
@Eva I just really like that style of writing. I grew up reading classics as my mum had lots in the house so got used to it very early. I liked the story too.
Are we really considering Harry Potter, 50 Shades of Gray, and Girl on the Train “classics”?! ?♀️
@Kari They are the new classsics.
Rae Shue they might be someday. But I definitely don’t consider them classics now.
And honestly Harry Potter is the only thing on that list that I would imagine could ever be considered a classic. ??
@Kari People consider them classics now. I am with you…while I don’t consider them classics, they are called that now. Why? ?♀️
@Kari It stands the test, for sure. HP is a classic…One I read, but won’t read again and, probably because I was an adult when I read them, think they’re overhyped.
@Rae I’ve never read them, and probably never will. But I can certainly agree that in time they could be considered classic.
Calling the other two classics is like calling last year’s corvette model a “classic car” or last year’s top rock band “classic rock”. It’s just silly. Lol. You would think bibliophiles would be a little more careful with word selection. ?
I can definitely see Harry Potter…maybe not quite yet, but in the future. But never the other two!
I totally agree with you, @Kari. Will 50 Shades of Grey and Girl on the Train ever be considered ‘classics’?
@Eva I certainly hope 50 Shades is never considered a classic!
@Kari me neither! Never read it, never will!
@Eva I did. It wasn’t a good story and it wasn’t good writing.
I can see the HP series becoming a classic in the same vein that I think Roald Dahl has several children’s books which are classic even if not yet classics. Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle series can reasonably be considered classic, too, albeit “children’s books” becoming timeless. Gone Girl IMHO will never be as “classic” as Agatha Christie, though is she an author of classics?
Harry Potter deserves the title. Not the other two.
@Luis Agreed. And even at that, I think Harry needs a few more years under it’s belt before it earns the title “classic”.
The Sound and the Fury.
Moby Dick
Atlas Shrugged.
Note to self – never read Wuthering Heights
Anything by Emily Brontë.
Harry Potter is not classic literature for sure, I also have dragged through some of Jane Austen so ya I guess her classics can classify.
Bible
Ulysses