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Which classic book(s) did you not love that others rave about? And will you re-read it, to see if your opinion or perspective has changed?

Which classic book(s) did you not love that others rave about? And will you re-read it, to see if your opinion or perspective has changed?

Sean #questionnaire #classics

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67 Answers

Don

I’m not a big fan of Thomas Hardy’s novels.

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SeanQuestion author

Ps the two I can think of for me personally are the tempest and the heart if darkness and I do plan on reading those again.

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Don

I like both of those. I’d add D H Lawrence as a noted writer whose novels just don’t seem very good to me.

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SeanQuestion author

@Don I read all of Shakespeare’s tragedies, comedies and histories and I loved them all apart from the tempest but think I may have missed the point on this one

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Don

@Sean Hard to say. One of my bucket list items is to have seen a production of each of Shakespeare’s plays. I have King John, Timon of Athens, Henry VIII, and All’s Well left before I’ve done it. I bet I’ve seen 20+ productions of The Tempest, including some major actors–Ralph Fiennes, Alan Howard, Patrick Stewart, Alec McCowen, Alex Jennings, Mark Rylance, Vanessa Redgrave (!)–as Prospero.

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Mena

Heart of Darkness is number one on my list! Want to reread Camus , The Stranger

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SeanQuestion author

I’ve not moved onto camus yet. The stranger and the plague have been on my tbr list for a long time.

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Tracy

me too❗️Hated Heart of Darkness. Too many books in the world to try again

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Ana

I’m joining the team of those disillusioned with Heart of Darkness! I found it quite boring 🙁

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Linda

The great Gatsby.

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Don

Agreed. I like Tender Is the Night SO much more.

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Linda

Haven’t read that one. Is it really good or is it just better than Gatsby?

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SeanQuestion author

Loved Gatsby and tender is the night too, I have another Fitzgerald on my tbr shelf too, the side of paradise I think it’s called

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Don

@Linda It’s really good. For my money, Fitzgerald’s best work is in his short stories–particularly, say, “Babylon Revisited.”

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Linda

Will try it. Thanks Don

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Mena

Loved The Great Gatsby on the reread! I would read it again! Same with The Catcher in the Rye.

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Ana

Ugh I WANT to like Fitzgerald so badly! He has everything I usually look for in a favorite writer AND a lot of my favorite authors were fans. And yet, …

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Linda

I know what you mean Ana. I kept forcing myself to finish it because others have loved it. But I just couldn’t get into it!

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Anne

Wuthering Heights. I read it a long time ago and hated it, mainly because I disliked all the characters. I think it deserves another read at some point!

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SeanQuestion author

I liked Wuthering heights but not as much as some other classics and like yourself I think it’s because the majority of the characters aren’t likeable

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Philippa

Same for me. I really think I should give it another try.

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Beth

I didn’t like this one either and am astonished when people refer to it as a classic romance! There was nothing remotely romantic about it.

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Hudson

Me too. How they behaved made no sense. I was so frustrated

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Cresta

I love WH, but I read it as an adult. I would not have liked it when I was younger. I wouldn’t have really understood it.

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Chris

They try to pass it off as a book for kids, but it’s definitely not.

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Cresta

@Chris – I let Seniors read it (I teach British Lit) but only a select few. We do novel rounds where they can choose from four different books and I’m pretty selective on who I’ll allow for WH.

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Hudson

@Cresta curious why you’re selective and what your thoughts are on the book?? I couldn’t stand how the plot line wandered. I wanted to slap Cathy. Thought Heathcliff behaved like a victim for part of the novel, then a petulant child… oh dear

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Anne

I think you’ve summed it up for me, Hudson. I thought exactly the same!

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Cresta

@Hudson – the maturity needed to understand the psychological implications and tragedy of the love story.

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Cresta

I was on my phone before – but to elaborate, I don’t believe high school students are ready to understand that kind of physical connection to another person (the tragedy of their love story) and how it changes who they are as people. They have limited experience in this. Of course, I teach at a school that is very small on a college campus and most of my students are far more concerned with going to college than who is dating whom.

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Siueng

Henry James’ The Ambassador

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Don

Oh, I love that novel.

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Louiza

I love Henry James!

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Ñès

Things fall apart, I was obliged to read it for college that’s why I didn’t really enjoy reading it, I think I may read it again

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Maureen

My Cousin Rachel, I just couldn’t get onto it. Perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind.

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SeanQuestion author

I have still not read this one, it’s been on my tbr list for a while now. I’ve read and enjoyed other work by du maurier though.

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Susan

I’ve read several DH Lawrence novels, and disliked them all. Likewise, Wuthering Heights, which I’ve read several times. John Steinbeck and F Scott Fitzgerald don’t do anything for me. I don’t particularly dislike them; I just don’t see the huge appeal of them. With literally hundreds of books on my TBR list, I probably won’t rush to read any of these again.

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Amanda

Anna Karenina and no I will not be rereading it

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SeanQuestion author

It’s quite a lengthy book to reread if you didn’t enjoy it. I’ve not read it yet, it’s on my book shelf , I plan on reading it this year. I read some Russian lit last year and enjoyed them.

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Amanda

I like some Russian let but that one was particularly frustrating to me

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SeanQuestion author

@Amanda I have heard mixed reviews on this one , will give it ago later In the year.

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Amanda

It was on my book bucketlist so I forced it

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Don

@Amanda I love all of Tolstoy.

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Amanda

I read Death of Ivan Ilych and loved that

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Hudson

Awwwww. Couldn’t put it down. Read it in 3 days

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Louiza

I love all Russian Lit. I read Ana Karenina and loved it in just over a week during daily walks (I enjoy reading and walking) and if there weren’t so many books I still need to read and not enough time, I would reread it again — Same with all Tolstoy’s works or any Russian author’s works. Next goal is War and Peace. I haven’t read that one yet.

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SeanQuestion author

@Louiza war and peace is a great book , it does take a hundreds pages or so to warm up to it as there is a lot of characters to introduced at the start of the book

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Bianca

Jane Asten’s social class level obsessed stories of “everyone gets a husband”.

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Bianca

…although, the stories do have charm.

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Lisa

To me, the charm of her stories is in her really skewering these social mores, and poking gentle fun at human foibles.

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Beth

My favorite author! Lol. I love all of her books!

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Bianca

Their not terrible; just not my preference. ?

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Chris

Have to agree with Bianca – except about the charm…

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Hudson

Moby Dick. Tried several times. Just don’t get it. Lots of the sea the sea the sea-then you’re almost at the end and it’s like “oh my god there’s a whale we’re hit we ate some people Rescue boat!!” Drove me nutty

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SeanQuestion author

I get that. I enjoyed the main nucleus of the story but he had away of going off on long winded tangents that didn’t interest me as much as the main plot.

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Hudson

@Sean there were a few hidden gems. But the climax was so rushed. And the aftermath barely discussed. Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea-the tragedy of the whale ship Essex – which is the true story -is so much better

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Cresta

I appreciate the story for ya metaphorical literary merit of chasing your own “big white whale”-but that’s about it. Could not read that book.

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Cresta

I appreciate the story for its metaphorical literary merit of chasing your own “big white whale”-but that’s about it. Could not read that book.

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SeanQuestion author

@Hudson I agree about the ending too

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Jesus

Tiresome novel

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Rita

So far The Old Man and the Sea and Ulysses are on my “No thanks” list of books that I don’t need to ever read again because I barely got through them the first time around, lol. Partly because of the way they were written but also because of the story not holding my interest well enough. I’m sure there are others, but those two stand out the most for me!

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Chris

The Three Musketeers. After reading The Count of Monte Cristo, 3M was such a massive disappointment. So shallow and poorly thought out in my opinion. My son had been telling me how great it is for years, so I guess I let him down. That’s okay. He doesn’t like the Beatles…

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Susan

I enjoyed The Three Musketeers, but I agree: it doesn’t hold a candle to The Count of Monte Christo.

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Hudson

@Susan I saw Paris Ballet stage Count of Monte Christo. Was wonderful!:)

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Jesus

Moby Dick.. Don’t have the stamina to read it again….

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Louiza

I didn’t like The Great Gatsby, Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness (although I appreciated the beauty of the language), and I’m not a fan of Faulker’s As I lay dying. There are aspects I appreciate; however, the writing of these just doesn’t do it for me. I find the writing dull & tedious. Nevertheless, I own the copies & I would definitely read them again, though much later to see if my opinion has changed over time. I think in general I don’t like Fitzgerald’s or Faulkner’s writing style. I loved Conrad’s writing, but I found the story tedious & the language too difficult to follow. When I first read Heart of Darkness my English skills were not as strong; now that I’m fluent I might enjoy it better.

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Ana

Same, to all!

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