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| Reading the Classics? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 9 2009, 03:06:36 PM (1,720 Views) | |
| Saft | Mar 9 2009, 03:06:36 PM Post #1 |
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Does anyone else read the Classics? If so what? |
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| Nick22 | Mar 9 2009, 03:09:10 PM Post #2 |
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Resident History Buff
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What do you define as classics? Oliver Twist, Tom Sawyer. The Count of Monte Cristo? Les Miserables? |
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| Saft | Mar 9 2009, 03:41:33 PM Post #3 |
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Yes exactly that. I should have been more clear, sorry Nick. I have read: Oliver Twist Pride and Prejuduce (Had to for school) Dracula Illiad an Odyseey and a couple of others. I've also got (bought last week from a book fair on Saturday): Les Miserables and Moby Dick, so I look forward to reading them. |
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| Nick22 | Mar 9 2009, 03:48:06 PM Post #4 |
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Resident History Buff
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"From the heart of hell, I stab at thee!" - Captain Ahab :lol: I've read all of books I've mentioned in my last post,. plus all 3 of Dante's Divine Comedy.. |
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| Saft | Mar 9 2009, 04:01:51 PM Post #5 |
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Out of curiosity; what is Les Miserables like? |
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| Kor | Mar 9 2009, 04:11:32 PM Post #6 |
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I've some as a kid, some I have not. I've read quite a few, but not all. h.g. wells, jules verne, Tom sawyer, huckleberry fin, and some others I may have forgotten. Listened to Dracula on audiobook I had checked out years ago, dont' recall if I ever read it or not. |
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| Mumbling | Mar 9 2009, 04:15:34 PM Post #7 |
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Rawr.
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I've read oliver twist last summer. Was definitly interesting Not sure if I have read any other book like that, might have, but I usually forget stuff like that. |
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| Nick22 | Mar 9 2009, 06:24:47 PM Post #8 |
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Resident History Buff
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it is outstanding Saft, one of the great workds of literature. it was a huge bestseller in France and in America during the Civil War. it is a story about one man's redemption, from being a convict and outcast, to finding love and family, and peace.. |
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| Saft | Mar 10 2009, 11:54:45 AM Post #9 |
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Sounds fantastic, I can't wait to begin reading it. Thank you Nick. Other classics I've read are; The Jungle Book The Lost world Sherlock Holmes (which for some reason are listed as classics...) |
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| Kor | Mar 10 2009, 12:34:54 PM Post #10 |
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Rudyard Kipling, I forgot about him. I read some of his books. |
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| Nick22 | Mar 10 2009, 01:13:41 PM Post #11 |
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Resident History Buff
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I've read all of the Sherlock holmes books, my favorite is the Case of the Red-Headed League and the Mary Rusell spinoffs are excellent, The BeeKeepers Apprenctice is my favorite. Other Favorites of mine are Around the world in 80 days David Copperfield A Christmas Carol(naturally) Anything by JRR Tolkien Alice in Wonderland The Merlin trilogy by Mary Stewart |
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| Kor | Mar 10 2009, 01:16:31 PM Post #12 |
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Many of the classics you can now download free through project gutenberg since they are public domain, though not all of them. |
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| Malte279 | Mar 10 2009, 03:44:08 PM Post #13 |
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I'm a historian. I MUST be like that!
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I suppose everyone will have an own definition of what a classic is. Mark Twain put it quite nicely:
As for books I read which I would label classics and which I did read (apart from all those Shakespeare plays) here are those I can think of right now: The Little Prince The Neverending Story 1984 Illiad Odyssey A large number of modern language editions of Greek, Roman, North, French, English, Germanic, etc. mythology Most of the Leatherstockings books (The last of the Mohicans etc.) Uncle Tom's Cabin Treasure Island Ivanhoe The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings 1001 Night All quiet on the western front 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Around the World in Eighty Days The Blockade Runners Momo Ben Hur Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn The Three Musketeers Robin Hood Fahrenheit 451 There are many more books which would be called classics over here, but I doubt many of you would have heard of them as they didn't make the leap into the English speaking cultural consciousness (especially books by Karl May for example). True to Mark Twain's statement there are really several classics I always meant to read, but never got around to. |
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| crazedwriter | Mar 10 2009, 05:33:25 PM Post #14 |
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Chomper
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By classics, it's meant those books that made it on the top 100 novels of all time. For me a classic is what has withstood the test of time and always gives insight to the human condition. OK, some classics I've read from junior high on: Every major Dickens novel Pride and Prejudice Jane Eyre Silas Marner Odyssey Illiad All Shakespeare's major plays in high school -- and even more in college To Kill a Mockingbird Every novel & short story Mark Twain wrote Lord of the Flies, 1984, Brave New World, Fahernheit 451, Lord of the Rings... And the list goes on and on... There was lots of classic non-fiction I read from 8th grade all the way through college and grad school, but far too numerous to list here. FWIW I prefer non-fic over fiction, but I'll always read a good book for fun -- if it's good! :lol: |
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| Malte279 | Mar 10 2009, 05:47:09 PM Post #15 |
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I'm a historian. I MUST be like that!
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Apart from what we read the question what a classic is is really quite interesting. What makes a book a classic? The quality of the book in which respect? How old does a book have to be to be a classic (e.g. I don't think many would nowadays call any Harry Potter book a classic, but I'm quite sure that some day they will). Is fame of the book or the author required to make a book a classic? I read some books which may be labeled classics but which seemed so utterly boring, and pointless, and bare of real substance to me that I did not include them on the list above famous authors or not. |
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| Nick22 | Mar 10 2009, 06:04:17 PM Post #16 |
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Resident History Buff
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A Classic is something that stands the test of time and becomes ingrained into the culture. This can happen quicly -"instant " or 'New' classic, or it can take a long time. Uncle Tom's Cabin took decades before it was accepted as a true classic, but it showed the inhumanity of slavery and the ceulty of slaveowners.. |
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| Serris | Mar 10 2009, 09:54:35 PM Post #17 |
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General of the Great Valley
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I currently read the Aeneid... in Latin! It's for school but it's still damn cool. And in English. I have read: Gulliver's Travels Midsummer Night's Dream Christmas Carol Journey to the Center of the Earth 1984 Animal Farm Brave New World Most of the these were for school but I loved them anyways. And to be honest, I started 1984 on my own. What I did start on my own: Gulliver's Travels, Animal Farm, Don Quixote Bear in mind I have read much more than what is listed. |
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| Nick22 | Mar 10 2009, 10:52:00 PM Post #18 |
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Resident History Buff
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Of Course, and thats true of everyone posting in this thread..Trying to list everything wpould take hours if not days.. |
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| LettuceBacon&Tomato | Mar 10 2009, 11:10:54 PM Post #19 |
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Rations
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Watchmen made Time Magazine's "Best 100 Novels Since 1920" list. Would that make it a classic? If so, I've read it. Not counting school, Taming of the Shrew, Siddartha, Moby Dick, Death of a Salesman, 1984 (read it for school also, but I'd read it previously in 7th grade), Englewood Entropy, and Oedipus trilogy. I'm not counting school assignments or Great Illustrated Classics; both would seriously increase this post length. Of all these books, I think the overall best book was Siddartha, by Herman Hesse. It's short, but it taught me there can be true redemption through embracing nature. It's a novel for the ages. |
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| Malte279 | Mar 11 2009, 04:34:50 AM Post #20 |
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I'm a historian. I MUST be like that!
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Which language? Latin or English? I had to read it too in Latin at school. Did a presentation on one of the chapters too, but the presentation was in German (we hardly ever actually spoke Latin it school, it was merely translating all the time). |
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