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62% of people pretend to have read classic novels
- Thread starter Messofanego
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Says more about the kind of person he is than those he mocks, tbh.
this is exactly what i read, one for one, i approve of your life choices.
I don't read much, but from my more widespread film watching I know it applies there. Most films known to be great are usually kind of great. But generally I see myself reading somehing because there are some unique aspects in the book that interest me beyond simply the book's fame as a classic.
For example I found the crime and punishment film I had seen to be pretty good. The thing that interested me is showing the killer's emotional state and how he is affected by the morality of his crime. What I hear about the book interests me and I see it likely that I might read it. On the negative side is a very old book, and I am afraid it might be hard to read in some ways.
I once thought I'd increase my reading cred by checking out Russian literature. started reading Karamazov started, but gave up earlybwhen I got confused about who was who. Crime and punishment is still standing unopened on my bookshelf.
- 1984 by George Orwell A few times, Animal Farm was good too
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy eventually, need another beach vacation
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens bad imo
- Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger worst
- A Passage to India by E M Forster dont plan on it
- Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein I think 3 times through the main text, hobbit probably 5 times, and at least once through the other works
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee bad
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky need to read again, Brothers Karazamov was interesting too
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen dont care
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë dont care
I just saw a bit a few days ago about Tolstoy's stuff being opened to public domain, so ill probably read it then. I am out of shelf space and as a dedicated tree murder i refuse to get a kindle.
i'm a little suprised that war and peace (and to a lesser extent to kill a mockingbird) is so high in a uk list. the others make sense to me - people lie about 1984 and catcher in the rye because they're still culturally significant touchstones and they don't want to seem behind on trendy stuff; people lie about dickens, austen, bronte and forster because their works inform important parts of uk history and people don't want to seem ignorant of our heritage; people lie about dostoyevsky because he's a big ideas writer and makes them seem clever and deep (he's very popular among uni age people, especially online).
i only ever hear people reference war and peace as a joke example of a really long book in person, if someone i knew said they read it i would think they were kidding at first whereas every other one is plausible.
i only ever hear people reference war and peace as a joke example of a really long book in person, if someone i knew said they read it i would think they were kidding at first whereas every other one is plausible.
i simply could not get into brave new world, tried twice, and it bored me both times. enjoyed 1984, thought it was a good book
Kuro Madoushi
Unconfirmed Member
Hmm...I have not read many of those books and I'm an English major. In fact, I don't even remember many of the books I read back then; I personally enjoyed modern dramas more.
People like others with correct grammar? Hah! Could've fooled me with how defensive people get when you correct your and you're.
People like others with correct grammar? Hah! Could've fooled me with how defensive people get when you correct your and you're.
The point is not the read it because it's a classic, is that in my experience, following the "classic readlist" has a better batting average than pretty much any other method of picking fiction to read.
There are certainly countless little known brilliant gems, both contemporary and old, but they can be hard to find.
Also, the fact that they're culturally significant is a bonus in my mind, you probably seen it in movies as well.
I would categorize it as more of an interesting book than a good one if that makes sense.
I definitely think that Huxley was a better essayist than a fiction writer.
I'm reading the karamazov brothers (that's how it's worded in my translation, atleast) and it's actually a pretty great book...if you can get past the first ~600 pages
and the naming really is a pain, I'm not familiar with russian names and then you have each major character being referred to by several on the fly and it gets very confusing. As for minor characters, I never know who's who.
Most of the English book on that list don't have correct grammar, or more accurately, they have non-standard English in them; there is no such thing as correct grammar
.maybe even all of them, not sure about Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre (though it wouldn't surprise me given the period they were written at), but the rest of them contain non-standard English for sure.
Trying reading Gogol sometime
.But seriously, you should read him, at least give his Petersburg Tales a try.
When reading C&P I had a webpage with a list of all the characters bookmarked on my phone. It helped immensely.
I feel like my boy Fyodor prepared me for George RR Martin's shenanigans with characters.
As I said previously it is not a bad method. But picking fiction that you think is likely to fit into your tastes and is highly regarded is also a good way to go if you choose to do that. There are so many highly regarded books that some filering by yourself can provide good results.
This is also relevant to the number of books you are reading.
How about another study conducted via gaf; of the books you've read that are on that list, how many of them do you have anything significant to say about? Because while I've read Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird in school, I could barely give you a synopsis anymore, forget anything appreciable on the themes and whatnot. You can add The Great Gatsby to that list and a number of other stuff... Chekhov comes to mind.
1984, Crime and Punishment and even LOTR are a different story, I sought those out. I have clear impressions of that stuff. So while I can say I have the two I mention above "under my belt", it doesn't really mean anything.
1984, Crime and Punishment and even LOTR are a different story, I sought those out. I have clear impressions of that stuff. So while I can say I have the two I mention above "under my belt", it doesn't really mean anything.
1984 - Yes
War and Peace - Yes
Great Expectations - Yes
Catcher in the Rye - Yes
A Passage to India - No
Lord of the Rings - No
To Kill A Mockingbird - No
Crime and Punishment - Yes
Pride and Prejudice - No
Jane Eyre - No
The Bible - No
Homers Odyssey - Yes
Wuthering Heights - No
PS : Dostoyevsky is a genius, and everybody should read The Brothers Karamazov.
War and Peace - Yes
Great Expectations - Yes
Catcher in the Rye - Yes
A Passage to India - No
Lord of the Rings - No
To Kill A Mockingbird - No
Crime and Punishment - Yes
Pride and Prejudice - No
Jane Eyre - No
The Bible - No
Homers Odyssey - Yes
Wuthering Heights - No
PS : Dostoyevsky is a genius, and everybody should read The Brothers Karamazov.
anarckitty
Member
Not ashamed to say the only two books I've read on that list are 1984 and Great Expectations. I tried to read Lord of the Rings, but I just couldn't finish it. I think that's when I realized I'm not a fan of Fantasy Fiction. Just yesterday I was thinking about buying a copy of Catcher in the Rye after listening to a Salinger review. Does Pride and Prejudice and Zombies count? =P
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I've read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' I also read Brim Stoker's 'Dracula'
Should have gone with something lighter, like Gogol or maybe Pushkin's prose. Dostoevsky's heavy writing style is just too much sometimes, even if you read it in Russian.
Broder Salsa
Banned
Added all those 10 to my have read list on goodreads now. Thanks OP, feel educated already.
Tesseract
Banned
Tolkien is pretty unique in his way of writing.
Have you tried any other fantasy authors? Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Terry Brooks to name a few.
I'm sort of in the same boat, would love to hear impressions of it. I got 5 chapters in a couple of weeks back before putting it down. It's genuinely funny, but it's a huge book and if the tone is as one note as the beginning, I don't know if that's enough to carry it such a long way.
Messofanego
Banned
I've noticed this a lot recently, but what's with people hating on Catcher in the Rye? Even my cousin shits all over it and she gobbles over literature a lot.
I remember reading like 20 pages of it, and found the narrator really interesting. Never read a book with such an angry protagonist. I've been meaning to read the whole thing after I watched Ghost in the Shell, so I can form my own opinion.
I remember reading like 20 pages of it, and found the narrator really interesting. Never read a book with such an angry protagonist. I've been meaning to read the whole thing after I watched Ghost in the Shell, so I can form my own opinion.
Yeah, I'm going to guess that the host of the Reading Rainbow is more likely to shiv him than give him a thumbs up for that post.
It can be hard to read at time (though I don't read Spanish, so it might be the translation) but it feels like a modern novel, which is amazing when you consider when it was written (or compare it to other books of that time).
Borges had a great line about how the main thrust of the humor of Don Quixote is wasted on modern reader, if I can't find it (or if someone else can't beat me to the punch) I would praphrase it, probably horribly.
PirateKing
Junior Member
Can I request? I'd like to know some recommendations about ''Realistic World Mystery'' or anything that makes my mind think too much about, but try to ignore sci fi themed please. Thanks.
velociraptor
Junior Member
We have similar tastes.
However, I have yet to finish Lord Of The Rings. I still need to read 1984.
1984 is pretty good. One of the very, very few I've enjoyed.
Messofanego
Banned
Is there a situation or uni degree where you'd be forced to read War and Peace and Crime and Punishment? Politics major?
Pale Fire by Nabokov.
Don't read anything about it, just jump in.
The only thing you need to know about it that
it's fiction
It's not structured like a typical mystery story (but there is nothing typical about this book or its structure) but it would most assuredly make you think.
Short of a literature degree? I can't imagine.
DurielBlack
Member
Only read 1984 (which I thought was good) and the first book and a half of LotR.
I imagine I would find most of those classic novels shitty or overrated much like I find classic films.
I read 10-20 novels a year and own hundreds of books. Actually, I have too many books and have leaning towers of them scattered around my room because I ran out of shelf space a couple years ago. I should fix that and set up a personal library in the spare bedroom.
I imagine I would find most of those classic novels shitty or overrated much like I find classic films.
I read 10-20 novels a year and own hundreds of books. Actually, I have too many books and have leaning towers of them scattered around my room because I ran out of shelf space a couple years ago. I should fix that and set up a personal library in the spare bedroom.
AdventureRacing
Member
I enjoy reading but i rarely have the time for it. I already do a ton of study for my job and if i'm not doing research or study for that i'm just not in the mood to dive into a book. With an attitude like yours i don't think people are missing out on much.
I might try and get back into more but i don't see it as a requirement.
ThisWreckage
Banned
A lot of younger people hate the protagonist because they view him as whiny and angsty, but in reality he's a reflection of who they are.
Messofanego
Banned
Ah, ok.
I just realised Harry Potter books are 600+ pages, and Order of the Phoenix was 768 (I gave up on the series after the first 50 pages of this). So pointlessly long.
Which ones are worth reading that are in that range and still "page-turners"?
anarckitty
Member
I have not. I've heard good things about Terry Brooks, but I have not heard of the other two. I may just have to check one of them out.
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