topic Re: Question Concerning the Classics in Book Club

Question Concerning the Classics

cornicopia — Sat, 09 May 2026 23:42:56 GMT

What do you consider your most favorite classic that you have read.

One of mine is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."

I also like, but is very scary, is "1984." I read it

in the pre-internet times and was so glad it was fiction,

but these days, I'm not so sure. It may becoming too

true.

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Sooner — Sun, 10 May 2026 00:36:20 GMT

One Hundred Years of Solitude

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Crime and Punishment

Pride and Prejudice

The Black Stallion

I could go on and on and on. . .

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Mz iMac — Sun, 10 May 2026 01:36:04 GMT

The Other Side Of Midnight - Sidney Sheldon

Lucky - Jackie Collins

Hollywood Wives - Jackie Collins

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

ellaphant — Sun, 10 May 2026 01:43:10 GMT

@Mz iMac wrote:
The Other Side Of Midnight - Sidney Sheldon
Lucky - Jackie Collins
Hollywood Wives - Jackie Collins

I wouldn't consider books by Collins and Sheldon "Classics"

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

haddon9 — Sun, 10 May 2026 01:45:08 GMT

@cornicopia wrote:
What do you consider your most favorite classic that you have read.
One of mine is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
I also like, but is very scary, is "1984." I read it
in the pre-internet times and was so glad it was fiction,
but these days, I'm not so sure. It may becoming too
true.

@cornicopia I also liked those two books mentioned a lot. I read 1984 in high school (in 1970). It seemed so futurisitc then. I read it again over the pandemic because some if it seemed to be coming true!

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Ronettes — Sun, 10 May 2026 04:13:37 GMT

"Gone With The Wind" was my favorite, and now that I am living in the South, I can understand it more.

In fact some of my friends would call me 'Scarlett', because I was forever saying, 'Oh I'll worry about that tomorrow'!

LOL

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

kaydee50 — Sun, 10 May 2026 04:44:35 GMT

I consider a book a "classic" when I can reread it several times and still find it interesting. The first one that comes to mind is To Kill a Mockingbird. Another is Catcher in the Rye.

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

FancyPhillyshopper — Sun, 10 May 2026 05:17:44 GMT

I read a lot, and have read hundreds of classics, some in the original languages, but most from Western cultures. There is an organization called Great Books of the Western World that tried to capture many important titles.

I would like to read more from the East to expand my experience and knowledge.

I found Crime and Punishment a bit ponderous.

All Jane Austen is light and sweet, but I think the movies are cuter.

The Canterbury Tales was always a must-read in schools.

Cien Años de Soledad is a bit confusing and long. Don Quixote is somewhat humorous, but also sad.

Dracula is extremely scary, especially if read late at night.

The Great Gatsby is easy to read, but has heavy themes.

I could not make it through Moby ******.

Little Women is great for younger readers.

I have read almost all works by Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, and Frank Herbert--great writers!!

I also like historical poetry and theater--IMO everything by Shakespeare is a classic!

Beowulf is an ancient masterpiece.

I just purchased recently new updated translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and I am going to try to make it through both of them this year.

I have read some of the Mayan Popul Vuh.

I have also read a few historical Icelandic sagas, which inspired books like Lord of the Rings.

I cannot choose one favorite, because literature reflects the culture, the time, and the people, and all are unique and special.

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Sooner — Sun, 10 May 2026 09:44:18 GMT

Don Quixote!

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

vermint — Sun, 10 May 2026 10:47:54 GMT

@FancyPhillyshopper Little Women is probably my favorite--and at 71, I still re-read it at least once a year!

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Judaline — Sun, 10 May 2026 11:07:23 GMT

Testimony of Two Men

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

kathie66 — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:07:50 GMT

Of Mice and Men

But my absolute favorite is The Outsiders

I want to read The Count of Monte Cristo and hope to get to it this year.

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

AZfem — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:45:03 GMT

Sense & Sensability

Pride & Prejudice

Candide by Voltaire

The Three Musketeers & its 2 sequals

Twenty Years After & The Vicomte de Bragilone

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars

The Idea of March

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Iwantcoffee — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:59:09 GMT

The Great Gatsby

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Hobbit

The Magician's Nephew

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Still Raining — Sun, 10 May 2026 14:02:20 GMT

Lord of the Flies has haunted me for years. A must read.

The Naked Ape is also something to ponder. Might read it again now.

Gone With the Wind is interesting to reread after 40 years or so. It becomes a very different story with more life experience.

I see some activity going on Libby 🤣

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

teganslaw — Sun, 10 May 2026 14:05:07 GMT

East of Eden

Sense and Sensibility (liked it better than Pride and Prejudice)

The Canterbury Tales (surprised how much I liked it)

Great Expectations

Tale of Two Cities

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Bookplate — Sun, 10 May 2026 15:37:50 GMT

A Christmas Carol

Nicholas Nickleby

Great Expectations

David Copperfield (OK, its a little Dickens heavy!)

Howard's End

The Great Gatsby

Jane Eyre

The Catcher in the Rye

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Pittfanatic — Sun, 10 May 2026 18:49:09 GMT

To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye are my two favorite books. I read them every year. Harper Lee was a brilliant writer. JD Salinger's book about Holden Caulfield's struggle with grief over the death of his younger brother while he tries to deal with a world he feels is filled with people who are "phony" will always be relevant.

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

Judaline — Sun, 10 May 2026 20:11:51 GMT

I also loved Rebecca and Desiree. And many more, lol.

Re: Question Concerning the Classics

skatting44 — Mon, 11 May 2026 16:58:47 GMT

" The Old Man and the Sea" a 1952 novella by Ernest Hemingway .

" The story explores themes of courage, defeat, perseverance, and dignity, using Hemingway's signature simple, powerful prose, and was instrumental in him winning the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. ."

There was a movie made in 1958 from this novella story staring Spencer Tracy

" A Tale of Two Cities " by Charles Dickens

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known".