Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is all about Top Ten Favorite Classic Books this week. The guidelines are loose (my favorite kind!) so I'm looking at Top Classics I Haven't Yet Read but Fully Intend To.
Madame Bovary - I know the plot, have read about it, feel I know it, but have never actually read it.
A Farewell to Arms - I know, I know--if you like Hemingway, this is novel is why.
Paradise Lost - How did I never read this in high school or college? Maybe I'll listen to it--that's how I "read" Dante's Inferno.
Robinson Crusoe - I think I'll like it. A must-read for anyone interested in the early development of the novel as I am.
War and Peace - I finally tackled Anna Karenina a couple of years ago, so I just have to make time to read this one.
The Mayor of Casterbridge - I actually really like Hardy and have owned a copy for years.
Crime and Punishment - Again, I think I'll like it, but have been avoiding it.
The Color Purple - I really need to get a copy so I can actually put it on a reading list.
Tristram Shandy - see note regarding Robinson Crusoe.
Les Miserables - knowing all the songs from the musical by heart doesn't count. Must read, if only for the connection to the American Civil War.
Awesome list! I haven't read any of these! Well, except for Le Mis, but I was in 7th grade so I didn't really get too much out of it then! Also, I like your idea of listening Paradise Lost, definitely a good way to get some classics off the list.
ReplyDeleteTristram Shandy is an amazing book, especially when you realize how "postmodern" Sterne was. Robinson Crusoe is a very interesting novel, and a good companion novel to that is Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (also 18th century). And finally, if you really are interested in the development of the novel, a great book to read (and it's not too jargony or academic) is J. Paul Hunter's Before Novels.
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired me to try to get to Tristram Shandy soon, and the info on the Before Novels book is much appreciated. I'll check that out. I've heard of Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (I think in John Sutherland's A Little History of Literature) but I need to get a copy of that too!
DeleteGreat twist on the original list! My favorite Hemingway has always been The Sun Also Rises but it has been a long time since I read it. I remember reading Crime and Punishment and intensely hating it both times. I was still in high school both read through a though so maybe I would have had a greater appreciation later (I went from being apathetic about Beloved to loving it between high school and college). I think I like anti villains too much because I really wanted Raskolnikov to just own his actions and stop having stabs of guilt for so long. I know exactly what you mean about classics that you know exactly what happened without ever having read them. I think my number one intend to read would probably be The Moonstone right now.
ReplyDeleteGreat list. I read The Mayor of Casterbridge and Robinson Crusoe in high school. And, I read The Color Purple in college to see what the movie didn't show. The rest, I've been avoiding. I should really try the Hemingway, though.
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That's a great list. I have not read anything by Thomas Hardy, and I've never managed to finish anything by Tolstoy. I'very also had Tristram Shandy and Robinson Crusoe on my "someday" list for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI've read several of these books - War and Peace, surprised me as I enjoyed it very much and Les Mis, although it dragged in parts, too many diversions, but still well worth reading. I haven't read any Hemingway and I've been meaning to read The Color Purple for far too long!
ReplyDeleteI've only read a few of these - Madam Bovary (get the Lydia Davis translation), The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Color Purple (great on audio), and Les Miserables.
ReplyDeleteC&P and W&P are both on my list and, like you, I think I'll enjoy them... just need to make time.
A very worthy list. I have only read two of these myself.
ReplyDeleteParadise Lost and Les Miserables.
Impressive that you read Dante's inferno on audiobook. I think that I would have trouble following what was going on. I think that the same would be true of Paradise Lost. Of course as verse I suppose these works were meant to be read aloud.