Thursday, August 2, 2012

Classics Club - Fave Classic

Since the Classics Club site has officially launched, I thought this would be a good time to see where I’m at and join in on the first meme. Surprisingly, during my blogging absence I read four books off my Classics Club list without even realizing it! Go me! I’m quite sad that I put The Golden Bowl by Henry James on the list instead of The Portrait of a Lady since Portrait is the one I’m reading now and it’s not making me jump for joy (it’s not bad either, it’s just not awesome thus far). When I made my list, I included quite a few things that would be more of a stretch for me instead of just making a list of 50 unread classics that I own, since those are ones I’ll read anyway.

Expect reviews of these four classics soon:
  • Ulysses
  • Animal Farm
  • Cloud Atlas (I know this one isn’t exactly a classic yet, but I still put it on my list.)
  • Far from the Madding Crowd
As for the meme, we’re supposed to write about our favorite classic work. But how can I pick just one? Out of my top ten favorite books, nine are classics and I have no idea how to order them. I’ll list all ten here for you, in case you’re curious. I’m thinking about rereading all of these next year, since I haven’t been doing much rereading lately. How fun would that be – reading all your favorite books in one year!

In no particular order:
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  •  A Little Princess
  •  I Capture the Castle 
  •  Pride and Prejudice (I’m limiting myself to one work per author)
  •  The Harry Potter series (if I only get to pick one, I’d pick the Prisoner of Azkaban) 
  •  Bleak House 
  •  Their Eyes Were Watching God
  •  Wuthering Heights
  •  Jane Eyre
  •  Atlas Shrugged
How do I pick just one of those as my favorite favorite??? I suppose I might say A Little Princess, just because it was the first of these I read and it was really the book that taught me to love classics and England. Without Sara Crewe, would I have developed a life-long passion for both of those? Who knows. I must have read this 100 times. I loved pretended to be Sara, which is sort of morbid. I’d sit in my closet and read, pretending it was the attic. I sometimes tried to read in our actual attic, but it was too dusty and usually too hot. I was much better at pretending to suffer than actually suffering. J

It’s interesting to list all of these out. I notice some common themes. They all feature strong females, even the Dickens’ title, which is a bit unusual for him. All but two focus on younger women, so it makes sense I’d identify with them. All except P&P have some sort of sadness/darkness to them and focus on people finding hope even through struggles. There’s a lot of poor characters struggling to make ends meet. But there’s a lot of hope too, even though several of these don’t have the typical happy ending. And quite a few feature characters who like to read. Can’t imagine why I like that! Maybe I’ll come up with two more titles and re-read one per month next year. Maybe a Shakespeare's Henry V and Vanity Fair.

Well, I'm off to watch more Olympics! I've managed to avoid spoilers so far and hope USA won gold in women's gymnastics today!

16 comments:

  1. I like that you analyzed your choices and looked for common themes. I must do that sometime. :)

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    1. Thanks! I'd never thought about it before, but it was interesting to think about. I read a pretty wide range of books, but I clearly have a favorite type.

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  2. I had a hard time picking just one...such a difficult question!

    And stick with Portrait of a Lady. It does start out a bit slowly...but it is SO WORTH IT. Definitely my favorite book last year. :)

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement. I thought you had posted about liking it. I'm about halfway through now and do think it's picking up. And I think I'm getting more used to his writing.

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  3. I haven't written my post yet, specifically because I can't choose just one! As soon as I think I've decided, I think of another classic meaningful to me. I may have to borrow your Top Ten list idea!

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    1. The Top Ten list was a good way out of having to make a decision. :)

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  4. I'm glad to see A Little Princess on your list, I grew up with that and The Secret Garden so they will always be special to me. I was a bit 'dreamy' as a child so I loved that Sara's imagination was presented as something important. I was always daydreaming myself into new situations after reading it :P

    Oh, and I'm a new follower of your blog - found you through the classics club.

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    1. Welcome! I'm excited about finding new blogs through the Classics Club. I love The Secret Garden too. I just forced myself to pick only one book per author so I didn't list both.

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  5. I'm still thinking about my own answer to this question. I agree that picking just one title is very difficult! It's good to see Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and I Capture the Castle in your top ten - I love all of those.

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    1. I think a lot of people are having trouble deciding! Glad to see another fan of I Capture the Castle since it doesn't seem that well known. I can't wait to see everyone else's picks and start adding to my reading list.

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  6. I'm just stopping by to let you know that I sent you an informational email regarding the Best & Worst series sign-up a couple of days ago. I wanted to make sure it didn't get grabbed by the spam filter since that happens sometimes.

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    1. Thanks! I did get it, I just haven't been home and able to respond yet. I'll send you an email.

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  7. Oh! I spoke about Atlas Shrugged in my post. :)....and Jane Eyre is a favourite too! I'm hoping to pick up A Little Princess sometime...I've three movie versions of the story but have never read the book!!

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    1. The book is good! I need to go check out your post...and everyone elses!

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  8. I prefer The Secret Garden to A Little Princess, but I love both. I also prefer Sense & Sensibility to Pride & Prejudice -- but I love both.

    I think I'm the only one who had no trouble at all picking one favorite. I didn't even have to think about it. :-)

    (You do know you can edit your Club list whenever you please, right? If you don't want to keep the Henry James book replace it with something else. You're the captain.) :)

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    1. Yes, you're the first I've seen that hasn't made a list of favorites! I've already thought of two more that really should be on mine: Gulliver's Travels and Candide. :) I suppose you're right - I can edit my list! However, since for some reason I've bought a stack of Henry James books I should probably leave The Golden Bowl on there to make me read another one. :)

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