Recommendations of Classic Books

Please use this sub-forum to discuss any classic books or any very old fiction books or series.
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MsMartha
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Re: Recommendations of Classic Books

Post by MsMartha »

Hananon wrote:Hello!
I feel like I must recommend Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Not many people seem to know about it even though it is simply a masterpiece. Lucy Snow is the most unusual heroine and the book is much darker and more complex than Jane Eyre (which is Charlotte's widely read book).
I have to agree that this is a book to try if you like oldies. I read it with a online group a few years ago and it was a great experience--not because we all liked the book a lot, but because it gave us a lot to think about and discuss. (That being said, some of us did like the book a lot!)
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Post by rockandroll »

I recommend the novel Passing by Nella Larsen. Very short read: 120 pages. It's gone through a resurgence in terms of literary criticism and discussion in college lit courses and it explores themes that are important today.
Rogozinskia
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Post by Rogozinskia »

Tale of Two Cities is my favorite Dickens, and one of my favorite books in general! I remember crying when I first read it in high school.

-- 22 Feb 2016, 21:43 --
AvidReader76 wrote: I just finished reading "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde for the first time. 7-5-2010
Seriously. The Dorian's image at the end of the story will arrest my memory forever.
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naseer1
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Post by naseer1 »

Excellence and informative post. I was looking for such post here and there but did not find anywhere. I like to read such type of blogs more. Font size is big problem if someone does not about know it clearly.
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CLRogers90
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Post by CLRogers90 »

AvidReader76 wrote:Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the book club. I just finished reading "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde for the first time. I was supposed to read it in High School many moons ago but never did or at least I don't recall that I did. This book is extremely Candid, about Life and Differences between Men and Womyn. I learned alot about Life and Love from this book. I do recommend this novel to anyone who loves fiction and classic lit. Now I've started further on my list of classic books to read and am reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Happy Reading Everyone! 7-5-2010
I completely agree with AvidReader76. The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my all time favorite classics.
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morningcoffeevic
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Post by morningcoffeevic »

This semester at school I have been in a novel class, and the prof is big into Victorian Literature. However during the entire semester I have been reading books that have fallen flat. Jane Austen's Pride & Predjuidce I was so excited for. After all it is a world renowned book, that has created a multimillion dollar platform for itself. However I found that even trying to read the book was painful, and hard to get through. There was a lot of back and forth that I feel did not needed to be added. I read the entire thing, and wished I didn't. So this is not so much of a recommendation than a do not read in my eyes.
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Hanleigh Bradley
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Post by Hanleigh Bradley »

I'm the girl who has read Pride and Prejudice at least ten times. No exaggeration. Christian Grey once asked Anastasia Steele, "Tell me, was it Charlotte Bronte, Austen or Thomas Hardy who first made you fall in love with literature?" She replied Hardy and as much as I love Tess as much as the next person for me it was Austen. I'm the hopeless romantic, hearts and flowers sort of girl that Grey would have run away from. I first read Pride and Prejudice at the age of 12, with a dictionary in hand because I found the idea of getting an abridged version offensive.

Austen's books might be softer and generally less darker than Hardy or Bronte. You'll never find her characters in abusive relationships or any wives holed up in the attic, but you are sure to fall in love with each and every book; not to mention their male leads; whether it's moody, arrogant Darcy or romantic Mr Tilney from Northanger Abbey, sweet Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility or Edmund of Mansfield Park, Knightley from Emma or my personal favourite Captain Wentworth.

But no matter how much you fall in love with the men from these books, you will re-read each of these books because of the female characters. You'll love how they grow, how the change, how they mature... because as much as Austen's books are all love stories, they are also stories of girls who become women. Women of consequence and substance in an age where women's only value was in the house. I'm not much of a feminist but you got to give Austen her dues. She wanted the women in her books to have their happily ever after, their true love, but she also wanted them to have an air of independence. Most of Austen's characters did things that the average woman of the day would never do; Elisabeth spoke her mind and Elinor did her households finances.

Point is, if you've never enjoyed the world that Austen painted with her words then there's no time like the present. Persuasion is my favourite but you could start anywhere.
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Veda
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Post by Veda »

The Tuggernaut wrote:I recently read Fyodyr Dostoyevsky's paragon of classic Russian literature, Crime and Punishment. The protagonist of the novel is a young intellectual student who resides in St. Petersburg, named Raskolnikov. He lives in squalid poverty and murders an immoral pawn-broker for what originally appears to be her possessions. But, as Dostoyevsky delves deeper into the mind of Raskolnikov, the reader finds more intriguing motives for his crime, and Raskolnikov seems to view himself as a great man (he is constantly comparing himself to Napolean) that is exempt from moral law. In this page-turner Raskolnikov attempts to avoid arrest and redeem himself by helping the poor family of a prostitute. This novel was written by Dostoyevsky as an attempt to combat the growing Russian nihilism of the time period, and the author sternly reminds us that nobody is above moral law, whether your punishment comes in the form of imprisonment or grief and remorse.
I read this book as part of my undergrad university studies. Finished reading it in 2 days.. Fastest homework ever done!
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grace-grace13
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Post by grace-grace13 »

I am a big fan of Emily Bronte. I love Wuthering Heights. I first had to read this book when I was a freshman in high school and I fell in love with it immediately. I prefer Emily Bronte over Jane Austin.
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Alexatheauthor
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Post by Alexatheauthor »

i never read A Tale of Two Cities and the other day my niece asked me about another book I skipped: Lord of the Flies. I've read almost all of Austen's books, they are certainly a must.
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KayeAlthaus
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Post by KayeAlthaus »

My favorite book of all time is Jane Eyre. The beginning is a little slow but the ending is so worth it!
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Alexatheauthor
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Post by Alexatheauthor »

I would recommend Little Women, Howard's End and Mrs. Dalloway.
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WordWaller
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Post by WordWaller »

Hello people! I'm new so I didn't where to start but the classics thread!

I'm currently reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov because I've never read it before and I hear so many mixed things about it. So far, it's SO good but the mixed feelings are now mine, haha! I have so many classics I want to read and feel the need to catch up on. My favorites are Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, and Bleak House, just to name a few!
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Illegalunicorn
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Post by Illegalunicorn »

Love it, thank you all for helping me add more names to my never ending to read list aha
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heatmalm
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Post by heatmalm »

I too would heartily recommend Gone With the Wind. This American classic has so many artful descriptions of the Civil War era in which it is set you almost gain a completely immersive education. Margaret Mitchell truly brings to life the challenges faced by the South during the Civil War era.

The main plot of this story follows Scarlett O'Hara, a spoiled plantation debutante, through the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. While the author vividly paints the complex psychology and growth of Scarlett, the real story is that of the South. The novel brings the reader through the South's pain during and after the Civil War in such a unique way the history lesson provided is so entertaining one never realized it was a lesson at all.

The depth of the characters makes them so real, one could almost picture chatting with them on a lazy, humid day in the South. The details are so descriptive the reader can instantly picture them. Simply stated, this book is a must read.
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