Does anyone read classical literature any more?

[Camille Turner]

I read far more classics than contemporary, not because I don't also love contemporary, but because there is an endless number of classics on my list. I could never name all of my favorite classic authors but some of them are Wilde, Dickens, Austen, Keats, both the Shelleys, Byron, Hardy, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway.

[KasieMiehlke]

I try to make it a point to read a classic after I finish a modern book. The alternate styles really keep me foucused I believe. My favorite classical author has to be Poe.

[Jeyasivananth]

I still read and re read classics from time to time. I personally think Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy are the greatest classic writers.

[Libs_Books]

Apart from the ones I love enough to occasionally reread just for pleasure, I suppose I very rarely read a classic now, unless it's for teaching purposes. I'm just redressing a balance, really, as for many years I stuck mainly to classics and shied away from contemporary literary work. There are still quite a few foreign-language classics that I haven't yet tackled, though: Proust, Camus and Tolstoy, to name but three.

[Jmteachmom]

I have not read any classics in a while but recently I purchased some at the used book store. Looking forward to diving in and remembering why these are classics.

[DMR1966]

I have been reading the classics off a list of 100 of the best classic books and have been enjoying it tremendously.

[EllieA]

The classics are my go-to if I feel like reading and don't know what to grab They feel very escapist and are usually beautifully written - Sir Walter Scott's Marmion, Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South come to mind. I also love the humor in older books, and if we include plays The Importance of Being Ernest always makes me laugh.

[Sakilunamermaid]

I have a whole reading list that is just hundreds of classics, including short stories. I want to read every book that is considered an influential classic. I've even downloaded whole collections of the 100 books you have to read in your lifetime. Sadly I have not read nearly enough of them yet to name my favorite author among them.

[rave_2]

I've read many classics and found them better than modern books.

[drmikkaka]

Jane Austen is by far my favorite--I read and reread her work all the time. Last year I was on a Dickens kick and read six or seven of his. Bleak House was my favorite. I tend to enjoy "classic" British lit over American lit.

[P0tt3ry]

Classic literature is like an old friend; I enjoy revisiting them. Poe is wonderful but my favorite "modern" classic author is O'Henry.

[Javier Campos]

It's the only thing that I read sometimes. I once got to the point where I completely lost touch with books written after the last decade.

[Amanda Nixon]

I read classical literature all the time! You are not alone! Currently re-reading War and Peace

[sbcollins]

My problem is usually that I read too many classics and not enough contemporary lit!

[Lgs1089]

Yes, I still read classical literature from time to time. Sometimes after reading a good book, it's hard to immediately pick up another. I make the mistake of thinking, 'I loved this book so much. What else can I find that is similar?' It never works out, and that's why I flip flop all over the place. The only way I am able to continuously read is by never consecutively reading more than one book in the same genre. ( Unless it's a Trilogy) I rotate classics, sci-fi, true-crime, mysteries, thrillers, romance, erotica, non-fiction, plays, and anything, really. Recently I read Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, and afterward picked up A Man Called Ove, Eileen, and then Tears of the Silenced. Classics are great, but I don't limit myself to only reading critically acclaimed works. Sometimes I get an elitist vibe from the literary world. There's a common notion that if you aren't reading something that is academically recognized, then you must be reading sh*t. It's kind of like going to the gym these days...If you don't post it on Facebook, did it really happen?