tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post4986231849471773845..comments2023-12-12T16:30:15.159+00:00Comments on Floor to Ceiling Books: A Classic is Being Destroyed As We Speak!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-18849061545278266092010-11-29T13:16:21.684+00:002010-11-29T13:16:21.684+00:00Ugh Great Expectations - I did it twice and i HATE...Ugh Great Expectations - I did it twice and i HATE it now!Dream in Greyhttp://www.dreamingingrey.co.uk/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-20591148380808813892010-11-27T01:29:00.531+00:002010-11-27T01:29:00.531+00:00I like classic lit in moderation. I often enjoy th...I like classic lit in moderation. I often enjoy the stories, but I find the syntax a bit much. It takes me ages to unravel nineteenth century language, and I'm less likely to pick up a book when I know it'll take me forever to read.<br /><br />I <i>do</i> read them, though, and sometimes I fall in love. Daniel Defoe's MOLL FLANDERS, the tale of an often-married (and/or mistressed) woman who gets by on her wits, used to be my favourite classic. It's a ton of fun. THE WOMAN IN WHITE, Wilkie Collins's story of conspiracy and madness, has since replaced it. NORTHANGER ABBEY by Jane Austen is a close second; it's about a young woman who is obsessed with gothic novels and expects life to follow the same rules.Memoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03922151273874989122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-75692009409228351182010-11-26T21:56:05.263+00:002010-11-26T21:56:05.263+00:00Thankfully we didn't go into as much excruciat...Thankfully we didn't go into as much excruciating detail as is described here, but I still haven't read much in the way of classics. I do believe that I tended to get more out of the books I read in my social studies classes (like Babbitt, Gatsby, The Jungle) than those dissected in English class, perhaps because there was more of a focus on the book as a whole and its era.sonsoftaurushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466971377569066201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-79234112097396270292010-11-26T20:13:57.418+00:002010-11-26T20:13:57.418+00:00I'm so sad to read these comments. I'm act...I'm so sad to read these comments. I'm actually disappointed that we didn't cover more classics in school, and that I have so many gaps yet to fill! I'm not sure whether it's the super-nerdy school I attended, or the fact that English and Lit were my pet subjects, but I had a fantastic time reading through some wonderful books. We were always told that we could argue whatever we wanted about a book so long as we had evidence to back it up, which I think kept things challenging and interesting.Stephanie @ Read In a Single Sittinghttp://www.readinasinglesitting.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-54060746583804720322010-11-26T20:06:20.139+00:002010-11-26T20:06:20.139+00:00I think I'm odd as I loved analysing stuff at ...I think I'm odd as I loved analysing stuff at school and was introduced to some of my favourite writers like that.<br />If you haven't read Pride and Prejudice, stop what you're doing and go and read it.<br />'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife....'<br />Mind you, much as I admire Hardy, I will never love him. Smile, love, it won't kill you is my advice to him.mdlachlanhttp://www.mdlachlan.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-18593522593678465872010-11-26T17:45:20.226+00:002010-11-26T17:45:20.226+00:00I have read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, ...I have read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, I still have bittersweet memories from that tale, the characters and story will stay with me to until the end. <br />I love this book more than any other; its probably because I had'nt read as much as I have now, but still...<br />And this is'nt some children's book, in my opinion everyone must read it at least once in their lifetimeThe Fantasizernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-22822903036548441902010-11-26T16:48:40.072+00:002010-11-26T16:48:40.072+00:00I am grateful that I was introduced to the followi...I am grateful that I was introduced to the following: Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Lee. Flowers for Algernon, by Keyes. I appreciated Heart of Darkness much more after studying it.<br /><br />To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of my English teacher, but I don't think she "destroyed" anything for me.<br /><br />I've always felt that students wrongly blame their teachers for destroying texts. More often than not, I suspect, these students didn't study and refuse to admit their responsibility.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-7993356948053603362010-11-26T12:47:02.472+00:002010-11-26T12:47:02.472+00:00As an addendum to my tweet quoted above. I still l...As an addendum to my tweet quoted above. I still love Austen and the classics (and as Eric states above that shouldn't just be limited to pre-20th century novels) and I'm still reading them, as my Way Beyond Retro thing on my blog can attest. But in the first year at university I couldn't even read SFF without analyzing it in the way I was being taught in class (luckily this passed). Alas for Pride and Prejudice, that means I've picked it apart so much that I can't put it back together anymore!Mieneke van der Salmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04782771945227479913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-64481363656973854252010-11-26T12:38:11.804+00:002010-11-26T12:38:11.804+00:00I actually found that studying books at school and...I actually found that studying books at school and uni improved them for me. My friends all said they would never watch Pleasantville or read Pride & Prejudice again, but I found that analysing them made them way more accessible to me. For the first time, I got excited about the books - I felt like I was unlocking them. Finding deeper meanings in my favourite novels made them extra-special to me.<br /><br />I see by the other comments that I may be alone in this ...Basilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023130276223065617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-57108026486326375032010-11-26T11:40:09.062+00:002010-11-26T11:40:09.062+00:00Of Porphyry Columns Made
So, you're daunted b...Of Porphyry Columns Made<br /><br />So, you're daunted by the classics of literature? And what would that be exactly? The word classic I believe, is misleading.<br /><br />There are great stories, told by masterly writers. There always have been. Some are very old indeed: the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, Aeschylus' Oresteia, Aristophanes' Frogs, the Tale of Genji, Beowulf, Le Morte d'Arthur, The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel, Don Quixote...<br /><br />Others are of more modern imprint and we hope, include those now fermenting in the minds of their authors-to-be.<br /><br />Where do you start or stop for that matter? Do you start with the English canon and move laterally into the wintry steppes and snow-covered streets of Russia? The French and Germans and their philosophical complexities massing on all fronts? Italian masterpieces of mouldering decadence the likes of Il Gattopardo? World literature from India, Africa, Japan and China? What of the American (both North and South) contributions? They are as vast and beguiling as the central plains and the pampas. <br /><br />Exploring the classics is such a broad undertaking as to defy any modern navigational scheme, within or without academia. Even there, these things must be broken down into more distinct classifications.<br /><br />My advice is to forget your hazy memories of A-level requirements and AP literature. Instead, travel backwards to the roots of our greatest stories. But don't stay there, hurtle back and forth through the ages. Sample at will, at random, and with delight and fickleness. Do not feel constrained or forced to travel a particular path or limit yourself to a few particular authors.<br /><br />All I think you need is patience and a willingness to explore this endless sphere of great literature. Ask those who you trust and suspect have traveled this road before you for recommendations. It is a journey of a lifetime and likely will take one but is well worth the effort - if reading great and wonderfully diverse books can be called such.<br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><br />E.Eric M. Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11464329371478605627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-29901242468484922382010-11-26T11:32:27.158+00:002010-11-26T11:32:27.158+00:00Us Romanians have (as probably any nation out ther...Us Romanians have (as probably any nation out there) a few authors that are considered "classics" and "must reads", authors like <a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/predamarin" rel="nofollow">Marin Preda</a> and <a href="http://www.librarything.com/author/eliademircea" rel="nofollow">Mircea Eliade</a>, and even though they are fantastic writers, I had a hard time convincing myself to give them a change, solely for the reason you yourself invoked, the excessive analysis and nitpicking that were forced upon us in school. <br /><br />It's a shame that the teachers that should have instilled the love for reading and for the classics are the ones responsible for one of the greatest reasons most people (that I know) shun them.<br /><br />At the other end of the spectrum, I hate it when people think that just because someone has not read some of the mainstream classics, their favorite authors and works are somehow irrelevant or that their literary tastes are not that "formed", because they supposedly missed out.Victor Stanciuhttp://walkintomordor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-20012699855930587132010-11-26T11:17:33.339+00:002010-11-26T11:17:33.339+00:00Shakespeare. All of it. My English Literature teac...Shakespeare. All of it. My English Literature teacher made us go through about three plays in such minute detail, analysing and studying every word, I hated our 'reward' at the end which was to watch the play we had just studied. It basically put me off Shakespeare and I haven't gone back and read any since. Same with Dickens too.Stephen Aryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13868129985861110980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-66302944021390336282010-11-26T11:17:32.685+00:002010-11-26T11:17:32.685+00:00I had a English teacher who loved Shakespeare, so ...I had a English teacher who loved Shakespeare, so we had nothing but Hamlet for about three months,that totally killed Shakespeare for me and most of my classmates.<br />And I will not go near any of the Norwegian classics after school. Frankly, most of them are pants anyway.<br /><br />As for what you should read, I haven't read many classics. But Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott is my favourite classic of all time. You also have Frankenstein by Mar Shelley , who is both a classic and SF/Horror, and that is very good in my opinion.Weirdmagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10999326013335351617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-46641433219266378132010-11-26T11:07:12.095+00:002010-11-26T11:07:12.095+00:00I do like a good classic and did Eng Lit at uni wh...I do like a good classic and did Eng Lit at uni which was great as I was introduced to so many different ones! Shakespeare was slightly ruined for me at uni as I literally could not stand the professor who taught it but I hope that I will enjoy it again in the future. I personally like my classics to be a little bit dark and brooding so I would definitely suggest Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights. I love Jane Austen too, mainly because I have had a big literary crush on Mr Darcy since I was about 15!!Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214328862998740090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-53726401283108295422010-11-26T11:06:13.713+00:002010-11-26T11:06:13.713+00:00I didn't go anywhere near the both Romanian an...I didn't go anywhere near the both Romanian and International classics at some point. Although my grades were great I was heavily improvising and I was reading SF, crime and mystery. Only after a few years since finishing high-school I started looking at the classics :)Mihai A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08534691063946241019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463395374040679379.post-78779932036704135692010-11-26T11:05:43.820+00:002010-11-26T11:05:43.820+00:00As much as I love the era in which most of the cla...As much as I love the era in which most of the classis novels take place, I actually have a hard time sitting down and reading any of those classics themselves. It may well be because so many of them are required reading in schools; I don't know. I don't think there's anything wrong with reading the classics as mandatory educational reading, per se; they're classics for a reason, most of the time. But making them so does tend to ruin them for a remarkable number of people. I myself absolutely detested Hardy's "Mayor of Casterbridge." I may have enjoyed it had I approached it for my own interests on my own time, but as it is, I shudder to just think of that book.<br /><br />I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones who didn't have Shakespeare ruined for them, though I strongly suspect that's because I enjoyed acting so much that getting the chance to do so in class was a real treat for me. I had teachers who strongly encouraged us to act out scenes as projects, to help us understand the whole thing better. Could have been much worse, that's for certain!Tea and Tomeshttp://tea-and-tomes.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com