itsmeagain Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 I like the classics for the insight given into ancient times really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 More and more I feel like I get more general knowledge when I read classics. The classics inspire today's authors, and when you can spot it, it feels great. And there are seldom bad stories that become classics, so chances are you'll end up liking at least something about the books, if not most of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Classics have lasted the test of time. They aren't just books of the period they were written in, but have greater universal relevance. They are, by definition, well written. None of that guarantees enjoyment, but your chances are far greater. I know what you mean by the density too, Ian, and agree - it's something I enjoy in books too. I've started to appreciate them all the more since joining a book group (two in fact!): I can't get over how few books chosen for these I actually enjoy (or how few others actually enjoy them too!), and have found myself hankering after a decent classic all the more. And yet it seems that other members tend to shy away from them, or regard them as something to be 'tackled'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Mabel Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Classics have lasted the test of time. They aren't just books of the period they were written in, but have greater universal relevance. They are, by definition, well written. None of that guarantees enjoyment, but your chances are far greater. I know what you mean by the density too, Ian, and agree - it's something I enjoy in books too. I've started to appreciate them all the more since joining a book group (two in fact!): I can't get over how few books chosen for these I actually enjoy (or how few others actually enjoy them too!), and have found myself hankering after a decent classic all the more. And yet it seems that other members tend to shy away from them, or regard them as something to be 'tackled'. Some of them can be tedious to get through. First one has to get used to the style of writing, then the type of language used. But, if one can get past those two hurdles, you usually find the books interesting and even enthralling. Sometimes I enjoy 'listening' to the classics more than I do reading them. We are now doing The Lady in White with our book club and I will be placing high expectations on it. I hope it holds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booknutt Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Spot on, Miss Mabel - "going back in time" just describes my own love of the classics. Opening the cover of a visit into an earlier world - the world our great-great-grandparents came from ,maybe? If you're into exploring your family history it's one way to get a feel for your kinfolks of old. Experiencing the speech, listening to popular views and even hearing the argument for the opposite, and observing the daily life of that time. We've all come from that to nowadays, some good changes and some not-so. Who needs The Tardis to travel? Just pick up a Dickens or Hardy or Austen or etc., novel - and sit back for the trip. .. and one more pleasure - that beautiul vocabularly, those rich descriptive speeches (Dickens or Hardy especially) We don't have conversations or self-expression like that nowdays - everybody is just so bloomin' busy. Like this, maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Some of them can be tedious to get through. First one has to get used to the style of writing, then the type of language used. But, if one can get past those two hurdles, you usually find the books interesting and even enthralling. Sometimes I enjoy 'listening' to the classics more than I do reading them. We are now doing The Lady in White with our book club and I will be placing high expectations on it. I hope it holds up. Yes, but then tedium is in the eye of the reader - what's tedious for you might not be for me, and vice versa. Same with language and style. I find Woolf, Dickens, Austen, Trollope, Eliot, Tolstoy, Zola etc utterly readable, others find just the opposite. Equally, I can't abide many of the modern best sellers, finding the likes of Dan Brown, Lee Child, Linwood Barclay, Gillian Flynn, George Martin, Harlan Coben, Suzanne Collins, and Ken Follett (amongst others, but they're ones I've tried in the past couple of years) totally boring. Of course, not all Classics are great, and not all modern best sellers are boring (far from it!), but I've not found tedium or writing style/language any more barriers with classics than I have with modern books. Do you mean The Woman in White? If so, I loved it: not much tedium there! Hope you find the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verna Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 I love reading the classics, and I try to read one or two every year. The writing is usually superb, and what's more they endure. It's entirely possible that my grandchildren will also read Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackwhiteandgray Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Reading classics is imperative if you wish to appreciate the form. Italo Calvino has a book on "Why Read the Classics." It hits this note directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSchultz19 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I'm 16 and I love reading classics. It takes me to another place in time and lets me see what the world was like. Recently I have been reading a lot of Dickens. And it's incredibly interesting how he includes a lot of history in books like Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities. Another reason I love classics is because I'm intrigued why these certain books have lasted the test of time. There must be something great inside them that makes them so famous after all these years. When I read classics I try to find that "something great". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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