Reading the Classics discussion

I thought it would be a good idea to start thinking about our September Group Read. Since it has been so long since we have been active as a group, any classic book is on the table, including books previously read in our group years ago.

What is a classic? That is a good question. In my opinion, that is entirely up to individual tastes. Of course to set some rules, our group does require all books to have been originally published at least 50 years ago. That means before 1970. Also, please limit selections to novels, or novellas. That means no poetry (We actually have a folder for that!) and no short stories. (I can make a folder for that if there is interest) Full length plays and epic poetry are okay as well.

I haven't decided if I'm going to set up a poll, or just choose the book that people seem the most interested in based on this thread. We'll just see how it plays out.

So bring on the ideas! I'm excited to see what you are interested in reading!

The Revival of this group happened to me out of the blue, means I have a lot of reading appointments with friends and in other groups

War and peace in october and Aunt Betty by Balzac in December to name some still unread on the list of this rtc.
For September my Appointments are the first three parts of Anthony Powells Dance to the music of time (first three weeks) and Balzacs Modeste Mignon (Rest of the month) therefore I would rather appreciate stuff like Heart of the darkness or Ivanhoe. Scott is longer, but not that demanding as f.e. Charles Dickens. House of mirth would be my personal favourite from the unread-shelf, but two novels by Edith Wharton in a row???

Me again with the proposal to use the unread-shelf of the group.
Everyone should pick three or five favourites and rate their relevance with points. Maybe you could start a poll. Actually I would vote:

1.) The great Gatsby 5 Points
2.) Heart of Darkness 3 Points
3.) Ivanhoe 1 Point

Jenn wrote: "I thought it would be a good idea to start thinking about our September Group Read. Since it has been so long since we have been active as a group, any classic book is on the table, including books..."

I've been reading George MacDonald. He was a prolific author in the mid-19th century. I find his books very enjoyable. His writings, which include adult and children's books, fantasy, romance, and a bit of mystery, influenced and impacted both Tolkien and CS Lewis.

Lots of titles to choose from. Phantastes is perhaps most well-known.

Hard to decide....An American Tragedy by Dreiser is something I’ve always wanted to read.

I would also be interested in An American Tragedy but I am missing the time in September, October, November.

It looks like we have interest in The Great Gatsby and An American Tragedy. Do we have enough interest in either of these books to make it our group read?

Great Gatsby

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is my vote

I could read Gatsby again and would certainly enjoy discussion, but I’ll just throw in my personal September reads: Ellison’s Invisible Man and Capote’s In Cold Blood. I will likely not finish either (school starts next week and will slow my personal reading!), so maybe there is interest in either of them for October.
Thanks for reviving the group!

I love classics but would prefer not to read any American ones as I’ve read almost all of the ones everyone has already heard of. I’m very interested in world classic literature in good translations and the more obscure the better if anyone has any suggestions

This would be my first time participating fully, so take this with a limited value - An American Tragedy would be my first choice. I have reread Gatsby a few times, so I’d be ready for that, too.

I saw the note above about World Literature classics - I would be open to mixing in Non-Western titles in Translation. I have read quite a few African authors - Chinua Achebe might be one to think of.

American Tragedy

An American Tragedy sounds great. As a change of direction maybe The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

I read The Master and Margarita in the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation (I have a beautiful special edition), it's my friend's favourite book, but since she is Latvian she's read it in the original Russian.

My first choice among these would be Invisible Man. Like Armin said American Tragedy would be good but I might not have time enough in September.

Ivanhoe would be my choice.

I do love MacDonald too, so that would be an interesting discussion.

I’ve read Gatsby so many times..but it’s been a while so..I think Gatsby is well not a novella,but a very short novel. Whereas An American Tragedy ,which is what I had suggested is quite a long work.
I think Baldwin,or Ellison or Richard Wright may be appropriate for these times. But as I’ve already nominated one I don’t know if I get to put my hat in the ring again.

I've read Gatsby several times including recently, so if this is the September selection, I will sit out until October. Glad this group is revived and hope it continues.

Here are a few ideas I'll toss out:

East of Eden - Steinbeck
Cannery Row - Steinbeck
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Twain
Wuthering Heights - E Bronte
Oliver Twist - Dickens
Great Expectations - Dickens
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Stowe
Middlemarch - Eliot (probably a 2-month deal)
Heart of Darkness - Conrad
Picture of Dorian Gray - Wilde
Crime and Punishment - Dostoevsky

It's a bigger undertaking, but I'd love to see this group tackle Ulysses or The Count of Monte Cristo at some point. Either would likely represent a multi-month project.

It looks like the books with the most interest are The Great Gatsby, Ivanhoe, and An American Tragedy. I created a poll with those three titles. You can find it on the group home page or click on the polls link on the top right of this page.

Note: If An American Tragedy wins, we will have it be a two month read, September and October. And I'm thinking we will still have an October Group Read as well, for those who either don't want to read An American Tragedy, or just want to read another book too.

Even though it was I who suggested it,but I just checked An American Tragedy is over 900 pages!

Being older than most I suppose I have read them all several times so will give it a miss. Have a good time reading good books.

Oh, 900 pp? That’s nothing!

The only book listed in this entire thread that I haven’t read more than once is Middlemarch.

Voted for Gatsby this time, but Dreiser as a two-month-read is also a good idea, Fitzgerald fits better in my september reading scheme and as a short novel a few years younger than summer, it is better to compare with my first reading in this group.

It looks like The Great Gatsby won the polls. I will be creating a schedule and will have that posted today, along with information regarding the discussions.