the classics club discussion

What are your favourite classics? Mine are Rebecca, Carmilla, Maurice, If Not, Winter (Sappho) and Frankenstein.

Oh I so want to read Sappho one day! Which edition do you recommend? :D

I have to say Rebecca wasn't bad, it was a pretty accurate psychological portrayal and a good thriller, however, I just couldn't stand the main character... I'm so sorry >.<
Carmilla and Frankenstein are pretty good, haven't read Maurice yet. :D

My favourites are Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, North and South, The Ladies' Paradise, Madame Solario and Jamaica Inn. Can highly recommend them!

Wow, you guys have read many older classics than me. My favourite is East of Eden, which is my third favourite book of all time (unless The Lord of the Rings counts, because that is my number one). I have mainly only read modern classics, so my other favourites are Of Mice and Men, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Outsiders. I am currently reading Crime and Punishment, which is my second or third foray into strong classics. iIn 2024 I plan on reading more strong classics, like Grapes of Wraith.

Some of my favorites are Jane Eyre, And Then There Were None, Pride and Prejudice, anything by Edgar Allan Poe, The Westing Game, Dracula, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Scarlet Letter, and To Kill a Mockingbird <3

I really liked To Kill A Mockingbird.

Jesse wrote: "I really liked To Kill A Mockingbird."

Yeah it was a really great book :)

Who is Emma? wrote: "Some of my favorites are Jane Eyre, And Then There Were None, Pride and Prejudice, anything by Edgar Allan Poe, The Westing Game, Dracula, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Scarlet Letter, and To Ki..."

A fellow Jane Eyre fan, nice! Then I can only recommend you read North and South if you haven't yet. I think the two share many interesting parallels. :)
Poe is awesome! The Fall of the House of Usher is one of my favourites. ^^

Jesse wrote: "Wow, you guys have read many older classics than me. My favourite is East of Eden, which is my third favourite book of all time (unless The Lord of the Rings counts, because that is my number one)...."

East of Eden is still on my tbr. :D
The Lord of the Rings definitely counts as a (fantasy) classic! Tolkien really was a master of language, his works are admirable in their depth and very interesting from a linguistic perspective...

Jesse wrote: "Wow, you guys have read many older classics than me. My favourite is East of Eden, which is my third favourite book of all time (unless The Lord of the Rings counts, because that is my number one)...."

East of Eden is still on my tbr. :D
The Lord of the Rings definitely counts as a (fantasy) classic! Tolkien really was a master of language, his works are admirable in their depth and very interesting from a linguistic perspective...

East of Eden is so amazing, hope you enjoy it!
They really are! I love his books so much. I still think he is one of the greatest writers, and The Lord of the Rings contends for one of the greatest books ever written. So timeless!

Melissa wrote: "What are your favourite classics? Mine are Rebecca, Carmilla, Maurice, If Not, Winter (Sappho) and Frankenstein."

I love Rebecca and Carmilla too! I'm excited to read Dracula soon since it took inspiration from Carmilla. Another of my favourites is The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and I'm currently reading Jane Eyre which I'm sure will become a new favourite

In reply to rina.reads, I can only really recommend If Not, Winter (translator - Anne Carson) because it's the only compilation of Sappho's poems I've read so far. The only bad thing is that I didn't really like the way Anne Carson translated Sappho's most famous poem (slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl).

Melissa wrote: "In reply to rina.reads, I can only really recommend If Not, Winter (translator - Anne Carson) because it's the only compilation of Sappho's poems I've read so far. The only bad thing is that I didn..."

Thank you, I'll look into it!

Jesse wrote: "Jesse wrote: "Wow, you guys have read many older classics than me. My favourite is East of Eden, which is my third favourite book of all time (unless The Lord of the Rings counts, because that is m..."

Thank you and I agree! It's time for me to read the Lord of the Rings in its entirety, so far I've only read excerpts. However, I've read Beren and Luthien and loved it!

rina.reads wrote: "Melissa wrote: "In reply to rina.reads, I can only really recommend If Not, Winter (translator - Anne Carson) because it's the only compilation of Sappho's poems I've read so far. The only bad thin..."

I've only read Beren and Luthien in The Silmarillion, but it is a tremendous story! I'd also recommend The Children of Hurin, it's great.

Jesse wrote: "rina.reads wrote: "Melissa wrote: "In reply to rina.reads, I can only really recommend If Not, Winter (translator - Anne Carson) because it's the only compilation of Sappho's poems I've read so far..."

That one's already on my tbr. :D really looking forward to it.

My favourite is Jane Eyre, too! 😆 Some of my other favourites are Pilgrim's Progress, Crime and Punishment, and Silas Marner.

I feel like I'm very alone on Silas Marner 😅 So I want to recommend it. It has a slow beginning, but it's so heart warming in the end.

I also recommend Tess of the D'ubervilles, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Ruth.

Who is Emma? wrote: "Jesse wrote: "I really liked To Kill A Mockingbird."

Yeah it was a really great book :)"

To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing book!

Casey wrote: "My favourite is Jane Eyre, too! 😆 Some of my other favourites are Pilgrim's Progress, Crime and Punishment, and Silas Marner.

I feel like I'm very alone on Silas Marner 😅 So I want to recommend it..."

Tess was amazing but sooo sad!! I want to read Silas Marner! I've read Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss by the same author and enjoyed both novels, but I think The Mill on the Floss was better.

Tess was amazingly sad. It is my first and only Thomas Hardy so far, so I kept holding out hope. I had no idea he had a reputation for sad books until later. I'm eager to read more of his works lol

The Mill on the Floss is on my TBR! After Silas Marner I'm eager to get to it.

Casey wrote: "Tess was amazingly sad. It is my first and only Thomas Hardy so far, so I kept holding out hope. I had no idea he had a reputation for sad books until later. I'm eager to read more of his works lol..."

Yea, that's unfortunately the case. The only happy one is Far from the Madding Crowd, which I've read as well, but I thought it somehow made less of an impression on me. xD Perhaps I just expected Hardy to break my heart (again).

Oh I hope you'll enjoy reading it! I'd be happy if you'd let me know your thoughts about The Mill on the Floss!

rina.reads wrote: "Casey wrote: "Tess was amazingly sad. It is my first and only Thomas Hardy so far, so I kept holding out hope. I had no idea he had a reputation for sad books until later. I'm eager to read more of..."

Yup. Definitely in this for all the heartbreak lol Oscar Wilde, Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell... I love those kind of endings 😆

Thank you! I will post a review when I read it one day. Unless, I like it too much. I never have words when I like a book too much. Only when I hate it lol

Yep, I did! First part only tho.

Anything by Jane Austen! Her books have the beautiful prose of the classics mixed with modern romance tropes that we all know and love. Also, I recommend Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little Women, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jane Eyre

Pilgrim's Progress is also very good!

As a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I also recommend The Hobbit and LotR!

Cari wrote: "Anything by Jane Austen! Her books have the beautiful prose of the classics mixed with modern romance tropes that we all know and love. Also, I recommend Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little Women, To Kill a ..."

Jane Eyre is phenomenal!

I like a midsummer nights dream by Shakespeare it reminds me of this barbie movie I used to watch calked Fairy Secret loll

I started reading classics a couple months ago and so for my favorites have been Frankenstein, 1984, Jane Eyre, Emma, Wuthering Heights and everything by Jane Austen. I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray currently and it is so well written!!

HIII anyone has any historical murder mystery recs?

liz wrote: "HIII anyone has any historical murder mystery recs?"

yes, I do. :D

These Shallow Graves
The Alienist
By Gaslight
The Story Keeper

holy i'm intrigued to death by these synopses! thank you rina <3

You're very welcome 😉 if you need more recs just tell me :D

Some of my favorites:

Jane Eyre
Rebecca
The Great Gatsby
Of Human Bondage (long but magnificent)
And any short story collection by W. Somerset Maugham and Saki

Jane Eyre is also one of my favourite novels of all time, as is The Great Gatsby.
I was a bit underwhelmed by Rebecca, tbh! 😅 But I've loved Jamaica Inn.
I also really enjoy reading short stories. Maugham has been on my tbr for too long! xD

rina.reads wrote: "Jane Eyre is also one of my favourite novels of all time, as is The Great Gatsby.
I was a bit underwhelmed by Rebecca, tbh! 😅 But I've loved Jamaica Inn.
I also really enjoy reading short stories. ..."

Look out for Maugham's Malaysian short stories. They are some of his very best, Rina.

Georgia wrote: "rina.reads wrote: "Jane Eyre is also one of my favourite novels of all time, as is The Great Gatsby.
I was a bit underwhelmed by Rebecca, tbh! 😅 But I've loved Jamaica Inn.
I also really enjoy read..."

Thank you for the recommendation! Will do. :)

Georgia, I've meant to ask you: which collection of Saki's short stories can you recommend? I've only ever read one story ("Laura") of his so far but always wanted to read more of his work.
And I've added the two volumes of Maugham's Far Eastern Tales to my tbr, they sound so interesting!

Do any of you have any German lit recommendations (apart from Goethe)? :) I compiled a bibliography on German history & I’d like to read some German classics alongside it.

E.T.A. Hoffmann, Franz Kafka, Friedrich Schiller, Georg Büchner, Heinrich von Kleist... :)

Stefan Zweig's Impatience of the Heart (orig. title: Ungeduld des Herzens)

Oh yeah, that one is supposed to be really good. Die Welt von Gestern as well. I sadly haven't read both yet.
But yea, Lenz, Der Sandmann, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, Die Verwandlung are all important classics by the authors I've recommended.

rina.reads wrote: "Oh I so want to read Sappho one day! Which edition do you recommend? :D

I have to say Rebecca wasn't bad, it was a pretty accurate psychological portrayal and a good thriller, however, I just coul..."

The best translation I have read (among not so many but still) has to be Anne Carson's "If Not, Winter". I still haven't found a translation or edition as good as hers

Pax wrote: "rina.reads wrote: "Oh I so want to read Sappho one day! Which edition do you recommend? :D

I have to say Rebecca wasn't bad, it was a pretty accurate psychological portrayal and a good thriller, h..."

thank you for letting me know ^^