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What makes a book a classic? Does it have to be a certain publication age? Or is it more of a feeling that you get when you read a book? Classic literature can be interpreted a variety of ways. Some people argue that it must be at least 50 years old, while others would say that any book can be a classic, as long as it has timeless appeal to readers. However you choose to interpret this prompt, let this week bring you good, solid literature.

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Suggestions:












ATY Group Listopia

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Optional Questions:
1. What are you reading for this category?
2. When was it published?
3. Do you enjoy reading classics?

I'm really stuck with this one. I've already read the vast majority of the classics that I've "always" meant to read, and the remaining few are not books that I care to read right now.

Rachel, you could go with a "contemporary classic" -- something that is on the school reading lists from the 1990s to current times, like Margaret Atwood or Barbara Kingsolver books.

Emily wrote: "Rachel, you could go with a "contemporary classic" -- something that is on the school reading lists from the 1990s to current times, like Margaret Atwood or Barbara Kingsolver books."

I was including those in my comment. From the lists I've seen so far, nothing's jumped out at me as something I really strongly wanted to read. Oh well, I'm sure I'll find something.

I'll be reading Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. It was published in 1936.

I do love reading classics. I do a few classics-based challenges every year.

Rachel wrote: "Emily wrote: "Rachel, you could go with a "contemporary classic" -- something that is on the school reading lists from the 1990s to current times, like Margaret Atwood or Barbara Kingsolver books."..."

What's the oldest book you have on your tbr? You may have to ditch "always meant to read" in favor of a book that has at least stood the test of time well enough to still be in print.

I’ve done a Classics challenge each year and probably will again next year. So I’ll probably just use a book I’m going to read for that. Right now I’m feeling that War and Peace will be one I rad and if so its probably what I’ll count.

Good luck with that one, Serendipity!!

I have lots of options since I haven’t read many classics since high school. I joined a GR classics group this year and have started reading more of them. I plan to read a modern American classic, The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow. If I am really literal about the prompt, I will choose an older classic by Dickens, Tolstoy, Dumas, or Austen.

I'm stretching the definition of "always meant to read" to just classics that I've thought about reading at some point.

My options are The Death of Grass, Bleak House, Sense and Sensibility, Things Fall Apart, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Food of the Gods and No Highway.

Ellie wrote: "I'm stretching the definition of "always meant to read" to just classics that I've thought about reading at some point."

Me too (because the wording of this prompt makes me crazy). :)

The Count of Monte Cristo was the first book I downloaded when I got a Kindle. I even started it multiple times. That's like 8 years now, so close enough to always for me.

I have a top 100 book of classics that I've been working through for about 5 years. I only have 7 left, so this will definitely be fit with one of them.

I'm going to finally get to The Poisonwood Bible for this one!

Jackie wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Emily wrote: "Rachel, you could go with a "contemporary classic" -- something that is on the school reading lists from the 1990s to current times, like Margaret Atwood or Barbara Kin..."

That's my problem though. The classics that have been on my list for ages are still there because I don't have a strong enough interest in picking them up. They are things like Catch-22 or Slaughterhouse 5, which I have only a vague interest in trying at some point.

Rachel wrote: "I'm really stuck with this one. I've already read the vast majority of the classics that I've "always" meant to read, and the remaining few are not books that I care to read right now."

There are classics by women that are lesser known. One I’ve enjoyed recently is Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann. It’s a coming of age story written in the 1930s and only 232 pages. I bought it from Amazon but big library systems might be able to get it.

I'm going to read Journey to the Center of the Earth for this one, have seen the movie but have never read the book.

Ellie wrote: "I'm stretching the definition of "always meant to read" to just classics that I've thought about reading at some point.

My options are The Death of Grass, [book:Bleak House|11840642..."

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a great book, it would also work well for the prompt of a book you can read in a day. It's a quick read!

I'm not sure there are any that I've always meant to read, because I'm pretty up on my classics. But I have a few on my shelves, so out of those I'm long listing

Great Expectations
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Age of Innocence
Where Angels Fear to Tread

I'm going with Toni Morrison for this one. I read a few of her books in high school, but for some reason, I have never been back to her.

I'm currently reading Sula, and while the subject matter is incredibly difficult, her writing beautiful, and I certainly didn't appreciate it at a younger age!

Finished The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway yesterday. This was THAT prompt that I just didnt want to even think about, lol.

I chose this particular book because it is of course a classic and A Farewell to Arms is one of my favorites, so I figured I'd give Hemingway another try. And YAY....it turned out to be a novella. One hour and done :-)

I will say that for a book about an old man, a really big fish and some sharks, I actually enjoyed it. Also, if you search it online you can find it for free. I read mine off archive.com

For this prompt, I read Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston. It was published in 1937. I did not know anything about the story other than it was a classic, nor did I expect anything so powerful. Wow, I am still digesting.

What are you reading for this category?
I read Typhoon by Joseph Conrad

When was it published?
First published in 1902

Do you enjoy reading classics?
Some I have enjoyed, but there are others I have hated. This one I thought the build up to the typhoon was really well done

1. What are you reading for this category?
I've just read All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. It's a damning picture of life as a soldier in WWI, I saw the film 1917 while I was reading it, Sam Mendes seems to have been inspired (maybe not the right word) by scenes from this novel.

2. When was it published?
It was originally published in Germany in 1929 with an English edition appearing also in the same year. It was one of the first books to be banned and burnt by the Nazis.

3. Do you enjoy reading classics?
Once I get into them, but like all books there are some that speak to me and others that don't.

What are you reading for this category? Middlemarch by George Eliot. It seems like this doorstopper's going to be a year-round book.

When was it published? To give you an idea of how large it is, it was published in eight volumes between 1871-1872.

Do you enjoy reading classics? Yes, but lately I find the lengthier ones try my nerves.

I read the Jew of Malta for this prompt. I'm always trying to expand from that time period beyond Shakespeare, but every time I read something by not Shakespeare I'm reminded that they aren't Shakespeare. But at least I got to put a slightly obscure country on the map.

In general I do enjoy reading classics. For me, I'm in the camp of a classic has to have stood the test of time, so it needs to have been published a while ago, but still in print.

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I never knew this book until I joined GR (I'm from the Netherlands) and I bought this edition last year because I loved the cover :)

2. When was it published?
1908

3. Do you enjoy reading classics?
Some I do, and others I don't, it depends so much on the story and the writer.....

I'm going to read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I started this book probably 15 years ago but I was not able to get into it. I'm excited to give it another go.
It was originally published in 1882.

I went with The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. It's not a well known classic, but it's a satirical book about two demons talking about the best way to get souls. There were some parts I agreed, but some that I greatly disagreed with.

Shelley wrote: "I went with The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. It's not a well known classic, but it's a satirical book about two demons talking about the best way to get souls. There were some ..."

I really like this book. I reread it every few years.

I finally got around to Strangers on a Train (1950). I don't know why I'd never read this book. I've had a physical copy sitting on my shelf forever, I've seen both movies, and so many other books and shows steal liberally from it. But now I've finished it, and it's pretty good, but it's really a psychological thriller rather than the foundational mystery novel that it's reputed to be. 4/5
Since "classic" just means "old book people still read," it's difficult to judge it as a category. Let's just say that I don't chase after new releases, so I often read books that have been out for decades or centuries.

I read this one:

47. A Classic Book You've Always Meant to Read: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

It was a really fun read and the collection of short stories were all enjoyable.

1. What are you reading for this category?
2. When was it published? First published in 1915
3. Do you enjoy reading classics? I've read most of the ones that appeal to me in the past.

I read The Phantom of the Opera 20/05/2020

It was published in 1909

I love classics but this did nothing for me I felt it was a stilted narrative and it was really hard work. If you have seen the musical i would give this a miss

I read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for this prompt.

What are you reading for this category?
Alice in Wonderland

When was it published?
1865

Do you enjoy reading classics?
There are classics and there are classics. But I am not a person who can appreciate the complexities of old language (English being my second language). I enjoy Polish classics though.

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

2. When was it published?
It was first published in 1886

3. Do you enjoy reading classics?
I haven't read many, but I have enjoyed most of the ones that I have read

I read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, first published in 1963. It's outstanding, and I wish I hadn't put it off for so long. Highly recommend! I kind of have a love 'em or hate 'em relationship with classics, so I keep trying them out.

I read Shirley by Charlotte Brontë, first published in 1849. The first part was a real slog, until the two heroines showed up.

Siddhartha, published in 1922.

I read Madame Bovary, which was published in 1857. I feel like I used to read more classics, but now I tend to read more modern stuff since I've gotten involved with the online book community.

I ended up going with The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale by Robert Louis Stevenson for this one. It was published in 1889, and now I've read all RLS's novels! This was probably the most complex/adult of his novels about a family feud, and set in 1700s Scotland. I've had this one on my TBR for over a decade, but no longer. I enjoy classics, and will probably never run out of ones i want to read.

I had planned on reading Middlemarch but decided on something much shorter, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, published in 1945. Ever since going to Monterey in the 1970s, I’ve had an interest in reading the book. I like reading the occasional classic. I have quite a few on my shelves, most of which I received for free when a local indie bookstore closed several years ago. The rest are my husband’s.

1. What are you reading for this category? The Picture of Dorian Gray Not sure I have always wanted to read but it is as close as it gets.
2. When was it published? 1890
3. Do you enjoy reading classics? For the most part no

1. What are you reading for this category?

2. When was it published?
1929
3. Do you enjoy reading classics?
No, but wished to read more.

1. What are you reading for this category?
Frankenstein

2. When was it published?
1818

3. Do you enjoy reading classics?
Not at all. I find the prose hard to get through a lot of the time. I'm glad I finally read this one though!

1. What are you reading for this category? Dracula
2. When was it published? 1897
3. Do you enjoy reading classics? Yes, I normally do. I haven't read too many the last couple of years. A couple of them this year I didn't enjoy as much as I normally enjoy classics.

I read Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote.

It was published in 1958. I don't enjoy reading classics, if it wasn't for this challenge I probably wouldn't read any. Though I did buy this book years ago, so it was nice to have the push to read it.

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read East of Eden.


2. When was it published? It was first published in 1952; my edition was printed in a Steinbeck set for Book of the Month Club in 1995.

3. Do you enjoy reading classics? Sometimes. I listened to the audio of Little Women (for another prompt), which I read as a child, and I loved it. However, I know everyone loves Jane Eyre, so I listened to it while it was free on Audible stories this summer, and I don't get the hype.

I read Macbeth, written in 1606. I never read (or saw) this play before, so I'm glad I read it.