Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I'm currently reading, "A Methodical System of Universal Law" by Johann Gottlieb Heineccius as well as, "Logic: The Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry After Truth" by Isaac Watts. They aren't technically classics but they are older than me as well as my country of origin, so that counts for something.

I'm probably considered boring in most groups but I consider my humour to be Brittannically subtle.

;)

I am reading Homer's Odyssey and A tale of two cites by Charles Dickens.

Hester wrote: "I'm reading and I'm really enjoying it so far."

Lucky you! Jane Eyre is my favourite book in the world... No book moves me like it...

i just started The Mysterious Island~i fell in love with verne w/20,000 Leagues so thought i would dive into another

i just started The Mysterious Island~i fell in love with verne w/20,000 Leagues so thought i would dive into another

Reading T. C. Boyle's World's End and I'm berating myself for not reading any Boyle before seeing him at this year's National Book Festival. But isn't it wonderful that we have an event like this to introduce us to writers we might never have read?

Right now, I'm just reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I'm going to start reading a book with The World's literature group, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea. As soon as I get my hands on a copy.

Steve,

How are you finding One Hundred Years of Solitude?That's another book on my list that for some reason seems a bit intimidating. I think that I read somewhere that it is Bill Clinton's favourite book.

It's incredibly dreamlike, and reads like a legend or fable. So, it lacks dialouge to any extensive degree. Personally, I find the way it moves through time, and the lack of dialouge unsettling. But the way it describes things really reminds me of the beauty of things we take for granted, like ice. So, my feelings are mixed for now, and I'm about 150 pages in out of 400-something.

I have just cracked open And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Should be a good fun read before I embark on a more challenging journey with Tolstoy.

Just finished The Mysteries of Udolpho. While I appreciated its contributions to literature (specifically Gothic literature), I did not enjoy it. I don't think I will be re-reading it any time soon. Currently, I'm powering through Molloy by Beckett and Dorian Gray by Wilde.

And The Casual Vacancy by Rowling. (Just remembered--sorry about the double post...)

Just finished Zola's Therese Raquin (very dark and gothic - although eventually a little too much so, in that it just keeps repeating the same old tropes, although I'm not sure there was much similar around at the time). Next on my list are a biography of Bettie Page and Goldman's The Princess Bride (oh - and The Woman in White, of course).

I'm reading to supplement my reading of the novel, which I have now finished.

Im currently reading two books:

1) To Kill A Mockingbird by Lee Harper, and it's just awesome.

2) Collected Stories of W. Somerset Maugham. some of the stories are good, some not, but above it all the story "rain" shine like a crazy diamond - it is one of the best short stories i ever read.

Well I have finally started Anna Karenina

Too bad I am not certain of the correct pronunciation of some of these Russian names.

I've only just started reading Anna Karenina. I'm obsessed with it. I thought it would be much more difficult to read, thought it would be far too descriptive and confusing, but honestly, it isn't! It's incredibly well written (obviously since it's a classic) but it isn't a task rather a pleasure, and the stories and the events that take place make it so hard to put the book down! I definitely recommend it! I also finished reading Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, and although I liked it very much, I felt it was a bit too dark for my taste. I love Hardy's novels, and the fact that they're tragedies, but I guess I wanted something a little happier for once.

Marelis wrote: "I am currently working on Anna Karenina (to get ready for the movie release in november) and Edgar Allen Poe's short stories in honor of Halloween. :)"

Precisely why I started reading it as well!! I wanted to read Les Miserables (done) and Anna Karenina in order to watch the movies this year :D Its the only way movies, and their casts, don't get in the way of the book.

Cami wrote, "Precisely why I started reading it as well!! I wanted to read Les Miserables (done) and Anna Karenina in order to watch the movies this year :D Its the only way movies, and their casts, don't get in the way of the book"

I am so out of touch. Are they making a movie of Les Miserables this year? Has it been released yet?

Jennifer wrote: "Cami wrote, "Precisely why I started reading it as well!! I wanted to read Les Miserables (done) and Anna Karenina in order to watch the movies this year :D Its the only way movies, and their casts..."

Yes! It comes out December 25th in the States. It's a musical featuring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried. Anna Karenina and The Great Gatsby featuring Leo Dicaprio come out in November.

Leonardo DiCaprio is in The Great Gatsby? I never would have thought of that, but now I think he would be great in it. May make me want to reread it after all.

Alana wrote: "Leonardo DiCaprio is in The Great Gatsby? I never would have thought of that, but now I think he would be great in it. May make me want to reread it after all."
:) I know! It's a Baz Luhrman movie, so it will be very Moulin Rouge like. It also features Carrey Mulligan and Tobey Mcguire, but the release date was delayed to May 2013... not November this year. Sad :(

I just finished Dubliners and I thought it was uneven: some short stories were really good (like "Eveline", "Counterparts", "A Painful Case" and "The Dead"), others really let me indifferent...

I'm starting on The Woman in White, the group read, which I think will be great.

Dear Classics Readers,

I am off to Rome soon and would like to take a work of fiction to read with me which is set in Rome: apart from Dan Brown and Henry James, any ideas?

Thanks in anticipation ...

Still working my way through Anna Karenina and loving Frankenstein!

Julie wrote: "Dear Classics Readers,

I am off to Rome soon and would like to take a work of fiction to read with me which is set in Rome: apart from Dan Brown and Henry James, any ideas?

Thanks in anticipation..."

Rome? The first thing I thought of was Dan Brown, lol. I'll have to think on that, although it should be easy. If you're up for a challenge, you could do some Shakespeare and read Julius Caesar, but not sure that's what you're looking for.

I, Claudius by Robert Graves.He also wrote a sequel Julie.Claudius the God.

Julie wrote: "Dear Classics Readers,

I am off to Rome soon and would like to take a work of fiction to read with me which is set in Rome: apart from Dan Brown and Henry James, any ideas?

Thanks in anticipation..."

Hm, the first thing that popped into my head was Death In Rome, which is about a German family living in Rome after WWII. It's beautifully written but kind of dark and mysterious, and perhaps more about the German people than about Rome or the Romans.

I just started The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard.

Im reading Rendez Vous with Rama.

Im reading Rendez Vous with Rama.

Christina, how is Love In the Time of Cholera? I just finished Marquez's One Hundred Years Of Solitude, and I'm unsure if I should read more of his work. Certain philosophical problems marred my enjoyment of the book, which I suspect may change when I get older.

I'm going to read Dorian Grey next (looks like I'm catching up with the group, haha), and since my copy is an anthology, I'll probably read The Importance of Being Earnest and A Proper Husband too.

I've just started the first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery [Whose Body? from 1923] and am already 100 pages in. Dorothy L. Sayers writes so well, and when it comes to creating memorable characters, she is queen!

Steve wrote: "I'm going to read Dorian Grey next (looks like I'm catching up with the group, haha), and since my copy is an anthology, I'll probably read The Importance of Being Earnest and A Proper Husband too."

Oooh! Dorian Grey is an amazing book!! You'll enjoy it!! I certainly did!! Just don't watch the movie...at all. It was so terrible!

"Of love and other Demons" (I think that's what its called, in Spanish it's "Del Amor y Otros Demonios" from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is an incredible book. I've decided to re read it, I recommend it. It has this dark fantastic aura about it.

Memoirs of Hadrian,Julie, if you already read I,Claudius.It's gotten great reviews.

The Woman in White

Henry wrote: "I, Claudius by Robert Graves.He also wrote a sequel Julie.Claudius the God."

Many thanks Henry, Lobstergirl and Alana for your suggestions. I adore Shakespeare and know Julius C very well: I am rather drawn to the Robert Graves suggestion and am going to check it out in the library tomorrow.

The Great Gatsby is my current classic re-read. I'm looking forward to getting reaquainted with Jay and Daisy and all the gang. Happy reading, everyone!

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens,the master.

I'm reading Moby-Dick right now and really enjoying it so far but have seen reviews before starting it that others thought it was a little long and too much about whaling. So far I can't put it down! Looks like I missed out on some great books you already read! So glad to be part of this group and have somewhere to go to discuss the books I'm reading. If only my family read more :)

I am finishing up Anna Karenina and have just started

Just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray. Splendid, but it was nearly demolished on revisions (editor wanted more pages, so Wilde stuck them in wherever he thought he could) but the language was beautiful. Anyway, I'm going to read The Importance of Being Earnest, since it's in my copy of Dorian Gray.

Jennifer wrote: "I am finishing up Anna Karenina and have just started "

Ooh Dracula is one of my favourites. :) I hope you enjoy it.

Steve wrote: "Just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray. Splendid, but it was nearly demolished on revisions (editor wanted more pages, so Wilde stuck them in wherever he thought he could) but the language was be..."

The Important of Being Earnest is really funny. I love Oscar Wilde and this may be my favourite of his plays

Hi, I;m new to the group I've really been trying to get into more classics. Right now I have started reading I just read the first chapter but it seems very intresting I have heard that Dostoevsky is a good one to read. I am also reading through which I love so many good quotes.

Now that I'm done with all the Oscar Wilde I have (Amazing, but Salome left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak), I'm back on top of Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. I didn't stop the first time because I didn't like it, but because I got more excited about something else. As much as I like FW, I might left myself take a year or so to read it in short bursts. It's that kind of experience.

Steve wrote: "I'm back on top of Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. I didn't stop the first time be..."

Steve, I have always been meaning to tackle Joyce and in particular Ulysses because I would like to see how Virginia Wolf was influenced by that novel when writing Mrs. Dalloway. How do you find Joyce's writing style? I am always hesitant to read books that I fear will involve a big time commitment because I worry that I will invest a lot of time but will not be able to finish due to other commitments.

From what I understand, Finnegan's Wake is way too complex to judge Joyce's style on. First of all, it doesn't remain a novel. It breaks into poetry, play, music, and more. As in, there is actual sheet music in the novel. Second, the language is sometimes multi-lingual, sometimes phonetic, and often incomprehensible. One sentance from FW: "There's so many a smile to Nondum, with sytty maids per man, sir, and the park's so dark by kindlelight." Also, gotta say, the word kindlelight invoked something completely different than Joyce probably intended. Also, they say there's a story in here somewhere, but I've yet to find it. I've found plot, but nothing to bridge the insanity.

Honestly, I would never persuade or dissuade anyone to read FW, but it's nothing to base Joyce's career on.