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Hiya Trang, I hope you join in with our July read and that you share your views on the books you have read.

Hi, Nicole and lady Danielle thanks for your warm welcome.

Yes I am, I been wanting to read 'The picture of Dorian Gray' for a long time and have read a few page before but I have stop for some reason although I really love the writing and the storyline. So I just brought the books and will be receiving it in a few days ready for july. Can't wait!

Me either, though my copy hasn't arrived yet, I shuldn't be more than a week behind.

Joined in late June and just started the July read: The Picture of Dorian Gray. Looking forward to enjoying the classics again!

Welcome, Lovescaleb!

Hi Everyone. I think this group is a great idea - there is so much we can learn from each other...

Life is a bit busy at the moment, so I am not sure I will always have time to keep up with the reading. Fortunately, I have already read the next two in line (The Picture of Dorian Gray and Dracula).

English is not my mother-tongue, but I am fairly comfortable reading and writing in it.

My reading taste is very eclectic. I am new to ŷ������ and I am still trying to catch up with the list of books I have read - it's actually shameful how few I can't even recall off the top of my head. But there are plenty of classics I have not read yet and I hope this group will give me the discipline to approach some of those.

Hi Veljko, I hope you enjoy being a member of this group!

Hi

I'm new to ŷ������ and I just found your group and think it's perfect for me. :) I love reading classics and I hope joining this group will challenge me to read even more.
I love that this month's book is The Picture of Dorian Gray, it's one of my very favourite books ever, I read 5 times already and even wrote the 15 page essay I needed to graduate on this book. :)

Hi, I'm Whitney. I used to read all the time, but then college happened and I no longer had the time. I did start reading a lot more after I graduated, but then I got a job. I now have a Kindle, so I'm planning to take more advantage of it and start reading more again.

Most of what I've read of the classics was for school. For the most part I enjoyed them, but it was still a little hit and miss. *side eyes Moby Dick and the fits it gave me*

Hi, I'm Sarah and I'm from Dorset in the UK. I'm determined to re-read some old favourites from my school days, plus tackle some I never got round to reading. I'm currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo and plan to read Dracula in August, both of which are new to me.

Hi - I'm George from the UK. I'm new to reading classics but so far I have particularly enjoyed the thes likes of Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn and Of Mice and Men.

Well I'm willing to give anything a try and I'll be sure to put Dorian Gray on my to-read list!

Hi George and Sarah! Hope you find this group helpful.

Welcome to all the new members.

Hello, my name is Teri-Lynn and I absolutely love to read.

I found my love for classics when I read Anna Karenina....one of my absolute favorite books..
I am currently reading the Count of Monte Cristo which an absolutely FABULOUS book...I cannot wait to join all of u when we read Dracula!!

Until the next time...Happy Reading
xo

Hiya Teri-Lynn!

Hi everyone! I'm Jill and I am a social worker/photographer living in Houston, TX. I typically read memoirs, but there are tons of classics I'd love to read! My favorite would be East of Eden...just love that book! I'll make sure and get my hands on a copy of Dracula!

Excited to get to know you all!

Hey Jill it's nice to meet u!!!

You too Tery-lynn!:)

Hello! I'm Clare, I'm very new to the site and thought this group looked really interesting.

I never know where to start with classics and end up getting distracted re-reading kids books and light mysteries instead. I think I'm going to join you as you read Dracula as I've always wanted to read it.

Looking forward to discussing it with you at some point!

Hey Clare! Im new to the group too, but i've been on the site for a while.. And its great!

It is a great site, and really easy to navigate around!
Hope you both find this group fulfills your needs and welcomes you to goodreads.

I love being on ŷ������!!! I am totally addicted to it!!!!

Welcome to all the newbies. Thsi is a great group here.

Hi everyone! I'm Renae. I'm not completely unfamiliar with classics, but I haven't read as many as I would like, and I'm by no means an expert. Look forward to discussion!

Hi everyone! My name is Gaille, a college student. Most of the classics I have read were for school so I guess I am a beginner classic reader. But I want to expand my reading taste and my mom has many classics in the bookcase that I haven't read. Looking forward to reading Dracula and to having a great discussion!

Welcome, Renae and Gaille.

Just bought my own copy of Dracula...cannot wait to read it with all of u that are in the bookclub!!!!
Finished the Count of Monte Cristo...for those of u that have still not read it u should!!!!!
Welcome Gaille and Renae!!!!! Can't wait to book chat with all of u!!!!

Teri-lynn wrote:
Finished the Count of Monte Cristo...for those of u that have still not read it u should!!!!..."

That is my favourite book.

Hi Renae and Gaille, feel free to join all discussions, and make your own list!!

Hi, I am Terri.
Part of my reading goal for this year is to read all the Jane Austen books. I am just starting Northanger Abby. My daughter has read them all and highly recommends them. I have already read:
Lady Susan
Love and Friendship
Pride and Prejudice
and just finished Mansfield Park.
I have been trying to get one read a month. So far, so good.
Nice to join this group!

Hey Miss Terri!!! Welcome to the best website and group ever!!!!!!!!

Welcome, Terri.

Hi everyone, I'm Victoria and I'm 23. I'm from NJ but currently live in NC. I've always enjoyed reading but never really bothered to read the classics until recently. A friend suggested it to help me put some GRE vocabulary words into context (hoping to go back to school for my masters at some point). Now I'm borderline obsessed and have this long list of classics I want to read but every so often I still get distracted by horror and historical fiction novels.

As far as the classics go I love Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is great. I'm also a big Jane Austen fan, I think Persuasion is my favorite from her.

I'm currently reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, I don't love it but its pretty good. And hopefully soon I'll find the time to read Dracula, I've been wanting to read that forever now but always get distracted with other books that find their way ahead of the line.

I really wish I could just take a year off from life and go someplace without any technology, just to read everything on my to read list already without any distractions, lol.

Welcome, Victoria. I'm still putting off Wuthering Heights. It looks like a traumatic read.

Wuthering Heights actually wasn't what I thought it would be...I am glad that I read it cause it is a good book but I didn't love it either....

I have that book from the library now and I keep thinking I will read it soon but still have not gotten around to reading!

I keep reading 'Wuthering Heights' in sections myself. I will read two or three chapters and then put it down and read a whole other book in full before going back. I don't know why either, but I've been doing the same thing with Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road'. I don't think either book is bad and I really want to read them both in full, but I can't seem to in a single stride. Jane Austen, on the other hand, I can sit down and just fall into and read in a day without a problem, just like I tend to do with most books.

It's odd. I am exactly the same but not because a book is bad. I think sometimes too much of certain books frazzles my brain

Teri-lynn wrote: "Hey Miss Terri!!! Welcome to the best website and group ever!!!!!!!!"

Thank you!

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Welcome, Terri."

Thank you, I was happy to join.

I started but have NEVER finished "A portrait of a Lady�� by Henry James. For me it was the writing style. The man wrote sentences that went on for most of a page! Also, he went into very long descriptions of things like the color of the bricks on a house that just drove me crazy because it did not move the story forward. I am all for description but that was ridiculous. There is one other book that I have never finished either and for the same reason��.writing style. I have not had that problem before except with those two books.

I get like that with some books as well....my problem is though that I can't not finish a book...no matter how boring or badly written..I don't know why, maybe I am just neurotic but sometimes with some books I just wish I could walk away....

Hello everybody, I am Malkesh from India. I haven't read many classics, but plan on reading many. Any suggestions where to begin are welcome.
By the way, it's a wonderful thread, thanks.

Hello Malkesh, welcome to the amazingly fantastic group which is 'Classics for beginners'!
We will bombard you with suggestions,though before I give you any I should ask if there are any genres you don't want recommended (e.g romance, thriller, horror ect).

Thanks Nicolle,
Horror is one genre I don't wish to explore yet. All the rest would do just fine.

For the records, I have read Kafka, Orwell and Ayn Rand and currently reading Asimov's Foundation trilogy.

Ok, I highly recommend Jane Eyreas it is in my opinion one of the best books ever written (that I have read anyway), Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre though I advise to read it after you have read Jane Eyre as you can make the links, though it can be read as a stand alone novel. Jane Austen's novels are quite good. Lady Chatterley's Loveris also a fantastic read.

Hi! I'm Rachel from Tennessee, United States. I've only read the classics required in school, but my favorites are Wuthering Heights and Dracula.

Welcome Rachel....We are reading Dracula now as a group. Please feel free to make comments while we read and discuss...it might help those of us who are reading it to get ur take on the story.


Nicolle...I have Jane Eyre here at my house and I have not read it yet...is it easy to understand?? If I start and get stuck somewhere would u help me out with it if I have any questions??

It isn't so easy to understand at first. I think it wasn't until I was about a quarter of the way through that I started getting into the story and getting to recognise all the characters. Of course I would answer any questions you have as I also have the book so can refer to passages at any time. (I bought mine at a charity shop and it already had notes next to archaic language telling me what words meant which was helpful for me).

Hiya Rachel, have fun in this group!

Hello all, I'm Daniel and I like to apologize now for my horrible spelling and slow reading. Currently I am reading Gulliver's travel. Classics, for me, have been either love them or hate them. Not to often an in between. But I am willing to give any book a try.