Here they are. I'd give an order, but I'm allowing myself the flexibility to read these in whatever order I fancy. I can already feel a few of them skipping to the head of the line, knowing they'll be loved and others doggedly standing in back, fully aware that I forced myself to choose them.
1. Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
3. Brave New World by Adolf Huxley
4. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
5. Common Sense by Thomas Paine
6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
7. Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson
8. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
9. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
10. Jesus The Christ by James Talmage
11. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
12. Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis
13. Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
14. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
15. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
16. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
17. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
18. The Iliad by Homer
19. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
20. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Here are twelve other books I considered. Obviously, I want to read them sometime, and if it's this year then huzzah to me! FYI, I have already read Tess of d'Ubervilles and Jane Eyre, which is why they aren't on either list.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
John Adams by David McCullough
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irvine Stone
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Ulysses by James Joyce
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
What do you think? Is my list unreasonable? A lot of those books seem really difficult. Is it possible to actually read them without being in a literature class to motivate and explain everything?
Here's to self education.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Twenty Classics In One Year
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13 comments:
Great list. I find that the classics are easier now that I am more mature and seasoned in life. I understand them a lot better than I did as a 20 year old majoring in English. I might follow along with your list. I have only read 5/20 and several of your titles are ones I want to read.
I highly recommend John Adams. It is one of my favorite books. It started slow for me but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. It is fascinating. Jason has also read Truman by McCollough and he loved that as well. If you are looking for one more church book to read I have to recommend "A Disciples Life" by bruce Hafen. It is the biography of Neal A. Maxwell and another favorite. It was fascinating.
Happy reading. You are an inspiration.
Your list is inspiring and I plan to pick a few from it too. Thanks for sharing your choices. (I'm glad I had someone to discuss The Awakening with or I'd have missed the whole point. Even with a point it was less than my favorite.) I say, "Go Lucy go"! You can definitely do this and I'm excited to read what you've learned from them all.
I'm glad Jesus the Christ made the cut and am sad John Adams didn't. I'm with Andrea on it. Maybe next year. Same with Team of Rivals (though not classics, it and John Adams are incredible reads that have made a big impact on my life).
What one are you starting with?
Definitely next year. I was so tempted to try to read all of them, because there wasn't a single one that I don't think is important to read. I probably should have kept John Adams as it is the only biography on the list. Drat. Now, I feel less well-rounded. Will read it though!
I'm reading I Capture the castle right now and really, really enjoying it. I also checked out Green Mansions from the library so will probably read that next. Those were the two that I even wondered if I should include on the list, as they are lesser known, but they are both identified as classics in their own genres. So...we'll see.
Ambitious list there Lucy, what an accomplishment when you finish.
We've recently started what we jokingly call "Smart Couple's Book Club" with all the old fogies in my ward (there are about 7 of us over 30), Atlas Shrugged is our first book. I'll read along with you.
You're so ambitious! I'm a book-lover like you with a degree in English, and I like to think I have read classics but I have only read a few from each of your lists. And I have never read Tess. Go Lucy!
Heart of Darkness is the one I read instead of The Bluest Eye. The cliff notes were bad bad. Maybe the actual book is better. Hope so.
Are you going to make a cute little sidebar or something that says what you are reading right now-or does your Goodreads thingy do that? I have read a few of these and would love to revisit some or try some new ones too. I hope you LOVE reading them all!!! Will you mix in 'fun' reads or are you sticking strictly with your classics?
I am so glad to see Wuthering Heights on your list. I actually love that book, but I catch a lot of flack because of it. I find the interwoven relationships so fascinating. Can't wait to hear your review!
I don't know why but this challenge you have set for yourself has gotten me very excited. I can't wait to read your reviews and to read a few of these myself.
I'm glad you are liking "I Capture the Castle" I liked it too.
I got the best tan on my legs 3 summers ago when I read Gone With the Wind while the kids played outside. Ice water, hiked up capris and a little shade. Maybe Henry wont runaway next year and you can leisurely read too. Save that one for summer.
I've had a few of these on my list for a long time too. I'll join you if my mail order library will send them. :)
dude that would take me 10 years. Maybe I'm a 2 classics a year kind of girl. I hope you plan to pepper your list with a few NY best sellers because you could get burned out or at least I think I would.
I've always wanted to read Alice and wonderland and Count of monte cristo. Maybe that should be my two this year.
I love so many of those books. Count of Monte Cristo, I Capture the Castle, so good. I have been wanting to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Not to add another to your list!
I like this list! But are you sure about Alice in Wonderland? Just saying.
I can't wait to hear what you think of The Power of One. Our (that's the one you and I both belong to, by the way) book group read it a couple of years ago. I liked it a lot. But it had mixed reviews. I also enjoyed I Capture the Castle. Have you never read Wuthering Heights?? I can't imagine.
Let's read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and still do go out to dinner book group on 9/24. I think it's a great plan, but let me know what you think and I'll throw it out there to the book club.
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