Please recommend old classics!
08-08-09, 11:34 AM
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Re: Please recommend old classics!
I love anything by Alexandre Dumas, very fun author. Others I've enjoyed: Don Quixote, Frankenstein, Madame Bovary
Also, for something a little different, try The Nibelungenlied, a German epic poem. I read the Penguin Classics version translated by Hatto and it was very easy to read.
Also, for something a little different, try The Nibelungenlied, a German epic poem. I read the Penguin Classics version translated by Hatto and it was very easy to read.
08-16-09, 10:45 PM
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Re: Please recommend old classics!
I'm surprised no one mentioned Mysterious Island which is a favorite.
Others to look at:
Homage To Catalonia (Orwell's experiences during the Spanish Civil War)
Brighton Rock (Graham Greene)
From The Earth To The Moon (Jules Verne again)
and anything by Conan Doyle.
Others to look at:
Homage To Catalonia (Orwell's experiences during the Spanish Civil War)
Brighton Rock (Graham Greene)
From The Earth To The Moon (Jules Verne again)
and anything by Conan Doyle.
08-17-09, 11:50 AM
#53
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If you are willing to read romance, I'll recommend my favorite book: Pride and Prejudice. It is usually described as a "comedy of manners" but the humor is fairly subtle and some people don't "get" it.
In the fantasy genre I enjoyed The Hobbit when I read it as a kid; don't think it has been mentioned above. I liked it better than LotR because it isn't so dark and bloody. Tolkien pretty much invented the modern fantasy novel, but so long ago that I think that his books could be considered classics.
For Twain, my favorite is his Life on the Mississippi. It's not at the social commentary level of of Huckleberry Finn, just a fun book about his experiences as a riverboat pilot.
I'll also put in a plug for an abridged version of Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo. But modern readers may find it too slow and boring. The classic characters Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert have entered our culture, however (and even got a mention in Star Trek).
It has been a long, long time since I've read it, but anybody who likes books should read Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451; gives new meaning to the term "fire department"... Another sci-fi classic would be Stranger in a Strange Land, by Heinlein, although it isn't a favorite of mine.
Two classics recommended by some library friends, but which I haven't read yet, are Don Quixote and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Of books mentioned above, I'd like to second recommendations of To Kill a Mockingbird and Animal House, albeit for very different reasons. The former was an instant classic when it was published and won a well-deserved Pulitzer Prize. The latter is a humorous social commentary on political systems and needs to be read as a book of its time.
In the fantasy genre I enjoyed The Hobbit when I read it as a kid; don't think it has been mentioned above. I liked it better than LotR because it isn't so dark and bloody. Tolkien pretty much invented the modern fantasy novel, but so long ago that I think that his books could be considered classics.
For Twain, my favorite is his Life on the Mississippi. It's not at the social commentary level of of Huckleberry Finn, just a fun book about his experiences as a riverboat pilot.
I'll also put in a plug for an abridged version of Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo. But modern readers may find it too slow and boring. The classic characters Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert have entered our culture, however (and even got a mention in Star Trek).
It has been a long, long time since I've read it, but anybody who likes books should read Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451; gives new meaning to the term "fire department"... Another sci-fi classic would be Stranger in a Strange Land, by Heinlein, although it isn't a favorite of mine.
Two classics recommended by some library friends, but which I haven't read yet, are Don Quixote and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Of books mentioned above, I'd like to second recommendations of To Kill a Mockingbird and Animal House, albeit for very different reasons. The former was an instant classic when it was published and won a well-deserved Pulitzer Prize. The latter is a humorous social commentary on political systems and needs to be read as a book of its time.
