I'd like to start reading the classics. How should I begin?

[glos]

Originally Posted by Merischino

I
Italo Svevo - Confessions of Zeno/Zeno's Conscience

Jumping in just to say... uhgh, mhh... no
I mean, you (OP) can try it of course, but it's the worst book I've ever read.
Painfully boring and slow. It's one of those they made us read in high school, and not one person I've talked to said they liked it, not because it was almost obligatory, but because it was really boring. Every time someone asks me the usual "your favorite book/the one you don't like" I always mention this one as the one I don't like, and many around me do, too.

seconding the other books though

[Merischino]

glos: interesting. I read it college (in Italian) and found it quite funny. Maybe the translation you guys had was not so hot?

[glos]

Originally Posted by Merischino

glos: interesting. I read it college (in Italian) and found it quite funny. Maybe the translation you guys had was not so hot?

I read the original too as that's my first language
All those parts about his smoke problem and the part

Spoiler:

where he talks about his affair

were really hard to read...
I genuinely don't remember finding any part funny or not boring

slightly off topic

Spoiler:

I don't usually dislike our "classics", I can say I Promessi Sposi is too long, but that's because they don't really make you like it at school (and yeah let's face it, it's way too long), while my teacher did a great job on the Divine Comedy, I adore it, if it's properly explained it's easy to see why it's a masterpiece. I also Like Calvino and Eco a lot. Of the "newest" there's Baricco (Novecento, Oceano Mare) and lately I am especially enjoying Stefano Benni (Achille piè veloce, etc) if you have not tried them, as you seem to like italian literature (and maybe read them in their original language, I'd recommend them)
Wiki on Benni (because I couldn't find the words): "His novels contain, within imaginary worlds and situations, a strong satire of Italian society over the last few decades. His writing style includes many puns, neologisms and parodies of other literary styles." I find them really clever and witty.

[HarryT]

If you want to read the classics I'd strongly suggest that you begin with the great authors who wrote in your own language. Books like "War and Piece" or "Don Qixote" certainly are classics, but if you read them in English you aren't reading the author's book at all - you're reading a translator's interpretation of what the author said, and that's a very different thing.

Goodness knows there's no shortage of classics in English. I'd start with my very favourite author, Charles Dickens, arguably the greatest novelist ever to have written in the English language. Most people who think "Dickens is boring" do so because they were force-fed him in school. Dickens wasn't writing for children (other than the few books he wrote which were actually aimed at children, of course); you have to be an adult with some experience of the world to be able to appreciate his biting wit and social satire.

[owly]

Just about anything by Mark Twain "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court!" is a good example.

[Jozawun]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you want to read the classics I'd strongly suggest that you begin with the great authors who wrote in your own language. Books like "War and Piece" or "Don Qixote" certainly are classics, but if you read them in English you aren't reading the author's book at all - you're reading a translator's interpretation of what the author said, and that's a very different thing.

Goodness knows there's no shortage of classics in English. I'd start with my very favourite author, Charles Dickens, arguably the greatest novelist ever to have written in the English language. Most people who think "Dickens is boring" do so because they were force-fed him in school. Dickens wasn't writing for children (other than the few books he wrote which were actually aimed at children, of course); you have to be an adult with some experience of the world to be able to appreciate his biting wit and social satire.

Agreed, it really is Dickens then daylight. I would say, however, that you might get a very unfair impression of Dickens' high quality if your first sample was, as recommended earlier here, Nicholas Nickleby.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jozawun

Agreed, it really is Dickens then daylight. I would say, however, that you might get a very unfair impression of Dickens' high quality if your first sample was, as recommended earlier here, Nicholas Nickleby.

I agree. I'd suggest "Bleak House" or "Great Expectations".

[cortman]

What? Nicholas Nickelby is easily my favorite Dickens novel!
Ah well, to each their own.
I like the idea of reading classics in their original language. Maybe I'll give that a try when I have some time- sit down with a grammar and dictionary and slog away at Les Miserables or Crime and Punishment.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Goodness knows there's no shortage of classics in English. I'd start with my very favourite author, Charles Dickens, arguably the greatest novelist ever to have written in the English language. Most people who think "Dickens is boring" do so because they were force-fed him in school. Dickens wasn't writing for children (other than the few books he wrote which were actually aimed at children, of course); you have to be an adult with some experience of the world to be able to appreciate his biting wit and social satire.

I was waiting for this from you HarryT.

I started to read a couple of Dickens stories. I've only read A Christmas Carol, which I enjoyed, and The Chimes, which I did not enjoy.

I'm still determined to read at least all his Christmas stories and A Tale of Two Cities, but I don't know if I'm going to tackle his bigger works.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I was waiting for this from you HarryT.

I started to read a couple of Dickens stories. I've only read A Christmas Carol, which I enjoyed, and The Chimes, which I did not enjoy.

I'm still determined to read at least all his Christmas stories and A Tale of Two Cities, but I don't know if I'm going to tackle his bigger works.

I've encountered some of his works (as films). Not so much in book format though, although I have read Oliver Twist.

[Merischino]

Glos,
It's possible I'm confusing Zeno with something else i read way back when...

[dwig]

Originally Posted by Neverwhere

...I normally read fantasy, horror, thriller and young adult novels - a few of my cherished authors, specifically, are Stephen King, China Miéville, Cassandra Clare, Sarah Diemer, Dean Koontz, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson and J.K. Rowling. ...

Sorry for being a bit late to the party ...

There have been a lot of good recommendations so far. I would like to add that there are two completely different groups of 'classics' to consider:

1. Those works that you should read for the sake of what they are and what they say to the reader. Most of the recommendations so far fall into this group.
   
2. Those works that have influenced other writers and, more importantly, those that are referenced by other writers. This group overlaps #1 a good deal, but there are some that don't. These may not be the best reads on their own, but reading them can aid in understanding other works.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is an excellent example of a book that falls into both groups. It's an essential read. Bulfinch's Mythology is one that falls mostly into group #2, though some would find it a decent read on its own. H. G. Wells' and Edgar Allen Poe's works are often good reads on their own and are excellent examples of works that set styles that have been followed by many authors since.

Searching out good reviews and analyses of works by authors you like might turn up a mention of some referenced classic.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Neverwhere

Hi Crich70. This is an excellent resource, thank you for sending me the link - it's unlikely I ever would have stumbled across this by myself! I see that The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (one of the two classic works that I own in paper format) is listed among these, so I think that I'll start with that one...

You can find an excellent, very readable, and free translation of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri on the translator's website. Antony S. Kline has generously made his translation—with hyper-linked in-depth name index, and comprehensive notes—free of charge, and it can be downloaded by visiting this page and selecting your preferred format.

"Texts may be FREELY replicated for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes. Copyright is however reserved by the author and translator in all these works."

I should also mention that a there may still be a printed copy or two for sale if you search.

Spoiler:

From the Printed Books section of his website:

Dante: The Divine Comedy, translated text only without index or illustrations.

The title was available from Borders Stores in the Borders Classics series, but may now be out of print. If so, try entering the ISBN on the Amazon site, where second-hand copies do become available from time to time.

ISBN: 1-58726-157-X

You may also want to browse Mr. Stine's free Poetry Archive while you're there.

Poetry in Translation

[crich70]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

You can find an excellent, very readable, and free translation of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri on the translator's website. Antony S. Kline has generously made his translation—with hyper-linked in-depth name index, and comprehensive notes—free of charge, and it can be downloaded by visiting this page and selecting your preferred format.

"Texts may be FREELY replicated for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes. Copyright is however reserved by the author and translator in all these works."

I should also mention that a there may still be a printed copy or two for sale if you search.

Spoiler:

From the Printed Books section of his website:

You may also want to browse Mr. Stine's free Poetry Archive while you're there.

Poetry in Translation

Thanks for the link.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by caleb72

This is one aspect of electronic literature that I've really profited from - the availability of public domain classics.

Yes, indeed. Saves hundreds of Euro's when reading electronically

I'm going to follow this thread. I like reading classics, but I only know the well known authors; you know, the ones everybody knows. I may pick some stuff up here as well.

Do you read detectives? In that case you might read the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. That's next on my list after I finish my current book.