Favorite Classic Book?

crich70 · 06-11-2011, 05:04 AM

If you had to pick just one of the classics (by which I mean something PD or almost old enough at least to be PD) what would the title of your favorite Classic book be? I've lost count on how many times as a kid I read Treasure Island.

HarryT · 06-11-2011, 05:12 AM

For me it would certainly be one of Dickens's novels, but my favourite keeps changing. Probably either "Bleak House" or "Great Expectations".

crich70 · 06-11-2011, 05:19 AM

I hadn't thought the topic might fit better under reading recommendations. Being as there were some other threads on the Classics in general, but I take the point that it might be so since others might base future readings on recommendations in the thread.

crich70 · 06-11-2011, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

For me it would certainly be one of Dickens's novels, but my favourite keeps changing. Probably either "Bleak House" or "Great Expectations".

I know his A Christmas Carol best though both it and Oliver Twist have been made into movies often enough. And Sir John Mills played a good Pip in the movie of Great Expectations I thought. The man had a real talent with the written word.

orlok · 06-11-2011, 07:09 AM

I would have to put Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo up there, despite The "boys-own adventure" criticisms it has been given on another thread.

issybird · 06-11-2011, 07:15 AM

If I had to pick my favorite classic now, it might be The Great Gatsby, but that's a thing of the moment.

If it's the book I read and reread more than any other as a kid, it would be Wuthering Heights.

I don't reread any more. Life is fleeting.

HarryT · 06-11-2011, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I don't reread any more. Life is fleeting.

What a depressing thought, never to re-read my favourite books. That would be like saying that I wouldn't listen to a loved piece of music again, because there are lots of pieces of music that I haven't yet heard.

DiapDealer · 06-11-2011, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

What a depressing thought, never to re-read my favourite books. That would be like saying that I wouldn't listen to a loved piece of music again, because there are lots of pieces of music that I haven't yet heard.

If musical pieces took a week, on average, to complete... then I wouldn't take the time to re-listen to those either.

I don't know about you, but music tends to just "happen" to me... with absolutely no effort on my part to hear it; whereas reading takes a focused effort. A focused effort that I no longer have the patience and/or desire to repeat... especially for a diluted reward.

I don't have time to re-read anymore either, but when I did... I especially enjoyed Captain's Courageous, Call of the Wild and the like.

caleb72 · 06-11-2011, 10:54 AM

Probably The Outsider by Albert Camus. Is that a classic yet? My second choice would be Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Admittedly though, I have not read a great range of classics.

beppe · 06-11-2011, 11:05 AM

I love to re-read. At distance of years, I have changed, become more educated and I can enjoy better.

Before I got him definitely out of my system, for reasons that have nothing to do with literature, I re-read Hemingway at least 6 times.

I re-read Bohl's short stories several times and a couple of Solgenitzin's also. And the Italians Gadda, Primo Levi and Calvino. Recently I re-read with much pleasure Ulysses.

I keep reading Dante, and Shakespeare, and Moliere. If they told me, from now on you will read only from one book, I would hesitate between La Commedia and Shakespeare. Maybe la Commedia. It is so dense, so rich.

INMMO, music to be appreciated has to be listened over and over and over again. Until all the features become familiar, then the real enjoyment begins, with familiarity. And the comparisons between performances, rendition, interpretations.

Pickering · 06-11-2011, 11:32 AM

My favorite classic is definitely The Complete Sherlock Holmes. One of the very few books I often re-read.

Catlady · 06-11-2011, 12:07 PM

I'll go with two newer classics: Gone with the Wind and The Once and Future King.

maianhvk · 06-11-2011, 12:53 PM

Sherlock Holmes.

The Count of Monte Cristo.

Jessica Lares · 06-11-2011, 03:43 PM

I actually agree with the not liking to re-read books. I don't like it very much either. It's not like watching a movie or listening to a song over and over again. You start to remember it a little more, yeah, but you also start over analyzing things.

I like The Count of Monte Cristo too, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Of Mice and Men. I read them in middle/high school. I took a Shakespeare class in high school and out of those I think I like Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Oh, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

PaulineDesigns · 06-11-2011, 05:14 PM

My all-time fav classic is Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner (available at PG). It's the story of a man's life starting from when he is a teenager and gets caught up with smugglers.

06-11-2011, 05:04 AM	#1
crich70 Wizard Posts: 4,142 Karma: 13677631 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Favorite Classic Book? If you had to pick just one of the classics (by which I mean something PD or almost old enough at least to be PD) what would the title of your favorite Classic book be? I've lost count on how many times as a kid I read Treasure Island.

06-11-2011, 05:12 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 54,664 Karma: 26165759 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Touch, PW, Fire HD, iPad 3, iPhone 4, Samsung Tab 2 7 + More	For me it would certainly be one of Dickens's novels, but my favourite keeps changing. Probably either "Bleak House" or "Great Expectations". __________________ Harry Currently proofreading The Poison Belt, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

06-11-2011, 10:54 AM	#9
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,221 Karma: 10912877 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	Probably The Outsider by Albert Camus. Is that a classic yet? My second choice would be Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Admittedly though, I have not read a great range of classics. __________________ Papyrus - Independent Author Reviews "Happiness is the hidden behind the obvious."

06-11-2011, 12:53 PM	#13
maianhvk whimsy Posts: 2,749 Karma: 88012403 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Vietnam Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Sherlock Holmes. The Count of Monte Cristo. __________________ "Man's social practice alone is the criterion of the truth of his knowledge of the external world." My reviews on Goodreads

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06-11-2011, 05:19 AM	#3
crich70 Wizard Posts: 4,142 Karma: 13677631 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I hadn't thought the topic might fit better under reading recommendations. Being as there were some other threads on the Classics in general, but I take the point that it might be so since others might base future readings on recommendations in the thread.

06-11-2011, 07:09 AM	#5
orlok Desperation Posts: 7,167 Karma: 207431774 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Fire HD, Kobo glo	I would have to put Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo up there, despite The "boys-own adventure" criticisms it has been given on another thread.

06-11-2011, 07:15 AM	#6
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 2,113 Karma: 19726700 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Touch, Nook, 350, 950, Fire	If I had to pick my favorite classic now, it might be The Great Gatsby, but that's a thing of the moment. If it's the book I read and reread more than any other as a kid, it would be Wuthering Heights. I don't reread any more. Life is fleeting.

06-11-2011, 11:05 AM	#10
beppe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,161 Karma: 81026524 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle3, Ipod4, IPad2	I love to re-read. At distance of years, I have changed, become more educated and I can enjoy better. Before I got him definitely out of my system, for reasons that have nothing to do with literature, I re-read Hemingway at least 6 times. I re-read Bohl's short stories several times and a couple of Solgenitzin's also. And the Italians Gadda, Primo Levi and Calvino. Recently I re-read with much pleasure Ulysses. I keep reading Dante, and Shakespeare, and Moliere. If they told me, from now on you will read only from one book, I would hesitate between La Commedia and Shakespeare. Maybe la Commedia. It is so dense, so rich. INMMO, music to be appreciated has to be listened over and over and over again. Until all the features become familiar, then the real enjoyment begins, with familiarity. And the comparisons between performances, rendition, interpretations.

06-11-2011, 11:32 AM	#11
Pickering Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 29886 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Colorado Springs Device: Kindle 2, Kindle 3	My favorite classic is definitely The Complete Sherlock Holmes. One of the very few books I often re-read.

06-11-2011, 12:07 PM	#12
Catlady Wizard Posts: 1,973 Karma: 5078806 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: jetBook Lite, Libre Color	I'll go with two newer classics: Gone with the Wind and The Once and Future King.

06-11-2011, 03:43 PM	#14
Jessica Lares Guru Posts: 965 Karma: 1346144 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: Kindle 3 (Wi-Fi), Kindle Fire, iPad Mini	I actually agree with the not liking to re-read books. I don't like it very much either. It's not like watching a movie or listening to a song over and over again. You start to remember it a little more, yeah, but you also start over analyzing things. I like The Count of Monte Cristo too, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Of Mice and Men. I read them in middle/high school. I took a Shakespeare class in high school and out of those I think I like Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oh, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

06-11-2011, 05:14 PM	#15
PaulineDesigns Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 1634 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Northern Ontario, Canada Device: Aluratek Libre Pro, HS M700, Axim w/uBook	My all-time fav classic is Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner (available at PG). It's the story of a man's life starting from when he is a teenager and gets caught up with smugglers.

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