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

[LovesMacs]

A general suggestion: whichever classic book you choose, I urge you to skip the introduction that is often added by a scholar or other writer. Introductions such as these often have plot spoilers and spend time dissecting the book or discussing its place in literary history. Such introductions are best read after you've read the work in question.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

A general suggestion: whichever classic book you choose, I urge you to skip the introduction that is often added by a scholar or other writer. Introductions such as these often have plot spoilers and spend time dissecting the book or discussing its place in literary history. Such introductions are best read after you've read the work in question.

Thanks for the tip.

Maybe they would have better been added *after* the book then, and called "Afterword" or something.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Maybe they would have better been added *after* the book then, and called "Afterword" or something.

I guess the reason is that scholarly editions, such as the "Penguin Classics" series, tend to be read by people who are already familiar with the plot, hence the concept of "spoilers" doesn't really apply. The introduction in such editions is telling you the things you should be looking out for as you read, so it is something you want to read before the actual book.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

A general suggestion: whichever classic book you choose, I urge you to skip the introduction that is often added by a scholar or other writer. Introductions such as these often have plot spoilers and spend time dissecting the book or discussing its place in literary history. Such introductions are best read after you've read the work in question.

A thousand times yes. I remember being assigned Anna Karenina in HS and having the introduction completely destroy the story for me. Don't the idiots who write these spoiler introductions realize that there are people reading these books for the first time?

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Catlady

A thousand times yes. I remember being assigned Anna Karenina in HS and having the introduction completely destroy the story for me. Don't the idiots who write these spoiler introductions realize that there are people reading these books for the first time?

It would be so simple to add a paragraph.

"Skip this introduction if you are reading this work for the first time. It is intended for people who are rereading this book and wish to gain additional understanding; reading the introduction before your first read of the work may spoil the story for you."

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

It would be so simple to add a paragraph.

"Skip this introduction if you are reading this work for the first time. It is intended for people who are rereading this book and wish to gain additional understanding; reading the introduction before your first read of the work may spoil the story for you."

Absolutely. Though I think an afterword is an even better choice. I think an introduction might discuss the author, the historical context, and the general themes, and the afterword can get into specifics of plot and meanings.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by caleb72

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

If you like societal comment and non-erotic romance, it seems appropriate to recommend authors such as E M Forster and Jane Austen. You've already written that you enjoyed Sense and Sensibility so there's no reason you wouldn't start working through more Austen novels.

If you do like Sci Fi, you could do worse than dabbling in some H G Wells. I've read two before and I'm just starting my third and I certainly haven't been disappointed.

I can't talk about classics without recommending Dostoyevsky. It's my goal to finish reading all of his novels before I die. I've only read three so far and enjoyed all of them.

Then there's the adventure type classics and there are an abundance of these: Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alexander Dumas, John Buchan and Jack London.

I see there have been a couple of haunting/gothic suggestions come through (Lovecraft, Poe, M R James). You could possibly add another work or two:
- The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
- Dracula by Bram Stoker (of course)

Our book club also read Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu and some of us really enjoyed that.

Another book with a fairly heavy atmosphere that I really enjoyed reading was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

I haven't read everything I've mentioned and (to be honest) I didn't actually like The Turn of the Screw. However its renown as a classic ghost story is indisputable.

I have to mention also, that when the book club read Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, I was blown away.

Lastly, if you like dystopian classics, let me throw my hat in the ring for 1984 by George Orwell and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (this one not public domain in English).

In any case, there's so many wonderful books to choose from. I could drop all other books and just read public domain classics for the rest of my life and still got get my fill.

Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more about the great selection of PD ebooks that are available, though as you mentioned 1984 isn't yet in PD. Still there are a great many choices to choose from including some omnibus editions of books by authors like H.Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs that contain a great selection of books in a very compact format. And best of all they don't cost a dime. Just the time to download them.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by crich70

Just the time to download them.

And the time to split up those omnibusses again.

[kindleuzer]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I guess the reason is that scholarly editions, such as the "Penguin Classics" series, tend to be read by people who are already familiar with the plot, hence the concept of "spoilers" doesn't really apply. The introduction in such editions is telling you the things you should be looking out for as you read, so it is something you want to read before the actual book.

I tend to agree with this perspective. As one of my professors used to say, plot is generally the *least* interesting aspect of fiction. ;-) Having important themes or other motifs, character insights, or other elements pointed to or hinted at beforehand can often actually *enhance* your reading of the story, and can even give you new avenues to explore that otherwise you might not have even thought about. Putting the work in a historical or intertextual perspective is also sometimes useful. So intros can often be useful guides to the book, imho.

[DrNefario]

They also like to add introductions so they can have some copyrighted material in the book.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

They also like to add introductions so they can have some copyrighted material in the book.

The introduction, footnotes, appendices, etc, is the whole point of scholarly editions. If you want the "raw" text, you can get it free of charge. The "extra stuff" is the reason I have a bookshelf full of Penguin Classics, Oxford World Classics, etc.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The introduction, footnotes, appendices, etc, is the whole point of scholarly editions. If you want the "raw" text, you can get it free of charge. The "extra stuff" is the reason I have a bookshelf full of Penguin Classics, Oxford World Classics, etc.

...and the reason you have the appropriate material to do your painstaking proofs of public domain works - for which we thank you.

[Freeshadow]

I'd like to add Hector Malot's "Sans famille" to the list of recommendations.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

It would be so simple to add a paragraph.

"Skip this introduction if you are reading this work for the first time. It is intended for people who are rereading this book and wish to gain additional understanding; reading the introduction before your first read of the work may spoil the story for you."

I agree. As a young teen, not having the experience to know what scholarly introductions were like, I made the mistake of reading the introduction to a Jane Austen novel which had a spoiler about which characters ended up together. Sure, I would probably have figured it out for myself long before the end of the book, but I would rather have done it on my own than have the ending told to me before I even read the first page of the story.

[readerlover]

I've read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and it was a really good book. eReaders make reading books so much easier I think!!!