classic books you didnt like
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"Right Turn Clyde."
Watch your six heading out west sir. I've toured the Stanley House a couple of times and I wanted to move to Estes Park once I visited there. Nice town, slow pace and I never got tired of looking westward into the Rockies.
I quite liked Brave New World, but then I like dystopian stories so there you go...
I did too.I quite liked Brave New World, but then I like dystopian stories so there you go...
And I loved The Scarlet letter, The Last of the Mohicans (that's one of my childhood books, I even bought The Deer Slayer recently) and Wuthering Heights. One person's dislike is another one's favorite, eh?
Yikes. Three I DIDN'T like. hahahaha! Yep. Variety makes the world go 'round.
War of the Worlds by H.G Wells. I'm not the biggest fan of Wells to be sure, and none of his works have left a deep or big impression on me except for this work.(In fairness I have only read for of his novels.) I respect Wells as a writer, and I respect War of the Worlds for it's contribution to the Science Fiction genre, but, never has an ending pissed me off so much, as the ending to The War of the Worlds.
Most classics I had to read in high school and college, I didn't like. Some of them - like Lord of the Rings - I read again on my own time and found some real enjoyable nuggets that I didn't appreciate before, no longer having the burden of a reading mandate attached.
Still, I cannot imagine enjoying The Scarlet Letter.
While I did like Grapes of Wrath quite a bit, there are other works by Steinbeck that leave me floundering. Cannery Row comes to mind.
I'm afraid I cannot appreciate the finer points (if there are any) of James Fenimore Cooper after reading Mark Twain's critique of him.
With a few exceptions, Dickens is a wearying slog.
Still, I cannot imagine enjoying The Scarlet Letter.
While I did like Grapes of Wrath quite a bit, there are other works by Steinbeck that leave me floundering. Cannery Row comes to mind.
I'm afraid I cannot appreciate the finer points (if there are any) of James Fenimore Cooper after reading Mark Twain's critique of him.
With a few exceptions, Dickens is a wearying slog.
....and despite Henry Jame's "great reputation".....I attempted to read "The Jolly Corner" and after two pages-hurled it into a corner.....OMG, talk about dryer than a popcorn fart!.....he might've turned somebody's screw-but it wasn't mine.....
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitz.....snore........and we're back...F. Scott Fizgerald. I've tried this one several times since high school and made it to about page 50 on one of those attempts. Pretty much bored to tears on every try.
That is the one Fitzgerald book I actually liked. It takes all kinds.
I really liked The Great Gatsby, but I also think that had a lot to do with when I read it. I was in a spree of reading classics. Determined to read them. Most of the classics I was reading bored me to tears that by the time I got to Gatsby, I actually thought, "Yay! a book with interesting characters, situations and a story line!"
I will speak only for myself on this next thing. maturity. I think how I took in information by any given classic had a lot to do with where I was on the road of maturity and wisdom. The older I get, the more I can understand them and appreciate the journey.
I first tried to read it in high school and barely was able to start it. Then in college I tried a couple more times thinking since I was a bit older I might be able to get thru it but no dice. I've since tried to start it a couple more times as an adult but I can't just can't find anything to identify with in the book. Just couldn't get interested in Gatsby, Carraway, or any of it. I don't mind reading classics but just can't find anything in this one.
the perspectives in this thread are interesting to read. outside of required high school assignments, despite the many, many books i've read, i've been very lax in the "classics" department. something i've recently been thinking of remedying. i guess i'm another who while devouring a lot of books, might stop short of identifying as "well read" since my only exposure to a lot of classics is through movies. i actually watched a "booktuber" (youtube channel dedicated to books, there's a lot of them out there, and *some* of them are even run by some people older than the twilight generation, who seem to read nothing but young adult fantasy novels) who did a tour of her bookshelves, and she had so many of the literary classics, beautiful looking editions too. there were a number that i honestly didn't even realize were anything but a movie, but which made sense when you consider how often hollywood actually puts out an original idea.
Wuthering Heights.
I have never wanted to blow my head off so badly in my life.
I have never wanted to blow my head off so badly in my life.
