The Classics (and Classic Horror novels)

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Anthea M

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Feb 1, 2014
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I have also read Catcher in the Rye. Alice Through The Looking Glass was OK from what I remember. I read Roots as soon as it came out in paperback (all those years ago!!). The Outsiders is in one of my bookcases awaiting reading. I loved reading the Secret Seven books by Enid Blyton as a child - they had better adventures than the Famous Five! I also loved Swallows and Amazon's - a reminder of days gone by. I also loved all The Borrowers books. I got into reading Agatha Christie in my early teens as I was fed up with the books available for teens.
 

carrie's younger brother

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Mar 8, 2012
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This book deserves its own genre. Heathcliff is an ass and the rest of his family aren't much better. But it is a compelling story nonetheless.
Its genre is Gothic novel (designed to both horrify and fascinate readers with scenes of passion and cruelty; supernatural elements; and a dark, foreboding atmosphere); also realist fiction (incorporates vivid circumstantial detail into a consistently and minutely thought-out plot, dealing mostly with the relationships of the characters to one another).
 

booklover72

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Jan 12, 2014
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I've read most of the books mentioned. I'll also add The Phantom of the Opera. I've read this 3 times or so. It's an easy read; not very long. Having only known the movie versions of the story, it's a fascinating book. The Phantom's backstory in the book is something I never knew about from just seeing the various movie versions. Very interesting.
Frederick Forsyth wrote a follow up to the Phantom of the opera, Called The phantom of manhattan. Andrew LLoyd Webber gave Mr forsyth his permission to do the follow up.
 

booklover72

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The Brothers Karamazov...The Idiot (which is interesting for what it says about pre-revolutionary Russia...there was this attitude of hate-all-things-Russian...so familiar, here in the States as the same attitude prevails at times...hate all things American...too...but I better not spoil it for you...some great scenes on a train) I think these two are much better than Crime & Punishment, that I've also read. I can't recommend Dostoyevsky enough.

Don Quixote...Cervantes story might be more than four-hundred years old, but it is story...thoroughly enjoyable. There's a line or two in this one I've remembered: Virtue is persecuted by the wicked more than it is loved by the good. Nothing's changed. Friend to friend no more draws near and the jester's cane has become a spear. Sounds grim, but there is a great deal of humor in this story.

Anna Karenina, Tolstoy...maybe you've seen the movie? another good long read.
Anything by George Eliot. Her stories have as much psychological realism as Dosty's...if not more. The Mill on the Floss...Middlemarch...Silas Marner
Ibsen.
The Bard...but if you can find recordings that is so much more enjoyable as you get more than just his words...you get feeling, context, tone.

Give the Brothers K a shot...if you don't like that, ignore the rest of what I've said.
Did Silas Marner and Henry V pT 1. was halfway through Anna Karenina, When i brought it into work and a russian girl told me the end. I was really enjoying until that moment.

If you lik Russian lit, there is a story Called The Overcoat, i think, don't hold me to it, it is Gogol. you can look it up on biblio? it lets you read books that are out of copyright for more then 50 years. had great fun Discovering Mark Twin
 

carrie's younger brother

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Mar 8, 2012
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Frederick Forsyth wrote a follow up to the Phantom of the opera, Called The phantom of manhattan. Andrew LLoyd Webber gave Mr forsyth his permission to do the follow up.
Fascinating! I just looked at the Wikipedia entry for this book. Seems like it is a more a sequel to Webber's Phantom than Gaston Leroux' novel, but still pretty interesting. Although I am not at all a fan of Webber's musical version, I just may have to read this as it sounds intriguing.
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
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Fascinating! I just looked at the Wikipedia entry for this book. Seems like it is a more a sequel to Webber's Phantom than Gaston Leroux' novel, but still pretty interesting. Although I am not at all a fan of Webber's musical version, I just may have to read this as it sounds intriguing.
I really enjoyed watching Phantom of the Opera on PBS from the Royal Albert Hall. I thought it was good and the book was good.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
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which ones have you read?

I think I've only read Dracula and the Inferno and I'm thinking about getting Fankenstein. Maybe Picture of Dorian grey.

what are some other good ones?
Frankenstein
Dr Jekyll and mr Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson
The ghost stories of M.R. James
Wildes Dorian grey
The monk by Sinclair Lewis
The house of seven gables by nathaniel Hawthorne
Edgar allan Poe (The tell-tale heart, strange case of Mr. Valdemar, The Pit and the pendolum, get a good selection of his short stories.
Lovecraft (same thing get a good selection)
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Rebecka by Daphne de Maurier (she wrote the Birds that Hitchcock directed!)

These are a good start. They are classics, i think, in the ghost/horror/creepy genre. If you then want to get some fantastic stories taste some of Dickens, Dostojevski, tolstoj, Austen, cervantes but avoid Shakespeare. He is not to be read but to be heard or the best seen at a scene. But his Sonnets are lovely.
 
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M.Bont

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Apr 24, 2014
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The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

When I was nine years old my father took me to the library and gave me an Edgar Allan Poe book. “The Cask of Amontillado” was the first grown-up story I read.
After that I threw all my children's books in a cardboard box and put it in the attic...
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

When I was nine years old my father took me to the library and gave me an Edgar Allan Poe book. “The Cask of Amontillado” was the first grown-up story I read.
After that I threw all my children's books in a cardboard box and put it in the attic...
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is a favourite of mine as well. Have you read it M.Bont?
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
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If you like Wyndham you try "The trouble with lichen" and "The Kraken wakes" aka "Out of the deeps". Wyndham a favourite of mine. One of the many reasons is that he is one of the few authors in his generation that regularly have strong women in his novels, often stronger and more intelligent and resolute than the male main character. It is true about both the chrysalids and the two i mentioned.
 
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Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
If you like Wyndham you try "The trouble with lichen" and "The Kraken wakes" aka "Out of the deeps". Wyndham a favourite of mine. One of the many reasons is that he is one of the few authors in his generation that regularly have strong women in his novels, often stronger and more intelligent and resolute than the male main character. It is true about both the chrysalids and the two i mentioned.
Thanks Kurben - somehow that "The Kraken Wakes" title rings a bell with me - I did not know he wrote that :redface-new:
 

jordanc123

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May 2, 2010
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In terms of "classic horror" i have read Dracula a few times and hated it more and more each time. It starts out good but the moment it gets to the girls section of the novel i get really bored really quickly. "Frankenstein" is IMO is a better written as well as a more engaging novel. Also if anyone wants a recommendation for two novels which should be regarded as classics despite their age be sure to check out "Beloved" by Toni Morrison which is not only one of the greatest books i have ever read but also contains some of the most visceral and frightening images outside of the horror genre. Also check out " The things they carried" which is a series of short stories about the Vietnam war.
 

TrueGeneration

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My favorite classics are The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye. I would also recommend J.D. Salinger's other works of fiction. I also had the pleasure of reading Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre for the first time during my fall semester. I loved Jane Eyre. Thought it was better than Pride and Prejudice, to be honest, maybe because it was darker, haha. Little Women is another great one, too!

My least favorite will always be Animal Farm. Did not dig that book. Also, As I Lay Dying. I felt like nothing happened in that book. I felt the pace in that book was slow :/

For classic horror, probably the only one I've read is Dracula.
 
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Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
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I read all of these. With the exception-- I had to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to get through that story. The Zombies made it worthwhile.
 
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TrueGeneration

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I read all of these. With the exception-- I had to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to get through that story. The Zombies made it worthwhile.

Not to get off topic, but I've always wanted to read that! Miss Bennett fighting zombies? That'll reel me in ;) I've read his other book--Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter--and that was a fun read, I must admit!
 
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