Does anyone read classical literature any more?

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RoxieReads
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Re: Does anyone read classical literature any more?

Post by RoxieReads »

I don’t often read classical literature, I’d say that I read one for every 20 non-classical books that I read. However, when I do, I usually tend to love the writing aspect the most.
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Simina Dinca
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Post by Simina Dinca »

I believe that people should first have a solid foundation based on the classics and only after that should they explore other areas. I think it is like a quality filter. If that is well taken care of then one will absolutely be able to make the difference between cheap and tasteful literature.
I periodically return to Balzac, Charlotte Bronte, Proust, Karl May, Dostoievski, Bulgakov. Just to be sure
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Post by Alison Alissa »

Definitely classics one of my personal favorites because I am currently Conflict on Yangtze river by Greg Kater.A book whose plot is well thought out.
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evraealtana
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Post by evraealtana »

Just because a book is old doesn't mean it is enjoyable. Personally, I dislike books that progress only through conversation, with very little action - Jane Austen comes to mind. I've read most of the "classics" but don't get any pleasure from them, so I turn to more enjoyable books. Life is too short to read boring texts.
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Post by Felicity Granger »

My mother collected almost all the classics, and not just the English ones. She's a fan of reading, and I guess I inherited that. My favourite is Tolstoy's Anna Karenina then The Scarlet Letter. I was a big fan of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters too. I reread them occasionally, but am not, sadly to say, as interested in them as I was when I was younger.
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Post by AnnaPap »

I was always hesitant to read classical literature, because I considered it to be mostly "heavy", and I thought I had to be in a particular mood to start. I was wrong, obviously. The first classic I read was "Crime and Punishment" and I was just blown away.
Then I read "Anna Karenina" and I've been trying to read as many classics as I can since.
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Post by Jennashby_87 »

I really like to read classic literature but I definitely have to be in a mood for it. I usually toss one in between a handful of more current books just to switch it up and experience a different style of writing. Still trying to talk myself into starting Anna Karenina though. I have owned that book for 2 years and haven’t touched it yet.
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Post by Nightingale494 »

A few years ago I bought an ereader that came with 100 pre-installed classical books. I haven't gotten around to reading them yet, but I plan to.
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Post by Nikolas Farmakis »

I also appreciate classical literature, but I read many and various books, including books of other genres.
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EternalD
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Post by EternalD »

Of course. Any respectable reader must have a good foundation of classical literature.
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Post by Kajol Dadhania »

I have recently been obsessed with classical literature. But the thing is, the ones I have read so far did not have very appealing storylines, were unnecessarily complex according to me. So not sure how long before I give up on classical literature.
Imagine if we had no secrets, no respite from the truth. What if everything was laid bare the moment, we introduced ourselves?
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Post by Bridgette C 2 »

Hi! I do read classical literature. I'm reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
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Post by Thomasbuses »

I love classical literature. I usually read most of my classic works on my kindle. I enjoy collecting classic works in editions like Barnes and Noble paperback editions. I like those editions because they can be read often, unlike book club or collectors editions.
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Post by Charlize Venter »

Definitely still reading classics!

They are the building blocks of modern literature, the very few original works we still have. Unfortunately, it seems that original stories and ideas have diluted into the way a certain story is told. I finished my second university studies with English Literature as my main subject. Hence, for the past few year I've been through dozens of classical books. The Canterbury Tales, often considered the original source of English literature as we lnow it today, by Geoffrey Chaucer was a most curious read. When one considers the time at which it was written, the immense creative and artistic talent within its pages... well, simply put, it's mind blowing! The wit and the humor, the vulgarity and the captivation of each tale, even the poetic skill... it's incredible. It was of the first writing styles that broke us into an entirely new era of writing. Accustoming oneself to the old english takes a moment, or five, yet, once one gets into it it flows like a magnificent natural river.

We worked through the classic authors such as Dickens, Mansfield, Charlotte Bronte, George Orwell, Hemingway, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Kafka, H.G. Wells, Chinua Achebe, George Eliot, and many of Africa's homegrown treasures.

I must admit that I found a particular liking to Sylvia Plath. The is just something about her raw honesty and emotion that absolutely captivated my interest and kept me in her mesmerizing grasp.

I am also a fan of Charles Bukowski, the raw and unfiltered nature of his writing simply encompasses my being and entrenches me into his art.
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Post by _Elisa_ »

Simina Dinca wrote: 01 Aug 2019, 10:17 I believe that people should first have a solid foundation based on the classics and only after that should they explore other areas.
I totally agree! I have a background in literature so I've read quite a few classics and the list of books I still have to read keeps growing. I have recently begun to explore south american literature, especially Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa and Gabriel García Márquez. I read some of Cortázar's short stories, Rayuela and "Clases de Literatura" (his literature lessons at Berkeley). Absolutely wonderful, I can't wait to read more by him.
The author I keep returning to time and time again is Dostoevsky. It seems to me that very few authors have explored human emotions as well as he did.
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