The more YA books I read the more references to the classics I stumble upon. In Beautiful Chaos (# 3 in the Caster Chronicles Series)they reference The Crucible and Of Mine and Men. Twilight referenced Wuthering Heights over and over again. Of course my mind goes blank and I can't think of any more, but I know there are tons. I've read Of Mice and Men. Never read The Crucible or Wuthering Heights. So when they get referenced in a way that relates to the story, I have to just try to figure out why. Sometimes it is explained, but I feel like I would understand better if I had actually read the classic. Anyone else come across this?
Also I don't know if it was my high school, but most of the classics that you supposedly should have read in high school, I never had to read any of them. And I'm pretty sure Of Mice and Men, I read in middle school. I'm curious, what books were you assigned in high school?
Of Mice and Men, Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, A Midsummer Nights Dream. That is all I remember right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) Other than Of Mice and Men I haven't read any of those.
DeleteUgh - high school reading. We read Romeo and Juliet and Animal Farm. Why didn't they assign Lord of the Rings instead of Lord of the Flies? :) My sister loves anything Jane Austen. Maybe that would be more up your alley? Reading is like eating your vegetables. Some are harder going down than others, but they are all good for you. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteSee and I read Lord of the Flies in school, I think it's the only book I actually read, and I liked it. I have a feeling I may be alone on this one.
DeleteAnd I absolutely love your analogy :)
I still love The Scarlet Letter to this day. It's a great literary read.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to give that one a shot because you are not the only person who has said that to me. Thanks :)
DeleteLots of Shakespeare - MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Measure for Measure. We also read Of Mice and Men, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Boy: Tales of Childhood, Death of A Salesman, The Color Purple, Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, Songs of Innocence and Experience, and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Kinda liked our required reading. They were always a good read.
ReplyDeleteOther than Romeo and Juliet that we only briefly touched on I did not have to read any other works by Shakespeare. Maybe that's why when I got to college I wanted to gauge my eyeballs out when I had to read it. lol. I'm also starting to wonder if my HS was lacking in the reading department because I didn't have to read any of those. Though in college I read Dorian Gray and Death of A Salesman and liked both. So maybe I'm not hopeless.
DeleteIf you haven't read this one yet, Jane Eyre! I too have a hard time reading the classics, but this one I haven't had a difficult time with! It's lengthy, but definitely at least worth trying:-)
ReplyDeleteSo many people have recommended Jane Eyre to me, maybe when and if I finish A Tale of Two Cities, I will give that a shot. Thanks :)
DeleteI agree. I didn't read any of the normal high school reading classics I hear about. Maybe it's because my senior year I took Journalism and Creative Writing for my English class credits?
ReplyDeleteAnd no. I have Little Women, but haven't read it yet. And I watched Wuthering Heights because of the reference in Twilight and I couldn't even get through the movie. So yeah, not gonna read the book. :)
Those are the exact two classes I took for my English credits! That could explain it!
DeleteI read cliff notes on Wuthering Heights and my head was spinning just from the notes.
I loved Lord of the Flies. It's a great book.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I hate Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter was my first assigned book that I just walked away from. Hated it.
Before I make suggestions, what kinds of things are you actually interested in? It might make it easier for to get into if you start with stuff you're actually interested in.
Oh, and if you want to read Dickens, maybe you should start with A Christmas Carol. It's shorter for one thing, but it's also not as weighty as his other stuff.
Most of the books I read are YA which doesn't really help in the classics department. But I like romance, action, drama. I also love character driven stories. I need to care about the characters or it's like pulling teeth trying to get through it.
DeleteI love the movie A Christmas Carol and every year I say I'm going to read it and never do. Maybe it's time :)
I haven't read A Tale of Two Cities, but a better Dickens choice might be Great Expectations.
ReplyDeleteYou might also look at Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn as stories that are strong on Character.
Maybe, even, The Caves of Steel by Asimov. It's a sci-fi dective story and has a lot of character depth.
Since you like YA, you should also look at The Chronicle of Narnia if you haven't already read those.
Maybe, also, some Robert Louis Stevenson. I loved Kidnapped, and Treasure Island is very good, too, although a little slow in the beginning.
I'll do some more thinking about it.
Thanks for the recs you are AWESOME!!! I have Treasure Island on my bookshelf, waiting for me to pick it up. I'll give it a shot.
DeleteI have never read The Chronicle of Narnia, but hear amazing things about it. I want to say I read Tom Sawyer years ago, but I don't remember, think I should read it again. I'm going to check them all out. I still have hope I'll find a classic I like :) Thank you again.
Sure, no problem.
ReplyDeleteAs for Narnia, don't start them in the new chronological order they have them in now. Lewis didn't write them that way or intend them to be read that way. Start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It's just meant to be first.
I'll do some more thinking about it and get back to you with any other things I can think of.
Are you on Goodreads?
Really! That's interesting, thanks for the heads up. And I'm always open to suggestions so send them my way :)
DeleteAnd yes I am. You can find me here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4105037-theresa
Tale of Two Cities, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, All Quiet on the Western Front
ReplyDeleteI've seen a lot of references to Wuthering Heights lately in the YA novels I'm reading.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a new one.
DeleteAnd what is it about Wuthering Heights? It seems to pop up every where!
All Quiet on the Western Front is a great book. It's a WWII book, though, so it's not always an easy read.
ReplyDeleteWuthering Heights is also very good. A gothic romance type.