To Read Or Not To Read: The Classics

Every New Years I make resolutions like every other person, like most people I follow through with it for about a month, and then I let it go as if it was never a thought in my mind. One of the resolutions that I have been making for the past four years is, reading the classics. As a writer I feel it is my obligation to read the classics, but honestly I'm not a fan. I try to convince myself, try to get through them, but it's like pulling teeth. I have so many classics ranging from Dracula to Uncle Tom's Cabin to Wuthering Heights, sitting on my bookshelf unread. Am I alone?

Right now I am attempting to read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It's going, not well, but it's going. I'm determined to finish it. Though I admit when I finish I may need to watch the movie just to fully grasp it. I'm on chapter four and I don't get it. It's still early and I'm a smart girl (not to toot my own horn or anything) so I'm hoping that within the next few chapters it clicks.

I am fully aware that the classics are not for everybody, but can you blame me for trying? Are you a fan of the classics? If so what are your favorites? If not, what books have you tried to read or forced yourself to get through?