Classics you know you should have read but probably haven't

aulsmith : Got through Carthage and gave up in disgust.

sturlington : Read in college.

aekd: Unlikely to read, but who knows?

MyFathersDragon: Mythology - I always read that. Then we read it in a 12th grade class, too.

sturlington : Read in high school; play

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

aulsmith : Read enough to know I don't want to finish

ManWithAnAgenda : Read, enjoyed.

aulsmith : I read as much as I'm going to

ahef1963: Read in grad school. Took some doing, but got through it.

aulsmith : I see no need to read.

ahef1963: Highly enjoyable.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read, enjoyed.

Aprill: I'd like to read at least one book by Salman Rushdie.

ahef1963: It's supposed to be terrific, but I thought it was a bit of a slog.

tiddleyboom: I know the whole plot and resolution of Jane Eyre; I've just never read the book.

JalenV: I have read this book so many times since I was a school girl. However, it wasn't until PBS first aired "I, Claudius" that I understood that "West Indies Messalina" insult.

Aprill: Enjoyed it.

ahef1963: A favourite.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

jain: Read it in high school but need to reread as an adult.

amanda4242: Loved it.

gilroy : Faulkner is a dated writer. He was fine when he was first published, but unless you're a literary scholar, not worth the struggle.

aulsmith : Read As I Lay Dying and will never touch Faulkner again.

sturlington : Read it in college. Check off my one Faulkner.

sturlington : Read at least partly.

JalenV: I have this one. The only thing I remember from it is the Archbishop's garden.

ahef1963 : I really tried. Twice. Found it boring and have given up.

sturlington : Saw the movie.

aulsmith : I don't like Morrison and see no reason to read anymore.

aekd: no interest

sturlington : No more Hardy!

ManWithAnAgenda : Read. Loved.

aulsmith : This is the one Lawrence I read, and I agree with sturlington.

sturlington : You really only need to read one Lawrence, I think. I read Lady Chatterley's Lover and had no interest in reading more.

ahef1963: I really loved this book. It captured England so well.

aulsmith : Life is to short to bother with this one.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read. Honestly, if you have to read the 18th century....this is a good one.

gilroy : Read it. Hated it. Let the dang thing die.

aulsmith : I see no reason for anyone to feel obligated to read this book

amanda4242: Read it, but not in a rush to read it again.

sturlington : Could not finish.

Simone2 : Loved it

tiddleyboom : Still can't read Hemingway.

auntSteelbreaker : Read it but I wouldn't recommend it.

aulsmith : Just can't read Woolf.

Arrashid7: She's an awesome writer. I'm reading her this summer.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read, enjoyed.

MyFathersDragon: When I was an adult, I read part of it. Then we packed and moved books. I didn’t continue reading it later, because I had fantasy books in series I was reading become available that I started reading instead.

sturlington : Probably read in school. No interest.

aekd: no interest

aulsmith : I got a good way through this, but it bogged down.

aulsmith : Tried and gave up.

sturlington : Read partly in school.

aekd: no interest

aulsmith: I've read a lot of this, but I mean to sit down and read it all the way through someday.

sturlington : Read at least in part in high school

JalenV: Had a summer job once where, after I wrote my weekly report, there was nothing to do. I decided that would be improve my mind day and read then. It did give me a glimpse of how cultures differ when a well-born youth pretending to be a kitchen boy didn't hold it against a well-born young lady for the way she mistreated him when she didn't know who he was.

aekd: no interest

amanda4242: A slow starter and can drag a bit in places, but a great read.

MyFathersDragon: I read this as an adult because it was a classic. I read some excerpts in high school.

JalenV: I listened to an audio copy from my local library. I was amazed by how much punishment poor Oliver's body takes near the end and he managed to survive. Nice kid -- interesting, considering his upbringing.

ahef1963: Too depressing for my liking.

Arrashid7: I read in high school. A great book! A tip ~ don't ever watch movies first!

MyFathersDragon: I was bored in 6th grade and read anything I could get my hands on. I liked Dickens, so I read a lot of his stories.

jain: Read it in high school but need to reread as an adult.

ahef1963 : Have tried to read it several times but was too bored.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

JalenV: Can't recall if I listened to a library copy or read my sister's copy. It was certainly bleak. Avoid lawsuits!

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

MyFathersDragon: I was reading lots of Dickens back then.

jain: Need to read the uncensored version.

amanda4242: Brilliant book.

Aprill: I found it difficult and not to my taste. Didn't finish.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

jain : Read ~1/4 of it, and that was annoying and repetitious enough. Can't imagine slogging through the whole thing.

aulsmith : Life's too short to waste it reading Pamela.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

aulsmith : Tried and gave up.

JalenV: I loved the 1960 movie with Rod Taylor when I was a kid so of course I read the book.

ahef1963: So far the only book by Wells that I've liked.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

MyFathersDragon: I discovered Jules Verne and H. G. Wells in 4th or 5th grade and read all of the ones I found in the public library.

aulsmith : The first page was so boring I never returned.

ahef1963: Read in university. Hated it.

aulsmith : Didn't get past the first chapter.

sturlington : Done with James!

ManWithAnAgenda : Read. A favorite.

sturlington : Never finished it :-(

ManWithAnAgenda : Read. Loved.

electrice : read in 2014

JalenV: I read it because I was a fan of the original "Dark Shadows" soap opera. I've read it twice.

ahef1963: Re-read via audiobook. It drove me crazy.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read, enjoyed.

tiddleyboom : Can't take Hemingway. Just not my thing.

aulsmith: No more Hemingway, ever.

amanda4242: Hated it.

JalenV: Had to read for school decades ago. It did not stay with me.

Aprill: I like Hemingway's books and would like to read this one again.

electrice : read

MyFathersDragon: I was bored and wanted something to read. We had it in the house, so I read it.

aulsmith : Life's too short to bother with this polemic.

sturlington : You can understand the importance of this novel in history without actually having to read it.

JalenV: Another library audio edition I checked out. I knew from my mom's copy of Plot Outlines of 100 Famous Novels that it didn't have a happy ending, but it was even more grim than I expected.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

aulsmith : I read it and liked it, but I doubt it will be a classic.

sturlington : Couldn't finish it.

bw94612 : Tiresome

ahef1963 : The misogyny turned me off and I didn't finish it.

MyFathersDragon: I read it as a teenager, because it was recommended and loaned to me.

tiddleyboom : Read it. Loved it. Great movie too.

electrice : read in 2012

ahef1963: Both admired and loved this book.

tiddleyboom : Read it ages ago. Good read.

amanda4242: Read several translations.

sturlington : Read at least partly in school

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

aulsmith : I've had cancer. I suspect it's worse in Russia. I have happier things to read.

tiddleyboom: Have never read Shirley Jackson, but have heard nothing but praise. Definitely on my TBR pile.

amanda4242: Better than The Haunting of Hill House.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

sturlington : I didn't enjoy this.

Simone2 : I thought this was really a beautiful novel, but read it a long time ago.

sturlington : Read a long time ago; don't want to revisit.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

JalenV: Read it decades ago. Don't remember much.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

aulsmith : Never liked Stegner.

Aprill: I would like to revisit this one.

ahef1963: Amazing book. Was talked into reading it, and am so glad.

dara85: Didn't like it.

jain: Read it in high school but need to reread as an adult.

amanda4242: Read it a few times.

JalenV: I read it when it came out in paperback, decades ago. It still haunts me.

Aprill: Read it.

sturlington: Great book.

electrice : read

JalenV: I think I've read this.

ahef1963: Boring.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

sturlington : The only Forster I didn't like

ahef1963: Not a fan of Forster; this was the best of the lot.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

dara85: Skipped part of it. It was so boring.

sturlington : Not a classic.

Aprill: Read it.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read. Loved.

sturlington : Not sure I would call this a classic

JalenV: I read it decades ago. That bit about not wanting to admit that Christ was poor rings true because I have a 19th century book on the lives of Saints Joseph, Joachim, and Anne. That book didn't want to talk about Joseph's poverty, but that he was descended from King David.

ahef1963 : Hated it twice. My dad loved it so much that I gave it a second try, but still hated it.

ahef1963: Read in grad school while also studying Beowulf; cried buckets over it.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

electrice : read

JalenV: I believe I read this in college. I remember a couple of scenes, but that's all.

ahef1963 : Had to read it in both English and French in high school, which pretty much ended my liking for it.

dara85: Hated it.

aulsmith : Can't stand Fowles.

sturlington : Read a long, long time ago; would not revisit.

ahef1963: One of my favourites. First post-modern book I ever read.

electrice : read, didn't like it

JalenV: Got a lot of paperback copies of Verne books when I was a schoolgirl. I was particularly interested in this one because I so enjoyed the 1967 cartoon series.

aekd: no interest

ahef1963: Was a very seminal book in my literary upbringing. Going to Iceland next month to see Snaefellnes for myself.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

sturlington : I can't stand reading Lovecraft now; too racist/sexist.

ahef1963: The Thing on the Doorstep is my favourite of all of Lovecraft's stories.

ManWithAnAgenda : He's...done.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

tiddleyboom : Read in Junior High. Great story. Stays with you forever. It is a rather slow tale though.

JalenV: I was familiar with it from Armour's The Classics Reclassified before I checked out our library's audio copy. I liked it.

ahef1963: A lovely, pastoral story.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

MyFathersDragon: I got it as a gift in 6th grade because it was a classic, so of course I read it.

sturlington : Read partly.

sturlington : Not a fan of Dickens, not even this one

electrice : read in 2013

JalenV: I have read it several times over the decades and have it in more than one book.

ahef1963: Beautifully written.

ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

sturlington : Read this in college and hated it. I just don't get Dickens.

sturlington : Read in college and did not enjoy; recommend The Age of Innocence instead

ahef1963: Read quite recently. Enjoyed it.

aulsmith : No more Lawrence.

sturlington : Read a long time ago; not sure I'd recommend