Classic Literature you haven't experienced.

Post Reply New Topic

Before the movies came out I hadn't read The Lord Of The Rings (still haven't, got as far as Fellowship)...
I once tried to read The Hobbit..And nearly fell asleep.

I recently bought The Chronicles Of Narnia, with the movie coming out, I wanted to read the books first.

I've never read a single Harry Potter book (and I plan on not reading any in the future)...

I'm trying to think of some movies I haven't seen that would be considered classic literature...but it eludes me...


You?


GA

Tolkien's writing style is much to discriptive to the point of rambling, and puts me to sleep.

The Harry Potter series is much more accessable, and damn engaging.

Uh, I don't know if I'd call any of that 'classic' literature I picked up "Ulysses" a few months ago because it was a great hardcover edition at a great price... I haven't gotten around to reading it yet

I've only read the first Narnia book (and barely remember any of it) and haven't read a single Harry Potter book (or watched any of those movies)

Harry Potter isn't classic literature.

And for someone who hasn't actually read Tolkien's triology in it's entirety, I know way too much about it. I've read the Hobbit, though.

By 'classic' I don't mean things like "War And Peace" or "The Odyssey"

I'm mostly going for Definition 1.2 and 1.3

Something that in it's popularity has become a classic of the ages. Like LOTR, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, Narnia, etc

Basically stuff that everyone would expect you to have read, seen, listened, etc. (When I tell people I've never read Harry Potter often the response is , same was the response when I'd commented that I'd never seen The Big Lebowski )

GA

I've never seen Red Dwarf, I'd like to though...

I read all the narina books, I wasnt all that impressed. I enjoyed Rifles for Watie (dont know if it counts as a classic)
And harry potter was enjoyable. (I know its not a classic)

I am partial to the Adventures of Huck Finn, and A connt. Yankee in King Arthurs Court....
Mark Twain cracks me up....

Jane Austen is my favorite author-I've read all her stuff, and anyone who hasn't yet *must* experience her-best introduction is the BBC version of pride&prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

I want to read everything Dickens ever wrote, I want to read Proust...most of the books on my to be read list are classics, really.

Tolkien, CS Lewis, Mark Twain, Dickens, Shakespeare... I love all of them! I've also been reading Pride and Prejudice recently, which is really good. I have never read Harry Potter and I probably never will, either.

Do you mean books that are in the literary canon?

If so I love anything by Zora Neale Hurston
Willa Cather has great short stories.

More recent titles that I have found engaging are...

The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseine
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Any of the Patrick F. McManus books are hysterical.

Grendel is the story of Beowulf told through the monster's eyes. It's short so easy to get through for those of us who do not put down a book until it is finished.

There's so much more....

Think of epic style poetry by Chaucer or Christina Rossetti.

For history Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is fabulous reading.

Of course I could go on and on and my opinion may not count for hoot.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit but haven't read any of the Harry Potter books. I think Harry Potter is still too new to be considered a classic, even by the nuances of the definition you pointed out, GalileoAce.

I'm not much for literature, though. I tend to prefer factual information or just humorous writing.

I want to read the Count of Monte Christo. I have purposefully avoided watching the various movies due to this fact. I will get to it one day...

Umm... yes it is.

As for most of the other posts here, when did this become the 'I Hate Harry Potter' thread?

I know, right? I mean even when I was 10 or 11 and reading lots & lots of fantasy books, "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" just wasn't that memorable, even compared to a lot of the B-grade fantasy books I was reading. And then I eventually read the Tolkien books which are just heads & tails above the Narnia books and all other fantasy I have read. BTW, for those who find Tolkien's writing to be 'plodding'... yeah, admittedly the first half of "Fellowship of the Ring" was a bit dull and I almost gave up on the series But I managed to come back to it and finish it and I am so glad I did... Things really pick up after you get past the Mines of Moria and it never slows down.

EDIT: On the subject of fantasy... the "Prydain Chronicles" was a series of books I remember reading as a kid and loving the heck out of... anyone else read these? I'm not sure how well known they are, but I think "The Black Cauldron" is the most well-known since it was made into a Disney movie. Maybe they're worth a re-read?

Agreed. I have no idea why they are considered such great classics or epics. I read the Magician's Nephew and the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I didn't think they were good at all. I might not even bother reading the rest of the Narnia books.

I want to finish reading Kakfa's The Castle. I've been almost midway through that book for over a year now.

As for Harry Potter, I love the movies but have never read the books. I think I want to wait until I've enjoyed all the movies. And then I'll read the books, so I'm not disappointed in the movies. I always hate that: read a book, watch the movie, get disappointed by the movie because it's not like the book.