Classics Without All the Class discussion

Hello! My name is Taylor, and I just joined this group today. I have just made a personal challenge for myself, and it is to read 10 classics. Honestly, I really want to read some classics, because they all seem so good, but I have a really hard time getting into them, and I usually give up quite quickly. I was just wondering if anybody had any tips for me? Or any recommendations of what classics to start off with?

I really liked The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. If you're into mystery or thereabouts.
A Tale of two Cities(Charles Dickens), Pride and Prejudice(Jane Austen), Tess of D'Urbervilles(Thomas Hardy) are some of my favorites. Although, I love almost eeverything by Jane Austen lol.

I'm thinking I might start with Pride or Prejudice or Jane Eyre, still not sure though.

i think first, think about what kind of genres do you like outside of classics? horror? romance? there are all kinds of genres within the classics category.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen is a good one to start with; it's shorter and easier to read, and the main character is a lot of fun.

I am a big horror fan, and romance is my guilty pleasure.

Hi Taylor! Thanks for joining, I just wanted to let you know I moved your thread into the What Else Are You Reading folder. Good luck! I have to go with Shannon and say A Tale of Two Cities. Very good book. I read it in school and one day I'd like to go back and enjoy it without worrying about what's going to be on the test!

Lolita.

How about stepping in to the mind of a madman withCrime and Punishment

I really enjoyed Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. It is probably the funniest book I have ever read.

I think The Great Gatsby is good to start with. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene is also fantastic!!!

Loved A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) as most of Jane Austen's books

Travis of NNY wrote: "How about stepping in to the mind of a madman withCrime and Punishment"

Great book.

I would not recommend starting with Dickens. He is verbose and arguably dull as dirt at times, and that might put someone off classics all together. Save him for when you've got a few other books done to better ease yourself into his style.

Great Gatsby is a good starting point. Frankenstein, Crime and Punishment, Rebecca. If you want to try poetry, read Poe.

Wuthering Heights is a very good book to start with!!

I liked a Woman in White as suggested by Shannon, and Rebecca is a good read - both have a bit of classical gothic mystery in them. I thought Crime and Punishment was a fabulous read. That one stuck with me for quite awhile afterward. Happy Reading!

Taylor,
In the classic horror category, may I suggest The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

For romance (albeit, tragic romance), I strongly second Shannon's recommendation for Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

Also, you cannot go wrong with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, because it is a great story with great romance, AND there is more than a little horror in the second half!

I read all of these in my teens, and then enjoyed rereading them years later, and I do not reread books very often.

Happy Reading!

My suggestions:
Gone With The Wind
Roots
Little Women
Catcher In The Rye
Any HG Wells (I really loved The Invisible Man)
Dracula
Frankenstein
Alice In Wonderland
The Handmaid's Tale
A Clockwork Orange
1984
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit
The Kite Runner

Hi Taylor! how is your progress? hope all is well

What do you think about Edgar Allan Poe? The Murders in the Rue Morgue for instance.

Taylor, I think The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
is just about the most easily enjoyed classic book I've read.

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. I loved the BBC adaptation. I've started reading it, and then my mum took it from my bookshelf to read. hehe...but i did enjoy reading it.