The Classics discussion

I figured that since our group has grown so large that we should have a place for new members to introduce themselves.

Hi, I'm theduckthief. I'm Canadian and obsessed with books. The Classics are a huge hole in my repertoire so I decided to do something about it. I joined goodreads with the hope of finding people with like interests when it came to books. I was already a member of LibraryThing but found the community to be somewhat lacking.

This group was left in my hands after the originator left goodreads and having never belonged to a book club let alone run one, I hobbled along as best I could.

If anyone has any suggestions about how to improve this group, just send me a message or post here.

Hey duckthief

I introduce myself on another thread but this is such a good idea! I'm Lori, from NY, married with two kids 17 and 20 and a crazy furball named Shadow. I enjoy reading all kinds of books but have made a committment to read more of the classics so I joined here. Do we have a Sept. book picked?

Looking forward to chatting and reading!

Lori :)

Hello

I'm Suvi from Finland and like theduckthief I got bored with Librarything and moved in here. Classics have for a long time been close to my heart and they taste even better when you get to discuss about them with others :)

I'm currently starting my freshman year in university majoring in English Translation and before that I was busy with entrance exams, so unfortunately I haven't been very active. Hopefully it'll change when my studies begin to roll on nicely.

Hi, I'm Peaktopeak from Colorado in the US. I live at 8200ft off the peak to peak highway. Great scenery and long winters. :-) I've worked for a number of years in tech, but love to read for fun. I agree its just so much more fun to talk about the book with others that have read it when you finish. Everyone gets such different things from the same story. So happy I found this group!

I'm Sadie from Utah,USA and have been a member since last August and have been loving this website...it has become a little bit of an obsession since I love books and love finding people who do as well. I have always leaned towards the classics when choosing a book, and generally haven't been disappointed. I've loved this group because I've been able to find a deeper meaning in the books that I wouldn't have found on my own. Speaking of which, Duckthief anytime you want to share the information you found about the significance of the red hunter's cap in Catcher in the Rye I'd love to hear it. That is one book I'm still trying to reconcile as to its being a classic! :) This group is great!

The info about the red hunter's cap came from someone far smarter than me. John Green is an American author who is made of awesome and vlogs with his brother on YouTube. He said that the hunter's cap is Holden's security blanket. It's red, like the colour of his brother's hair and he only really wears it in front of people he trusts, like his sister.

I have to say, I got so much more out of the book thanks to John. After my first read-through I just thought Holden was a whiny brat and couldn't understand why it was touted as this great coming of age book.

If you're interested in looking up John, just type in 'vlogbrothers' to YouTube and you'll find him talking about puppy-sized elephants.

Im Melody, I'm 21 year old and from New Zealand. Ive been reading classics most of my life. My mum first read me The Hobbit when I was about 4 and when I was 9 I started reading JRR Tolkien and Jane Austen (who are still my faveorite authors). Im just really into all classics and am looking forward to finding and reading more :D

I'm Louis from Montreal,Canada and have been reading the classcis since I was about 11 or 12.My Dad introduced me to them and I have been hooked ever since.My favorite authors are Dickens, Zola and now Dumas (after finishing Monte Cristo).Thankfully I found Goodreads and can share views and opinions with all of you.

I'm Jasmin from Philadelphia. I've read random classics for the fun of it, as well as for school, since I was a teenager. However, looking at my bookshelf (on Goodreads and in real life), I realized I need to read more, but needed a forum in which to discuss the books as well. So here I am!

I am Selina from Hong Kong. I like reading fictions and dramas. I have read very few novels which are classics. This forum will encourage me to read more and I look forward to the discussions.

Hey guys, my name's Dean, I'm 23 and I live in the UK. I've not really been much of an avid reader until recently, I've decided to start getting into the classics and this group seems like a great starting point to pick the ones that interest me.

Hopefully I can get some good recommendations from you lot.

Greetings, all! I'm Paula, 31, from the Chicago-area in the US. I've been an avid reader as long as I can remember, and am continually drawn back to the classics. Managed to get through school (stopped after an MA in History) without being required to read many classics, so am excited to have a chance now to talk with others about these great reads.

I may be officially over-extending myself with my groups so I'm going to wait until October to join a group read; I'd like to catch up on some previously read books in another group. Although, "The Idiot" has been on my to-read shelf for awhile now, so I may need to check back in on that thread later.

Hi(: I'm Erik. I'm fifteen and live just north of Seattle, Washington in the US. Last year, I got really into reading classics, and now I can't hardly read anything that isn't one. I hope to use this group as a motivator to help me through big, scary books, like Les Miserables, War and Peace, etc. Thanks(:

Hey. Sue here. I am 48, live in Southeastern PA, USA. I am married, 4 children, and 3 grandchildren. Love to read most anything, but classics are my favorite. I think being in a group focusing on the classics will help me to finish the book. I read 3/4 of the way thru Les Mis and then went to the book on tape to finish. Favorite classic--Dracula....I put off reading that for a looonnnggg time. Was very shocked by how easy it was to read, and quite the page turner...

Looking forward to this. :) Is there a next book?

Hi, I'm Suzanne also Canadian (eh) though now living in the Chicago 'burbs. I love to read and am trying to make a more concerted effort to pursue the classics. Right now I am working on volume 5 of Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust; I have a group called The Proust Project here if anyone is interested on taking on this challenge (it's tedious at times, but worth it).
I've just finished Oliver Twist and I'm hoping to read more Dickens.

Hello, I'm Jason. Air Force officer, 39, 3 kids, live just south of Salt Lake City. Joined GR about 3 months ago and love it, especially writing reviews. I was basically illiterate in the ways of social media as recently as 6 months ago, but because of some work-related issues, I had to dive in and learn. I joined GR because I love to read, but with 3 young kids and 13 years of deployments, I haven't been reading like I should. I've always been drawn to classics because of the writing; I respect it. There's very few writers today that will have a 400-level college course dedicated to their literature. My current favorite writer is Emile Zola, but it's moved around from Updike, Steinbeck, Dostoevski, and Tolstoy. Lately I've torn through a bunch of non-fiction, which is also an area of focus for me.

My first 5-star rating for 2009 was a couple weeks ago, The Beast in Man by Zola (see review). I'm currently reading another classic--a playwright--Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Looking forward to participating in this group, time permitting of course; family comes first.

Hi! I'm Jill from Ft Worth, Texas, 35. I set a goal to read 100 classics. Well it's taking a while so far I have read 28. My favorites have been: The Count of Monte Cristo, Little Women, A Tale of Two Cities & The Three Musketeers.

Hi Everyone! I'm Jen, from Seattle. I'm a big reader; primarily of fiction, but I've been feeling that my repertoire is seriously lacking of the classics. I'm leary of reading a lot of the more heady classics without help from a group though. Your discussion boards look great and your book list fantastic. I think I'm a little late in the game to catch up with the November read, but am looking forward to selection and reading of the December book !

I'm Tensy, from suburban Kansas City. I read just about everything these days, so long as it's written well, which is why I rely on Goodreads reviews before I select the next book to read. I was a law librarian, then a lawyer and now I'm back to being an academic librarian. I'm married and I have three children, one in law school, one pre-med at Michigan and one in high school (yes, we LOVE tuition payments). I'm committed to re-reading the classics because I sometimes agree with the statement that education is wasted on the young.

I'm David from Niagara in Canada. Reading about a book a week and am starting to go back and re-read many of the classics I read when younger and also read some "new" ones for the first time.

Niraja wrote: "Hi! I'm Niraja from New Delhi, India. I work as a freelance translator, German to English. Although I usually prefer contemporary literature, I do read the classics sometimes and am a Jane Austen f..."

Really, I would like to be a freelance translator someday :) Though with English-Finnish language pair.

Hi all - I'm Daphne from New York City. I am an avid reader who, as of last year, had never read many of the classics besides my favorite author, Jane Austen. My 2009 resolution was to read more classics. I didn't really start on that resolution until summer. I have gotten through Frankenstein (surprisingly, just so so for me), The Woman in White, Madame Bovery (I really enjoyed Flaubert's writing style although the characters were not very likeable) and am half way through Vanity Fair. I also read a few modern classics including To Kill A Mockingbird and In Cold Blood. I look forward to reading many more in 2010 including Eliot, Dickens, Forster and the Brontes!

Hi, everyone. I'm Kathleen from Dallas, and am so happy to have found this site and this group. I've always read classics, but many of them when I was quite young, and I'm looking forward to re-reading them decades later to see if I have a different perspective on any of them now. I've begun again with Dickens, and have recently read "Great Expectations," "Oliver Twist," and am in the midst of "Bleak House." I'll be happy to see how the December poll ends, so I can begin reading the winner.

Hello! Just joined today. My name is Linda and I live in San Diego, CA. Am a grad student at San Diego State, in the ecological sciences department, but am an avid reader and LOVE classics. Very excited to see such an active book club! Look forward to stimulating conversations about "Portrait of a Lady" and all subsequently chosen books.

Well I am Milt Moise and I am an ALT, working in Japan. I was an English Literature major at University and I love books and reading. I love many genres, including the classics. Victorian Literature is one that I have a particular affinity for. I love Eliot, Henry James,and Dickens, but I have to say my favourite book of the period is The Forsyte Saga by Galsworthy. Kathleen from Dallas? I LOVE Great Expectations :)

For Linda's benefit, I also lived in San Diego for 6 months as an exchange student in 2007 and miss it soo badly. Hope to have some fun and discuss great books on here.

Hey guys, My name is David, I'm a 28 year old from the Chicago-area. I've always liked to read, but I'm sad to say that until recently I've always avoided reading classics. I guess I've felt intimidated by them and convinced myself that I wouldn't understand them, so it wasn't even worth an attempt. I wasn't made to read any of the well-known classics that are usually required reading in high school, so I guess that doesn't say much for our public school system.

Anwyay, I recently joined Goodreads and read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins as a read in a different group, and I enjoyed it so much that I made a promise to myself to read more. I'm currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo and LOVING it.

Hello, Julia from upstate NY, I love to read *and listen* to books. I read plenty of junque and am hoping this group will influence me to make better slections. Looking forward to diving in as soon as the January book is announced.

Hi everyone! My name is RowanHastings and I am also a Canadian. I am a second year university student majoring in Archaeology and minoring in Geography. I am a avid reader, just haven't had a lot of time this past semester. Love the classics, my favorite author is Jane Austen though the Bronte sisters are close seconds! Hope to be able to devote more time to lesiure reading this year and what better place to start then with the classics!

Hello to the group. I'm Karma from the Salt Lake City area in the US. I'm 41, married, no kids, but lots of pets. =) I've loved reading since I was child. I joined this group in the hopes of encouraging me to read more classics and to increase the enjoyment of them through discussion. Looking forward to discussing The Woman in White.

I'm Mike from South Carolina. 44, happily married with two kids. I mostly read non-fiction but have been thinking I should have read more of the classics. I came across this group and I thought I'd join. Just finished this month's book, The Woman in White.

Hey All! I'm Aaron, 21, originally from the middle of nowhere in Kansas and now a Junior at West Point in New York. My major is engineering but I love to read and have recently become infatuated with "the classics". At school, I lack reading time, but I try to squeeze it in every chance that I get. I am looking forward to this opportunity to discuss what I read, and can't wait for the new month and book to begin.

Aaron wrote: "Hey All! I'm Aaron, 21, originally from the middle of nowhere in Kansas and now a Junior at West Point in New York. My major is engineering but I love to read and have recently become infatuated ..."

Hey, Aaron, it's always good to meet a Kansan on this forum. I'm from the more populated part (suburban Kansas City), but I love the open fields of the plains. I have a daughter who is a junior at Michigan and I'm impressed you have the time and enthusiasm to take on outside reading. Frankly, reading outside the class syllabus is what kept me sane in college and law school, so I support your efforts all the way!

Hi, I'm Rebecca. I'm from the same middle of nowhere as Aaron since I'm his little sister. I'm 20 and a Sophomore at K-State. My major is Chemical Engineering. I've always been big on reading and I usually prefer classics to newer novels.

Hey! I'm Alex from Boston. I've been on a mission to catch up with some classics I managed to miss. I'm reading Dante's Inferno right now. I'll probably just drop in whenever y'all are reading something that's on my list; I'll probably take a pass on Breakfast at Tiffany's, apologies to its fans.

Hey everyone :)
I'm Sigrid from Norway. Reading is my passion and I just can't get enough of the classics. My all-time favourite author is Jane Austen :)
This year I'm set on reading a lot of Dickens! :D

Tensy wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Hey All! I'm Aaron, 21, originally from the middle of nowhere in Kansas and now a Junior at West Point in New York. My major is engineering but I love to read and have recently beco..."

Hi Tensy,

I've worked with a few people from Kansas. If I remember correctly Kansas City actually sits in two states. Does that change how things are run in the city?

Hi. I'm Chris from Missouri. I have always loved to read. I was looking for a place to go to get in on book discussions and stumbled across Goodreads & hoping I've found the place. I like all kinds of books. My favorite book is Jane Eyre -- it just doesn't get better than that!

I'm Adriano from Lisbon, Portugal. I'm 28 years old and love music, films, history and books. love classical books, that's why I'm here; to know more about it, see ya.

Hi! I'm Carol from Connecticut. I have always loved reading. I worked for 20 years but no longer (Lupus SLE). When I'm well, I paint, take photos and volunteer as a docent at "the first art museum in America"-- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford; When I'm not well, I read a lot more books. I look forward to the discussion of Little Women.

Hi, my name is Ruth and I'm from Dublin Ireland, look forward to meeting you all!

I'm Cody from Calgary, AB. I've read and reread classics since I was a child. I took on War and Peace at the age of 13 (including a book report) and have been hooked on big, thick classics, since.

Hi, I'm Heidi in Oregon. I've been lurking here awhile but haven't had the time to join in the reading. Many years ago I went to St. John's College in Santa Fe. Imagine reading the classics as your college education. Now I work at a library and one of my duties is facilitating a book group. We sometimes read classics. My library has also had a Read the Classics series, and I've been attending some of them for fun. (thus the lack of time for these picks.) I've been wanting to read Anna Karenina forever, however, so even though I am still busy with my other reads, I'm going to try reading this one too.

Hi, I've recently joined some great groups. I feel like cutting and pasting my introductions to save time, but I won't.

My childhood reading included Literature, fairy tales, The Holocaust, abnormal psychology, abnormal genetics, biology, and art. I studied engineering but switched to Art and received my MFA in painting. I'm a moderator for a secret Paranormal Romance group purely by circumstance, although I was only into PNR for a few months. When we moved to Goodreads to get away from Amazon censorship, I discovered the Horror Aficionados group and fell in love with the books and the people there. I also joined Fantasy and SciFi groups.

Yesterday, I finally got around to searching for Literature groups since I love Literature and books with depth to them. I found 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (closest to a literature group I could find), Poetry, and Art Lovers groups. I found this group via Jerin's profile, one of your members who just friended me.

Welcome to our group Aloha.

Thank you, Beth. And thank you for the recommendation.

Hello! I am Ervin from The Philippines. I am 17-years-old, taking BSED (Bachelor of Secondary Education) major in English. Now, you may think that I read classics just because of my major but that is not it. I am so interested in reading classics because I love the past--the suits, frocks, architecture, et cetera (NOT the law though)--which are portrayed in the classic books and because I crave for literary knowledge--I want to be a writer. Of course there are modern classics but I prefer 'old' classics--if that is how it is called.

Because of those things mentioned above, I want to join this 'Classics' group in the hopes that I can befriend fellow classic-lovers--I have been so lonely; there are classic-lovers in my region but it is rare to find them.