What are everyone else's thoughts? I personally loved Bleak House. Enjoyed the courtroom satire!

I have to do archive research in London this winter for a school project. I get to choose any subject I want and think I’d like to do something relating to Arthurian legend. Does anyone have any ideas of good/intriguing research questions?

Why do so many preface writers seem determined to spoil the book you’re about to read?

I enjoy getting background on the author or understanding the context of a book before diving in. But I’ve started habitually skipping prefaces because they so often give away major plot points or key insights. It’s as if these writers all assume you’ve already read the book and are looking for a detailed analysis.

If you're going to reveal crucial parts of the story, it’s not really a 'preface' anymore. Why not put it at the back of the book instead?

Book commentary:

According to Ryken, “For more than two centuries after its first publication(1678), The Pilgrim’s Progress ranked just behind the King James Bible as the most important book in evangelical Protestant households.” "The Pilgrim’s Progress is also a book that can be read and reread. Charles Spurgeon read it more than one hundred times.” Read more... https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/an-encouragement-to-read-or-reread-john-bunyans-the-pilgrims-progress/

Pilgrim's Progress audiobook. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMtmnv84GxY

Pilgrim's Progress: Journey To Heaven | Full Movie | Based on John Bunyan's book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPB_GDg9qnk

The Pilgrim's Progress (2019) | Full Movie - Animated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksu-zTG9HHg

Movie reviews:

"I love this movie it shows how everyone is passing through this journey. We ought to pray for each other.”

"This movie captures a true depiction of the believers in Christ journey. It is such an encouragement for us to keep on the righteous path.”

"Outstanding movie, Biblically sound.”

Hey all!

I'd like to share with all of you this beutiful brand new hardcover edition of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes with illustrations Gustave Doré!

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Let me know your thoughts!
I can't wait to read it myself.

Great book. Solid 9/10. Just a wholesome, feel-good book about a small town of oddballs looking out for one another. Written simply and beautifully, Steinbeck makes you feel like you’re there, one of the members of the town, another part of Cannery Row. Definitely worth a reread. Also I learned that there’s a sequel, Sweet Thursday, which I cannot wait to dive into.

I want to read the book but I know I'd miss a huge chunk of historical and cultural context by picking it up blind. Any editions you folks have found particularly illuminating/interesting, especially for those with little background on early 1600s Spain?

Tell me the most horrifying piece of classic literature you have ever read. For me it was Lolita by Nobokov. I literally had to stop reading it for a good week, it was that disturbing.

Hey all,

I started a literature podcast if any of you are interested in listening to someone discuss books! It’s called Normal Guy Rants About Literature. I’m two episodes in, the first was Hemingway and the second I just uploaded was Flannery O’Connor!

Sorry if this breaks the rules, mods feel free to delete if it does (you’re the boss)

Hoping to grow an audience as I venture into podcasting, and I want as much comments, critiques and, most of all, book recommendations as possible! Especially from well read folks such as the kind that follows this subreddit

Thank you!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/normal-guy-rants-about-literature/id1768930233

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4S8MjbnzOmNYiFIaHpgjR9?si=59xrpbayQMSfV3-i

If anyone's interested it's on Kindle and soon to be paperback as well!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DLZ2DC28?dplnkId=731ff28a-2e9c-4ba6-8d18-b815150114ee

I've recently been reading through all of L.M. Montgomery's catalog (and I absolutely love her, might I add), and I was wondering if anyone had any other book recommendations?

Hi all,

I want to read more classics. But in the morning I go to gym for 2 hours and then work (8 hours) and study for school. Can anyone suggest me a good reading routine such that I can read a lot of classics? What distractions I shall avoid to read more?

Thank you.

Is Thomas Wolfe books considered classic literature? Has anyone ever read any of his books? I don't know much about his books and I just finished watching 'Genius' about the life of Thomas Wolfe. Does anyone have a recommendation on which book to read 1st?

I've been wanting to get into reading Virginia Woolf for a while, I'm just not sure where to start. I know there's no right answer, but I don't want to pick one of her less favored books by accident or something and then end up not wanting to read more.

I like character focused books best, but I'm really up for anything. Any suggestions?

I've just finished reading George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss containing within the tragic story of one of the central characters Maggie Tulliver. I've come to realize that in the classics I've read so far (in which I've just begun) there seems to be a pattern of female characters I think of as "dark beauties." They can be of various moral character, but usually end up in tragic circumstances.

So far there is the Countess Ellen Olenska in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, Eustacia Vye in Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native, and to some extent the minor character, scarred Rosa Dartle, in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. Of course there is also the tragic character of Emily in David Copperfield, but I'm not sure I would consider her to be a "dark beauty."

I suppose the character Anne Catherick in Wilkie Collins' book The Woman in White might also fall into this category.

Fortunately, a happier fate was to come to a plainer character Jane Eyre in the novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë.

I wonder if the pattern will continue in my next classics selection.

I just finished reading The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky; here are my thoughts. This was the first book I've read by Dostoevsky, and since I’ve heard that he can be tough to follow, I think this was a pretty good introduction. The Gambler is said to loosely reflect Dostoevsky's own addiction to roulette and was supposedly finished in order to pay off his debts, which explains why I thought the ending felt rushed.

I enjoyed the commentary on fate and chance, as well as some of the psychology of gambling, and I thought Granny was awesome. Overall, I enjoyed it; It's an entertaining story that I would recommend to a friend and might even reread (some of) myself if/when the time comes. 7/10

What did you guys think of this book and what should I read next? Thanks!

I read this years ago but I still open to the last paragraph and read it now and again. Was anyone as touched by this as me! I have no one in my life who reads classics!

I recently read The Summer Book by Tove Jannson and I was captivated solely because there was not much going on. The story itself was going nowehere -- it was a simple, short and sweet story about a girl and her grandmother living on an island. But the writing itself was so engrossing I was surprised at myself for wanting to flip to the next page.

I felt the same way with Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych". It's a short story about a dying man. On the surface level, that's basically it.

With that said I'd love to read more books that have basically no plot but exceptional writing. It's hard to find since it isn't a genre in itself but any reccomendations would be appreciated!

I have recently been reading some minimalist literature. I really enjoyed Raymond Carver, especially What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, I liked the way Ellis's unsentimental, bare prose in Less Than Zero, and, while I didn't love Ham on Rye as much, I loved the stripped-back writing style and want to read more novels with such a minimalist style.

I know it is not unheard of for anthology editors today to occasionally have their own story or poem put in alongside their peers, but since it seems to me like anthologies of the 18th and 19th centuries collected the works of historical writers and famous people I’m curious if any editors from that era had the balls to put their own stuff alongside that of the greats.

I'm excited! I'm already familiar with Middle English from the Faerie Queen. I'm in pursuit of a Literature degree and this is required reading! Has anyone else read the Canterbury Tales?