Thursday, September 16, 2010

Not a baby post!!

As much as I adore little Eliza and as much as I know you all do too...this is going to be a post about me. Tyler and I make it a habit to set a bunch of goals each year on our anniversary--relationship, physical, spiritual, academic, etc. This year, since I knew I'd have more at home time on my hands with no work or school, I made the goal to read all the classic books that I hadn't read already.
The hardest part about this goal is that there are multiple opinions about which books make the "classics" list. I decided to go with the one from the Provo Library since that is where I will get most of the books:) I was surprised that I hadn't read more of them, partly I guess because I'm not counting it read if I only read portions of it in school or if I can't remember it well enough. I decided I would return and report somewhere about my readings, and maybe encourage others of you to do the same because there is so much to learn from these books about society and history and the nature of people.
Without further ado, here are the few ones I have read from the list:

The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer--detested
Macbeth William Shakespeare--liked
Little Women Louisa May Alcott--didn't like
Emma Jane Austen  --LOVED of course...this is one of my all time faves
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen--Loved also of course
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte--loved
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte--loved
The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas--Loved
The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald--hated
The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne--loved
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee--okay
The Scarlet Pimpernel Baroness E Orczy--LOVED, another of my all time faves
Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe--Hated

Books on my list to read next:
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
The Invisible Man  H.G. Wells
Lord of the Flies William Golding
Les Miserables Victor Hugo

Have any of you read those books? What other books for pleasure do you read? I'm almost finished with a fantastic fantasy series I will report on soon:)

6 comments:

Julie said...

I really like Ana Karenina, like a lot. I'll be interested to see what you think of it. Those sound like great books and a great goal, enjoy!

And I can't believe you hated Little Women and The Great Gatsby!! Okay, I guess we can still be friends. =) more Eliza pictures though!!

Chelsea said...

I have to tell you I hated Ana Karenina, but though Lord of the Flies has some really awful parts and is totally strange, I found so much in there in between the lines. I got some amazing high school and college essays out of that book! I also did not like the Great Gatsby and ADORE Jane Austin (But what woman doesn't?) I wish I had more time to read, but you just wait until Eliza is rolling around all over and you will know what I mean. :)

Ben, Ashley, and Nate said...

I'm reading the Count of Monte Christo right now and I love it! I would really love to read some of the other ones you read, too. Thanks for the recommendations!

Alaina said...

I'm 75% of the way through Anna Karenina, and can't seem to pick it up again. It's good enough. Just... looong. (And sort of slow. Just like a classic, right?!)

Dan and Katie said...

You don't like Little Women?!? Crazy! But I guess I am no one to talk - keep trying to read Pride and Prejudice...never gotten through more than the first few chapters!

Cissy said...

Coming a little late to this post, but I just can't hold back comments when it comes to books--especially classics!

First, are you sure Mockingbird was only okay? It's one of my all-time favorites! But, since you've got all those Jane Austens highly ranked, I guess I'll forgive you.

My recommendations--Silas Marner (push through those first couple chapters, and I don't think you'll be sorry.) Also: Agnes Grey, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and (for the upcoming season) A Christmas Carol.

And join goodreads.com.