Anyone actually bother to read classics anymore?

Will this thread be ignored like all my others?

Duh yes	32.6%	[ 15 ]
Never!	45.7%	[ 21 ]
whu carez i want gold	21.7%	[ 10 ]
Total Votes:			[ 46 ]

This poll closed on March 3, 2008.
No longer accepting new votes.

[LIVEfeelSEElife]

I want to read Les Miserables. As of right now I am reading East of Eden not really sure if that counts as a classic.

But some classics that I remember reading are Frankenstein, Rebecca, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Several Agatha Christie books, The Black Arrow, and some Edgar Allen Poe stuff, my favorite being The Cast of Amontillado.

[Kawzmohs]

I think the reason I (who is in the 10th grade) do not read classics is because I assume they are long, poetic, drabble-filled books whilst today's books will be more in touch with me. Also because I assume that the classics are all psychological and depressing which I want to avoid. As it turns out today's books tend to be very stupid and shallow, I mean, look at all the c*** that is published and hailed to be as wonderful as the classics- Inheritance Cycle and Twilight Series, maybe Harry Potter but it has been faced with loads of criticism whereas Inheritance and Twilight are only hailed by published critics..

[Waterarcheress]

Hey! I'm reading "Gone With the Wind!" and my aunt just gave me some 8 boxes of books to pick from (of which I only took a grand total to fil one box), and they're all classics and murder mysteries.

But yeah, I'm also reading "The Count of Monte Cristo", and more or less loving it (little confusing though)

[Arrianna_McBurl]

LIVEfeelSEElife

I want to read Les Miserables. As of right now I am reading East of Eden not really sure if that counts as a classic.

But some classics that I remember reading are Frankenstein, Rebecca, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Several Agatha Christie books, The Black Arrow, and some Edgar Allen Poe stuff, my favorite being The Cast of Amontillado.

Oh! I heart heart heart the cask of Amantillado. It's so dark and creepy. I love it whee

[ThePsychoticRaccoon]

I've read classics, and love them -- White Fang, Call of the Wild, Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc etc

[Lapinporokoira]

ThePsychoticRaccoon

I've read classics, and love them -- White Fang, Call of the Wild, Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc etc

Another Jack London fan!!!!!!!


Occasionaly I get the urge to pick up Watership Down and at the moment I'm saving up ro Buy The Duncton Books.

[Loar5]

Most books I read were written after the 1950s. I don't know if they count as classics, but most are held in somewhat high regard:
Catch-22, Lolita, The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov, A Confederacy of Dunces (much love for this book), A Prayer for Owen Meany, 1984, Bonfire of the Vanities, The Fountainhead... and at least 3/4 of Atlas Shrugged. XD

I've tried to read Oscar Wilde and Jules Verne- they seem like the sort of thing I'd like, really- but I get lost in the prose. sad

[Arrianna_McBurl]

My cousin had to read Atlas Shrugged, there was a LARGE scholarship at steak. She had a really tough time of it, and she never really did explain it to me. Care to enlighten?

[Trashed Angel]

Of course people read the classics. I'm a George Orwell fan myself. Right now, I'm reading I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. And I just finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

Les Miserables was a wonderful book, even if reading the unabridged version took me forever.

When it comes to Princess Bride though, the unabridged is quite boring. So I prefer the abridged version.

But they're great books. Although Grapes of Wrath is kind of depressing.

But Ender's Game rocks!

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Poe are also some of my favs.

[Avaetha]

I'm an english major. All I read are classics

[Phantomhorse1810]

LIVEfeelSEElife

I want to read Les Miserables. As of right now I am reading East of Eden not really sure if that counts as a classic.

But some classics that I remember reading are Frankenstein, Rebecca, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Several Agatha Christie books, The Black Arrow, and some Edgar Allen Poe stuff, my favorite being The Cast of Amontillado.

I highly suggest Les Miserables, but will give a warning. The first time I read it I came to a point where I skipped 67 pages and the plot was still clear as a bell because it had been about history. I went back and read which taught me some, but didn't directly affect the plot.

[Missouri Fiddler]

My mom got me started on the classics when I was about 7. She bought me a huge box of something called "Classic Comics" at an auction. It's classic novels told in comicbook format. I finished that box years ago, but now I'm going back and reading the real books. Currently, I'm reading the Iliad in latin. I try to read in the original language because you lose so very much in the translation. Anything by Voltaire has to be read in French, because the English translations really end up butchering the subtle nuances of the stories.

[Awetastical]

I just finished reading Anne of Green Gables and I think i'm going to start reading the Hobbit again.

[Kelly Lovly]

I'm also in eighth grade, just like you!
xD

I have began to read mystery classics, since there are barely any interesting mysteries written for teens. I'm reading Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Poirot novels. They're so AWESOME! Ms. Marple, another character from Agatha Christie with her own series, bores me though. I recommend Hercule Poirot before Ms. Marple.

I'm planning on reading Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights next. They seem interesting...

[Benhime]

EveryEden

Benhime

...classics are not for freaky old people or insane nerds. They are awesome literature. I recommend Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, The Old Man and the Sea, The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, Ender's Game(especially this one for people who like Sci-Fi), and (even though I personally didn't like it) Pride and Prejudice.
Read 'em!!!

This makes me feel like you take a lot of heat from friends about what you read. Maybe not.

I agree that people should give classics a try, but that's my philosophy on all kinds of lit/movies/music/food, etc. because you won't know if you love or hate something until you try it. My dad always said (while I was in junior high and high school) that teachers were the worst thing to happen to novels, because I gaurantee you that 9 times out of 10 you'd enjoy a book more if you weren't being lectured and graded on it, so I don't give much credit to kids who say, "I tried classics! I read Charles Dickens in English class!"
Of course you did.
Please try to read something and think about it for yourself instead of tuning the author out and just being spoonfed what your teacher thinks you should know about the book.

Some people have sincerely given classics a shot and just don't like them, and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with knowing what you do and don't like, as long as you give them a try.

I agree about reading in school. Treasure Island was totally ruined for me because of a stupid curriculum where we had "spelling words" from the book and had to do all sorts of crap wth them, like crossword puzzles and word searches - which I freakin hate. And don't even mention reading aloud in class.. ugh. I was in 6th grade then, but still... I need to read it again.