The Classics Club Challenge Complete!

Exactly five year years ago I decided to take part in The Classics Club. At the time it was a small group that wanted to make an effort to read more classics. That was right up my alley and so I made a list of 100 books I wanted to read over the course of the next five years.

Today is my deadline and just last week I posted my final review. It has been such fun completing this challenge. Somewhere along the way the club grew to a huge community. I became one of the co-moderators that helped manage and run the website.

I have absolutely loved seeing all the new members and new reviews that are constantly pouring in. We’ve had Classic Club spins, where a random number choses your next book for you. We’ve had meme questions that spark wonderful conversation.  All-in-all it has been a delight. I plan to continue to stay involved with the website, and obviously I’ll still be reading classics. I’m proud that I managed to complete my list by my deadline.

Any other Classics Club members out there getting close to finishing your lists?

Here's my complete list with links to all my reviews. At the bottom of the page there's also a list of classics I read and reviewed before beginning the challenge. 

Classics Club Meme Question

What about modern classics? Pick a book published since 2000 and say why you think it will be considered as a “classic” in the future. 

I didn’t even have to pause with this one. The Book Thief immediately popped into my mind. The book, published in Australia in 2005 and worldwide in 2006, is one of my favorites. It’s unique because it’s narrated by Death, but it deals with universal themes. 

It’s set during World War II and tells the story of a young orphaned girl, her foster family, and their small German town. I think it’s one that will stand the test of time because at this point I’ve seen it presented in so many different ways. Though the book is the absolute best, I’ve now seen it as both a movie and a play as well. I’ve read it, re-read it, listened to the audio version and each time it gets better and I notice something new. 

I think the thing that truly makes a classic a "classic" is that it's relevant to new generations and has something new to say to them. There’s no way to know for sure, but I think that in 50 years people will still be discovering this one for the first time and falling in love with the story.

Join in the fun here.

Classics Club August Question

What are your thoughts on adaptions of classics (mini-series/ movies / modern versions)? Are there any good ones? Is it better to read the book first? 

 

Over the years I’ve watched dozens of films and mini-series based on classic novels. Sometimes they are wonderful. The BBC mini-series of Cranford was well done and it absolutely gave me a deeper appreciation for the book. The 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility is another one that I could watch over and over again. Other times they deviate so far from the text that it’s hard to recognize the original work (think Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore.)

 

When a classic is reworked in the modern world I think just as true that it can be good or bad. A few of my favorites include 10 Things I Hate About You, a re-telling of The Taming of the Shrew, Clueless, a re-telling of Emma and then Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon’s 2013 version.) All three movies are well-cast and fun. The first two deviated from the original text, but they did it in a fun way that kept the heart of the story intact. 

 

Sometimes it’s fun to see a variety of versions of the same story. There are a dozen version of Jane Eyre, each with its own twist. I thought Michael Fassbender made a fantastic Mr. Rochester in the 2011 version, but I loved the 2006 mini-series more. The Jane from that version, Ruth Wilson, was so perfect. 

 

Great Expectations has had a recent resurgence of remakes. I loved the 2012 version with Ralph Fiennes, but I thought the 2011 version was off-putting. The actor who played Pip (Douglas Booth) was too pretty for the role. It just didn’t work. There’s another 1998 modern version with Ethan Hawke that is interesting. I like it, but not because it sticks closely to the original story. 

 

In my opinion you should always read the book first. Then take the adaptation with a grain of salt, don’t expect it to be a perfect recreation of the story in your head. Allow the movie or mini-series to enhance your experience with the book instead of trying to compare them scene for scene. 

 

What are your favorite versions of classics on the big screen?

Classics Club July Question

 

Have you ever read a biography on a classic author? If so, tell us about it. If you had already read works by this author, did reading a biography of his/her life change your perspective on the author’s writing? Why or why not?

 

I have actually read quite a few biographies of authors. I’m always fascinated by the man or woman behind the pen. One of my favorites was Papa Hemingway by A.E. Hotchner. The author knew Hemingway personally in his later years and his portrayal of the author is a loving one. I’ve struggled with some of Hemingway’s work; I loved A Moveable Feast, but get lost in the misogyny of some of his novels. Seeing Hemingway through the eyes of a friend helped me temper my disdain a bit and try to understand the man on a deeper level.

 

Mockingbird by Charles J. Shields was another interesting one. To Kill a Mockingbird is such a beloved book and its author is so elusive. I loved learning more about not just Harper, but also her sister and father and the impact they had on her life. The book itself is a bit dry, but it did give me a deeper understanding of how Harper’s own life influenced her famous novel.

 

I read Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, which is not a biography precisely, but more of a journey of a book. But it also gives an in depth look at Mitchell’s life before and after it was published and the grueling process of getting it written. Again, gaining more information about the author added to my appreciation of her novel.

 

Up next for me is the biography of Zelda written by Nancy Milford. My book club is reading it later this year and I’m so excited to check it out. Let me know if you’ve read it and what you thought!

Join in the fun at the Classics Club Blog.



Classics Club June Question

 

Think of an example of a classic you’ve read that presents issues like racism/sexism as acceptable within society. Do you think the reception of this classic work would be the same if it were newly published today? What can we get out of this work despite its weaknesses? Or, why would you say this work is still remembered in 2014?

This fascinating question immediately made me think of Gone with the Wind. That book is often criticized for its portrayal of slaves in the south. It embraced certain stereotypes and was considered condescending in some ways. I think it’s crucial to think about the time period in which it was written and who the author was. Margaret Mitchell was raised in the South hearing about the glory days before the Civil War. That upbringing certainly affected the way she saw the past and how she wrote about it.

I think if the book was written now there would be a much larger scrutiny of those portrayals, but it’s a very different society now. I also think that if taken in the context of the work, the racial views don’t detract from the story. They are a picture of how many plantation owners viewed their lives. No one is claiming that the story is being told from the slaves’ point of view, which would be a vastly different novel.

There are times when sexism/racism truly ruins the reading experience for me (aka most of Hemingway’s novels). But I always try to think about the context of what was being written before I judge the work by my own standards. I don’t have to agree with what an author’s belief system is to enjoy other aspects of their work.

Join in the fun at the Classics Club Blog.

December Classics Club Meme Question

What is your favorite classic book?

The Classics Club originally asked this question in August 2012 and my answer was Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. I thought for this question I’d pick another one of my favorites. I’m going to venture into Russian territory for this one for two reasons.

1) I think that Russian lit is incredibly intimidating for some people (it was for me!)

2) I read this book before I started blogging and so I’ve never written about it on the blog.  

So the book in question… Anna Karenina. This one was an unexpected delight for me. I was expecting a melodramatic romance and lots of “woe is me” bits. Instead I found a novel that delved into personal happiness vs. social expectations, religion, and Russian culture.

The booked is packed with interesting characters, only one of which is mentioned in the title. Anna might be the headliner, but she’s certainly not the only act. The book really parallels the lives and journeys of two characters, Anna and Levin. At the beginning of the book Anna is optimistic. She travels to visit her family to help her brother put his marriage back together. By the end of the book her life has been thrown upside down and she loses her faith.

Levin on the other hand is awkward and pessimistic. He’s in love, but has no idea how to go about wooing the woman he’s interested in. Throughout the book he finds solace in hard labor. Through his struggles and trails he finds his faith. He learns the meaning of true love and understands the difference a good woman makes to his life. Both characters seem to do a complete 180 by the end of the novel.

There is so much more that I’m not even touching on. Tolstoy deals with the social customs at the time, the ease at which people can be welcomed or shunned from society and the rights women didn’t have during that time period, etc. He makes the reader consider the difference between momentary bliss and the sometimes sedate, but long-lasting joy of family, but at the same time he never makes it feel like a preachy cautionary tale.

If you’re thinking about trying Tolstoy I would highly recommend starting here. There are fewer major characters than there are in War and Peace and the plot is easier to follow.

Join in the fun here. 

November Classic Club Meme Question

This month the Classics Club asks us to pick a classic someone else in the club has read from the big review list. What about their post makes you excited to read that classic in particular?

For years I’ve been meaning to read something by Emilé Zola and Germinal is one that is frequently recommended to me. When I read Riv’s review of it at Bookish Realm I knew I needed to bump it up the TBR list. The final line of her review is what really did it…

“I want more Zola in my life.”

I’ve felt that way about authors before and I understand the sentiment. Then I read Adam’s review of the same book at Roof Beam Reader and a line in his review stood out to me. He is talking about Zola’s writing style:

“It is simultaneously beautiful, self-reflective, and transporting.”

I think that between those reviews I have very little excuse for not making this book a priority.

Join in the fun here. 

Classics Club Spin #3

The Classics Club is hosting another Classics Spin! Pick 20 books off your Classics Club List. On Monday (the 19th) they will announce a random number and you have to read that number off the list you created sometime in August or September. I’ve listed a mixture of books I’m dreading, ones I’m looking forward to, very old ones, relatively new ones, big ones, small ones, etc. Can’t wait to see what I’ll be reading!

**UPDATE My spin book is #4 Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut!**

1) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

3) Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

4) Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

5) The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

6) Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

7) The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington

8) Germinal by Émile Zola

9) Sanditon  by Jane Austen

10) Light in August by William Faulkner

11) Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald

12) Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

13) Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

14) Maurice by E. M. Forster

15) The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy

16) The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

17) Roughing It by Mark Twain

18) The Warden by Anthony Trollope

19) If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

20) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel G. Marquez

You can check out the complete details here.

Image from here. 

Classics Club Spin

The Classics Club is hosting another Classics Spin! Pick 20 books off your Classics Club List. On Monday (the 20th) they will announce a random number and you have to read that number off the list you created sometime before July 1st. I’ve listed a mixture of books I’m dreading, ones I’m looking forward to, very old ones, relatively new ones, big ones, small ones, etc. Can’t wait to see what I’ll be reading!

We have a winner! It's #6 The Rights of Man. I'm not looking forward to it, but I've been wanting to read it, so this is a good motivation.

1) Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

2) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

3) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

4) All My Sons by Arthur Miller

5) Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

6) The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine

7) The Warden by Anthony Trollope

8) Roughing It by Mark Twain

9) Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

10) Germinal by Émile Zola

11) The Island of Dr Moreau by H G Wells

12) The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

13) Native Son by Richard Wright

14) Maurice by E. M. Forster

15) Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey

16) Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens

17) Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

18) Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

19) North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

20) In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck

You can check out the complete details here.

Image from here.