Ryn ([info]misoka_mine) wrote,
@ 2007-06-09 19:28:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Books, Poetry, and Plays to Read Before I Die
I'm leaving this public, I think, simply because I'd love people to discuss it with me.

EDIT 06-09-07: I've just started on this list, and will continue it later. No particular order of entries yet.

EDIT 6-10-07: Put quite a few more titles on the list. I would do more, but I still don't feel well.

EDIT 12-27-07: Putting a few more down and marking some off my list.

EDIT 06-21-08: Marked a few off, and added some to the list.



Paradise Lost by John Milton
The Divine Comedy by Dante
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (Completeed Nov. 2007)
Macbeth by Shakespeare (Completed Oct. 2007)
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickenson by Emily Dickenson
The Egyptian Book of the Dead any translation
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Republic by Plato
The Basic Works of Aristotle by Aristotle
The Complete Poems of Robert Frost by Robert Frost
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The Complete Poems of Walt Whitman by Walt Whitman
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Faust by Goethe
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Hamelt by Shakespeare (Completed Oct. 2007)
Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare (Completed Oct. 2007)
A Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare
Twelfth Night by Shakespeare
Othello by Shakespeare (Completed Nov. 2007)
A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare
Sonnets by Shakespeare
The Tempest by Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
King Lear by Shakepeare
As You Like It by Shakespeare
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Le Morte D' Arthur Volumes 1 and 2 by Sir Thomas Mallory
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Little Princess Frances Hodges Burnett
The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodeges Burnett
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol
The Tale of Genji Murasaki Shikibu
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Pygmalion by Geroge Bernard Shaw
Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagels
October Sky by Homer Hickman
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (Completed Aug. 2007)
Oedipus at Colonus By Sophocles
Antigone by Sophocles (Completed Aug. 2007)
Trojan Women by Euripides
Treasure Island by Robet Louis Stevenson
The Bible the King James Version
Peter Pan by J.F. Barrie
Guliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, any translation
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Light in August by William Faulkner
1984 by George Orwell
The Aeniad by Virgi, (Robert Fagel?)
Agamemmon by Aeschylus
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anthem by Amy Rand
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Electra by Sophocles
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Completed Dec. 2008)
The Awakwening by Kate Chopin (Completed Dec. 2007--Loved it)
Candide by Voltaire (Completed March 2007)
A Doll's House by Ibsen (Completed March 2008)
Ghosts by Ibsen (Completed March 2008)
Enemy of the People by Ibsen (Completed March 2008)
The Joy Luck Club by Any Tan (Completed May 2008)
Orlando by Virginia Woolf (Completed Feb. 2008)
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Completed April 2008)
The Misanthrope by Moliere (Completed Feb. 2007)
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (Completed Dec. 2008)


(Post a new comment)


[info]thwap
2007-06-10 01:00 am UTC (link)
I've read some on that list (and what a good list it is!) :3 Lord of the Rings was teeedious, but that's probably I read it at twelve and it completely escaped me.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 03:04 am UTC (link)
I have the giant Lord of the Rings as Tolkien intended, the three books in one--so when I started it and found it to read like a college-level textbook I was a bit daunted.

But it seems like every fantasy writer has read it and loved it, so I'm determined to someday get through it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]tasharowan
2007-06-10 05:28 am UTC (link)
I take my Lord of the Rings split into three books because it's easier on the wrist. Even as much as I enjoy Tolkien, I have to take time to where I can read uninterrupted to read his work. (Not all in one day mind, just a chapter or so.) I personally suggest reading Hobbit first.

In the end, the reason I think every fantasy wirter has read Tolkien is because the man practically created the fantasy genre. Just random two cents at midnight. Whee!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 04:36 pm UTC (link)
Thank you! I'll add that to my list (I would have made this list longer, but I wasn't feeling wel).

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]jajy1979
2007-06-10 06:39 pm UTC (link)
Myth: Tolkien did not intend for it to be published as 1 book. Nor did he intend for it to be published as 3 books. It was supposed to be published as 6 books, more akin to the way his friend C.S. Lewis had done his seven book series (granted that was later than LotR). Only Silmarillion was supposed to be one big huge back breaking book, and even then one might argue otherwise since Christopher had such a hand in it's final presentation.

BTW if you're having a hard time getting into Tolkien's writing style pick up a few of his short stories such as Farmer Giles of Ham, or the Smith of Wooten Major.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]kazaera
2007-06-10 10:22 pm UTC (link)
Although Silmarillion was never "intended" to be published at all, really, since it was basically just a compilation of Tolkien's notes put together after his death. And messed some stuff up (see also: the Gil-galad's parentage debate). Not sure about the History of Middle Earth series, but I think that was also a compilation of his notes - this time ordered at least somewhat chronologically! [/massive Tolkien geek]

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]jajy1979
2007-06-11 02:41 am UTC (link)
One could point out that JRR was never the one who stated that it was intended to be a book. Christopher was the one who decided it should be, so the statement I made, that it was intended to be a large volume, is correct. I never mentioned who intended to make it such. As for the errors, it happens in all books and literature, there are several mistakes in the various books if you know where to look and have a good memory for details and facts. Tolkien's biggest failure was a sense of distance and time. He constantly changed how long a league he was using, rather than using the standardized 3 mile league of the English Imperial System. His Furlongs were a bit better (1/8th of a mile) though his reckoning of ells might be a bit off too.

As I've stated in another post, I'm a Tolkien purist. I go way beyond Geekdom in this space. I used to speak the Elvish Sindarin in school (I could also do the TSR Drow), but I loathe Jackson's interpretation of the books and I dislike Christopher's greediness. Anyway, just to out geek you, I've still got an original movie poster from the first animated version of the Lord of the Rings. :-P

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]kazaera
2007-06-11 10:00 am UTC (link)
Ah, okay - that makes sense. I wasn't really sure about Tolkien's intentions to get the backstory published, just that Christopher Tolkien was the one who compiled the Silm (and did manage some mix-ups of which the Gil-galad parentage issue is the most famous in my part of fandom).

I'm not sure how high I rate on the geekdom scale - I used to write Silmarillion fanfiction, which is where I picked up most of my Tolkien knowledge (and puts me rather low on the geek hierarchy scale, at that), but am probably a rather bad geek these days since I've been out of that fandom for a while. Tried to learn Sindarin and various Tengwar recently (and Quenya before that), but failed due to being too lazy to memorise vocab, symbols and the various lenition/mutation tables. Which is a pity, since it's a very fun language and Tengwar is very pretty.

With you on hating the movies - I didn't even bother watching the third one after I left the first two sputtering at all the things in it I hated. And the only thing I have is a map of Middle-earth, so I think I've been outgeeked~

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]jajy1979
2007-06-11 06:10 pm UTC (link)
I initially had opening day tickets for the first movie, first showing pre purchased (a gift from my father). I was ticked about that movie, did not end up going to the opening showing for Two Towers. By the scene where they threw Aragorn over the cliff with the wolf-rider I was done. I boycotted the third movie. Jackson mucked up a LOT of the story trying to make it "better" and completely failed to understand what he changed particularly with the stones. The whole scene with the Elven army just made me sick.

I do own the map, the atles, encyclopedia, art works, etc. It's about the fourth largest collection of books that I own, behind Feist, TSR related, and Brooks. Basically takes up an entire shelf in my collection.

I personally know a couple international best selling authors and do not participate in fanfiction. (Raymond E. Feist and Anne McCaffery, if you're curious.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]callitcruel
2007-06-10 02:29 am UTC (link)
I love Walden! =D H.D. is completely my inspiration for living out of an old Ford when I'm old. And Animal Farm? Very important book you shouldn't wait to read. A Clockwork Orange, though, that's the most horrifying book I've ever read. Since it was originally written in Russian, the slang doesn't translate well, so find a psudo-translated to English to English dictionary on the web. Dad has one bookmarked somewhere; I'll send you the link.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 03:00 am UTC (link)
I would really enjoy that, when you can manage it. =D Thank you.

I've read a few chapters of Walden and loved it--but then we had to move on to something else in my Lit class. The whole idea thrilled me to death, and I hope to try it someday.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]kazaera
2007-06-10 08:44 am UTC (link)
Ooh, good going. I am quite embarrassed by the fact that I've only read two of the things on that list - LotR and Animal Farm. (I always consider reading a relaxing, leisure activity and hate having to spend too much brain-power on it :/).

My own person list includes Faust and some other stuff by Goethe, but I suppose that's more important for us Germans. >>;; Was going to buy Paradise Lost the other day, but looked inside it, didn't understand a thing and wound up not doing so.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 04:39 pm UTC (link)
I haven't read anything on this list, so don't feel bad. :P

Faust! I knew there was some other major work I needed to put on there, but I forgot it. Thanks Kaz.

Paradise Lost was written in 1667, so it's difficult for me as well.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]kazaera
2007-06-10 10:18 pm UTC (link)
Yay! Apparently Faust has some brilliant bits in it, although I'm not sure how the translation is.

I can try and come up with some other German classics later if you want; right now the only thing I can think of is /never/ to read "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" by Goethe. It's bloody awful. (Young man commits suicide because the woman he loves doesn't love him back. Not pleasant to read when you're suffering from /clinical depression/, thankyou German teacher.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]polaris_86
2007-06-10 04:03 pm UTC (link)
Have you ever read anything by Shakespear? Because I would suggest you Hamlet, it's my favourite Shakespeare. :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 04:40 pm UTC (link)
I have read Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet, but I haven't read Hamlet yet. I plan to add much more Shakespeare to my list. :P

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]polaris_86
2007-06-10 04:05 pm UTC (link)
I know On the road and Howl from Gilmore Girls. XD

(Reply to this)


[info]polaris_86
2007-06-10 04:09 pm UTC (link)
I'll probably snag the idea, btw. :P

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 04:43 pm UTC (link)
Oh, feel free to do so! =D I recommend going to the comm [info]books, they have a bunch of good book recs.

I saw a list of books "every educated person needs to read" on [info]lit_addicts and I sort of got the idea from there. I have it linked in my Memories under "Good Books."

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]polaris_86
2007-06-10 05:25 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for the links! :D

I thought about it and I think another wonderful must-read-Shakespear is The merchant of Veníce. But then again, people say King Liar is his best book and I hate it. XD Maybe I'm strange...

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-10 05:43 pm UTC (link)
I put that up there with all of his other books. =D (I actually put that up there before I saw your comment, lol).

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Part 1 - Your List
[info]jajy1979
2007-06-10 06:14 pm UTC (link)
Paradise Lost by John Milton - Never actually read this.

The Divine Comedy by Dante - This is vastly over-rated, I likened it to listening to a talk show host stir up trouble between guests. Dante was intentionally trying to do exactly that, and unless you know who half the people are you're going to be screwed in trying to understand why he's saying what he is.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - Mind bending acid trip. I don't recommend it for anyone who wants to understand what the hell they're reading.

The Art of War by [Sun Tzu] - Good work, bit dry. You might also try "The Five Rings" as well if you like that book.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli - Falls in the same line as Dante, it's a discussion of how to be evil to get ahead in the world. Not actually his best work, but easily his only well known one.

Macbeth by Shakespeare - My favorite Shakespeare play is "Taming of the Shrew" personally, I'm not that big a fan of Hamlet which is recommended above. "King Lear" is the hardest to comprehend, and the popular "Romeo & Juliet" is over rated and over done. Personally I'd opt for reading "Othello" and watching Shrew.

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickenson by Emily Dickenson - Never been a fan of her works.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead any translation - You want a good translation, not just any. Unfortunately I can't suggest which one is best. (I do better with things like Grimm's and Anderson's works).

On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Never read this.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg - Never read this.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Forgettable novel. I'm certain I've read it but I can't for the life of me remember anything notable about it. But required reading in my High School days was a blur since I devoured 300+ page books in a day and hated most of them. Don't even get me started on the Chocolate War or Lord of the Flies, I loathe them.

The Republic by Plato - Ugh. I hate Plato, I disagree heavily with a lot of his proposals particularly about his views on art and society. His utopian ideal does not allow for artists or poets. I wrote my paper in philosophy class bashing his views on an ideal society.
The Basic Works of Aristotle by Aristotle - Actually worth reading if you're into philosophy, science, and mathematics. Unfortunately he's not as brilliant in all moments as he liked to think he was. Even the fishermen at the time knew the dolphin was a mammal, not a fish.

The Complete Poems of Robert Frost by Robert Frost - I do recommend Frost, he's one of my few favorite poets over the years and is more in touch with reality than a lot of other poets who have withstood the test of time in literature.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau - I severely dislike most of Thoreau's works. I know the English Professor style answer to give on why he's supposedly so great, and can dissect his writings, but frankly I don't agree with those professors and hate dissecting stuff. I read more for pleasure than pain, and his works give me the later.

The Complete Poems of Walt Whitman by Walt Whitman - I don't read works written by family members. Seriously? Walt's a bit over done.

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - I'm probably the best person to ask locally about these books if you want a purist's take on them. They're not actually written at college level, but they're not light reading. Tolkien writes in an older style, more descriptive, less active than most modern writers. He uses a form that is older. You want to start with the Hobbit, and if you're getting stuck trying to understand things give Anna a call and she'll get me to explain things. There's a lot of hidden history written into the stories that most people (like Peter Jackson) completely miss.

Animal Farm by George Orwell - I do recommend this. Also hit up the book "1984", by far the more important novel.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Dickens was paid to write some of his novels by the word. Seriously! He's dry and while people like to promote him as one of the great American writers, I think there are better ones out there.

(Reply to this)

Part 2 - I had just finsihed typing this when you updated your list.
[info]jajy1979
2007-06-10 06:17 pm UTC (link)
A couple older books that you may or may not have read that might be worth reading include stuff by Jules Verne. If you've not read them the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Aenied are all worth reading. Ovid's Metamorphoses is also worth reading. Definitely skip Moby Dick but you might try a more recent book called "In the heart of the sea" which is the story that Moby Dick is based on, it's a historical novel. Beowulf is definitely good reading, but do NOT try and read it in it's original Old English, you'll not understand it, read the translation.

If you can FIND a copy, there is an older fairy tale book called "East of Sun, West of Moon.", very hard to find but an unusual story and well done. I've actually got quite a collection of older fairy tales, many of which are hard to find now days.

I can think of a number of other "great books" that you may be required to read in the future, ranging from War & Peace (every character has a dozen names), Crime and Punishment, Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, Oedipus Rex (play), etc. I'm not a big fan of a lot of these personally, but if you want to be "well rounded" as a reader you may want to try a few.

In the more modern realm you might want to pull copies of some of Asimov's works, particularly Man with the Positronic Brain and I, Robot.

(Reply to this)

Part 3 - More thoughts.
[info]jajy1979
2007-06-10 06:26 pm UTC (link)
You might just want to shorted your selection by trimming Shakespeare and Dickens to "The Collected Works of" since you're listing most of their titles.

You're also listing specific translations by Fagels, I'm not certain he has the best one, you may want to look around particularly at some of the older translations. I've got a translation of Roland from the 1940's that is far better than any modern translation I've seen.

BTW Do not read Narnia in the order it is currently published, it is supposed to be read in the following order:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wordrobe
Prince Caspian
Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
A Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle.

Anyway, it occurs to me that I've got a book around here called something like "A life time of reading" or some such nonsense. It's a collection the titles of every major book and it's importance to society and includes most of the books on your list. I'll see if I can't dig it up somewhere and get you the proper title, but it may be packed with us moving next week.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Part 3b
[info]jajy1979
2007-06-10 06:31 pm UTC (link)
Found the book!

"The New LIFETIME Reading Plan: The Classic Guide to World Literature, Revised and Expanded" by Clifton Fadiman and John S. Major.

It's 133 authors, many with multiple credits.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]akayalovesyaoi
2007-06-17 11:55 pm UTC (link)
I read some of the positions you have here and this one:

"The Little Prince" Antoine de Saint-Exupery

It's my favourite book ever, ever! I love it, and I've got huge sentiment for it. It's not long, but it's really beautiful written totally worth to know it &hearts

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-18 03:11 am UTC (link)
Ooh, thanks! I actually do not know much about it, but I saw my friend trying to read it in German once. Since you seem to like it so much, I'll try to make a point of looking into it. I'm glad you enjoyed the book list--I've often felt that, while I love to read, I've skipped over a lot of the classics and I need to read them.

By the way, welcome to my journal. ^^ My journal is friends-locked mostly, only because my parents try to read my blog. I've been reading your KKM fanfiction this afternoon (I was on vacation and have been away most of this week) and like all that I've read so far.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]kitsune_no_kari
2007-06-22 09:05 pm UTC (link)
Actually, I'm pretty happy to see these titles on here. What I get quite often is that I like anime and draw fanart smut so I can't be an intelligent person. That, as we know, is complete crap . . . so you have to know it made me smile to see these on your page.
I've read most of these, they're all so good!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]kitsune_no_kari
2007-06-22 09:08 pm UTC (link)
oops, I also forgot to write down my favorite book that isn't on this list! It's The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by Luo Guanzhong.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-06-22 10:01 pm UTC (link)
Whee, thank you! ^^ I'm determined to read some classic books, simply because I've missed those in my lifetime reading so far. I'm really flattered by all the attention that this post is getting. =D

Of course that's bogus! Anyone who'd say that anyone is unintelligent based on a like of anime is not only talking about something they don't understand, they're probably unintelligent. Honestly, the things some people say. -_-

Just looked up the book (I've actually never heard of it, which surprised me) and I really like the sound of it! I'll definitley put it down on my list of books to read. Thank you for the lovely suggestion.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]arylla
2007-12-27 09:48 am UTC (link)
A couple of those are on my to-read list as well, but I guess I'll never actually read them (such as Paradise Lost or the Greek ones). I can definitely recommend, though, Shakespeare's comedies. I like them way better than his tragedies; they're not too profound, but fun to read and I personally always loved to track down the books he refers to. As for Sherlock Holmes, I read the first part of the complete edition at the beginning of the year. I'd advise you not to do so, because after half of it I started to be so tired of it, because it seemed always the same to me ... I'm very excited to read Pygmalion in English classes, because I heard it's an amusing book.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-12-27 07:36 pm UTC (link)
I need to update, since I've read some of the Greek plays in class, as well as some of the Shakespeare plays. I'm an angst fan, so I enjoyed Shakespeare's tragidies, but I enjoyed his comidies as well (except for Taming of the Shrew).

As for Paradise Lost, I did try to read the book. The premise itself, when I read it, was fascinating. For that time period, portraying Satan as a possibly symapthetic character must have been very iconoclastic idea. But actually reading it was difficult and boring, so I put it down until later.

I'll keep that in mind about Sherlock Holmes. I've only read The Hound of the Baskervilles, and I enjoyed it, but I can imagine that it can get repetitive.

I haven't read Pygmalion, but I've seen the musical My Fair Lady based off of it and read other works by Shaw. Anything by George Bernard Shaw keeps me laughing my head off. He's a very funny writer. Out of classic authors, Shaw and Oscar Wilde have to be my favorite authors because they are both so sarcastic and yet they mean what they say.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]arylla
2007-12-28 02:35 pm UTC (link)
Wow, then you've read a lot more than I have in class. In the past two years I've read The Oresteia and Romeo and Juliet of those mentioned in your list. I enjoyed the first one (are Sophocles' plays recommendable?), but not the second. Odd when I think of it, as both are quite tragic. Perhaps it's because I've always had a peculiar liking for Greek myths, especially for the post-Iliad ones. As for Shakespeare, I guess their overpowering presence and the omnipresesnt allusions to them in mass media made them fail to move me in any way. I'm thinking of Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth in particular. *shrugs*

I'm always fascinated by the patience ancient readers must have had. As for me, I always have to pull myself together everytime I'm about to read a ponderous tome. I also prefer writers who come to the point, such as Oscar Wilde. I'm madly in love with the work of that man. Hardly any other book had such a great impact on me like The Picture of Dorian Gray. Though I'm not exactly sure if it was a positive impact. xP

I've seen parts of My Fair Lady too and it was promising. Actually I wanted to buy one of Shaw's other plays, but I couldn't decide which one. Any recommendations? :)

The Hound of the Baskervilles is in my opinion the best Sherlock Holmes novel. I like its morbid atmosphere and the way the author's playing on fears. In addition, Watson partly outgrows his role as mere observer. Whenever reading Sherlock Holmes, I'm a bit annoyed by the role allocations in the novels. I know that Holmes being the super-character makes a great deal of its success, but it gets predictable in the long run.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]misoka_mine
2007-12-28 04:37 pm UTC (link)
I've read the Oedipus plays, and I recommend them as long as you are willing to try to get through some drawn out speeches. My favorite of the plays is Antigone, which he actually wrote first but is the third part in the three Oedipus plays. Antigone is a very strong character.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a huge favorite of mine as well. It was one of those novels that I picked up thinking it would be tedious, finished it in a night, and then tried to get all my friends to read it as well. It validated me to begin writing some of my darker stories which I had been afraid were too morbid.

I've read Arms and the Man amd Misalliance by Shaw, and I would recommend Misalliance first because I thought it was more amusing. I remember the general plot of Arms and the Man, but I really don't remember a lot about it since I read it three years ago.

I have to get into another mindset when I read classic and older books as well. I really didn't read any classic literature until I was older, and I regret it now because I'm far more accustomed to reading modern and commercial literature.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]arylla
2008-01-02 09:51 am UTC (link)
I've seen it once on stage. I remember being very touched by Eurydike when she learned that her son was dead. But the production was actually so-so and hard to follow because they used an old, nearly unabbreviated translation. This kind of dampened my enthusiasm for classic literature at first. ;) But then, somehow, I've read mostly classics past year judging from the list I made the day before yesterday. To be honest, so many that I'm thinking of reading more "easy" literature this year, but I have no idea where to start.

I bought it to practise reading English four years ago or so. I wasn't so excited after the first page, as my English was horrible back then, I had to concentrate really hard. After awhile however I couldn't stop reading. Even now, after reading it several times, it never ceases to amaze me. Dorian's seduction is intriguing itself, and then of course the end ... As you can probably guess already, if I once start talking about that book, I could ramble on and on endlessly. :)

I shall try and read Misalliance then. Ah, and happy new year to you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…