The thing is that I don't have a specific genre I would consider outside my comfort zone. Even though I have my favorite genre, I have pretty much read and loved something from every single genre (with the exception of graphic novels). I think the type of book that comes closest to something I don't suavely enjoy involves the classics. Maybe it's the language or the fact that there is not a lot of action, but I don't read a lot of them or enjoy a lot of them (with the exception of Jane Eyre.
This is a list of the top classics I would love to read, but I am too intimidated to read. (All of these books are on my Kindle, so hopefully that will mean my chances of actually reading these one day are pretty high.)
2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
4. Emma by Jane Austen
5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
6. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
7. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
8. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
9. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Are there any classics you are too intimidated to read? Any on this list that you love?
Great list. I read more classics when I was younger, but would love to at least read 1 or 2 a year now.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Christy! I need to create some goals for reading more as well. I would love to expand my horizons and clear some more off my TBR.
DeleteI'm not really into classics either, but I did love Tom Sawyer as a kid. I should reread it, and try Huckleberry Finn too. Emma and Sense and Sensibility both sound good, probably because I've enjoyed movie versions of both.
ReplyDeleteGreg, I have not seen the movie versions of Emma and Sense and Sensibility. Maybe I should though. I don't normally watch the movie before reading the book, but maybe it would be motivation to finally read them.
DeleteAfter going through all the Lit classes to get my English degree, I've come to the realization that I just don't like the older Classics, and that's ok :) That's the great thing about books-there's so many choices that there's something for everyone!
ReplyDeleteLibrary Huntress, that is such a good point. I guess I just feel guilty that I haven't read more of them. I feel like I should at least give them a chance.
DeleteAll classics scare me. I haven't read any really. I would like to read Jane Austen though. I feel like I am missing out on her books.
ReplyDeleteGrace, I read Pride and Prejudice but I didn't adore it like other people. I found it a bit boring. I am sure it's just the Victorian style of writing. I do want to read more of her stuff though to see if I enjoy some of her other works.
DeleteGreat list! I love Jane Austen -- and my tip for those is to give the audiobooks a try. I listened to the Emma audiobook last year (narrated by Juliet Stevenson) and it was hilarious. I loved A Tale of Two Cities, but haven't read any other Dickens (and I really do want to read Great Expectations). I should probably read more Twain too. Classics don't need to be scary! (Another suggestion -- find a group to read one with. It makes it really fun and gives great inspiration to stick with it.)
ReplyDeleteLisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies
Thanks Lisa! Audiobooks sound like a great idea! The Victorian style of writing can be so dry and boring at times. Maybe I would like it more if it was on audio.
DeleteI've read most of those, and there aren't any that I would say desperately need to be read! Sure, some of them are really good, but for the most part, there is just more enjoyable stuff written within the last half century to check out!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
Also, feel free to check out the last week of our giveaway!
You are so right Allyson! That is my main problem too: there are SO MANY newer releases that I want to read and all of them are just so much more exciting than the classics.
DeleteGreat list! I really want to read Anna Karenina, A Tale of Two Cities and War and Peace as well! Although, I have the same intimidation problem. I started War and Peace a week ago, but I've only read 22 pages, even though I really enjoy it, I'm hesitant to pick it back up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynn! Oh man, War and Peace is just so intimidating. I think it's the size. It's huge. I hope you enjoy it!
DeleteI've read almost all of these -- though for the row on the left, I've only read half of each of them. Not because I didn't like them. I really like them! But they are huge. :) The best one of all is Sense & Sensibility, but they're all excellent. I also love Walden and Moby-Dick. I hope you love these when you read them!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Jillian! It's nice to know that you enjoyed the ones on this list that you have read. Sometimes the size of the book can be so intimidating. War and Peace is an example. Crazy. Hopefully, I can give them a try one day!
DeleteI love love love both Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Great Expectations and The Age of Innocence! All worth a read!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eva! That is so good to know!
DeleteGreat list! There are so many classics that I'd love to read, but they scare me because of how old and popular they are. I'm hoping to read a few this year! I hope you love them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lizzie! I hope so too. And I hate it when a classic is so popular, but I hate it. That definitely puts me off too.
DeleteI've read the Dickens ones, but that's it. I agree that many of these are just darn intimidating. Like you, though, I hope I'll read them someday!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Nicole, I think I want to read Dickens more than anyone else. But yeah, too intimidating! Argh
DeleteAll of them. I am too afraid of all of them. Historically, classics and I do NOT get along. I think it all started when I was 10 and my dad made me read David Copperfield. It was awful, and not just because I was 10. I mean, partly because I was 10, but partly because it was boring as hell, AND it was super long. And also, I had Baby-Sitters Club books to read.
ReplyDeleteI digress, I am still really salty about that, it seems. I feel like I *might* have read Great Expectations in high school? And by "read" I mean "Bought the Cliffs Notes because the internet wasn't a thing".
I don't know, these seem long and boring. Go with the shortest one, and then you can cross "Classics" right off your bucket list ;)
P.S.- Blog button obtained. :D
Shannon, oh man. To try and read one of those classics at ten would be crazy!! I agree about Babysitter's Club. Why read Dickens when you can read that?? And I totally remember buying Cliff Notes for some of my required books too. Good times, good times.
DeleteWar and Peace is so long, ugh I don't want to read it. It sounds so confusing with all the interconnected stories. Although Russian culture and time periods do fascinate me. Dickens' writing is so overly descriptive, it's way too much for my taste. Austen's works are timeless, and I loved Emma. I forgot to finish Sense and Sensibility, but I'll pick it up again soon. I hear Persuasion is really great too, in leagues with P&P!
ReplyDeleteRachel @ A Perfection Called Books
Rachel, yeah the length of War and Peace just KILLS me!! I just can't deal. I feel like it would take me weeks to get through it.
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