General classics discussion: which do you like?

Hi everyone

This is my first thread I hope it is okay to start one. I would love to talk about classical books. I saw the thread listing all the websites (Gutenberg, Black Mask etc.) where one can get public domain works for free. I use all of these sites and read books on my Palm Handheld all the time. I thought it would be good to have a thread for recommendations of things you found there or of classical favs that you read in paper form

My list so far of Project Gutenberg finds:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: The first classic I ever liked. A great book, still very readable for a reader with modern tastes. Nicely drawn characters and very atmospheric. I am enjoying this right now for the second time.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: The first book I read entirely on my PDA. I really liked it and one of these days plan to download the rest of them and read them in a row.

Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: I have fond memories of reading these as a kid with my dad, and always have a few of these floating around on my Palm device.

Story of my Life by Helen Keller: A bit incomplete as she wrote it in her 20's, but a good read nonetheless. As this is autobiography, it has its biases and tends to gloss over less pleasant things, but it is an inspiring and fascinating story and the book is definately woth the read.

JoannaC]Hi everyone.This is my first thread I hope it is okay to start one. I would love to talk about classical books. I saw the thread listing all the websites (Gutenberg, Black Mask etc.) where one can get public domain works for free. I use all of these sites and read books on my Palm Handheld all the time.

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Hi, Joanna, and welcome! I cannot even imagine reading an entire novel on a Palm Handheld. Where do you do your reading that it makes that a better choice than a book? How big is the screen?

Your choices of reading material seem to be great, anyway.

I cannot help you at all with the techie stuff. But maybe direstraits can?

Yoo-hoo! ds? Where is you?

I guess there could be some debate over what exactly is termed as a classic, but some which I have thoroughly enjoyed include:

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: Helps to remind us the importance of not merely following orders

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: I agree that it's very atmospheric, however I think it's seeing how emotionally damaged some of the characters are & how this affects everyone around them.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: I love the way Wilde has such amazing skill with language & his bravery in having some utterly contemptable characters in their despicable glory

JoannaC said:

This is my first thread I hope it is okay to start one.

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Nope. Not OK at all (kidding of course).

My favorites are probably Dumas and Hardy, but I read a vast assortment of classics. Right now I'm re-reading Slaughterhous-Five (which is thought of as a modern day classic). I'll probably read The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Counte of Monte Cristo, or Far From the Madding Crowd for my next classic read.

I'm also impressed with your ability to read off of your Palm. I tried that a while back and gave up. I can't even read books off the web. I print the text files out in batches of 20 pages or so. It is a huge waste of paper, but it's what I'm stuck doing.

Hello Joanna,
I have an off beat suggestion for you that is available for download and possibly qualifies as a classic, at least from another era. For reasons I can't fully describe, I really enjoyed She by H. Rider Haggard. Perhaps because in this day and age it has a campy feel about it, but is still an imaginative adventure story nevertheless. Haggard is more noted for King Solomon's Mines, which I haven't read, but which may be available for download also and, by repute at least and from seeing the movie, might also be quite enjoyable. Would be glad to hear your reactions because I don't know anyone who has even looked at Rider Haggard in a long long time.
Enjoy,
Peder

Heard ya, Still!

Welcome Joanna! Great to hear from you, and most importantly, another ebook reader. Ah, good company. I have lots of stuff downloaded for free too, but they are mainly in Microsoft Reader. There was a time when Microsoft had offered contemporary novels in sets of 3 every week throughout the summer some years back, so I had some of those. Very very nice.

I have the Anne of Green Gables in Palm reader too - it was from there that I found out that Montgomery isn't my kind of a writer, despite loving the TV series.

I also want to point out that Wabbit has a thread of Free ebooks - go there for more stuff.

ds

JoannaC said:

I use all of these sites and read books on my Palm Handheld all the time...The first book I read entirely on my PDA...plan to download the rest of them...always have a few of these floating around on my Palm device.

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Fellow book-lovers, we're looking at the future right here.



Anyway, based on what you've liked so far, I recommend Little Women and House of Seven Gables.

Right you are, Mari. Soon there will be devices that fits in your hand for a comfortable read, and most importantly, available at a more affordable price, that will give physical books a run for their money.

ds

I read SHE years ago. I loved it. I also read King Solomon's Mines. These were such fun reads, and I coud see why they were made in to movies. Great adventure stories. I guess they were a bit campy, but that was part of the allure. Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peobody series has a similar feel, with all the fantastic, can't -be -real things that happen. I'd definately reccomend the Haggard books! In fact, I have a couple of sons who keep asking for reading suggestions...I think I'll start a list for them!

I'm not really a fan of e-books. I prefer to read books on good old paper. If i download something from gutenberg or a similar site its usually old science texts. I especially like the writings of Alfred Russel Wallace, a evolutionist/anthropologist/geographer/social critic working on ideas close to Darwins. Its interesting to see how he for instance argues that women should be given equal rights as men from a evolutionary standpoint.

Some other classics that like (though i have no idea if they are available on the net):
Gogol - Dead souls
Turgenev - Diary of a superfluous man (One of many great books from one of the more forgotten russian greats).
Huysmans - Against the grain. Perhaps the wierdest novel i have ever read. If you have read "Portrait of Dorian Gray" this is the book they refer to as "that wonderful book".

I don't like e-books either. Short works that I can print out are ok, but to sit and read a full-sized book, yuck. Can you picture me trying to read aloud to my kids from one? "You guys sit over there and I'll sit in my computer chair over here." And it would totally ruin a favorite together time activity of my hubby and I-reading our books while hanging out on the couch or our bed..it just doesn't work in those situations.

JoannaC said:

Hi everyone

This is my first thread I hope it is okay to start one. I would love to talk about classical books. I saw the thread listing all the websites (Gutenberg, Black Mask etc.) where one can get public domain works for free. I use all of these sites and read books on my Palm Handheld all the time. I thought it would be good to have a thread for recommendations of things you found there or of classical favs that you read in paper form

My list so far of Project Gutenberg finds:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: The first classic I ever liked. A great book, still very readable for a reader with modern tastes. Nicely drawn characters and very atmospheric. I am enjoying this right now for the second time.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: The first book I read entirely on my PDA. I really liked it and one of these days plan to download the rest of them and read them in a row.

Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: I have fond memories of reading these as a kid with my dad, and always have a few of these floating around on my Palm device.

Story of my Life by Helen Keller: A bit incomplete as she wrote it in her 20's, but a good read nonetheless. As this is autobiography, it has its biases and tends to gloss over less pleasant things, but it is an inspiring and fascinating story and the book is definately woth the read.

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Wuthering Heights : i have to read that by Jan or so.. for Honors english 11.. my friend really liked it, but then again she also likes Dickens. i'm worried that i wont but hopefully it'll be alright in the end. i tend to go for more modern literature.

Anne of Green Gables : ahh i feel nostaligic... both my mom and my sister read the series when they were younger, therefore my mom bought me the series in english. (they read it in Polish) i never finished the 2nd one. i had a short attention span when i was younger. i want to give it another try. i remember i'd almost be jealous of Anne.. where she lived, her love of school.. Green Gables just sounded so beautiful...

i liked The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. it was an easy read and based on actual reality. it kind of reminded me of my family; we're immigrants. we had far more luck than this family [and less poisonious meat..] but we've struggled. my classmates didn't like it since it was so gross, but it was definatly worth the read. it sucked that we had to summerize every chapter in detail along the way, but in a way it did help me pick up on things.

i like a lot of modern classics. i really loved Catcher in the Rye the first 2 times i read it, but now it got old. i read it to much and now Holden just seems a little whiny =X i feel hypocritical but the character does make a lot of sense. my arrogant friend from high school couldn't stand him.

Mari said:

Fellow book-lovers, we're looking at the future right here.



Anyway, based on what you've liked so far, I recommend Little Women and House of Seven Gables.

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i never read Little Women even though we have a copy. theres sooo many books i want to read, but i end up starting them and never finishing them for months, or just putting them off for years since i own the copy and think "hm, i have to read the library books first". also the Little Women copy is hardcover and kind of big, and i suppose thats pushing me away too. i'm into softcovers lately.. so i could carry it around.

After posting in this thread I have just now realized that it is in General Chat. Could somebody move it to General Book Discussion? It seems like it would fit better there.

Wow, some great responses! This so exciting!

Sar, I liked 1984 the first time I read it, but I just tried it again and it was so slow-moving! I quit partway through. I also had some logical issues with the story, like why Winston didn’t just move to the country or become a prole or something if he wanted to get away from the screens I read Animal Farm recently and it was okay, but a bit too cutesy for me. I felt the shadow of the author looming over me at all times, nudging ‘do you get it?’ at everything I read.

Mehastings, I have Dumas on my TBR list. I have a brother who I think would quite enjoy them. Which one do you suggest I read first?

Peder, I read “She” in university for a Victorian Popular Literature course. I love the Victorians! I never got into modern poetry but I love the Victorian verse, and there are so many great novels from that time. Do you recommend any others by Rider Haggard? My impression was that some of them were pure trash

Direstraits, I have seen the free books thread. I already have most of the sites bookmarked. I use TiBR (Tiny Book Reader) for Palm and have converters for my PC to make text files into DOC files. It’s pretty easy. I don’t like MS Reader because it takes up so much space.

Mari, just to clarify, I do read paper books too All my contemporary reads are paper books and there is no way I would give that up. I just like the idea of having ten books with me at all times and having so many free ones available like that. I can just go anytime I want and get some more. I can fit about 10 on my PDA at a time.

Thanks for the suggestion, Abcedarian. I will look into King Soloman’s Mines. Perhaps you might like Dumas also? Btw re the ebooks, there are a LOT of short story collections at Gutenberg. They are quite fun. Of you do want something for your PDA but can’t face reading a novel that way, maybe you would like short stories?

Zolipara, I have never heard of any of those books. Do you have any more information about them?

WoundedThorns, The Junge sounds interesting. I’ll look for that!

I was out of town for the weekend (hence the late reply) but finished Wuthering Heights and am now starting on the works of John Buchan, who was an early 20th century mystery author who was quite prolific, it seems. I am excited. If I like the first one, it seems there are plenty of others to be had. Has anyone read Mary Roberts Rinehart? She’s a similar case of LOTS of output and still fairly modern yet freely available online!

JoannaC said:

Mehastings, I have Dumas on my TBR list. I have a brother who I think would quite enjoy them. Which one do you suggest I read first?

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I'd suggest The Three Musketeers. It's a familiar story, but I've yet to see a movie that really captures it the way it was written. The book itself is quite long, and there are a number of follow-ups (Twenty Years After, The Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, & The Man in the Iron Mask). So, you can read and read and read until you get sick of their exploits. Then, you can pick it up later on when you are ready for some more. Besides that, The Three Musketeers is the easiest Dumas book to come across. The sequels aren't that hard to find either. I'm somewhere around half to two thirds of the way through the entire series. It's been a while since I've read them, but I'll get back to them eventually.

abecedarian said:

I don't like e-books either. Short works that I can print out are ok, but to sit and read a full-sized book, yuck. Can you picture me trying to read aloud to my kids from one? "You guys sit over there and I'll sit in my computer chair over here." And it would totally ruin a favorite together time activity of my hubby and I-reading our books while hanging out on the couch or our bed..it just doesn't work in those situations.

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I totally agree with you. Nobody likes to read ebooks on a computer - not even an aficianado like me. It gives me a backache and eyestrain and I can't be on my favourite couch.

The problem with ebooks is the way it has been positioned on the market. Most people immediately assume that the only way to read ebooks is on a computer screen. But that's not true, and I believe computer screens that we have now will never be the dominant way to read anything of length.

The ideal way in my opinion to read ebooks is via a small portable device with a reasonable screen real estate like a PDA. The moment there is a device that's more affordable, we'll see a huge interest in ebooks. Also, the proliferation of these devices will change the way we buy our books in the future, where you can download it and print the book out yourself, if you choose. Sooner or later, if you're a book lover, ebooks are going to be part of your lives.

For the record, I love printed books. But for portability and price, ebooks are hard to beat, especially if you carry a PDA.

ds

JoannaC said:

Mari, just to clarify, I do read paper books too All my contemporary reads are paper books and there is no way I would give that up. I just like the idea of having ten books with me at all times and having so many free ones available like that. I can just go anytime I want and get some more. I can fit about 10 on my PDA at a time.

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The possibility of having a wide choice of books with me at all times is tempting, I admit. Especially when I travel, I weigh myself down with so many books, I'm practically transferring my library with me.

At this time, however, the handheld screens just aren't eye-friendly enough, though I've seen some amazing inventions that almost look like print on paper. The day of the electronic book is getting closer and closer.

Wuthering Heights is a great book but I prefer Jane Eyre. Charlotte is the better writer of the Bronte sisters I think. Any thoughts on this?