What Have You Read? (Please Respond)

[jessecuster3]

We did that in highschool, too. I've often thought about rereading it, 'cause at the time I really dug it.


I really dug it in high school as well. I remember it being better than Lord Of The Rings, but similar in theme.

[Shellhead]

Yes:

- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
- Oedipus Rex
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Other plays
- Sonnets
- The Scarlet Letter
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Moby-Dick
- The Great Gatsby
- The Grapes of Wrath
- The Crucible
- On the Road
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Stranger in a Strange Land

No:

- Paradise Lost
- Jane Eyre
- Wuthering Heights
- Walden
- Leaves of Grass
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Of Mice and Men
- Death of a Salesman
- A Catcher in the Rye
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved

Partially:

- Old Testament
- New Testament

[howyadoin]

I really dug it in high school as well. I remember it being better than Lord Of The Rings, but similar in theme.Are we talking about the same book (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Separate_Peace)?

[Reptisaurus!]

We did that in highschool, too. I've often thought about rereading it, 'cause at the time I really dug it.

I still really like a Seperate Peace. Worked on a much wider scale (and way more levels) than Catcher in the Rye. Definitely worth reading as an adult.

[moebius]

The List - Which have you read?

Have not read in italics.

1) Homer
- The Iliad: Required in Western Civ in college.
- The Odyssey: Required in junior high.

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex:
- Other: Read Antigone in HS.

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament: Western Civ.
- New Testament: Sunday school and years of being dragged to church.

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno: College (history of the Renaissance/Reformation).
- Other: DC II, III.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet: ubiquitous.
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet: ubiquitous.
- Othello: saw it in NY. Faithful tage verions of plays count, methinks.
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Taming of the Shrew: saw it in NY.
- Other plays: Julius Caesar is the greatest political play of the pre-modern era. Henry V and Richard III aren't bad either. Much Ado About Nothing is just good fun.
- Sonnets: not a Sonnets guy.

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost[/I
]- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
[I]- Jane Eyre
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden
- Other: Civil Disobediance

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass
- Other: various poems.

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Other: For Whom the Bell Tolls; The Sun Also Rises

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- As I Lay Dying
- Other

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Other

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman
- The Crucible
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road
- Other: Big Sur; The Dharma Bums

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Other

[moebius]

This is an interesting list, but heavily biased toward 19th Century Americans. No Joyce? Jane Austen? Dickens? Philip Roth? Orwell? Tom Wolfe?

[thehod]

1) Homer - The Iliad & The Odyssey
2) Sophocles - Oedipus Rex
Nope

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament
Read bits and pieces, mostley Revelations whilst I was in my “Omen” phase

4) Dante Alighieri - The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
Nope

5) William Shakespeare
We’ll come back to the bard in a minute

6) John Milton - Paradise Lost
7) Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
8) Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
9) Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter
10) Henry David Thoreau - Walden
11) Walt Whitman - Leaves of Grass
12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) - Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn
13) Herman Melville - Moby-Dick
14) F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
15) Ernest Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms & The Old Man and the Sea
16) William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury & As I Lay Dying
17) John Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men & The Grapes of Wrath
Not read any of these. Some interest me, some I’ve never heard of and some I’m not going to touch with a shitty barge pole, such as Jane Eyre.

18) Arthur Miller - Death of a Salesman & The Crucible
Read these both at school and quite liked them from what I can remember

19) Jack Kerouac - On the Road
20) JD Salinger - A Catcher in the Rye
21) Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
22) Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land
23) Toni Morrison - The Song of Solomon & Beloved
None of these either, although Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird do interest me. In fact I’m seeing a stage version of Mockingbird around Christmas, so that may prompt me to pick up the book.

As for Shakespeare. I’ve read quite a lot of his plays, although missed King Lear and MacBeth for some reason. In my opinion he writes tragedy better than anyone in history. I love his histories too; is there a better line than “Cry God, for Harry, England and St George!”? His comedies, however, leave me totally cold, especially Midsummer Nights Dream, which is utter shite. Much Ado About Nothing is one of the few I can stand.

Pretty poor really. I’ve read other “classics” that aren’t on this list such as ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest’ and ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’, but again, these were school set books and not a personal choice.

I have read the Hobbit and a decent chunk of Lord of the Rings, but found them both quite heavy going and, to be honest, rather dull in places.

I don’t suppose that Agatha Christie, Terry Pratchet or Harry Turtledove are considered anywhere near classics, or good in some eyes, but I found the style of reading I enjoy and I doubt I’m going to heading into the classics just so I can consider myself “well read” unless I’m really, really bored and looking for something different.

[Tages]

This is an interesting list, but heavily biased toward 19th Century Americans. No Joyce? Jane Austen? Dickens? Philip Roth? Orwell? Tom Wolfe?
Joyce, Austen, Dickens, and Orwell I agree.

I haven't read any Wolfe.

I'd rather read the nutrition labels on each individual item of food in my kitchen and then painstakingly translate them all into Nahuatl than read Philip Roth.

Saul Bellow and Raymond Carver should be added too.

[gatchamandave]

For myself

1) Homer
- The Iliad


3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament


5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- Hamlet
- Othello
- Macbeth
- Other plays
- Sonnets

Richard III was t'other play


7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre


12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby

15) Ernest Hemingway
- Other

For Whom The Bell Tolls


21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird


I've no doubt others have taken you to task for your list, but it's tremendously skewed towards American writing - the lack of Tolstoy, Hugo and Dickens are immediately striking.

There are odd choices - Heinlein but no HG Wells or Frank Herbert ? No poets ? Homer - but not Virgil ?

Anyway - let us know what you conclude in the end, do

cheers

warmest regards

dave

[howyadoin]

There are odd choices - Heinlein but no HG Wells or Frank Herbert ?I'm a huge Herbert fan, but I wouldn't necessarily include his books in any comprehensive list of literary classics.

Plus, Jeffrey referred in his first post to "books that a modestly educated adult couldn't really have escaped having to read at one time or another." Plenty of adults never touch much sci-fi.

[twilight]

Unfortunately I haven't read any of the works on the list.

I plan to read several of them though.

[Tobias March]

I'm not sure if I should be replying to this, as you seem primarily interested in responses from Americans, but as a comparative:

1) Homer
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament
- New Testament

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno
Purgatoria/Paradiso - the Durling/Marinez editions of these books are fantastic, with comprehensive notes and an excellent translation. They haven't got round to Paradiso yet though.

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Hamlet
- Othello
- King Lear
- Macbeth
- The Tempest/ Richard III/ Much Ado About Nothing
- Sonnets

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost

11) Walt Whitman
- Song of Myself

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- A Yankee in King Arthur's Court (sic?)

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick
- Bartleby

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby
- Tender is the Night

15) Ernest Hemingway
- For Whom the Bell Tolls/ The Sun Also Rises

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury
- Light in August

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men
- The Grapes of Wrath
- The Pearl

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye
- Franny and Zooey (love this book)

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird

[K'Nort]

I'm not sure if I should be replying to this, as you seem primarily interested in responses from Americans, but as a comparative:


It's definitely interesting to see which American works that we consider classics are also read by folks in other countries.

[Chris N]

The List - Which have you read?

1) Homer
- The Iliad yup
- The Odyssey yup

2) Sophocles
- Oedipus Rex yup
- Other: Antigone

3) The Bible (authors unknown/various)
- Old Testament- mostly
- New Testament- yup

4) Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy I: Inferno NOPE
- Other

5) William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet yup
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream (seen play, read Sandman)
- Hamlet yup
- Othello (seen play)
- King Lear nope
- Macbeth yup
- The Taming of the Shrew (seen play)
- Other plays: Caesar, Henry IV, Richard III, Much Ado about Nothing, 12th Night, prob'ly a couple more
- Sonnets- read a few

6) John Milton
- Paradise Lost NOPE
- Other

7) Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre NOPE (seen movie)
- Other

8) Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights NOPE

9) Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Scarlet Letter NOPE
- Other

10) Henry David Thoreau
- Walden yup
- Other

11) Walt Whitman
- Leaves of Grass NOPE
- Other

12) Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
- Tom Sawyer NOPE
- Huckleberry Finn yup
- Other

13) Herman Melville
- Moby-Dick NOPE
- Other

14) F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Great Gatsby Among my all time favorites
- Other

15) Ernest Hemingway
- A Farewell to Arms NOPE
- The Old Man and the Sea NOPE
- Other

16) William Faulkner
- The Sound and the Fury NOPE
- As I Lay Dying NOPE
- Other: Go Down, Moses

17) John Steinbeck
- Of Mice and Men yup
- The Grapes of Wrath NOPE
- Other: Tortilla Flats

18) Arthur Miller
- Death of a Salesman NOPE
- The Crucible NOPE
- Other

19) Jack Kerouac
- On the Road yup
- Other

20) JD Salinger
- A Catcher in the Rye hell yes
- Other

21) Harper Lee
- To Kill a Mockingbird yup

22) Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land next graphicless novel on my list after I finish Unlikely Prophet
- Other

23) Toni Morrison
- The Song of Solomon NOPE
- Beloved NOPE
- Other

I've also read a few comic books in my day...

[JeffreyWKramer]

It's definitely interesting to see which American works that we consider classics are also read by folks in other countries.

Yup, same here. Thanks for the response, Tobias.