the great classics that we've never read

                                                         A lovely stack of vintage books, thanks Google images.

“A classic is a book everyone talks about and nobody read.” ~ Mark Twain

Yeah its true, how many times have you heard about “War and Peace”, “A Christmas Carol”, and “Ben Hur” and how great they are but you’ve never taken the time to read it for yourself.

I’ve never read any of these books either. I’d like to. Sometimes we think that they will be a massive, daunting book that will go on forever, and ever, and ever…

They will lull us to sleep

Yeah, I’ve read some books that do seem to never end. Ever read “The Pickwick Papers?” If you have you’ll know what I’m talking about. This book was written by Dickens when he was beginning his literary career at the age of twenty-four. He was paid per word and he thus made the story large, and with as many words as he could cram in. It is a very long, detailed, story. And I most likely wouldn’t have finished it if it hadn’t been for school. It was good but I don’t plan on reading it again anytime soon. ;)

But on the other hand there are some books that are just as good as as I had heard they would be, in some cases better.

Here are a few that I have really enjoyed:

“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. There is a huge difference in “The Pickwick Papers” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” A completely different style. This book was wonderful. I love it. And just for the record I like Sidney Carton the best.

“Emma” by Jane Austen. This is my favorite Austen book. For three days it was glued to my hands. No movie adaption has come close to “Pride and Prejudice” but I like this book better than “P&P.”

“Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell. Besides the fact that there is a lot of stuff that I skipped it was on the whole a good story. Wouldn’t recommend it to young teens but if you know which parts to skip (and since the movie is one of my favorites I know where those are) it is a very good story. Loyalty to your home and gumption to keep going play major roles in this book.

“The Scarlet Pimpernel” By Baroness E. Orczy. I’ve been listening to this on librivox.org and it is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. It takes place during the French Revolution as does “ATOTC” and is so good.  I love it, I love it, adore it.

So that concludes my little ramble, thank you and good night. J