35 replies to this topic

[james2002]

I sometimes read classic novels and I like Gone with the Wind most entertaining as I could imagine about what the world was a like more than 100 years ago. Life was so simple and apart from wars, they led simple life style.

What is your favourite classic book?

[salamangkero]

I do like the book David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens, although I do not like it with to intense a passion. I do, in general, like classic books better than these modern-day fangirl-driven books that are too easy to digest, very much like cheese, if you'd pardon the pun.

Ah, I also remembered reading a Tom Sawyer book when I was a kid but I didn't understand a single word of it back then. I did, however, find me a copy of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and I did enjoy it.

I've just finished reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and I can't quite describe how I felt cheated by Disney's movie, Pirates of the Carribean, again, my apologies for the pun. I've started reading on his other works; I've borrowed an old, brown, fragile and thick copy of his works from the library. Hopefully, it will tide me over through Christmas break

[biscuitrat]

I loved Gone With The Wind but I don't think I would call it a classic; classic to me includes Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, and Oscar Wilde, all of whom I love. In terms of the film industry, Gone With The Wind would indeed be a classic, but in terms of literature, even the ones I mentioned are more recent than works of older authors. Oh wait, we can't forget Twain, Cooper, and Dumas!

Over all, though, I think my favorite is either 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea or The Hunchback Of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. I seem to like my French authors!

[Erin]

I don't know if I have a favorite "classic" book, but - to keep with the "favorite" part of the topic (LOL) - I've always adored Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" books and I love "Charlotte's Web"

[icemarle]

Ahh.. classic books. Things that come to mind would be "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens, "War of the Worlds" by HG Wells, "Around the World in 80 Days", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne... Well... basically anything by Jules Verne... ; I love his books. Oh, and "Charlotte's Web". It was the first book that made me cry so bad...

[Saint_Michael]

My favorite classic book of all time was Winne the pooh, as a kid I would read it to mother (aaaaw). Although I can't really get into the classic anymore, most likely the lack of time to read them. I still like to talk about them from time to time.

[Erin]

icemarle, on Dec 11 2006, 07:35 AM, said:

Oh, and "Charlotte's Web". It was the first book that made me cry so bad...

Same here!! LOL I first read it in elementry school (along with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") and it was the first book to ever make me bawl like a baby! Such a great book - can't wait to see the latest film!

[SportsLegends]

I am a philosophy major, and my favorite classics in that genre of literature are Plato's "Republic" and David Hume's "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion."

However, whenever it comes to reading for pleasure, I would have to give the nod to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I picked up the Fellowing of the Ring in seventh grade, and it was the only book that I ever remember reading where I literally could not put it down. I think it only took me a few days to read it, and I read the other two parts of the trilogy shortly thereafter.

[jhsmurray]

I dont have a particular book per se, but I would say my favorite classic literature would be Poe.
As far as philosophy is concerned, I appreciate the clarity of Thomas Paine's argument for deism in The Age of Reason; and yes, I enjoyed reading it too.

[Zues]

I prefer classics with some spunk, like A Flew over the Cukoo's Next, Catch 22, and Catcher in the Rye. They all deal with insanity, redundant laws, maturing, all back in the days where this stuff was alot more taboo.

[johnsmith]

I'd say Nineteen Eighty Four (1984) by Orwell is by far my favourite, apart from some Dostoyiefski books of course

Don't know if you have read it...Talks about a dystopian government and its influence on the population...This book has not only influenced me personally but also COUNTLESS future books, movies and other arts.

Check it out :
http://en.wikipedia....een_Eighty-Four

[woolla]

I have to say my favorite is definitely To Kill A Mockingbird. I've also read Great Gatsby (wasn't a huge fan), Lord of the Flies (liked it), Tom Sawyer (liked it) & Huck Finn (not a fan) among others. And while I don't know if I'd call them classic novels, I also really liked Of Mice & Men and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

[nepheus]

Tom Sawyer is my favorite book.

[QuickSilva]

I am not a book reader person, thus I do not have a favourite classic book of all times. I do however love Roald Dahl's (RIP) books, as I used to read them when I was a little child. Well now I like the Harry Potter books, I haven't read all of them as I don't find the time, I have just read a few urm sentences?

[red flag]

The only classic old book that I ever read and ever liked is The Voyages of Dr.Doolittle.
Dunno why its a kewl book.

As for modern books I like Harry Potter

[Teri Luketic]

I was going to read David Copperfield, but the most I've done is watch the DVD of it in my Junior English Class this past year. Sad, I must say, but I liked it. I've read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but I didn't really like it all that well. My teacher would kill me if she knew I'd said that! LoL. I like a handful of Shakespeare's plays, like Much Ado About Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew. Like others have said, I love to read, but, sadly, I'm haven't been a big reader in my academy years because of my busy lifestyle, except for breaks and summer time. Even then, classics aren't exactly things I've been reading either.

[Jamesss]

Definately "On The Road" by Jack Kerourac. This book is so much fun to read. Every time I read it I want to become a hobo and travel accross the country. Just a great read!

[elmo]

I'd say I've got 5 favourite classic books at the moment. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem, Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar and last but not least The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
I love the writing style of each author and the scope of their imagination. These books have influenced my life and I recommend them to everyone.

[Yratorm, LightMage]

I've read most of the classics at one time or another. Let's see - favorites, hmm.

Well, Jane Eyre, for one - I love the conversations, and then the way the book was published is in itself quite a story.

The Pickwick papers is another nice one - it starts out drab and grows into a great novel as you read along.

Plutarch also makes fascinating reading - to read about the way humanity was thousands of years ago and compare it with today. Fascinating. It hasn't changed, incidentally, hehe.

Sherlock Holmes, of course - I like the collections of short stories best - I love the analytical mind and the personality of Holmes. Cold and brilliant. One of the greatest characters in fiction (in my opinion).

There's also an obscure Ukrainian work called 'The Forest Song' that I really like but I don't suppose many have heard of it.

There are also the works of Confucius, Lao Tze, and Miyamoto Musashi, all writers of classics in the highest sense of the word.

I HAVE NOT read Anna Karenina, but I'm starting on it. Generally russian literature depresses me, despite being brilliant, there's a lot of fatalism in it. However, one work 'Lazarus' a short russian story, stands out - it's brilliant.



And has anyone read 'The Devil and Daniel Webster' - it's a beautiful short story.

Edited by Yratorm, LightMage, 11 February 2007 - 10:51 PM.

[jet]

I would also say that Gone with the Wind is a bit too modern to be "classic".

I've always loved Jane Austen personally - I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was 8.

[josemariallovet]

[quote name='salamangkero' date='Dec 10 2006, 11:33 AM' post='298938']
I read David Copperfield when I was a kid, three or four times. Also Stevenson's Treasure Island (not in English, though). But the books I like the most about these Authors are "Nicholas Nickleby" by Dickens and "The misterious case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Stevenson. There is also a tale by Stevenson that I enjoyed a lot. It's called "The Bottle Imp". I am sure you would enjoy these as well, since you like classics.

[Zlash]

Picking a favourite book is difficult. It all depends on category and all that. I would say that Harry Potter would come in top 3. Maybe Dan Brown's Angels and Demons too. Difficult to say.

[Skyfalling]

My favorite classic would probably have to be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Before I had read it, I watched the first two versions of it on television (show and DVD) and was addicted to it since that day. I'm not sure, but I really felt this connection to the sisters and even the mother and father. The difficulties of relationships and marrying for money or love, it was a trivial thing at that time. When I picked up the book and started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It's certainly an interesting read.

[Goltar]

I love all four Dan Brown's books, Angels and Demons, Digital Fortress, Deception Point and
The Da Vinci Code.
They are just perfect.

[demonatashadow]

My favorite classical book would be, Peter Pan (I'm not sure is that is a hundred years old). I like it because it describes how a kid is still a kid no matter what and the author did that by making an imaginary place (called Never Land) which never makes you grow up. Well the name is self explanitory, nver land. I think it states a childs out look when he is still below 8 years old, and it has adventure in it too, another reason why I like it. It's very enjoyable and very good for kids. I also like Peter and the starcatchers which tells how Peter Pan came to where he was today.