anyone into the classics?

[Hollyd]

I'm reading Dicken's Pickwick Papers. I've read Little Dorrit which I loved so much and Oliver Twist, same, and thought I'd try his early and lighter work. It's kind of fun, light and just what I need right now.

Prior to being sick I got deeply into the works of Oscar Wilde.

[Berkshire Road]

I could never get into Dickens; heaven knows my father tried hard enough to get me to read his work, but I just never liked it much. But my father is persistant, LOL. So -- I did enjoy the works of Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and a number of other 19th century authors, and of course the regulation set of French classics that I had to read in school. There my favorites were the fables of Racine, Molière and others.

Oscar Wilde -- I have only read a play or two, I think. Would that be right, or do I have him confused with someone else?

Lately, when my brain is up to it, I have been reading a lot more history and biography. Do you like non-fiction? Of course, when my brain is not up to it, it's back to old favorites like Anne McCaffrey and Maeve Binchy that I have read over and over. Those books are like comfort food for the mind.

[tigger_gal]

I am more interested in the Stephen King books. I read all the vc andrew books a million years ago. I bought a book well before christmas to read, and for the life of me I don't know the author, or where it is.

[kadi]

One of my favorite books in high school was "Great Expectations"! I also liked "Jane Eyre", "Tess of the D'Urbervilles", "Wuthering Heights". I got a copy of "Tale of Two Cities" to read this summer also And the autobiographies of Sojourner Truth & Ben Franklin.

I don't much care to read Shakespeare, but I love going to Shakespearean plays, probably because I had a great English teacher my senior year in high school. She made "Hamlet" & "Twelfth Night" come alive. I don't think I'd ever seen an English teacher jump on a table & swordfight with a yardstick before! And God bless her, taking 30 teenagers on public transit to Berkeley to see a play, she must have had nerves of steel. Great memories!

[Briza]

I used to be a classics fanatic, didn't read much of anything else for years. Some of my favorites are The Count of Monte Cristo, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Great Expectations, and anything by Joseph Conrad (Lord Jim, my fav), Henry James, Thomas Hardy.
I'm also a big Gabriel Garcia Marquez fan(One Hundred Years of Solitude), think I've read everything of his, except his last book.

[Hollyd]

I loved One Hundred Years of Solitude also, Briza.

Kadi, isn't it great when a teacher inspires you like that? I LOVE Shakespeare's plays too but haven't really made an earnest effort at reading them. When I was a teen I listened to an actor friend trying a monologue and thought I could do better. It was impossible to deliver it without spitting LOL not to mention how incredibly difficult those words are to deliver!

I've actually never read Mark Twain and after having seen Ken Burns' doco on him I'm going there next. It's interesting to have learned that The Pickwick Papers was the first time anyone wrote English using the vernacular of the common people and Mark Twain was the first to use American vernacular so there is a segue.

[lnseagraves]

my personal summer reading list

Hey,

Actually, Since I graduated high school, I've been trying to give myself my own "summer reading list" where I pick a classic author and try to read all of their works (or at least as much as I can in 4 months.) I've done Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, Olive Schreiner and Leo Tolstoy (among others) that way. Its a lot of fun, I read a lot of good books that I might otherwise overlook and I feel quite accomplished. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Its long, but really really worth it. Thats the one I would recommend. Also "Story of an African Farm" by Olive Schreiner was really good and really different.

The rest of the year is devoted to historical fiction and biographies.

[bladder]

I took my first degree in Liberal Studies. We read and discussed many classics. Too many to list. I remember "100 years of solitude" as one of them. We read and re-created experiments/inventions of Galileo and Da Vinci.

Lately, I am into historical fiction. I just finished "The Amber Room" by Steve Berry. I also enjoyed the Templar Legacy and The Romanov Prophecy. I like Dan Brown, too. The Da Vinci code is my favorite. I would love to travel Europe and see all the facinating art/architecture I have read about.

[Hollyd]

Inseagraves,

That's a great idea. What did you think of De Profundis by Oscar Wilde? I read the abridged version in a 'complete works' book and then had to go get the full version. What an extraordinary account of his inner life and personal trials. It was so sad to me that he wasn't able to live from that new place he wrote about.

Holly

[louise]

Inseagraves

I [B]love[B] your recommendation of "Anna Karenina"!!! I have the book in trade format but have yet to start it. But if you loved the book so much I was wondering if you have seen the video of it with English actress
HELEN MCCORY as Anna. She is absolutely terrific!! I believe it was done in 2001. I bought my copy through Amazon and have watched it about half a dozen times and have it loaned it to friends. Another favourite DVD is
"The Forsyte Saga" - the newer version that was probably done in the last five years. I never did watch the first one that (I believe) was made in the sixties. But there are two parts to the newer DVD and it is also super!

HAPPY READING,

Louise

[bladder]

Louise - Where in Alberta do you live? I have not noticed many other Canadians on the site. I am in BC - very close to Grand Prairie, Alberta. Do you have a support group in your town/city?

Kate

[louise]

Kate In Grande Prairie

Hi Kate,

Nice to hear from you! Actually, I am in Edmonton but unfortunately there is no support group that I have heard of. I have one friend in the city who also has IC - I kind of diagnosed her from my own symptoms and she was referred to my urologist Dr. Gary Gray. Are there uros in G.P. or do you come in to Edmonton or go elsewhere? If you want to e-mail me, you can at: [email protected]

Take care,

Louise

[louise]

Kate

Kate, that's a friendly wave I am sending you, not a "tsk"!!!

Louise

[RAS6]

I haven't read classics since I was in school. I got into fictional thrillers for years and then during three years of college I didn't have time to read anything for fun! But now I don't enjoy those old books I used to like as much. They just seem goofy and unbelieavable (maybe I'm getting snobby!) I love true crime though, several ladies hear introducedd me to Ann Rule and I love her books.
I adore Dickens. I read Oliver Twist, A Tale Of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol when I was a teenager and was just talking to my husband about how I should go back and read those again.
I love The Count of Monte Cristo and the Scarlette Pimpernel too. All great books I need to revist. I haven't tried Jane Austen, but maybe I will add her to my summer reading list. My husband has been trying to get me to read Shakespear again, but I have to take notes and use the Dictionary to understand most of it, so I have to be having a very good day where I'm not taking lots of meds!
After visiting Mt Vernon last month I have become very interested in George Washington and bought thebiography that is supposed to be the best. I just haven't opened it yet! LOL!
Love the suggestions so many of you gave! I will have a nice fat list when we go to the library next week!