With so many classics being made into films nowadays, I started thinking about all the books that I have on my to-read list, which have been on there for quite some time. For some reason or another, they have never made their way to my bedside table (mostly laziness).
Weirdly enough, I always feel an urge to read classics during the colder part of the year, especially during the holiday season. I think this has to do with my default setting still being school, and thinking I’ll have more time to read denser works when I’m off from classes.
So anyway, here is my list of books (mostly classics) that I really need to read. Just so I can feel an accomplished human being. Which I clearly am not.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Despite being an English major, I have never read anything by Dickens. I know this is probably shocking to some of you, but my campus didn’t have any courses on Victorian lit, so my life so far has been Dickens-free. But I plan on changing this! Before, I was torn between A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, but after watching the trailer for Great Expectations, which is directed by one of the Harry Potter directors, and also includes a lot of Harry Potter actors, I think I’ll be diving into this one first! I love coming-of-age stories, and all the issues they explore, so this looks like a lot of fun.
Here’s the trailer, if you haven’t seen it yet:
Persuasion by Jane Austen
If you know anything about me, you know how much I love Jane Austen, especially Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Shockingly though, I have not yet read all of Miss Austen’s work. After reading For Darkness Shows the Stars, my interest in Persuasion increased, since it was a YA adaptation of it. I’m a big fan of stories which include spurned lovers, who then return later, so I’m sure I will fall in love with this one, like I do with all of Miss Austen’s stories.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Another literary classic, I’m sure many people have been scared off from Anna Karenina by the sheer size of it (me too). With a heroine who’s considered deeply flawed and rebellious, it’s set against a backdrop of 19th century Russia, which I know absolutely nothing about but am fascinated to learn more about. One of my favourite quotes from the story is, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” I have absolutely no context of that quote, but it’s always popped up in lots of contemporary novels, so I’m eager to discover it’s true meaning.
I guess it also doesn’t hurt that it has also recently been made into a film starring Keira Knightley. Take a look!
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
So confession time: I actually tried reading this one back in High School, but for some reason, my weak attention span couldn’t cope with it. I will attempt to try again!
In all seriousness, I had sort of forgotten about my attempts to read Wuthering Heights until Stephenie Meyer quoted it in Eclipse and mentioned that it was one of her influences for the Twilight saga. I’m not quite sure how alike they truly are, but Wuthering Heights has often been called one of the greatest love stories of all time, one that even transcends deaths, so I’m excited to see how true this is.
Some other classics on my to-read list include: Sense and Sensibility, A Tale of Two Cities, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Vanity Fair. Here’s hoping I can read at least one of the above titles before the end of the year! Also, considering the fact that two of them have been made into new films, is another incentive to get going so I can watch the movies without feeling guilty. Hehehe ^_^
What books (classics or otherwise) are on your ‘to-read’ list?
Thanks for reading,
Ikhlas
I love this post! I, too, have plenty of classics that I want to read, but have tried/ failed/ not tried yet. I really haven’t read many in the first place ..sadly. Now I feel like going and making a list of mine!
This post was fun to write, but as I started, I realised how many there are that I need to tackle! hahaha
Don’t let yourself get bogged down in the trap of “I will never be a true booklover until I have read X Y and Z”. I read a LOT of classic literature because of this reason and I regret it. I should have stuck to reading what was interesting to me. I wasted a lot of time and effort trying to get into (and almost always giving up on) so many classics that people always say “you HAVE to read this”.
That being said, the titles you listed here do sound right up your alley so I’m not worried that you will fall into the same trap that I did.
Thanks for your comment, Lauren! And yes, I am aware of that trap…this is why I’m hoping I’ve picked titles that actually interest me. You know I love Austen, so hopefully I won’t be let down there!