"Classic'-a book which people praise and don't read." - Mark Twain
I posted this quote on my FB page the other day (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tammy-For-The-Love-of-Reading-Blog/333771939988649?cropsuccess) and it got me thinking about classics. Personally, I am a big fan of classics. This was not always the case, however.
As a kid, I did not read classics. I read Sweet Valley, Babysitters Club, Goosebumps, etc. I do not think I would have had much interest in the classics, nor would I have been able to get through them. I made a deal with myself that in my 20s I would start reading classics and I did. Everyone has a different idea of which books classify as classics, but I am referring to "The Secret Garden", "Dracula", Jane Austen novels, etc. While at times they can be difficult to get through (for various reasons, such as language or content) I think they are a great bridge. They are a bridge to a time in which we were not a part of. A time that is long gone and we probably could not survive in if we had to. They link generations of people together and they bring people of different centuries together. We get an understanding for what it means to live a "hard life" (I do not think that not having the lastest and greatest in technology constitutes living a "hard life" and we really have no idea what it means to live without.) These books are an educational tool on a time gone by. There is so much we can get from them and I love them!
I will admit, I have not read as many of the classics as I would like. However, I have started collecting them. I have a beautiful hardcover collection of a bunch of classics and this is something I would like to hand down someday (if I do not have children of my own, maybe I will pass them on to my niece or nephew or their kids.) I am afraid sometimes that classics will be forgotten and future generations will not be exposed to them. I have bought a few for my niece and nephew, but I am not sure they have read them. I definitely think they are the kind of books you appreciate more as an adult. One of my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE classics is "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. If I had read this as a child, I think I would have found parts of it interesting, but I'm not sure I would have made it all the way through the story. It is a fabulous read, though, and I think anyone would enjoy this story.
Here are a list of some of the classics I have read:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Alices' Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Cue For Treason by Geoffrey Trease
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
My goal for my 30s is to get through even more classics. I have a bunch on my booksheleves that are waiting for me to read them! I really do think they are important to read and I am going to try and make sure that future generations are somehow exposed to them and they are actually being read.
I challenge YOU to go out and see how many classics you can read! Don't miss out on these wonderful stories! Happy Reading!!!!!
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