I had the same experience with Little Women, read it 5 years ago and hated it. Then I re-read it this year (before the movie came out) and this time I loved it. I also recently re-read Emma by Jane Austen and went from 3 stars to 5. Sometimes it's timing.
Favorite Classics (3-way tie): Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights Least Favorite Classics (2-way tie): The Good Earth, Catcher in the Rye Controversial Opinion: I don't have any interest in reading To Kill a Mockingbird
I also love The phantom of the opera soooooo much 😍😍😍💕💕 and to kill a mockingbird is such a relaxing, serene, simple and fantastic read. I think you should give it a try
I'm pleased you had Ibsen in high school. Try Hedda Gabler (my favorite), if the mood strikes you. I always thought an interesting comparison could be made between: Anna Karenina, Madam Bovary, Rebecca, and Hedda Gabler; the unfaithful wife line-up, as seen between different nationalities. Maybe someone's freshman literature term paper. (Judge Brack is my hero.)
Love that you described reading Alice in Wonderland as "taking a hit of acid" 😂Such a perfect description for the movie too. This was such a great video! I'm always on the lookout for new classics to read that aren't good simply because they're old and you like a lot of the same ones as me! I now have a few more on my TBR thanks to this video 😊
Such an interesting video. Could make so many comments, but how about four? 1) "Flowers for Algernon" is brilliant, and has been beloved to me since first reading the short story (which I like even better than the novel) in 7th grade. The hardest cry I've ever had reading a book happened with this one. 2) "And Then There Were None" is the best whodunit I've ever come across and my favorite AC. Total agreement there. 3) If you so enjoyed "Study in Scarlet" and "Sign of Four", you MUST treat yourself to "Hound of the Baskervilles"! Not only did I love it, but so did the students to whom I taught it in school. Smashing! 4) Very sorry to end negatively, but your last book stunned me. I basically hated "The Secret Garden" Please don't be offended, but for me it was like wading through chest-deep mud. It would be hard for me to think of one good thing to say about it. I was assigned to teach it to my class, and it was painful. But perhaps if someone reads it as a child it is different. Anyway, really enjoyed your classics rundown. Thank you! (Also loved my visit to Norway!)
I think A Clockwork Orange is easier to understand, and enjoy, if you listen to it. I did so, and loved it, but after I finished it I was able to see how if I'd read it instead of using audio, I may not have liked it/understood what was going on. I guess the inflection of the reader helped a lot with the slang and immersion into that world. Here in the U.S. I had to read A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen in high school. I don't remember much of the story, but I do remember I hated reading it lol. Read East of Eden from Steinbeck next. It's amazing!! Flowers for Algernon broke my heart, I gave it 5 stars too. Great video!
Aah, yes, maybe it's better in audiobook format, although I generally get too distracted to listen to them xD And yes, really need to read East of Eden and how fun that you also loved Flowers for Algernon
Great Video! I am a little heart broken that you don’t like Little Women, but I’ll get over it. 😂😂😂 I’ve had to read a few classics twice before I realized that I actually really loved them Room With a View, Age of Innocence, and Pride and Prejudice are some of them. Oh and I loved Catcher in the Rye when I read it when I was 20, then I re-read in a few years later and hated it. Lol I’m sure you get a lot of book recommendations but I thought you would like Hungry Hearts from Anzia Yezierska, it’s short stories about immigrant women coming to America in late 1800’s. I picked it up at random and it’s one of my favorites. 🙂🙂🙂
I'm with you on not being a Hemingway fan. I adore E. A. Poe (The Cask of Amontillado and The Masque of the Red Death are two favorites), and I feel like where Poe is lyrical and atmospheric, Hemingway is curt and spartan.
This was super interesting! Thank you! I also read "The Jamaica Inn" and I really enjoyed it, but "Rebecca" is WAY better. Breakfast at Tiffany's I liked a lot and on the other hand, I really cannot understand why people love "Alice in Wonderland" so much. It was kind of fun, but it didn't make any sense, or I just didn't get it. :-D Didn't read it, but I actually only hear negative opinions about "Little Women". But I also would like to see the movie. Oh girl I feel you with your name and hearing the same thing over and over again. My name's Olivia and especially in France everybody mentions Popeye, in Switzerland it doesn't happen that often luckily. :)
This is clearly one of my favourite videos by you :) Contrary to popular opinion I hate Jane Eyre & Catcher in the rye. Also about Hemmingway please give the book The also rises by him a try. He is one of those authors that needs you to start at the right book. And lastly have you ever thought of making author spotlight videos? Of the top of my head I would love to have a Dorothy Whipple where to begin video by you.
Hemmingway's book is called The Sun Also Rises. Here is the link of its book review which inspired me to pick it up and I ended up loving it so much that I am recommending it to you now:) ua-cam.com/video/1Pic2HYkgx4/v-deo.html
I loved this video! Got lots of these added to my tbr now :) my favourite classic so far is definitely Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Least favourite is probably The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Everyone seems to love it and I just found it really tired and boring 😂 does it count as a classic? I never know!
Great video! I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on so many classics all at once! My favorite classic is War and Peace, huge and crazy long, but I just loved it. Least favorite is Wuthering Heights 😕 super dramatic and I just couldn't enjoy all these awful characters treating each other so horribly. Wondering if you've ever been recommended Appointment in Samarra by John O Hara, it's compared a lot to Gatsby and I really enjoyed both
I'm glad you liked it! Totally get why you don't like Wuthering Heights haha, it's way overdramatic (even though I loved it lol). Never heard of Appointment in Samarra but I'm adding it to my TBR, thank you!
I have many favorite classics, but the one I usually say when asked is Frankenstein. I loved a television show called Higher Ground when I was a teenager, and in that show they read Frankenstein and they interpreted it a certain way that made me so interested and curious. I read it and loved it and have since re-read it many times (though it's been a while now..). I also love both The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, which I've read both when I was young and as an adult. The Wind in the Willows I've only read as an adult, and it is completely bonkers, but brilliant. Stefan Zweig is a big favorite, and I also have to mention Three Men in a Boat and anything by P. G. Wodehouse. Least favorite novels include Wuthering Heights (hated the characters and could not understand them at all - I don't mind unlikeable characters, but I have to be able to understand their actions to some degree), Hard Times (I like Dickens and have read eight of his novels, but this one was really bad) and The Catcher in the Rye (read as a teenager, hated it. Would be interesting to re-read).
If I have to name only one favorite classic, I have to go with Jane Eyre. But Wuthering Heights, Alice in Wonderland, Mrs Dalloway and The picture of Dorian Gray. I don't think I have a least favorite classic, as I seem to be having a lot of luck while picking my classics. I did however, read Metamorphosis by Kafka and thought it a bit overhyped. Not that it's a bad book, the story is interesting, it just wasn't my type. Still gave it three stars though. I do however, have an unpopular opinion. I didn't vibe with Frankenstein. I liked the story and didn't mind the letters, but I couldn't connect to the writing style. Maybe I just read it too soon, as English isn't my first language. I am gonna re-read it at some point to figure that out.
Favorite classic: Mansfield Park (also Count of Monte Cristo) Least favorite: Catcher in the Ray Controversy one: Hate Pride and Prejudice. Sorry. 😊 I just hate the hate to love trope so much. Hated Darcy too.
Hi Alice I'm afraid I haven't read most of these classics, I'm gonna pick some definitely. My two favourite classics so far are Ficciones(Fictions) by Jorge Luis Borges and A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens, my least favourite is Fahrenheit 451 didn't hate it nor like it
That was a "classic" video. Long, but very good lol. Ibsen: I have seen on stage "A Doll's House", and while I liked it and appreciated the ending in its historical context, it didn't have the same emotional impact on me as a modern viewer. I did LOVE "Rosmersholm" though (starring Hayley Atwell), and again that ending was something. He certainly knew how to end plays. In terms of "Controversial" opinions: When I was 19 I once declared that Dostejvsky doesn't know how to write lol. I just can't get into his books. Through the years I have started all his books. I managed to finish only "Crime & Punishment" and that was partly because my pride was involved lol (long story). Favourite childhood classic: Treasure Island. I read it when I was about 12. I decided to wear an eye patch afterwards lol. My Mom wasn't impressed lol. You can guess what happened. The longest classic: Les Miserables (around 1200 pages). Absolutely loved it. (apart from the nuns and the sewer. These parts were character building excercise lol. It taught me how to be patient) The last classic I read: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I enjoyed it very much despite its shortcomings., and it is underrated indeed.
another john wyndham fan!! =D i love how international your list is - like it's so cool that you've read so many Japanese classics. hope you find some more memorable ones! =P
I definitely recommend Rebecca. Especially if you loved Jane Eyre. The two are similar in terms of the premise, setting, and characters. I think Jane is a better and more complex character than the protagonist/narrator of Rebecca, but Rebecca is an amazing book in its own right.
Salinger is my favorite author so listening to you saying you will HATE his book is pretty fun ! Actually, this book has to be read in your teens, not as an adult. I was on GR and read so many quotes and still love them. But I prefer all his novellas and short stories with the Glass family. I loved Breakfast at Tiffany's because it has a different ending from the movie. I loved Alice in the Wonderland when I read it a few years ago, in a beautiful edition. Well, since you'd hate my favorite book I can proudly say I HATE Wuthering Heights : a plain soap opera ! I love her sisters books but this one, no way !
Totally get why you hate Wuthering Heights xD And I couldn't be bothered to link everything in the descripton box, so I just included my faves of my faves xD
Hi Alice, Beautiful video! I absolutely enjoyed it! Can you do the summer school tag? I would love to see your choices. Thank you so much and have a lovely week, Hugs 🌼
My favourite classic is probably The Great Gatsby, I've read it three times. My other favorites are Master and Margarita, The Great Expectations, Crime and Punishment. Some beloved classics that I gave two stars would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ana Karenina. And I dnf'd The Handmade's Tale 😅
Great video, thank you! I agree with some of your lower ratings and believe that not everybody needs to like the same books, even though they may be tagged as “classics” (I would be curious to know what your definition of a classic actually is. Every book club I have ever been part of seems to have very different ways of defining what can be classified as a classic). A couple of classics that I personally really enjoyed and don’t seem to be on your list: Fahrenheit 451 and Catch 22. Least favourite probably Virginia Woolf; I just don’t enjoy stream of consciousness ...
That's interesting; I think there are a lot of different ways people define classics. And I totally get not getting on with Woolf's writing, it's not for everyone!
Have you thought about researching other books with Alices? Then whenever anyone does the Alice in wonderland comment you can shut them up by saying, 'Yes and also Alice this and that and this and that. There are many Alices out there' I would recommend Les miserables by Victor Hugo! I is such a good commentary on society at that time. Love it!
Haha, no, I have not, but maybe I should! I do get the odd "Alice in Chains" comment instead of the wonderland one though, and that's a separate type of people who bring that up. So yes, many Alices to choose from xD
Loved this!! I put so many books from this list on my TBR. My favorite classic as of now: Fahrenheit 451 or Little House on the Prairie (because I read it when I was little, and...nostalgia) Least Favorite: Catch-22. So problematic and aggravating when I can't root for anyone, but especially the main character. Controversial: Agreed, Dracula bored me too.
I used to think that I didn't read any classics, and that they are very hard to get to. But I've just discovered from your video that I already read some of them but didn't know that they were considered classics :D
Oh man I have The Scarlet Letter 1 star too when I read it last month 😂 why was it so hard to get through when it was so short?? Ugh I don't reread books often, particularly classics, but for ones that I have done, I'd say To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. I need to reread Frankenstein and Lolita too though!
My least favorite classic is Great Expectations. I read it (twice) in an independent english class in high school and I loathed it. As for favorite I'm currently reading Jane Eyre and I still have a third of the way to go, but that may be my new favorite classic. Jane as a character is so compelling and well written, plus the story is super engaging and it's easy to see how it influenced other works I love.
Ubik is definitely pretty good, maybe give it another go at some point in the future :) I've only read the talented mr ripley by Highsmith and I thought it was really good, enjoyed it more than I expected. Definitely want to read Flowers for algernon.
This was so interesting! Ratings are difficult- it's hard to differentiate between 'favorite' and 'great/important' (usually classic) books. I draw the line at whether I want to reread the book ever. So Anna Karenina is great- that's 5 stars. But then I think would I want to reread it? No- so it's a 4 star. My favorite classic is Jane Eyre (which deserves my 5 star rating since I've reread it 3 times!) My least favorite classic: anything by Hemingway. Also: one of my favorite movies EVER is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day! ...maybe I should read the book....
So many great classics. My unpopular opinion is that I really didn't like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. I had very high expectations of it as I like ghost/gothic stories and stories inspired by fairy tales, but I was really bored by The Bloody Chamber... I know, I feel terrible just saying that.
Really enjoyed this video. I loved Flowers for Algernon (and the movie, Charlie). So glad that someone else does too. I don't really have a favorite classic, though Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath which I'm currently rereading might be it. Before the lockdown I bought a bunch of classics and Of Mice & Men, Jane Eyre and Mrs. Dalloway were among them. I read Mrs. Dalloway in college and just remember I didn't like it, but want to try to read Virginia Woolf to see what I think now. I've read Catcher in the Rye a number of times, the last of which was last year and it did not hold up for me. Animal Farm is a fantastic book, as is The Secret Garden. I need to try Hemmingway again. We read Old Man and the Sea in high school and hated it. The two classics that I think are totally overrated are The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice. I've tried to read Pride and Prejudice a number of times and just couldn't do it. This year I finally did and it was one of the most boring books I've ever read. Also read Northanger Abbey which I didn't care for. Guess I'm just on an Austen fan.
Oooh, I didn't know there was a movie!!! I need to see if I can track that down, although if it's anything like the book, I'll for sure bawl my eyes out xD And hey, totally valid to not be into Austen, I have several friends who loathe her books :P
Right now, I would say my favourites are Animal farm, Invisible cities (by Italo Calvino) & The picture of Dorian Gray. My least favourite classics are Catcher in the rye & Gone with the wind, read them both as a teenager & hated the main characters with a passion. I tried Tropic of cancer but DNFed it because I couldn't stand it. Just felt like I was wasting my time.
I have read A Doll’s House (among other classics that you mentioned). This play was in our syllabus of English literature degree in Pakistan. But studying it kind of ruined it for me. Could not enjoy it. We had another Ibsen in the syllabus The Wild Duck. But I didn’t read that one. I liked the way you can easily say that you don’t remember anything about a read book. I would kind of feel guilty if I had to say that. But now it will change.
I've been reading August Strindberg's books and he keeps complaining about A Dollhouse. I swear, I've read four of his so far and in three he somehow sneaks in how emblematic the play is of the problems women's emancipation will bring to society, how it's poorly written etc. Sometimes this is in an introduction to a book so we understand it's Strindberg's own opinion, but sometimes a character will just randomly mention that he disliked it. Interestingly, Strindberg was technically quite progressive for his time (wanted women's voting rights, equal access to education etc) but hated the idea that men could also be responsible for child rearing and home making. He explains that there's a perfectly natural biological explanation as to why, and women choosing not to marry and have children will upset that delicate balance. It all just makes me want to read A Dollhouse more and understand what the fuss is about!
@@TheBookCastle Case in point, I'm reading my fifth August Strindberg book and yet again he's complaining about A Dollhouse. To quote: "The play is as sick as its author".
I have read the sun also rises by hemingway and absolutely hate it, so much that I am not interested at all in reading anything from him ever again, even if some of my friends tell me that I should read the old man and the sea... Have you read my cousing rachel by daphne du maurier? You might like that one more than rebecca maybe
My favourite classic is probably Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Like any other book written around that time, it's pretty racist, but at least I found the story entertaining and an Actual Adventure TM. I always expect adventure from Jules Verne and instead I get super dry descriptions of events. My least favourite is probably One hundred years of solitude. I read it in Spanish and I DNFd it after around 100 pages. I don't understand what people like about it.
The Book Castle I know 🤷🏻♀️ I may give it another try eventually, but I found all the characters completely hollow. The entire personality of one of them is that he had a big penis. Maybe it’s just going completely over my head because I’m dumb 😂
The Old Man and the Sea is one of only two books I have ever DNF'd (the other is Roadwork by S. King) and it's the only Hemingway I've tried. Not impressed. The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite classic, by Alexandre Dumas. Its better than his d'Artagnan trilogy, even though they are good as well.
I think books are problematic when they are written against the times. By that I mean if a book in this time period were to be chauvinistic, racist, etc we would recognize that it goes against our standards. Older books don't offend me, only modern books after the 60s that include unacceptable content. Good video
My most controversial opinion is probably that I did not like Alice in Wonderland. Maybe if I had studied it in school, and found out that there were some political/societal references that I don’t know about I’d have some appreciation. But you know from the beginning that it’s a dream, and it is completely illogical, and nothing ties together - just a bunch of loose-ended vignettes. OK, I’m done. 😂
The adoration of Little Women is a trend right now. And don't worry, I gave it 1 star. I lost it at the discussion where the mother is telling Jo that she needs to learn how to control her temper, and in order to do this she needs to submit to God and her husband. Because that is what the mother is doing, submitting to her husband, and it's been working so fine. Gosh that's a horrible lesson to teach anyone, let alone "little women".
:-) More often than not, the term 'classic' is either over-used or misused. Also, the books, generally accepted as 'classics', are often point of heated debates as readers feel that these books exist as some sort of mandatory qualification that they have to read and comment upon to be accepted among the 'well-read' (au contraire, it couldn't be farther from the truth). Your approach is spot on. What one needs to remember is that a 'classic', at the end of the day, is a story, and that it remains true of every book ever written: there's no reader who can like all books and there is no book that can be liked by all readers. There are, however, points to ponder upon pertaining to the relationship of average modern reader with the 'classics'. There was an interesting workshop a while back to discuss 'Pre-Post-Modern Literature and Contemporary Reader'. It brought forth some interesting facts around how the so called 'classic' books from those periods are perceived among post-modern readers, Generation X and onwards. Not being able to connect with a 'classic' can be due to many reasons. Most common of all: reader's disconnect with the author's surroundings and time period when the book was written, often not able to cross the barrier of language and effect adequate acceptance of the writing style. Another interesting avenue to look at is the way language and literature are often taught as part of academic curriculum (though, this is a debate common to and applies with as much relevance to any other subject taught academically)...the scope therein to improve teaching methodology so that more learners can adequately understand and connect with these books. But, I digress... :-) Your selection is commendable, as always. In your last video you discussed your favourite Booktubers. Don't subscribe to many, but, for classics, this channel has some noteworthy content: ua-cam.com/channels/shc1VYtf4bI3Q7Ibi5J-Cg.html ...
Honestly, you always leave such interesting comments, thank you so much for taking the time! I feel like modern readers connection to classics is such an interesting thing to think about. And I subscribe to Lucy too, she's amazing
@@TheBookCastle : Thank you for taking time to read and respond to them. :-) Hope this topic sparks its own video some day...like you leading a conversation with other booktubers on the subject.
Finally someone who doesn't love Little Women. I hated that book, seriously, everyone is loving it and I couldn't even finish that piece of crap. It was so... Childish and naïve, maybe even patronising? It was making me mad and frustrated. I was starting my reading journey with high expectations so it was a massive disappointment. My favourite classic is Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Although I also love some Virginia Woolf's, like Mrs Dalloway, which you've mentioned.
You need to read The Picture of Dorian Gray! My favorite novel. Love Oscar Wilde ❤
OOOOHHHHHHH East of Eden is my all time favorite novel. It. Is. Incredible.
I really do need to read it! :D
I had the same experience with Little Women, read it 5 years ago and hated it. Then I re-read it this year (before the movie came out) and this time I loved it. I also recently re-read Emma by Jane Austen and went from 3 stars to 5. Sometimes it's timing.
Timing is definitely important :)
So many wonderful books. This should be a tag!!!!
Ah, that would be fun! :D
Oh! I've never heard of Flowers for Algernon. I'm adding that one to my TBR. Sounds like something I'm going to love.
Hope you like it! It's super interesting! :D
Favorite Classics (3-way tie): Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights
Least Favorite Classics (2-way tie): The Good Earth, Catcher in the Rye
Controversial Opinion: I don't have any interest in reading To Kill a Mockingbird
Love hearing other peoples thoughts, thank you for sharing! I really need to read Phantom now that I think of it, I love the musical
I also love The phantom of the opera soooooo much 😍😍😍💕💕 and to kill a mockingbird is such a relaxing, serene, simple and fantastic read. I think you should give it a try
Hi Alice, classics are good but so are others....I loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights!i loved Anna Karenina as well.
Totally agree :D
I'm pleased you had Ibsen in high school. Try Hedda Gabler (my favorite), if the mood strikes you.
I always thought an interesting comparison could be made between:
Anna Karenina, Madam Bovary, Rebecca, and Hedda Gabler; the unfaithful wife line-up, as seen between different nationalities.
Maybe someone's freshman literature term paper.
(Judge Brack is my hero.)
Love that you described reading Alice in Wonderland as "taking a hit of acid" 😂Such a perfect description for the movie too. This was such a great video! I'm always on the lookout for new classics to read that aren't good simply because they're old and you like a lot of the same ones as me! I now have a few more on my TBR thanks to this video 😊
Haha, I know right! xD And thank you, I'm glad you liked the video! :D Hope you like the books you added to your TBR when you read them
Such an interesting video. Could make so many comments, but how about four? 1) "Flowers for Algernon" is brilliant, and has been beloved to me since first reading the short story (which I like even better than the novel) in 7th grade. The hardest cry I've ever had reading a book happened with this one. 2) "And Then There Were None" is the best whodunit I've ever come across and my favorite AC. Total agreement there. 3) If you so enjoyed "Study in Scarlet" and "Sign of Four", you MUST treat yourself to "Hound of the Baskervilles"! Not only did I love it, but so did the students to whom I taught it in school. Smashing! 4) Very sorry to end negatively, but your last book stunned me. I basically hated "The Secret Garden" Please don't be offended, but for me it was like wading through chest-deep mud. It would be hard for me to think of one good thing to say about it. I was assigned to teach it to my class, and it was painful. But perhaps if someone reads it as a child it is different. Anyway, really enjoyed your classics rundown. Thank you! (Also loved my visit to Norway!)
LOL omg I love Little Women, but I can see why you wouldn't :P
yeah I hated The Catcher in the Rye hahah
lovely video! 💕
Haha, I'm glad you liked it
I think A Clockwork Orange is easier to understand, and enjoy, if you listen to it. I did so, and loved it, but after I finished it I was able to see how if I'd read it instead of using audio, I may not have liked it/understood what was going on. I guess the inflection of the reader helped a lot with the slang and immersion into that world. Here in the U.S. I had to read A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen in high school. I don't remember much of the story, but I do remember I hated reading it lol. Read East of Eden from Steinbeck next. It's amazing!! Flowers for Algernon broke my heart, I gave it 5 stars too. Great video!
Aah, yes, maybe it's better in audiobook format, although I generally get too distracted to listen to them xD And yes, really need to read East of Eden and how fun that you also loved Flowers for Algernon
Great Video! I am a little heart broken that you don’t like Little Women, but I’ll get over it. 😂😂😂
I’ve had to read a few classics twice before I realized that I actually really loved them Room With a View, Age of Innocence, and Pride and Prejudice are some of them.
Oh and I loved Catcher in the Rye when I read it when I was 20, then I re-read in a few years later and hated it. Lol
I’m sure you get a lot of book recommendations but I thought you would like Hungry Hearts from Anzia Yezierska, it’s short stories about immigrant women coming to America in late 1800’s. I picked it up at random and it’s one of my favorites. 🙂🙂🙂
When you described The Perfume before saying the title I immediately thought of that book, so yeah I know what you mean.
Haha, I know right xD
I'm with you on not being a Hemingway fan. I adore E. A. Poe (The Cask of Amontillado and The Masque of the Red Death are two favorites), and I feel like where Poe is lyrical and atmospheric, Hemingway is curt and spartan.
Yes, exactly!
This was super interesting! Thank you! I also read "The Jamaica Inn" and I really enjoyed it, but "Rebecca" is WAY better.
Breakfast at Tiffany's I liked a lot and on the other hand, I really cannot understand why people love "Alice in Wonderland" so much. It was kind of fun, but it didn't make any sense, or I just didn't get it. :-D
Didn't read it, but I actually only hear negative opinions about "Little Women". But I also would like to see the movie.
Oh girl I feel you with your name and hearing the same thing over and over again. My name's Olivia and especially in France everybody mentions Popeye, in Switzerland it doesn't happen that often luckily. :)
Totally get Alice in Wonderland being confusing, because it really is :P
This is clearly one of my favourite videos by you :) Contrary to popular opinion I hate Jane Eyre & Catcher in the rye. Also about Hemmingway please give the book The also rises by him a try. He is one of those authors that needs you to start at the right book. And lastly have you ever thought of making author spotlight videos? Of the top of my head I would love to have a Dorothy Whipple where to begin video by you.
Thank you! :) Ooh, maybe author spotlights could be fun! :D
Hemmingway's book is called The Sun Also Rises. Here is the link of its book review which inspired me to pick it up and I ended up loving it so much that I am recommending it to you now:)
ua-cam.com/video/1Pic2HYkgx4/v-deo.html
My favorite classics are The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and pretty much anything by Franz Kafka!
Awesome :D
I loved this video! Got lots of these added to my tbr now :) my favourite classic so far is definitely Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Least favourite is probably The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Everyone seems to love it and I just found it really tired and boring 😂 does it count as a classic? I never know!
It's maybe a modern classic? :D
I also did not like The Alchimist AT ALL. It is so esoteric and I don't believe in the Law of Attraction.
I did not dislike the alchemist, but it was very overhyped and I was kinda dissapointed
Great video! I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on so many classics all at once! My favorite classic is War and Peace, huge and crazy long, but I just loved it. Least favorite is Wuthering Heights 😕 super dramatic and I just couldn't enjoy all these awful characters treating each other so horribly. Wondering if you've ever been recommended Appointment in Samarra by John O Hara, it's compared a lot to Gatsby and I really enjoyed both
I'm glad you liked it! Totally get why you don't like Wuthering Heights haha, it's way overdramatic (even though I loved it lol). Never heard of Appointment in Samarra but I'm adding it to my TBR, thank you!
I have many favorite classics, but the one I usually say when asked is Frankenstein. I loved a television show called Higher Ground when I was a teenager, and in that show they read Frankenstein and they interpreted it a certain way that made me so interested and curious. I read it and loved it and have since re-read it many times (though it's been a while now..).
I also love both The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, which I've read both when I was young and as an adult. The Wind in the Willows I've only read as an adult, and it is completely bonkers, but brilliant. Stefan Zweig is a big favorite, and I also have to mention Three Men in a Boat and anything by P. G. Wodehouse.
Least favorite novels include Wuthering Heights (hated the characters and could not understand them at all - I don't mind unlikeable characters, but I have to be able to understand their actions to some degree), Hard Times (I like Dickens and have read eight of his novels, but this one was really bad) and The Catcher in the Rye (read as a teenager, hated it. Would be interesting to re-read).
Yeees, Frankenstein
If I have to name only one favorite classic, I have to go with Jane Eyre. But Wuthering Heights, Alice in Wonderland, Mrs Dalloway and The picture of Dorian Gray. I don't think I have a least favorite classic, as I seem to be having a lot of luck while picking my classics. I did however, read Metamorphosis by Kafka and thought it a bit overhyped. Not that it's a bad book, the story is interesting, it just wasn't my type. Still gave it three stars though.
I do however, have an unpopular opinion. I didn't vibe with Frankenstein. I liked the story and didn't mind the letters, but I couldn't connect to the writing style. Maybe I just read it too soon, as English isn't my first language. I am gonna re-read it at some point to figure that out.
Favorite classic: Mansfield Park (also Count of Monte Cristo)
Least favorite: Catcher in the Ray
Controversy one: Hate Pride and Prejudice. Sorry. 😊 I just hate the hate to love trope so much. Hated Darcy too.
Haha, you're allowed to hate P&P, I don't think you're alone xD Lots of people do, I think! :D
LOL, The Scarlet Letter is in my top 10:)
It was interesting to hear about your reading experience with classics through the years
I'm glad! :D
Hi Alice
I'm afraid I haven't read most of these classics, I'm gonna pick some definitely.
My two favourite classics so far are Ficciones(Fictions) by Jorge Luis Borges and A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens, my least favourite is Fahrenheit 451 didn't hate it nor like it
Interesting! I really need to read more Dickens :)
That was a "classic" video. Long, but very good lol.
Ibsen: I have seen on stage "A Doll's House", and while I liked it and appreciated the ending in its historical context, it didn't have the same emotional impact on me as a modern viewer.
I did LOVE "Rosmersholm" though (starring Hayley Atwell), and again that ending was something. He certainly knew how to end plays.
In terms of "Controversial" opinions: When I was 19 I once declared that Dostejvsky doesn't know how to write lol.
I just can't get into his books. Through the years I have started all his books. I managed to finish only "Crime & Punishment" and that was partly because my pride was involved lol (long story).
Favourite childhood classic: Treasure Island. I read it when I was about 12. I decided to wear an eye patch afterwards lol. My Mom wasn't impressed lol. You can guess what happened.
The longest classic: Les Miserables (around 1200 pages). Absolutely loved it. (apart from the nuns and the sewer. These parts were character building excercise lol. It taught me how to be patient)
The last classic I read: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I enjoyed it very much despite its shortcomings., and it is underrated indeed.
That's very interesting! Ooh, I really need to read Treasure Island, although I'll pass on the eye patch xD
another john wyndham fan!! =D i love how international your list is - like it's so cool that you've read so many Japanese classics. hope you find some more memorable ones! =P
Yes, I love him! :D And thank you!
I definitely recommend Rebecca. Especially if you loved Jane Eyre. The two are similar in terms of the premise, setting, and characters. I think Jane is a better and more complex character than the protagonist/narrator of Rebecca, but Rebecca is an amazing book in its own right.
Oooh, interesting! :D
Salinger is my favorite author so listening to you saying you will HATE his book is pretty fun ! Actually, this book has to be read in your teens, not as an adult. I was on GR and read so many quotes and still love them. But I prefer all his novellas and short stories with the Glass family. I loved Breakfast at Tiffany's because it has a different ending from the movie. I loved Alice in the Wonderland when I read it a few years ago, in a beautiful edition. Well, since you'd hate my favorite book I can proudly say I HATE Wuthering Heights : a plain soap opera ! I love her sisters books but this one, no way !
just saw it in your description box - you changed your mind about this melodrama ? LOL
Totally get why you hate Wuthering Heights xD And I couldn't be bothered to link everything in the descripton box, so I just included my faves of my faves xD
Hi Alice,
Beautiful video! I absolutely enjoyed it! Can you do the summer school tag? I would love to see your choices. Thank you so much and have a lovely week, Hugs 🌼
Thank you! I'll add the tag to the list
My favourite classic is probably The Great Gatsby, I've read it three times. My other favorites are Master and Margarita, The Great Expectations, Crime and Punishment.
Some beloved classics that I gave two stars would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ana Karenina. And I dnf'd The Handmade's Tale 😅
Master and Margarita is so funny and weird I lived it :D
I really need to read Master and Margarita :) It sounds super weird!
Great video, thank you! I agree with some of your lower ratings and believe that not everybody needs to like the same books, even though they may be tagged as “classics” (I would be curious to know what your definition of a classic actually is. Every book club I have ever been part of seems to have very different ways of defining what can be classified as a classic). A couple of classics that I personally really enjoyed and don’t seem to be on your list: Fahrenheit 451 and Catch 22. Least favourite probably Virginia Woolf; I just don’t enjoy stream of consciousness ...
That's interesting; I think there are a lot of different ways people define classics. And I totally get not getting on with Woolf's writing, it's not for everyone!
Have you thought about researching other books with Alices? Then whenever anyone does the Alice in wonderland comment you can shut them up by saying, 'Yes and also Alice this and that and this and that. There are many Alices out there'
I would recommend Les miserables by Victor Hugo! I is such a good commentary on society at that time. Love it!
Haha, no, I have not, but maybe I should! I do get the odd "Alice in Chains" comment instead of the wonderland one though, and that's a separate type of people who bring that up. So yes, many Alices to choose from xD
I'd go with Alice Kramden. "One of these days Alice...Pow...right to the moon."
Loved this!! I put so many books from this list on my TBR.
My favorite classic as of now: Fahrenheit 451 or Little House on the Prairie (because I read it when I was little, and...nostalgia)
Least Favorite: Catch-22. So problematic and aggravating when I can't root for anyone, but especially the main character.
Controversial: Agreed, Dracula bored me too.
Thank you! :D I really need to read Fahrenheit 451 :)
Thank you for all those suggestions ❤️
I used to think that I didn't read any classics, and that they are very hard to get to. But I've just discovered from your video that I already read some of them but didn't know that they were considered classics :D
Oh man I have The Scarlet Letter 1 star too when I read it last month 😂 why was it so hard to get through when it was so short?? Ugh
I don't reread books often, particularly classics, but for ones that I have done, I'd say To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. I need to reread Frankenstein and Lolita too though!
I know right, isn't it just the worst! xD
Loved this Alice! Now my TBR is even longer! 🙈💕
Thank you! :D
My least favorite classic is Great Expectations. I read it (twice) in an independent english class in high school and I loathed it. As for favorite I'm currently reading Jane Eyre and I still have a third of the way to go, but that may be my new favorite classic. Jane as a character is so compelling and well written, plus the story is super engaging and it's easy to see how it influenced other works I love.
Aaah, hope you enjoy the rest of Jane Eyre
Ubik is definitely pretty good, maybe give it another go at some point in the future :) I've only read the talented mr ripley by Highsmith and I thought it was really good, enjoyed it more than I expected. Definitely want to read Flowers for algernon.
I'll definitely try to reread it some day :D
This was so interesting! Ratings are difficult- it's hard to differentiate between 'favorite' and 'great/important' (usually classic) books. I draw the line at whether I want to reread the book ever. So Anna Karenina is great- that's 5 stars. But then I think would I want to reread it? No- so it's a 4 star. My favorite classic is Jane Eyre (which deserves my 5 star rating since I've reread it 3 times!) My least favorite classic: anything by Hemingway. Also: one of my favorite movies EVER is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day! ...maybe I should read the book....
I know right, they're so hard to rate!
So many great classics. My unpopular opinion is that I really didn't like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. I had very high expectations of it as I like ghost/gothic stories and stories inspired by fairy tales, but I was really bored by The Bloody Chamber... I know, I feel terrible just saying that.
That's okay though :D Not everyone is going to love everything
Really enjoyed this video. I loved Flowers for Algernon (and the movie, Charlie). So glad that someone else does too. I don't really have a favorite classic, though Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath which I'm currently rereading might be it. Before the lockdown I bought a bunch of classics and Of Mice & Men, Jane Eyre and Mrs. Dalloway were among them. I read Mrs. Dalloway in college and just remember I didn't like it, but want to try to read Virginia Woolf to see what I think now. I've read Catcher in the Rye a number of times, the last of which was last year and it did not hold up for me. Animal Farm is a fantastic book, as is The Secret Garden. I need to try Hemmingway again. We read Old Man and the Sea in high school and hated it. The two classics that I think are totally overrated are The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice. I've tried to read Pride and Prejudice a number of times and just couldn't do it. This year I finally did and it was one of the most boring books I've ever read. Also read Northanger Abbey which I didn't care for. Guess I'm just on an Austen fan.
Oooh, I didn't know there was a movie!!! I need to see if I can track that down, although if it's anything like the book, I'll for sure bawl my eyes out xD And hey, totally valid to not be into Austen, I have several friends who loathe her books :P
@@TheBookCastle The correct spelling of the movie is Charly and you definitely will bawl your eyes out. It's a really old film, made in the 1960s.
I have read a few classics so far, but I haven't found a fave yet
Fantastic video! I agreed with quite a few of your ratings.
Thank you! :D
When I watch you and other booktubers videos. I want also start my own booktube channel.
Do ittttt! :D
Right now, I would say my favourites are Animal farm, Invisible cities (by Italo Calvino) & The picture of Dorian Gray. My least favourite classics are Catcher in the rye & Gone with the wind, read them both as a teenager & hated the main characters with a passion. I tried Tropic of cancer but DNFed it because I couldn't stand it. Just felt like I was wasting my time.
Awesome! Never heard of Tropic of Cancer though :O
I have read A Doll’s House (among other classics that you mentioned). This play was in our syllabus of English literature degree in Pakistan. But studying it kind of ruined it for me. Could not enjoy it. We had another Ibsen in the syllabus The Wild Duck. But I didn’t read that one.
I liked the way you can easily say that you don’t remember anything about a read book. I would kind of feel guilty if I had to say that. But now it will change.
Ah, interesting! Studying things like that though, often ruins them I feel. And I have like the worst memory, so sometimes I just forget stuff xD
I've been reading August Strindberg's books and he keeps complaining about A Dollhouse. I swear, I've read four of his so far and in three he somehow sneaks in how emblematic the play is of the problems women's emancipation will bring to society, how it's poorly written etc. Sometimes this is in an introduction to a book so we understand it's Strindberg's own opinion, but sometimes a character will just randomly mention that he disliked it.
Interestingly, Strindberg was technically quite progressive for his time (wanted women's voting rights, equal access to education etc) but hated the idea that men could also be responsible for child rearing and home making. He explains that there's a perfectly natural biological explanation as to why, and women choosing not to marry and have children will upset that delicate balance. It all just makes me want to read A Dollhouse more and understand what the fuss is about!
That's very interesting, I didn't know that! :O :D
@@TheBookCastle Case in point, I'm reading my fifth August Strindberg book and yet again he's complaining about A Dollhouse. To quote: "The play is as sick as its author".
I agree with Little Women. I got about a quarter of the way into it earlier this year and I just couldn’t carry on...
It's not for everyone, I guess xD
A tree grows in Brooklyn and to kill a mockingbird were my best
They're great! :D
Thank you, it was amazing!
Glad you liked it! :D
I have read the sun also rises by hemingway and absolutely hate it, so much that I am not interested at all in reading anything from him ever again, even if some of my friends tell me that I should read the old man and the sea... Have you read my cousing rachel by daphne du maurier? You might like that one more than rebecca maybe
I haven't read My Cousin Rachel, although it's on the list! :D
My favourite classic is probably Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Like any other book written around that time, it's pretty racist, but at least I found the story entertaining and an Actual Adventure TM. I always expect adventure from Jules Verne and instead I get super dry descriptions of events.
My least favourite is probably One hundred years of solitude. I read it in Spanish and I DNFd it after around 100 pages. I don't understand what people like about it.
Interesting! I've always heard only great things about One Hundred Years, but not everything is for everyone
The Book Castle I know 🤷🏻♀️ I may give it another try eventually, but I found all the characters completely hollow. The entire personality of one of them is that he had a big penis. Maybe it’s just going completely over my head because I’m dumb 😂
The Old Man and the Sea is one of only two books I have ever DNF'd (the other is Roadwork by S. King) and it's the only Hemingway I've tried. Not impressed.
The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite classic, by Alexandre Dumas. Its better than his d'Artagnan trilogy, even though they are good as well.
I think books are problematic when they are written against the times. By that I mean if a book in this time period were to be chauvinistic, racist, etc we would recognize that it goes against our standards. Older books don't offend me, only modern books after the 60s that include unacceptable content. Good video
My most controversial opinion is probably that I did not like Alice in Wonderland. Maybe if I had studied it in school, and found out that there were some political/societal references that I don’t know about I’d have some appreciation. But you know from the beginning that it’s a dream, and it is completely illogical, and nothing ties together - just a bunch of loose-ended vignettes. OK, I’m done. 😂
The adoration of Little Women is a trend right now. And don't worry, I gave it 1 star. I lost it at the discussion where the mother is telling Jo that she needs to learn how to control her temper, and in order to do this she needs to submit to God and her husband. Because that is what the mother is doing, submitting to her husband, and it's been working so fine. Gosh that's a horrible lesson to teach anyone, let alone "little women".
Yeah, it might be a trend right now, although I've seen loads of rave reviews from years ago too :) It's an interesting book to discuss for sure!
:-) More often than not, the term 'classic' is either over-used or misused.
Also, the books, generally accepted as 'classics', are often point of heated debates as readers feel that these books exist as some sort of mandatory qualification that they have to read and comment upon to be accepted among the 'well-read' (au contraire, it couldn't be farther from the truth). Your approach is spot on. What one needs to remember is that a 'classic', at the end of the day, is a story, and that it remains true of every book ever written: there's no reader who can like all books and there is no book that can be liked by all readers. There are, however, points to ponder upon pertaining to the relationship of average modern reader with the 'classics'.
There was an interesting workshop a while back to discuss 'Pre-Post-Modern Literature and Contemporary Reader'. It brought forth some interesting facts around how the so called 'classic' books from those periods are perceived among post-modern readers, Generation X and onwards. Not being able to connect with a 'classic' can be due to many reasons. Most common of all: reader's disconnect with the author's surroundings and time period when the book was written, often not able to cross the barrier of language and effect adequate acceptance of the writing style. Another interesting avenue to look at is the way language and literature are often taught as part of academic curriculum (though, this is a debate common to and applies with as much relevance to any other subject taught academically)...the scope therein to improve teaching methodology so that more learners can adequately understand and connect with these books.
But, I digress... :-)
Your selection is commendable, as always. In your last video you discussed your favourite Booktubers. Don't subscribe to many, but, for classics, this channel has some noteworthy content: ua-cam.com/channels/shc1VYtf4bI3Q7Ibi5J-Cg.html ...
Honestly, you always leave such interesting comments, thank you so much for taking the time! I feel like modern readers connection to classics is such an interesting thing to think about. And I subscribe to Lucy too, she's amazing
@@TheBookCastle : Thank you for taking time to read and respond to them. :-)
Hope this topic sparks its own video some day...like you leading a conversation with other booktubers on the subject.
Finally someone who doesn't love Little Women. I hated that book, seriously, everyone is loving it and I couldn't even finish that piece of crap. It was so... Childish and naïve, maybe even patronising? It was making me mad and frustrated. I was starting my reading journey with high expectations so it was a massive disappointment.
My favourite classic is Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Although I also love some Virginia Woolf's, like Mrs Dalloway, which you've mentioned.
xD
I dnf-ed Little women. So boring. I need to read Rebecca too.
Good to know it's not just me who was a bit bored xD
I agree with you about Little Women. Total bore.
Good to know it's not just me xD