Ranking 26 Classic Books
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2024
- Ranking 26 classic books that I read in the first half of this year. A synopsis of each of the 26 books and what I think of them. If you are looking for classic book recommendations, are trying to learn classic literature, or are wondering where to start with classic literature, then you will get a good selection of ideas from this video.
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List of books in this video
0:00 - intro
0:40 - Black Tulip
2:04 - Lady Audley's Secret
3:16 - The Age of Innocence
4:37 - Farenheit 451
6:05 - Hard Times
7:51 - Sybil
9:27 - Silas Marner
11:19 - Perfume
13:17 - A Tale of Two Cities
15:20 - Oliver Twist
17:12 - The Picture of Dorian Gray
19:07 - Agnes Grey
20:36 - Epitaph of a Small Winner
22:16 - Wuthering Heights
24:26 - To Kill A Mockingbird
26:18 - Mayor of Casterbridge
28:15 - Persuasion
30:15 - Old Man and the Sea
32:33 - A Month in the Country
35:13 - Cannery Row
37:16 - Lord Jim
39:53 - The Scarlet and Black
43:38 - Tess of the D'Urbevilles
45:54 - Bleak House
49:03 - Anna Karenina
55:21 - Crime and Punishment
You can click on each section of the timeline at the bottom of the video to jump to each book in the list. Which ones appeal to you?
15) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
41) "Silas Marner" by George Eliot
43) "The Black Tulip" by Alexandre Dumas
48) "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
53) "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens
63) “Persuasion” by Jane Austen
85) "Agnes Grey" by Anne Brontë
150) "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
The first thing I'd notice in this video is that I would have picked one of the three here below before “Persuasion” by Jane Austen
18) "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
30) "Emma" by Jane Austen
52) “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen
There is better by Fyodor Dostoevsky than "Crime and Punishment" in my way of thinking:
3) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I hate "Tess of the D'Urbevilles" by Thomas Hardy, but there is one and it wouldn't be "Return of the Native" which is better than "Tess of the D'Urbevilles" and "The Mayor of Casterbridge."
65) "Jude the Obscure" by Thomas Hardy
You missed the best sister of them all of the Brontë family and the only woman to have a book in my top ten favorite books of all time.
7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë
57) "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
124) "The Professor” by Charlotte Brontë
I read "The Red and the Black" by Stendhal, but was not impressed with it.
I know the stories "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Oliver Twist" but I am not sure I ever read the whole story. Probably just excerpts are what I read. I have made up my mind to read one book by Charles Dickens per year from here on out.
I plan on reading "Epitaph of a Small Winner" by Machado de Assis and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde.
FAVORITE AUTHORS
1) Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons)
2) Leo Tolstoy (Resurrection)
3) Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Idiot)
4) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich)
5) C. S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew)
6) Charlotte Brontë (Vilette)
7) J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)
8) Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire)
9) Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
10) Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
11) George Eliot (Silas Marner)
12) Anthony Trollope (The Warden)
The great book I have read this year (2023) is
7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë
The great books I have read last year (2022) is
2) "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy
10) "Smoke" by Ivan Turgenev
17) "Virgin Soil" by Ivan Turgenev
28) "Torrents of Spring" by Ivan Turgenev
31) "In the First Circle" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Bleak House. I'm reading it at the moment so I can't watch your summary in case you give something away. It takes some determination to get into it, but it really is fascinating.
I'm reading Anna Karenina right now!
I agree. These are the two that I watch too. These are so helpful and insightful 😊
Man, between you and Benjamin McEvoy, my love and appreciation for the classics have skyrocketed. You make it so accessible. I can’t imagine my bookshelf without Shakespeare and Keats
just found this channel ...what a coincidence! ...was thinking about Benjamin .....I admire his work a lot ....hope to find inspiration from this channel as well....
Agreed. I came to Tristan through Benjamin. Both of them are true readers and learners.
it's a great insult to be compared with that fraud.
@@MadmanGoneMad2012 Huh ?
@@severianthefool7233 huh?
Your videos are simply never long enough
You are so lovely Naomi♥
I love your videos Tristan. I left school at fourteen but was lucky enough to have a father who was an autodidact. All ten of us started reading library books at age seven and continued throughout our lives. I am eighty and read several books a week. I also tutor people who want to discover literature. Your videos-especially your explications of Shakespeare’s major speeches have opened up these speeches and the classics not just to my students but myself. I look forward to each of your new videos.
This is so nice to hear Lydia. That you get to tutor ones in literature is a delight. I'm pleased that you enjoy my Shakespeare videos. I need to do another one soon.
Hi Lydia, can I ask you to tell me some of your favorite books?
I’m reading War & Peace on V3 Pt 1 Ch 20. And I’m so enthusiastic and excited I’m beginning to convince my husband and Mom to read or reread it and join the book clubs.
Tristan- your enthusiasm is absolutely infectious and I cannot thank you enough!! Bringing back to me, my intense love and joy of reading has made going back to school (in Data Science) much much easier. I’m able to think more clearly about complex topics, understand new concepts and feel more confident in new challenges. Classic Lit has always been my preferred genre since childhood. And I just can’t thank you enough for your thoughtful timely wonderfully detailed content! Invaluable to me. 🙏🏻❤️📚🤓
finished crime and punishment a week ago, an amazing read, still under the influence of this masterpiece, one of the best, really
I discovered A Month in the Country when it was on a reading list for a creative writing course I did. I would never have guessed it would become one of my favourite books.
I’m gearing myself up for Doestoevsky; I’m just too daunted by him right now. I read The Double and The Gambler several years ago and didn’t get much enjoyment from the experience but I want to try again, when I feel ready for the challenge.
Your videos are totally engaging. I don’t know what you do for a day job but your passion and enthusiasm for literature reminds me of my favourite A level English Lit teachers, and I think if you are a teacher, your students are really lucky to have you.
I love Dostoevsky! I'd strongly recommend starting with Crime and Punishment. The Double and the Gambler aren't great books. They're not bad but certainly lower quality than Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, Demons, Notes from Underground. My favorites are Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, which are probably most people's favorites when it comes to Dostoevsky.
For Crime and Punishment, read either the Oliver Ready translation if you prefer British English or the Michael translation if you prefer American English. Don't read the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, even though it's the most popular one. Ready and Katz really make the book utterly gripping and riveting to read.
Hope you have a great time reading Dostoevsky! 😊
The Iliad, Mahabharata, Things Fall Apart, Mishima's Patriotism, Mansfield's Garden Party, Tagore 's Punishment, Maupassant's Necklace, Chekhov's Lady and the Dog, Don Quixote (not finished yet)
Just found your channel. Highly enjoyable. My absolute favorite book of 2022 was crime and punishment. I'd never read dostoevsky but now I will definitely read more of him
I agree, Dostoevsky is marvellous. Great to make your acquaintance and thank you for being so kind as to leave a comment. I appreciate it.
What a great memory for character names you have...truly impressive!
This is the third of your videos that I have commented on. Again I really enjoyed this. I have read six of the books that you covered. Bleak House is my favorite novel by Dickens. I am hoping to re-read it sometime soon. Persuasion is also my favorite Jane Austen book. I have read it three times. There is something that is grandly quiet about this book that really appeals to me. Along with Bleak House it is on list of my favorite books. A few years ago I was on holiday in Britain and Bath was one of the places I visited. Seeing a number of the places that Austen described in it really brought the book to life for me. Thomas Hardy is also a favorite author for me and I still haven't read The Mayor of Casterbridge or Jude the Obscure. Something I hope to remedy soon. I also like to read the 'sensation' novels of the mid 19th Century. I have read a number of Wilke Collins' novels and I have a copy of Lady Audley's Secret which I am looking forward to reading. Although I have not read Fahrenheit 451 I have seen the movie (I actually have it on DVD). I love the story. It is the story for people who like to read and love books. The ending always gets to me. Sorry I feel that I have already said too much. But look forward to veiwing more of your videos.
I am a big fan of Charles Dickens, and I kept waiting for you to say: "In --th place ... GREAT EXPECTATIONS" by Charles Dickens, which was a very dark story that completely flips the reader on his head in the last quarter of the book. But your choices were great as well. Thanks for sharing.
An aside: David Iran's definitive film of "Great Expectations" did me a great favour. Why ? Because the script left out boring parts of the novel eg: Herbert Pocket's family, Pip's kidnapping and more !
@@apollonia6656 No doubt there are times when Dickens is long-winded.
Because of your recommendation, I read A Month in the Country. Wholly engaging throughout. Quintessential British humor and pathos. Loved every sentence.
It's delicious isn't it?
David Copperfield is my favorite Classic of the year. Who can't love Miss Mowcher and Mr Dick! Or the faithful Mrs Micaber! Lady Into Fox by David Garnett I was enchanted by in petite, deLightful Mint edition. Talk about patience, devotion, frustration And-covet-up- literally. A Month in the Country I've cherished in memory for past two decades, got my brother, an artist a copy. A beautiful Summer read.
Just finished Tale of Two Cities. Wonderful book and great ending. Oh I love anything Dickens. Loved Dorian Gray as well.
Wonderful! The ending is quite something isn't it?
Good morning from New Jersey, USA! I've read only two classics this year, finishing both this week. I guess my favorite was Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Stories of Ohio Small Town Life (1919) by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1940). He writes simply but powerfully about the "grotesques" who speak to the young reporter about their lives, thoughts, and desires, and the reader gets a real sense of the despair of some parts of preindustrial America. The other classic I read was a nonfiction, The Federalist Papers (1787-8) by Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), John Jay (1745-1829), and James Madison (1751-1836). It's a series of 85 essays, written between October, 1787 and May, 1788, in favor of the then-newly-proposed United States Constitution. It was very interesting to read what they proposed, and what they were refuting.
Over the last decade and a half or so, I've read many of the books you reviewed in this great video. I'm very interested in reading Epitaph of a Small Winner, and also Bleak House by Dickens. I have a collection of all of Dickens' novels on my Kindle for Android, and have read A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities.
I read 7 of the books on your list. I recently finished A Month in the Country based on your recommendation & really liked it. I finally read 1984 & A Catcher in the Rye & just kept thinking why did I not read both of these years ago because they're great! I want to try Lord of the Flies soon.
Oh I'm so pleased that you enjoyed A Month In The Country. It's Idyllic isn't it? 1984 is amazing, though I have never got around to reading Catcher. I will correct that though. Lord of the Flies is on my TBR, which keeps getting longer and longer.😂
I love to see Dostoyevsky here, he’s the writer that got me into classic literature, “Poor people”, “White nights”, “Crime and punishment”, “Brothers Karamazov” was the delightful progression. “Brothers Karamazov” remained my favorite book for years until I read “Middlemarch”. Thank you for such lovely content, sir, your channel is wonderful! I’m looking forward to reading some of your recommendations.
I’m halfway through W&P then going on to Middlemarch. I’m really so excited! 😁
Your right its a tossup between tristan and Benjamin on the Classics .Maybe just enjoy the different styles and thank ourselves lucky!
Benjamin is amazing. He has such a depth of knowledge and appreciation. I'd happily say he is superior to me. Thanks for your kind comments, though, I appreciate it a lot. 😀👍
@@tristanandtheclassics6538I wouldn’t say superior. Just different and perfect because you both bring excellence and enthusiasm!
Great video 🙂 The episode of the harvest in Anna Karenina is indeed exceptional ! And as to the best book I’ve read last year, I’ll go with Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse !
Oh I want to get to Steppenwolf this year.
Many of the books noted should be labeled not fit for youthful readers. Victorian literature is a sedative in written form and turns off young minds to the wonders of reading. Thank god Moby Dick was left off the list.
A fascinating list. Well done.
Thank you Tristan for this wonderful channel - it’s a great place to dive into for inspiration and encouragement to develop my reading skills.
Brilliantly done! You are an EXCELLENT communicator and succeeded in motivating me to read some of those books soon. I read in French and found this list different because most of them were not originally written in french. Thanks for such great discoveries.
Tristan, so happy I came across your channel. I've always been a reader, and own and have read tons of books. But I have always felt that my reading lacks depth. About 6 months ago, I made a decision to read more classics. It is helpful to have someone to help guide my reading. I now have a number of the books on your list next to my bed to be read. Thanks!
Love your vids. They've inspired me to read more Classics.
Just discovered your channel and thought this was a fab video. It has really made me want to read most of the books (I've only read 2 of them). I'm now looking forward to a) exploring your other videos and in-depth reviews and b) reading some the books (some I had planned to read anyway, like Anna Karenina, but others I'd crossed off my list because other people's reviews had put me off. You've made me think again. One of those 'originally crossed off the reading list' was actually Crime & Punishment!). Thank you. 😊
I’m really late the party sorry. I’ve been making a real effort to get back into my reading having found myself with grown up children and more time…a book I’ve really enjoyed this year is Liza of Lambeth by Somerset Maugham. Short but really packed a lunch for me. I absolutely love your videos, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, insights and passion. Fantastic!!!
I loved your video!! My favourites this year were Crime and Punishment, 1984, Of Mice and Men, and De Avonden(Dutch literature)
Dear Tristan, Thank you very much for your amazing content. Last year favorite of mine was Tess of the D'Urbevilles. It deeply touched my heart in many ways and broke a part of it for forever. After finishing it, I had to read books with Greek mythology in them. Circe by Madeline Miller helped alleviate the heartache that lingered after reading Tess. From your list I starting A Month in the Country today.
Thank you for such a great comment Franciska. Tess really does hurt doesn't it? Yet is oddly uplifting too.
I hope that you enjoy A Month in the Country. It is such a gentle book yet softly potent.
I read “Epitaph of a small Winner” because you recommended and I loved it. Your video about Crime and Punnishment was very interesting. An other Classic I enjoyed was Buddenbrooks” by Thomas Mann.
Machado de Assis is incredible isn't he? I have another of his books to read, Dom Casmurro.
Buddenbrooks is a definite one that I need to get too. Thanks for the reminder .
And can I say how much I appreciate you taking the time to comment, Maria. It means a lot. I hope that you inherit a castle from some unknown benefactor!😀
I loved this video thankyou Tristan I'll read some of the books.
PS have you read David Copperfield and Les miserables ? They are wonderful.
I found your reviews here very enjoyable. Thank you
Great explanations without spoilers! Favorite book I've read this year --- The Faerie Queene! Book of yours I want to read first, The Red and the Black.
New to your channel. Not sure if you have read it, but my 2023 recommendation for you is Ursula LeGuin's _The Dispossessed_ (Hugo winner) and Wyndham's _The Day of the Triffids_ (both now almost 50 years old). You've probably already read Wodehouse's _The Code of the Woosters_ and du Maurier's _My Cousin Rachel,_. A newer recommendation for you is Pamuk's _My Name is Red_
Thank you for recommending the Month in the Country. I just loved and loved it more and more. What an amazing slice of life. Soooo beautiful. I am going to discover Carr's other works as well. Which one would you suggest ?😊
Happy that you put the great Machado de Assis on your list! greetings from Brazil.
I simply love your videos!
I have always been a reader. Love your enthusiasm!
"The Ballad of Reading Goal" is the best work of O. Wild.
I also love "The Ballad of Reading Goal"
Knew it by heart and I think I can still manage it but with a few hiccups now.
Fun fact, "The Ballad of Reading Goal", was the favourite book of both Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence. @@apollonia6656
Tristan,
I have been enjoying your videos since last November. My friend, you are doing a fascinating job, and your style of presentation is very humble. I love the way you introduce a book to the listener, and also love your passion about books. Your list of 26 books is superb, and I got to learn about many new titles, which I did not know before. A huge applause for that! :)
"Hello my bookish friends, out there in Booktube Land".... this is so heart-warming, every time I listen to this phrase, it makes me happy. :) :)
Thank you Tristan.
Wow! Love your commentary!
Thank you so much 😀👍
Great list!! Thank you for the great video! I agree Age of Innocence is a little bit of a let down. I still need to read Tess of the D'urbervilles!!
Oh Chris I envy you getting to read Tess for the first time! You'll love it I'm sure.
Pleased we're on the same page regarding Age of Innocence. Did you enjoy the last scene though. I found it very moving.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I did enjoy the ending. I do feel her best work is The Custom of the Country.
Thoroughly enjoyed your review, I’m now going to finish “Oliver twist” and then start “tess of the d”urbervilles” I was really surprised at your number one choice. I love listening to your reviews, keep them going
Have fun!
Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment are both two of my favorite books. Middlemarch by George Eliot is another fantastic book
Marvellous! Glad to know that we are of the same mind. Middlemarch has a similar sweep. Coming from Coventry myself I find Eliot's work doubly satisfying as it allows me to imagine how the place used to be.
You’re the best. Thank you for these reviews.
No, you're the best, Lea. Thanks for your kindness.😀❤️
Loved your review..!
Thank you so much. I loved your comment ❤
Thanks for the recommendations!
You are welcome Claudia. Thank you for taking the time to say so. I appreciate it. Are there any in particular that take your fancy?
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Hi , I want to read Anna Karenina but I don't know what translation to choose yet.
so enjoyable!
Picked up A Month in the Country on your recommendation and man, it was good. What a quaint, deeply felt little book.
Yes, Tristan loves what he does..
I would love to see a bookshelf tour of yours! ❤
I love your list
Thanks Uge. 😊
Wonderful video. Excellent selection of classics, most of which I have read, some of them more than once.
Hard Times was not my favourite Dickens novel, but, the first page of Hard Times gives a brilliant example of Dickens' genius in characterization. Nobody has ever achieved the height of brilliance in characterization which Dickens achieved in his novels.
Anna Karenina is about Love in all its forms.
Love your videos, Tristan! I have read this year (classics): Tenant of Wildfell Hall, North and South, Far From the Madding Crowd (my first Hardy - Tess and Mayor on my TBR), The Bell Jar, The Wind in the Willows & I’m 950 pages into The Count of Monte Cristo. (Which I think might be my favorite of all time-if I EVER FINISH! It’s taking me FOREVER!) I also just started Wurhering Heights. I love the sound of A Month in the Country. Put it in my Good Reads. Thanks again for the great videos!
Thanks Jill. Wow, you've read some good'uns! You're not kidding about the Count of Monte Cristo. Such an awe-inspiring work.
Tenant of Wildfell is a masterpiece in my opinion. Love Madding Crowd (I have an deeper review of it on my channel somewhere.)
Wind in the Willows is enchanting and delights me to this day.
I have not read the Bell Jar yet. I keep meaning to as, like Plath, I have suffered with chronic mental health issues.
Wuthering Heights, I found, was like sticking ones head into a thundercloud. Very brass, but exhilarating.
I hope that you enjoy A Month In The Country. Let me know your thoughts when you are done.😀♥
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I, too, suffer from depression. I think it’s just the curse of we artists/intellectuals. It’s the price we pay for having the creative minds we have. The Bell Jar is not a happy book but necessary and an excellent read. Lots of people reading Plath right now since the RED COMET book came out and is on prize lists. You should try it. I just ordered A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY. I’ll let you know. Keep up the great, deep and entertaining work. It’s appreciated.
@@jillwhitney-birk5876The Count of Monte Cristo, which has nothing to do with a Monte Cristo sandwich but now I'm craving one, is my favorite classic and perhaps the greatest revenge novel of all time. It's a chunkster but well worth the time.
This was lovely. Subscribed! I'm reading Middlemarch by Eliot and it's so good. Will be looking for your review of it, if you have anything on it, when I finish!
Thank you. Another great one. I have enjoyed "About Love and Other Stories" by Chekhov, translated by Rosamund Bartlett. Bartlett is a wonderful writer and it shows. As a result I am re-reading Anna Karenina but using her translation. (Oxford World Classics).
I have just ordered "A Month in the Country" based on your recommendation.
Stephen you are really making me want to get my Chekov on again😀
Thanks for the heads up on Rosamund Bartlett, I shall spy her out now. Amazon, here I come.
Hope you enjoy A Month In The Country, it's a simple book without gravitas but high on poignancy. It's one of those stories which a few days later, on begins to find the dots connecting in a pleasing way.
Hi Tristan, I just discovered your channel and I really love what you're doing with it! I only started keeping track of my reading from the summer on, but over the course of the second half of the year I reread Crime and Punishment, Lord of the Flies, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Animal Farm. I read the Fountainhead and Blindness (brilliant!). I'm reading Demian and the Divine Comedy right now. There aren't enough hours in the day!
Thank you, Patrick, and welcome! I haven't read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", so i'm pleased you mentioned it, as it reminds me that I once planned to read it.
As for there not being enough time in the day, I mourn with you. One is ever aware of His winged chariot pursuing us and scooping up all those great works which we have left by the roadway.
What are your thoughts on Fountainhead? I love Atlas Shrugged so I’m considering Fountainhead too.
Patty-I'm reading Persuasion right now. Just started it. It's the only one if hers I'm not as familiar with. Like your description of the story.
I don't know if you have seen it or not but the movie CANNERY ROW, in my estimation, is a classic. Many criticized it because they believed Steinbeck was not that funny. He is and this movie provides proof for those who don't read. Nick Nolte is Doc and Debra Winger is Suzie DeSoto. I loved it.
I DID read Crime and Punishment first as i picked it up at My Godfather's house when i was staying and Loved it!! I had to take it home to finish it but gave it back . I am reading The Return of The Native by Thomas Hardy and loving it so may read Tess nest. I struggle with Charles Dickens. I have tried Bleak House 3 times and failed. I think because we had to read it in a month for a Reading Group so i think that did for me. Your little piece on this is tempting me back to it.
Tristan, you're number one! 🥇
" The Forsyte Saga" by John Golswarthy is my favourite English classic.
Best book I have read this year 2024 (so far) The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. Look forward to reading for the first time (and rereading those I have read) your recommendations.
I really got a lot out of this video, my TBR list has gotten several books longer. I am a Steinbeck fan, and would also recommend the sequel to Cannery Row. It is called Sweet Thursday. I picks up with the same group of characters, post WWII. Steinbeck called Sweet Thursday, the day between Lousy Wednesday and Waiting Friday.
Love this, Hollie! I must get Sweet Thursday.
Great video Tristan. I read six so far and currently reading Crime and Punishment. I am not far into it and to be honest I am struggling a bit.
Oliver Twist, Tess of d'Urbervilles and Sybil are on my list of classics I want to read this year (Sybil on your recommendation). I purchased Anna Karenina and Bleak House also on your recommendation.
So far my favourite book of this year is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is not a classic. I read it earlier this month, it set during the 60s where Afro-American were fighting for their rights. I couldn't stop comparing it to Gone with the wind, which I read earlier this year. Margaret Mitchell showed slavery in a "romantic" way, on the other hand Kathryn Stockett shows racism for what it is really like.
Thanks for sharing ☺️.
Awesome Charmaine. Thanks for the Kathryn Stockett reference. I've not heard of her, but it's great to find books to compare with others. I have made a note of this.
I know what you mean about Crime and Punishment. It's not the smoothest read, and quite different in style to many of the Classics we are accustomed to. The Russian tradition is often concerned with the meaning of things as experienced from the inner life. West European classics often focus on our relation to the web of the external world.
I do have an in depth video on Crime and Punishment which you might find helpful at some point. Also @SofiaClef has a channel with a series of videos on this book.
As for Sybil, I'd love to hear your take on it. There is a few arcane odds and ends to do with politicians but I just let them wash past. It was rather insightful to see what life was like back then. Disraeli was an exceptional observer of affairs.
Anna K and Bleak House. Well there are so many angles and perspectives to come from in these books. Anna K especially reveals your own personality to yourself. Where you find meaning and the way you interpret characters will vary from person to person. A book which refuses to be tied down.😀♥
So much to read, so little time!
I just read ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and I really thought I’d love this one but I didn’t like it at all 🤭. I was bored and didn’t connect with Marianne or Elinor. Do you recommened me another one from Jane Austen.
Now I’m reading Anna Karenina, and love the way I’m in this story. Also loving the character of Levin!
Very curious for Bleak House! My all time favorite is David Copperfield: wich one do you prefer?
Never read Hardy, but Far from the madding crowd and A mere Interlude are waiting for me 😊
If you like short story collections I really recommened Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and The real story Of Ah-Q and other stories by Lu Xun. Both modern classics.
Amen to the so many books and so little time sentiment.
As for Austen, it's a hard one as not everybody is a fan. She wasn't that popular in her own time, though I think that was because of the reigning fashion of the day. Pride and Prejudice is witty and light and satirical, but if you prefer something more thoughtful then Mansfield Park.
Anna K is immense. I love Levin.
Comparing Copperfield with Bleak House is hard. They are so different in tone and objective. Copperfield certainly wins on the story itself. Bleak House is just a tour de force of social criticism.
Love Far from the Madding Crowd.
Thanks for the suggestions for short stories. They will now go onto my list.😀
My personal favourite from this list is Wuthering Heights. My favourite book of all times is Quo Vadis.
When I was in school learning English (I'm Romanian), our teacher recommended us some classical books, including "Heart of darkness" by Joseph Conrad.
I thought to myself "This guy was not a native English speaker. He learnt it, just like me. Maybe he didn't use fancy words, maybe his book is easier to read."
So, I borrowed the book and started reading. Gosh...
I read a page.. And had to give up.
Favorite book I have Read this year - The Elegance of the Hedgehog and also a reread of Anna Karenina (my all time favorite book)
Ive not read Elegance of the Hedgehog. Great title! As for Karenina, it's hard to pick a better book.
I just heard of The Elegance of the Hedgehog! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it. It and Month in the Country (from Tristan’s recommendation) are on their way as side reads to Middlemarch and Tale of 2 Cities respectively. I’m very excited! Thank you for mentioning it. ✌🏼
@@Bumblebeesly Happy reading :)
I finally read C&P last year, and it is one of my favorites over many years. I think about it constantly.
The Machado de Assis book you have is an old translation, possibly. The title is now The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas .
I bought it last week and it is now on my very long TBR list !
I bought it last week and it is now on my very long TBR list !
I bought it last week and it is now on my very long TBR list !
I bought it last week and it is now on my very long TBR list !
My favourite classic books read last year at the time of this video were these two:
Tale of Two Cities
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Ooo, you have a penchant for the French Revolution, do you?😀 Two thoroughly enjoyable books, though very different from each other.
I just now discovered this video, but better late than never. My favorite books of ANY year always include Anna Karenina (which I’ve read probably ten times and is definitely #1), and anything by Hardy, Dickens, or Dostoevsky. I’ve read several of the other books on your list, though not for a long time, and I’m now eager to read others you’ve suggested that I hadn’t previously given much thought to.
I’m in the habit of reading certain books over and over, and if I didn’t get to them in the year of this video, I probably read them just before or just after. One of them is thePenguin five-volume edition of the Chinese classic The Story of the Stone. I know-too long, but not really. Then there’s War and Peace, Our Mutual Friend, and the three-volume Kristin Lavransdatter (which is NOT just a girl’s book.) There are others. I do like long novels because there was a time in my early life when I lived in another country and didn’t have much money, and I calculated that I could purchase more pages for less money by heading for the shelves with the heftier books.
I have more money now, but I’m still always on the prowl for a cost-effective read, so I’m now finally luxuriating in Proust’s monstrous thing. Afterward, I’m going to attack the Red and the Black and possibly the Charterhouse of Parma. And then I’m going to return to some of those other books on your list-books that I haven’t read since I was a kid and need to be revisited from the perspective of a senior citizen. The same book isn’t going to say the same thing to me that it did 50 years ago.
Glad to have found you! ❤
I absolutely love Anna Karenina, and I’m also just now rereading it (the 5th time or so 😂). I’m also annotating it for the first time thanks to Tristan’s tips.
I love your comment, the books you mentioned, and my favorite part was your cost-effective book buying skills. Hats off to you 🎉❤
Every time I read Anna Karenina, I discover things that blow me away. The first time, it was the hunting scene in which the feelings of Levin’s dog, Laska, are described almost from her point of view. Most recently, it was the long, moving description of Levin’s wedding-the details of the ceremony and the depth of his feelings about all of the elements. Anna Karenina is a desert-island book for me.
You are so right. It’s a treasure. I love looking at psychology of characters and noticing themes throughout. Tolstoy is such a perceptive author. It’s funny how I find myself in different characters, depending on when I read the book. The universality of human feelings … 😅
@@lenkajf7816 Exactly! His characters are so real. One example: Kitty goes with her parents to a health spa and meets Varenka, who is this selfless girl that Kitty admires and wants to emulate. But when Kitty’s efforts to remodel her own behavior result in an ugly mess with a couple of other people in the spa, she realizes that she’s not cut out to be a Varenka and never will be, and it’s time to go home and give herself up to being who she is. It’s kind of amusing, and I think Tolstoy is gently laughing at her naïveté, in a way, but you can tell he loves her despite her inconsistencies and immaturity. Tolstoy is really hard on the obvious hypocrites (like Karenin’s “Christian” lady-friend and that dreadful friend of Anna, Betsy.) Characters like Levin and Kitty have their hypocritical moments, but Tolstoy writes them with love because they’re human, and all humans are hypocritical and inconsistent, and these two characters do work awfully hard to understand themselves and live in generous accord with others and with nature. He even draws us into some sympathy with Karenin, at times, but you can’t stick with it too much because despite his suffering, Karenin doesn't have the capacity to understand himself and is therefore doomed to live a fake life. The way he feels about himself is determined by how he wants others to see him. I always feel sad that he’s so insecure and has so little self-knowledge, but damn-he certainly contributes to the general misery. As to Anna and Vronsky-again, they never achieve much self-knowledge-especially Anna.
On the other hand, I feel like I understand a lot about Anna. I think it’s kind of a miracle that Tolstoy could write such an emotionally complex and conflicted and self-torturing woman. But I’ll be quiet now.
Hi Tristan, I read Crime and Punishment years ago after seeing it in Masterpiece Theater, when I was a young woman. Now I admit that I only understood it because I used notes that explained it in the back of the book. But I thought it was brilliant and one of my two favorites, the other being The Pickwick Papers by Dickens, which I found very funny and full of lovable characters. This year I am watching Victober and trying to read more Victorian classics. So far I have read Wives and Daughters, by Gaskell, and I just finished reading The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot. What a sad ending, and the hate and revenge in it. Next I plan to read Under the Greenwood Tree my Hardy, and after that, you made me want to read Tess of the D.Then I plan on reading Cranford by Gaskell.
I’ve never read Robert Hardy before, so I’m looking forward to that. Thank you for your interesting podcasts. 😊
I know this video is two years old now and you probably won't read this comment, but my favourite book so far this year (it's July 2024) ...I would say it's 'A Tale of Two Cities'. I resisted reading it for years because it was not set in Dickens' Victorian England, but then another Booktuber put it on the reading list and I caved in and absolutely loved it.
I will also add 'Swann's Way' - Volume 1 of the Proust's 'In Search'. I had been reading it small chunks since 2022, then suddenly this year I gained momentum and now I'm halfway through Volume 2 - which I am enjoying more. I am now totally sucked in by The Search, good thing I have several volumes left to read...
I have read “The Count of Monte Cristo” for the second time and I truly enjoyed it more (I understood more) and loved it. I have read many of the books you listed, for example; “Cannery Row” affected me greatly as did “The Old Man and the Sea”. I have been charmed by “Lord Jim” (Tuan Jim) and I have yet to read “Anna Karenina”or “Crime and Punishment”. I have been put off by “Lorna Doone” and “Don Quixote” because they have been so hard to understand!
Pleeease do one of your in depth reviews on Wuthering Heights. I’ve just finished reading it and would love to explore your thoughts in an in depth review ☺️
I have popped that down on my to do list especially for you Zoe. It will take some thinking as that is one deep and complex book. It doesn't like being pinned down but certainly deserves a good wrestling with😀 Hope I can do it justice for you😬 Thank you for the request.
Realizing that you love Tess of the d'Urberviles I was practically sure you'd have Tolstoy and Dostoievski somewhere up on the list. Dunno why I thought that. Just guessed.
For me they are the sort of writers whose books I have, because they do look good on the shelf, but... I'm sorry to say, I've never opened them.
I always plan to do that
I’ve only just completed this video and we are 18 days into 2024. I completed 1984 by Orwell and I’m ready to reread it. There are many books on your list that I have yet to read. I have read Crime and Punishment several times and it’s one of my favorites. I have not read Dumas but own several of them. To Kill A Mockingbird is another favorite. My goal is to read 1 classic a month this year. I realize that are so many classics that I have not read. You have somehow managed to get me to change my mind and reread Anna Karenina, a book that I despised. War and Peace was my favorite Tolstoy. And I’m going to reread Moby Dick-not on this video. I read it in high school and my english professor belabored the point. He ruined the book for us all. We discussed that story ad nauseam. Thank you for your
insightful reviews. 😊
My favorite book is Anna Karenina..I am rereading it nowadays..
I am planning to read quite a few classics this year. I have already read Pride and Prejudice. It was just phenomenal. A 5 star read. I have planned to read Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, East of Eden, Crime and Punishment, and Gone With The Wind this year.
Last year, among the classics, I read Middlemarch, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1984, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby and One Hundred Years of Solitude.
i’m surprised dorian gray wasn’t higher on the list
You have the reading life I wish I had, Tristan! I've had a terrible reading year, for one reason or another. I've read about half the books in this video, the most recent being a reread of The Old Man and the Sea -- but that was a year ago already. And, turns out, that was the last "classic" classic I read! The best book I've read this year has to be Leonard and Hungry Paul, which is a tiny but wonderful novel by Ronan Hession. I'm rereleasing my first novel in October for its eleventh anniversary (don't ask) and releasing a new story/play collection at the same time, so probably another month yet of not reading the classics for me. Ah well. One of these days!
You have written a book, Troy?!!!! What is it called? As for the issue of getting time to read, I totally understand. My issue now is that, with a UA-cam channel, I have no option but to make time for it. That's a plus I suppose, but it can be demanding at times.
Still, it's a pleasure really.
I've not hear of Ronan Hession, so I will go and have a shufti on Amamzon. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.👍
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 My novel is called The Forsaken Boy, and it's a dark and gory werewolf tale -- probably not your cup of tea. I'd love to hear your take on a couple of the plays in the upcoming collection, however -- stage adaptations of The Island of Doctor Moreau (production-wise, my most successful script) and Hard Times (production-wise ... um, not so much). I'll send you copies once they hit Amazon UK.
I like " The humiliated and insulted" by Dostoevskiy too. Very few foreigners have read it somehow. Read it, you won't be sorry for the lost time.😊
I was disappointed with Hard Times and felt unsatisfied with it. I understood the point, but I felt more could be explored. I love Dorian Grey and enjoyed Agnes Grey.
Couldn't agree more about Hard Times. It lacked the Dickens oomph and splendour for me.
the castle , by Kafka, actually all his novels and stories I believe are masterpieces for many modern souls to read once and again
You really love good books, Crime and Punishment. Tess of the'...by Hardy The old man and the sea, Dickens, Tolstoy Conrad. You make me want to read them aĺl again. Im reading Shakespeare's sonnets, but Joyce's Ulysses is my all time great, everytime I return to it I say "why have i left it down for so long
Agree on Crime and Punishment. Lord of the Flies was terrific. Not sure if a classic but this year, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams by Sylvia Plath, Peter Matthiessen's Shadow Country, some Evelyn Waugh short fiction, maybe best to classify as literary rather than classic. Read Stendahl's The Red and The Black a few years ago, it was not a favorite. Agree about Hardy. I also read some Kate Chopin this past year, if Disraeli is a classic then she probably qualifies, but not exactly on par with the greats. The Disraeli sounds interesting.
I love the breadth of your reading SuS. I really must get around to Lord of the Flies. I've been wanting to read it for ages but it keeps eluding me.
I understand your feelings towards The Red and The Black. It's definitely a crowd splitter. I think I liked it so much because of how much it made me stop and ponder.
I'd class Chopin as a classic. In fact I hope to be discussing The Awakening on my channel before too long.
Will be interested to know your take on Disraeli.
I really loved Tess Of The dUrbervilles'; It's such a beautiful love story, the end though satisfying is devastating.
Ah, to paraphrase: She was more sinned against than sunning !
Still didn't enjoy it ! ☺️
PS: Sinning not sunning !
UT 🙄
My favorite this year is Lost Horizon
Hi Tristan! I come to you not only to learn more about classic literature, but also to validate my own understanding of certain books. Today I am rereading Wuthering Heights. Music goes hand in hand with reading for me and my 6yo daughter. I was wondering if you would have any recommendations in this regard as well. Some pleasant music that would go well with the type of book one’s going through..
Thank you.
I have read and love a lot of the books on this list. My most recent read was Tess of D'Ubevilles, I had never read Hardy before and really enjoyed his work. My current read is The Return of the King by Tolkien.
Weird but I cannot abide Thomas Hardy. Had him for 'O' Level and for 'A' Level Eng.Lit. Maybe it is because he is so desctiptive.
Read all the novels by Dickens (favourite= "Great Expectations" ) ; All of the Jane Austen books (favourite= "Price and Prejudice" ); All of Dostoevsky (favourite= "Crime and Punishment" ). Never read Tolstoy's "War and Peace" ! Laugh: read all of Agatha Christie books and re-read them since the age of 14.
Funn,y but for a break I read " Dolores Claiborne " and really enjoyed it, maybe because it is not a King horror/supernatural novel.
Silly,why should anyone be interested in what I read and continue reading......a library of marvellous books that I know I shall never be able to finish before kicking the bucket ! 😂
Yawn....Just finished "Of Mice and Men" and yawn,yawn "Brighton Rock ".
Five books ready for the next eyestrainer!
My favorite book last year was East of Eden. I also read of mice and men. Loved them both. I just finished the red pony and thought it was just fair. I am also reading war and peace (a little each day). Not a fan of the war part but love tolstoys writing and love the stories of the families. Almost finished with it.
A Tale of Two Cities might be my favorite book. Also love Pearl S Buck. Is she considered classic? I think so. And how about the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass?
" To kill a mockingbird" is a beautiful book.
Could you do a program on top 10 gothic novels to read? I am lost in deciding? Thank you.
I have done a very recent video called Teach Yourself Gothic Literature in which I list a selection of gothic novels and novellas. Hope that helps.
"It was a dark and stormy night." - Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." - Charles Dickens.
I don't know which of these I think is worst opening line for a novel. I do know that A Tale of Two Cities was the only book on my father's shelf I did never read as a kid. The first few pages seemed sort of silly. Later on, Dickens became one of my three or four favorite authors, after reading his other novels.
I've read most of these and agree with most of your picks but I hated Crime and Punishment, I couldn't get through it, I just kept hoping he would be caught and put us all out of our misery! I recently reread one of my favourite books Vanity Fair.
Taste is a funny thing. my sister lives very close to Haworth (10 minutes walk) yet she doesn't liike Wuthering Heights, I feel that with regard to the Brontes The Tenant of Wtldfell Hall is often overlooked, it is excellent.
On one of your other videos you mentioned The Painted Veil, I love WSM and have read everything by him, the short stories are superb. I am a teacher in Argentina ( British ) and I did TPV with my class , they really enjoyed it and it gave rise to some interesting discussions
I have to confess that one of my favourite books is Black Beauty because it's a good story but it also brought about change in the way prople treated horses, which was Anna Sewell's intention
Right, different approaches but how lucky we are in this day and age!