I read David Copperfield last year. Excellent. I saw all the surrounding characters as projections of different aspects of the protagonist. This year I read: Tristram Shandy (I'd only recommend it if heavily curated), Mann's Magic Mountain, King James Bible (a slog but informative), Sophocles Theban trilogy, Voltaire's Candide, Dostoevsky's The Idiot and Demons, Hugo's Les Miserables, Forster's Passage to India, Austen's Emma, Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Kafka's short stories, Henry James's Portrait of a Lady, and Nabokov's Pale Fire. Right now I'm reading the Complete Poe and soon Gogol's Dead Souls. So many books! What a year.
I first read The Street in my high school American Literature class. It's a phenomenal look at poverty, systemic racism, misogyny, and the various levers of oppression that converge to ensnare women of color into lives of hardship. Petry's writing is incredible, and I am thrilled that this book seems to have found new life over the last few years. I've never met anyone else who read this book in high school, and in the mid-90s it was incredibly obscure. It was many many years before I ever saw it in a book store. Now it is clear to me that this is essential reading for anyone trying to understand the United States. It is one of the 'Great American Novels' in my mind, right up there with The Grapes of Wrath, Beloved, Huck Finn, etc.
David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens novel (although I still have several to read) and I love the idea of reading it in tandem with the new Kingsolver novel. Business as Usual was a delight and now I want to read the Rhys. I loved the whole Barsetshire series and liked The Balkan trilogy quite a lot. I’m just about to reread Dubliners for a book club and am really looking forward to it.
I read David Copperfield last year and adored it, a really special book because you're with David for so long from his birth, it's just full of great characters (his aunt!!!) and I think everyone should read it! In the book Gone with the Wind, Mellie isn't reading David Copperfield, she's reading Le Miserables.
Hi Eric, I don't usually comment on your videos but have been lurking for a long time. So thanks for all the wonderful discussions and thoughts about books you put out into the world! My favourites are definitely where you get so excited for the prize announcements. For the last year or two, I've been doing the opposite reading - I have normally read classics and now I'm deliberately reading more contemporary fiction. So thank you for all your recommendations! I've recently finished They by Kay Dick, and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. Enjoy your classics list. They sound fascinating, especially The Fly on the Wheel. Congrats on pushing forward with Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles. I've not read the full cycle but definitely want that sense of completion. Maybe I'll make it to the end of Proust eventually!
Hello! Thanks for watching and commenting. I’m glad you enjoy the prize video and that you’ve been inspired to pick up some more recent titles. I keep meaning to go on that Proust journey as well but know it’ll be a loooong road! 😅📚
Adore David Copperfield, Dickens handles the looking back narrative so skillfully. Re references in other books and movies, I always think of Holden Caulfield's stated desire to avoid "all that David Copperfield kind of crap" as he tells his own story. Hope Allington picks up for you, I loved it. Ending for me was unexpected and so perfect!
I read The Street last year and was blown away by Ann Petry’s incredible writing. I was immersed in the story from page one. I hope you enjoy it! The next one I want to read by her is The Narrows.
david copperfield for sure....though there are a lot of good ones there...i wanted to thank-you eric for leading me, by your wonderful reaction some time ago,to 'sight' by jessie greengrass. her style is transporting.
Read David Copperfield so many years ago. My personal favourite is Bleak House or Great Expectations. With a November birthday, top of the list was the new Barbara Kingsolver book - fingers crossed
I am planning to read David Copperfield for Victober this year. Ahh, love Animal Farm. I should really reread it soon. The Street sounds really interesting. I hadn't heard of it before. I am enjoying my way through the Barsetshire Chronicles, I'm on Dr Thorne.
You’re always such a joy to listen to! My advice is to DROP EVERYTHING in your life and read David Copperfield immediately. I love all of Dickens but this one has such fabulous characters that you will remember forever. Wilkins Micawber! Such a great story. I am still reeling from learning that Dickens was a mean person who treated his wife despicably for no valid reason. Evidently turned her out of their home with no money after HE had an affair. I wish someone would tell me it isn’t so. Dickens was such a hero to me. But, enjoy Copperfield! ❤
Interesting list. I would characterize fewer than half of these as classics. For me, Small House is wonderful in its own right and I would never see it as the means to get to Last Chronicle, even though Last Chronicle is my favorite of the Barsetshire books (followed by Small House, and then Towers). Small House is also notable as the introduction of Planty Pall, who will become a central figure in the Palliser novels. I think David Copperfield is the most charming of Dickens novels, and in the same league with Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend. Definitely worth reading. Liked the reference to Gone with the Wind. The other one that comes up is Holden Caulfield whining about how he's not going to get into all that David Copperfield crap.
Interesting to discuss what is a classic and what is not. It used to be that classics meant ancient Greek and Roman works like Sophocles and Virgil. Britannica's Great Books collection only went up to Freud, since they didn't think anything more recent could really be considered classic - it hadn't matured enough like wine. I suspect that the traditional definition, from pre-20th century, is changing in society as we move further into the 21st century.
Animal farm is awesome... 😊 I want to finish reading all of Jane Austen's novels this year...so far I have finished 5 of them... Have to read Mansfield park.... The street is on my tbr... can you please review it once you've read it?
Yes I also try to read classics. I find a diet of modern literature needs a palate cleanser. I had to read a David Copperfield at school and it was so badly taught I hated it Maybe a good time to reread. I love War and Peace Portrait of a woman I have never heard of The Fly on the Wheel I want to try it. I don’t like Animal Farm but loved Burmese Days by Orwell and also Keep the Aspidistra flying . Mishima is a wonderful writer as is Welch except for the book about his dog.
I can really recommend listening as you read for David Copperfield ( reader Martin Jarvis - the unabridged version of course) and The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire read by the fabulous Timothy West, a real treat! It`s like Trollope talking to you. Both on Audible - I think the Timothy West is now free if you are a subscriber!
never heard of Denton Welch or those letters but both sound intriguing! ~ Animal Farm was a high school book for me too... i've been half-reading another Orwell book, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and it's fascinating and satisfying to see him critiquing Western capitalism there, given that he's more famous for bashing Soviet-style communism in Animal Farm and 1984 ~
I have tried to get into The Warden but I just can’t get there. Maybe if I read other books from the series it might make going back to The Warden more bearable. Would you mind telling me the books in this series you liked? I too want to read David Copperfield.
I’m really interested in your great love for Joyce Carol Oates. I’ve only read some of her stories but they were incredible reads. I’ve never read any of her novels but want to. Do you have a favourite? And what are your thoughts on the new film Blonde? I’ve avoided that one because Monroe never interested me but I herd you say it’s a great novel. Do you know Oates really creepy story about a young woman who finds a passport on a train? So eerie and wonderful.
I read David Copperfield last year. Excellent. I saw all the surrounding characters as projections of different aspects of the protagonist. This year I read: Tristram Shandy (I'd only recommend it if heavily curated), Mann's Magic Mountain, King James Bible (a slog but informative), Sophocles Theban trilogy, Voltaire's Candide, Dostoevsky's The Idiot and Demons, Hugo's Les Miserables, Forster's Passage to India, Austen's Emma, Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Kafka's short stories, Henry James's Portrait of a Lady, and Nabokov's Pale Fire. Right now I'm reading the Complete Poe and soon Gogol's Dead Souls. So many books! What a year.
David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens. It is a laugh out loud funny.
What an interesting collection! I have added The Street to my TBR and will look forward to your comments regarding this novel.
I first read The Street in my high school American Literature class. It's a phenomenal look at poverty, systemic racism, misogyny, and the various levers of oppression that converge to ensnare women of color into lives of hardship. Petry's writing is incredible, and I am thrilled that this book seems to have found new life over the last few years. I've never met anyone else who read this book in high school, and in the mid-90s it was incredibly obscure. It was many many years before I ever saw it in a book store. Now it is clear to me that this is essential reading for anyone trying to understand the United States. It is one of the 'Great American Novels' in my mind, right up there with The Grapes of Wrath, Beloved, Huck Finn, etc.
David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens novel (although I still have several to read) and I love the idea of reading it in tandem with the new Kingsolver novel. Business as Usual was a delight and now I want to read the Rhys. I loved the whole Barsetshire series and liked The Balkan trilogy quite a lot. I’m just about to reread Dubliners for a book club and am really looking forward to it.
All I can say is that I would read David Copperfield first one please stay safe and enjoy your reading love your family friend John xxxx
I read David Copperfield a few months ago. It's just wonderful!
Oh didn’t know about David Cooperfield and Demon Copperhead connection- that’s cool- thanks!
I read David Copperfield last year and adored it, a really special book because you're with David for so long from his birth, it's just full of great characters (his aunt!!!) and I think everyone should read it!
In the book Gone with the Wind, Mellie isn't reading David Copperfield, she's reading Le Miserables.
Hi Eric, I don't usually comment on your videos but have been lurking for a long time. So thanks for all the wonderful discussions and thoughts about books you put out into the world! My favourites are definitely where you get so excited for the prize announcements. For the last year or two, I've been doing the opposite reading - I have normally read classics and now I'm deliberately reading more contemporary fiction. So thank you for all your recommendations! I've recently finished They by Kay Dick, and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. Enjoy your classics list. They sound fascinating, especially The Fly on the Wheel. Congrats on pushing forward with Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles. I've not read the full cycle but definitely want that sense of completion. Maybe I'll make it to the end of Proust eventually!
Hello! Thanks for watching and commenting. I’m glad you enjoy the prize video and that you’ve been inspired to pick up some more recent titles. I keep meaning to go on that Proust journey as well but know it’ll be a loooong road! 😅📚
Adore David Copperfield, Dickens handles the looking back narrative so skillfully. Re references in other books and movies, I always think of Holden Caulfield's stated desire to avoid "all that David Copperfield kind of crap" as he tells his own story. Hope Allington picks up for you, I loved it. Ending for me was unexpected and so perfect!
I have not read Mutual Friend. Gasp! You’ve inspired me to read this classic before the end of the year.
David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens novel. Enjoy !
I read The Street last year and was blown away by Ann Petry’s incredible writing. I was immersed in the story from page one. I hope you enjoy it! The next one I want to read by her is The Narrows.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Mrs. Dalloway, The Great Gatsby, The Canterbury Tales, A Christmas Carol.
Oh I just reread the Balkan Trilogy it is wonderful
david copperfield for sure....though there are a lot of good ones there...i wanted to thank-you eric for leading me, by your wonderful reaction some time ago,to 'sight' by jessie greengrass. her style is transporting.
Read David Copperfield so many years ago. My personal favourite is Bleak House or Great Expectations. With a November birthday, top of the list was the new Barbara Kingsolver book - fingers crossed
I hope to get to The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdoch. But the year is moving fast
I loved David Copperfield, but my personal favorite continues to be Great Expectations.
I want to read more Kingsolver so I may pair her newest release with David Copperfield which I’ve never read. Great video, Eric. 😊💙
I am planning to read David Copperfield for Victober this year. Ahh, love Animal Farm. I should really reread it soon.
The Street sounds really interesting. I hadn't heard of it before. I am enjoying my way through the Barsetshire Chronicles, I'm on Dr Thorne.
The Petry and Manning novels are excellent.
You’re always such a joy to listen to! My advice is to DROP EVERYTHING in your life and read David Copperfield immediately. I love all of Dickens but this one has such fabulous characters that you will remember forever. Wilkins Micawber! Such a great story. I am still reeling from learning that Dickens was a mean person who treated his wife despicably for no valid reason. Evidently turned her out of their home with no money after HE had an affair. I wish someone would tell me it isn’t so. Dickens was such a hero to me. But, enjoy Copperfield! ❤
Oh, and the BBC (?) made a movie of it with Maggie Smith and it was so very well done. See if you can find it. Made In 1999.
David copperfield is on my list but not for this year! Interesting picks. Good luck and happy reading!
Interesting list. I would characterize fewer than half of these as classics. For me, Small House is wonderful in its own right and I would never see it as the means to get to Last Chronicle, even though Last Chronicle is my favorite of the Barsetshire books (followed by Small House, and then Towers). Small House is also notable as the introduction of Planty Pall, who will become a central figure in the Palliser novels.
I think David Copperfield is the most charming of Dickens novels, and in the same league with Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend. Definitely worth reading. Liked the reference to Gone with the Wind. The other one that comes up is Holden Caulfield whining about how he's not going to get into all that David Copperfield crap.
Interesting to discuss what is a classic and what is not. It used to be that classics meant ancient Greek and Roman works like Sophocles and Virgil. Britannica's Great Books collection only went up to Freud, since they didn't think anything more recent could really be considered classic - it hadn't matured enough like wine. I suspect that the traditional definition, from pre-20th century, is changing in society as we move further into the 21st century.
I am about to read David Copperfield for Victober. I have read it before but that was in the 1970s so it might as well be the first time
The Last Chronicle of Barset is a worthy last chapter in the Barset series and also one of Trollope’s best novels. I
Animal farm is awesome... 😊
I want to finish reading all of Jane Austen's novels this year...so far I have finished 5 of them... Have to read Mansfield park....
The street is on my tbr... can you please review it once you've read it?
Eric, have you read Mishima 's short story 'Patriotism '?
Yes I also try to read classics. I find a diet of modern literature needs a palate cleanser. I had to read a David Copperfield at school and it was so badly taught I hated it Maybe a good time to reread. I love War and Peace Portrait of a woman I have never heard of The Fly on the Wheel I want to try it. I don’t like Animal Farm but loved Burmese Days by Orwell and also Keep the Aspidistra flying . Mishima is a wonderful writer as is Welch except for the book about his dog.
I can really recommend listening as you read for David Copperfield ( reader Martin Jarvis - the unabridged version of course) and The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire read by the fabulous Timothy West, a real treat! It`s like Trollope talking to you. Both on Audible - I think the Timothy West is now free if you are a subscriber!
never heard of Denton Welch or those letters but both sound intriguing! ~ Animal Farm was a high school book for me too... i've been half-reading another Orwell book, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and it's fascinating and satisfying to see him critiquing Western capitalism there, given that he's more famous for bashing Soviet-style communism in Animal Farm and 1984 ~
David Copperfield is worth it for the life aphorisms of Wilkins Micawber alone.
I have tried to get into The Warden but I just can’t get there. Maybe if I read other books from the series it might make going back to The Warden more bearable. Would you mind telling me the books in this series you liked? I too want to read David Copperfield.
I’m really interested in your great love for Joyce Carol Oates. I’ve only read some of her stories but they were incredible reads. I’ve never read any of her novels but want to. Do you have a favourite? And what are your thoughts on the new film Blonde? I’ve avoided that one because Monroe never interested me but I herd you say it’s a great novel. Do you know Oates really creepy story about a young woman who finds a passport on a train? So eerie and wonderful.
Many adults tell me The Count of Monte Cristo is the best thing they’ve read in a long time.
I'm reading it in the original French and loving it. It's lengthy but compelling and the sub-plots are actually really interesting.
I should also add: David Copperfield is very queer and queer-coded. As all great literature should be.