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Classic Literature Recommendations

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Why bother with classic literature when you need a good book to read? Keep reading for my classic literature recommendations.

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Design credit: Sarah of Puss Reboots

 

The first discussion topic for Armchair BEA is classic literature. I haven’t always loved classic literature, history or even reading for that matter. As a kid, English and History were my least favorite subjects. As I have cultivated a love for reading over the past year, I thought it was worth giving some of these classics another try.

Why bother with the classics? Here’s why I read them:

  1. They are easily found at the library or free on Amazon for my Kindle. So I won’t have to pay a small fortune to read them.
  2. I really wanted to see what the fuss is about.
  3. I feel like the classics have something to teach and finally as an adult, I’m ready to learn.
  4. There are some amazingly crafted stories and see why the classics are works of art.
  5. Classic authors are often revolutionary for their time in their thinking or telling of a story.  I enjoy reading how they might be perceived as “outside the box” given the time in which they wrote the book.

On my quest to be more well read, I joined both the Back to the Classics Challenge and subsequently The Classics Club earlier this year and must say I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed some of these greats in Classic Literature.

Here are my recommendations depending on the kind of book you are looking for:

If you like a story about a simpler time and celebrating the joys and plight of a poor but tight knit family, you might like Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

If you want to read the pirate story that launched a thousand books and movies, you might like Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

If you like a dramatic story about the South during the racially segregated 1960’s, you might like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

If you like murder and intrigue during the Jazz Age of the 1930’s, you might like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

If you like a classic romance that’s relevant to modern family issues, like the plight of military husbands, you might like Persuasion by Jane Austen (my favorite Austen novel).

For a link to my book reviews of the classics I’ve read so far in 2013, stop by my Classics Club page.

What are your favorite classics? What classic literature are you looking most forward to reading this year? If you’re participating in the Classics Club or the Back to the Classics Challenge, let me know!

5 Comments

  1. I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying The Classics Club! We’re glad to have you, and I hope it continues to be a positive, fun, and educational adventure for you (and all the members)! I, too, joined the “Back to the Classics” challenge this year but, like last year, I’m not doing too well with it. Hopefully I can catch up… maybe…

  2. I completely agree with your reasons for classics. I didn’t read many of them as a child so I’m trying to read one/two a year. I read The Great Gatsby last month, I didn’t enjoy the plot but LOVED the writing. I’m more of a Hemingway girl than F Scott.

    I will look into your classics club, I should join! Have a wonderful Armchair experience.

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