Classics Club Meme: Preferred Classics


I've been a longtime member of the Classics Club, since 2014 I believe, and have participated in a few monthly memes in the past. It has been quite some time since I've contributed an entire post to one of the thoughtful questions posed by the Classics Club but this month has caught my fancy: Preferred Classics. The Classics Club has posed two questions which I shall answer below: 

  1. What Kinds of Classic Books Do You Prefer?
  2. Who are your favourite authors?

What Kind Of Classic Books Do You Prefer: 

This is quite a tough question as I read across time, geographical area and genre when it comes to classic literature. I do have two favourites that stand out though: Russian Literature (namely the 19th Century but I love Solzhenitsyn as well) and Ancient Greek Literature (the four great playwrights and the philosophers). I'm not quite sure why I love those two types of literature the most: might be because they incorporate history and fiction which are my two great loves or because I love tragedy, character studies, myth and realism in the stories I read. I also am quite partial to Gothic literature of any kind. As much as I do love the Victorians I don't love them as much as a majority of the Classics Community does but I do love Austen and the Brontes. 

Who Are Your Favourite Authors: 

This is a difficult question as I have so many different writers I admire and respect from all different kinds of genres and time periods but the top three, which will surprise no one that knows me, are Ivan Turgenev, Virginia Woolf and Euripides. There is something about their stories which, to borrow from Wentworth, pierce my soul. I also love Emily and Anne Bronte and I respect Jane Austen and think she has so much to say beyond simply writing "romantic fiction". Keeping with the women in fiction theme I also think Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft are incredible writers and even more interesting women. 

Comments

  1. Jean15 May 2020 at 22:00

    Oh, I love the Brontes too! Anne is my favorite, but I like Charlotte, while I see you prefer Emily. And every time I read Austen, I'm impressed again with her genius.

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    1. Keely16 May 2020 at 04:02

      I have all of these unpopular classics opinions: I don't like Charlotte Bronte and I have a complicated relationship with Tolstoy as well. But I still haven't read Jane Eyre which might be the book that may change my mind.

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    2. Jean16 May 2020 at 12:52

      Jane Eyre is the best thing Charlotte wrote, by far.

      I like Tolstoy, but he has his issues for sure! I also like Solzhenitsyn, though.

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    3. Keely16 May 2020 at 19:30

      I started with the Professor and hated it. I also don't like how she treated Anne and Emily after their deaths so been difficult to separate that. Similar to Tolstoy and the way he treated his wife and his serfs. Unfortunately my brain can't separate the art from the artist. I am looking forward to reading Shirley and Jane Eyre though I think I'll like them.

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  2. Silvia16 May 2020 at 06:34

    I love Solzhenitsyn and Gothic literature as well.

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    Replies
    1. Keely16 May 2020 at 19:30

      Solzhenitsyn is so underrated. I'd argue he is the best Russian writer.

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