A little classic Q&A – the abridged version!
The Classics Club recently posted The Classics Club 50 Questions Survey. I’ve cheated a little bit on this in that I’ve chosen 10 of the questions only and on one of the questions I’ve changed the wording slightly – still, I don’t suppose I’m going to be arrested for cheating a little!
- First classic you ever read? One of the earliest reads I can remember independently choosing myself and reading was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum – I think I was about 8 years of age at the time. I’m fairly certain I also read The Borrower in the same year. Both books were recommended by my teacher at the time.
- Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why. Woah, what a tough question. So many to choose from. But, I think i would probably go with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dicken. It’s a short story of redemption really with a feel good ending that has been popular since its creation.
- Favorite movie adaption of a classic? Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. All three films are just excellent. Jackson did an excellent job of recreating middle earth and the films were fairly faithful to the books.
- If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why? I think I could continue Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. Everybody could do with a little more Rhett Butler in the lives – and if you don’t agree, well, frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!
- Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.) Well, I have a bunch of people that I rely on for recommendations but if I’m going to look for fairly early influences the first would be my dad, who is also a big reader and has massively influenced my reading over the years. I basically read more or less everything on his shelves ranging from detectives and mysteries to fantasy. The second biggest influence was a colleague at work who by dint of bringing me a constant supply of her favourite books introduced me to so many new authors and broadened my horizons.
- Classic author you’ve read the most works by? Jane Austen – well, I’ve read all her books. I’m not sure if I’ve read the most books by her or not but she’s the author that immediately springs to mind.
- List five fellow bloggers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs? I’ve cheated here on two counts – one, the bloggers I’ve listed are not all fellow classics club followers and two I’ve put too many down – I basically got carried away! Jessica over at The Bookworm Chronicles – we’ve been following each other virtually since I started blogging. She has a great blog and I love her books choices. Stainless Steel Droppings, ditto the above about the length of time I’ve been following this blog. SSD is Carl’s blog and primarily focuses on SFF – I love this blog and genuinely think I’ve had only one book where we’ve had slightly differing feelings in terms of liking it or not. I would pretty much read a shopping list if Carl recommended it! Andrea, over at the Little Red Reviewer – I think Andrea was one of the first people to actually comment on my posts – which was something of a revelation to me at the time as it never even occurred to me that anybody would even read my reviews. I love this blog – Andrea is always at the forefront of book recommendations, always one of the first to bring me new ideas and I read her blog religiously!! Wondrous Reads – Jenny is one of my best book buddies. This is helped by the fact that we also attend book events and movies together! We originally made friends through a love of reading and have continued ever since. Wondrous Reads is a fantastic blog and probably one of the earliest blogs to boot. If it wasn’t for Jenny I would have missed some amazing books – immediately springing to mind The Rebel Angels, The Martian, The Girl with All the Gifts and I am Legend! Finally – I’m going to be sneaky and add two blogs – basically because I found them both at the same time – Dark Cargo and Dab of Darkness. Dark Cargo – I would say this is a very quirky SFF blog and I never miss a post if I can help it. Dab of Darkness is Susan’s blog – tons of reading goes on over here and I’ve taken part in so many lovely readalongs with Susan that have introduced me to a host of other like minded bloggers. I would love to add many more here – Jason at Genkinahito, Lisa at OvertheEffingRainbow, but, no, I’m going to stop there!!
- If you’ve ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you’ve participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? the best title you’ve completed? a fond memory? a good friend made? Lord of the Rings – a readalong hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. This was a great read along that I really enjoyed. I always wanted to reread LotR but probably never would have done so without the impetus this readalong gave me. I loved sharing the experience with so many other people.
- Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club? I like the diversity of the events and I also like that it’s given me a personal challenge that encourages me to pick up books that otherwise I probably wouldn’t pick up.
- If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why? That would probably be Les Miserables. Why – because it’s on my list and I find it totally daunting. I think if I took part in a readalong it would give me more encouragement to read this plus readalongs are usually a bit more gentle affairs, spread out with allocated reading time so that you can read other books at the same time.
Such an interesting Q & A, I wish I could go back and read more classics, there just doesn’t seem like there’s enough time with my huge piles of books to get through.
Yeah, I mean, to be fair I read most of these when I was younger and they all belonged to my dad so I was basically reading whatever was around the house. I have read a lot of classics – I wish I’d read more classic fantasy though – it’s something I feel I need to address but like you say there are so many new books to focus on!
Lynn 😀
Thanks for the shout out! 🙂
Interesting answers. I read a lot of classics like Austen and the Bronte sisters at university. What’s your favourite Austen novel?
I think probably Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey. What about you> I love Jane Eyre!
Northanger Abbey or Pride and Prejudice (my first Austen). I like Jane Eyre a lot as well – I can still remember passages of it and where I was when I read them.
Pride and Prejudice is so good. I think I love Northanger Abbey because I was having a dark, gothic book reading spree at the time including the Mysteries of Udolpho. I love Janey Eyre. I should actually reread it.
Lynn 😀
Love your question choices. I also read The Borrowers as a child, a really sweet book which I re-read a couple of years ago. Thank you for the lovely mention as well 🙂
It’s just odd the way some books stay with you – the Wizard of Oz and The Borrowers are two perfect examples of books that I retain really fond memories of.
I have so many SFF blogs that I follow that I really enjoy the diversity of your blog – especially the historical books and also the factual non-fiction that I don’t tend to read myself but enjoy reading your reviews of.
Lynn 😀
If you ever find a Les Mis readalong, I hope you’ll tell us about it! I’ve had the book on my TBR pile for ages for exactly the same reason!
Very interesting Q&A too. ^_^ I really should read a few more classics, but there are so many books out in the world… Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start!
yes, Les Mis is just plain daunting. If I ever do find a readalong I’ll be sure to let everyone know. I think it’s the only way that I’m ever going to read it.
I bet you’ve read loads of classics! But, you’re right, I tend to focus on the current books more which is why I take part in this personal challenges – I’m not doing as well as I hoped though!
Lynn 😀
I’ve been a part of a Les Mis readalong this year – a chapter a day for the whole year – it has been fabulous. Many times I’ve missed a day or 10 or I’ve got to an exciting bit and read ahead, but the group is still there, waiting for everyone and encouraging all the time – it’s not too late to join in 🙂
Thanks – I’ll have a look at that – maybe I could jump in.
Lynn 😀
It’s never too late!