Aaaand—that's the longest post title ever!
The inspiration for this post came from The Broke and the Bookish, a blog that on Tuesdays posts a "Top Ten" list dealing with some bookish aspect or other.
But anyway, here's my partial list of "classic" authors that are considered sort of de rigeur by the well-read set, but which I have never read. I may read a few of these in future, but some I don't really want to read at all because they're just not my "thing."
George Eliot
Leo Tolstoy
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Charles Dickens
Henry James
Harper Lee
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ernest Hemingway
John Steinbeck
James Joyce
Mark Twain
Thomas Hardy
D. H. Lawrence
Nathaniel Hawthorne
William Thackeray
Henry Fielding
Gustave Flaubert
Shocking, isn't it? Looking at this list, you may be wondering which authors I indeed have read! Suffice it to say, I've read many authors, but I tend to champion those less known or downright neglected (some of them are listed in my "Novels I Love" list at left). Which is why I love imprints such as Persephone and Virago, who reissue these forgotten treasures. If you aren't familiar with them, and you have a particular fondness for women authors of British persuasion, you really should check them out. Their books can easily be found on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Wow. I would expect you to like George Eliot and Henry James. What about Edith Wharton? And I can't believe you haven't read Great Expectations! Hemingway not so much. And you can definitely give Thackeray a miss. Flaubert is really lovely, though, too. And I like the Russians! Mark Twain's Tramp Abroad made me laugh out loud, which is really rare for me! Rebecca
ReplyDeleteI love Edith Wharton, so you'll notice she's not on this list. I probably will get around to Eliot and James, but Dickens just doesn't call to me. As for Flaubert and the Russians, I've always been reluctant to read translations, even though I myself enjoy writing them. I've read Italian authors in Italian, but since I know neither French (well enough) nor Russian (at all), I'd rather not go there. Besides, there are so many other great things to read.
DeleteDickens' characters are sort of like moving figures in a diorama; they just aren't quite real. But he structures stories beautifully. -Rebecca M!
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